beachbumsns

Meeting new friends is one of the best things about traveling and river cruising does make it easy. We have many new friends as a result of traveling. My group is large enough that at dinner we likely won't eat with new people but last time I went with a group we managed to meet people at breakfast or in the lounge. When I booked my group the ship was relatively empty and then overnight almost all the cabins were gone so I know this is a large group.... hopefully it will go well.:o

 

 

 

You're welcome, hope some of the info comes in useful, I have been planning and working on this trip since January 2017. Switzerland is CRAZY expensive, it is not helping my efforts in trying to talk my husband into moving there.:')

I don't know if you have loaded the new AMA Cruiser App for Apple devices but its an interesting and useful tool. Unfortunately it is only working so far for two cruise ships, AmaViola and AMA Kristina. But I've loaded the cruises and if you are lucky enough to have this up and running for your cruise its pretty neat. You can share posts with your family and friends, pictures, your day by day itinerary is there plus once the cruise starts, your Dailies are shown. I found it very interesting to see the new changes that AMA made this year, such as the cocktail hour. Each day they feature a signature cocktail, as well as other drinks included during that time frame. For anyone who is doing the Amsterdam Tulip Time cruise you can add the AmaKristina which is cruising on April 9, you will be able to get an overview of what is happening each day of the cruise. I know some people like me read everything they can ahead of time so they can get familiar with what to expect. This is a great way to give you a heads up. I've checked out that Brewery and Restaurant in Lucerne and its a definite must for us. Thanks again.

Wonderful info, much appreciated.

I was planning on just taking the train from Basel to Lucerne on our own. Do you have a different type of transfer?

Thanks for the information on the tour guide in Switzerland. We plan on hopping on the train from Zurich to Lucerne and the train stop is minutes from our hotel in Lucerne. After our three days in Lucerne, we plan to hop on the train to Basel. I priced private tours for 4 of us and they seemed way overpriced, almost $800 for 4 people. We normally do private tours, but everything is expensive in Switzerland, lol. If we have time, we hope to get to Interlaken from Basel by train just for the one day. Its great to chat will all of you about these trips, and share ideas and options. Thanks a bunch.

I just have to say, I wish those of you on the Rhine were doing our sailing, you seem like a really great bunch!:) I have had no responses to my roll call except from my friend who is traveling in my group. Our sailing was also pretty much overtaken by a partial charter of which I have no idea exactly what kind of group they are or what to expect.... I really wish they would not allow partial charters on the river cruises, the ships are too small.

When we do the Rhine in May there will be 8 of us. There was a wine tasters group on our last river cruise and they pretty much stuck to themselves. They were given the large front area that is closed off from the other diners. Our experience was that with groups, you have a tendency to stick together and don't meet as many people. Two of the people in our group are people we met on the river cruise last year and stayed in touch with. Its so nice to be able to meet so many nice people and dine with different groups each night. Although the 8 of us will be mostly meeting at the ship, we still plan to mingle and change up our dining partners each night. Hope your cruise goes well with the partial charter on board. I was told that AMA didn't reserve tables for large groups, so not sure how this will work for the group on your tour.

We are a group of 13 so we have planned a private half day walking tour to include going in the Anne Frank house (Ama does not go inside and if you want to do it I believe you need to book at the 2 month prior mark when the tickets become available because they sell out) and a full day private Dutch countryside tour. We also booked a private sunset canal cruise on a boat that is used by the Dutch royal family on occasion, I am really looking forward to that! All (except the canal cruise) were booked with tours by locals. I can vouch for Viator as well, I have used them a lot for myself and for clients and not ever had an issue, they have more small group shared tours which are good if you are not traveling with other's to split the cost of a private tour. I also extensively looked at yelp and trip advisor to get restaurant ideas and made my dinner reservations in advance.

 

We are doing 3 days in Lucerne post cruise on our own as well with a private guide taking us to Titlis, the Rhinefalls and Black Forest, Pilatus and a walking tour of Lucerne. We have also lined up a brewery tour, folk show and dinner reservations.

 

Gosh I am getting excited just thinking about it all!:hearteyes:

Hi to you Wednesday. I would be interested in knowing who you booked your private guide with in Lucerne as we are there 3 days pre cruise. We have planned to do the trip up to Mount Pilatus, as well as the Lake Lucerne cruise. Your tour sounds great too. If you don't mind sharing this information, I would like to check it out compared to what we have planned as we are always open to suggestions. We also enjoy Brewery tours, is this booked with the same company? Thanks for your help.

Has anyone done Amsterdam to Basel? We arrive in Amsterdam a few days early (on our own not with their pre tour) and wondering what tours I should book. I am a bit confused but it kind of looks like we board the ship on July 20th and spend the first night on the ship in Amsterdam and then they take us on a tour the next day and we meet the ship downstream and begin the cruise at some point on the 21st. Thinking of booking a city tour but not sure what kind of tour they do take us on. Also really looking forward to replies from a previous question on good nights on the Rhine for a captains table dinner.

Thanks again, this group is full of wonderful information.

Have you heard of an online company called Viator? They have tours in mostly every city and you can book ahead and pay in your own currency. You get a confirmation and print your email and take it to the tour pickup. We have used this company many times and have had great service from them. We also like to do the Hop on Hop off Busses in each city, which we find very easy to get around and see the main sights without having to worry about transportation. Not sure if Amsterdam has a HOHO bus system but if they do its a great way to see it. Hope this helps. Since we are on the Rhine from the 17th of May to the 24th, we would also like to know what a good night would be to book the Captain's table for scenery. Thanks

Great answers, thanks so much!:)

If anyone likes beer, Prague is a great place to try different types. If you do the hop on hop off bus, get off at the Monastery stop to try the beer here. There is an outdoor restaurant on site, but if you have time, try the Cave restaurant. The Goulash is amazing served in a rye bread bowl. Here is the link to the Monastery.

https://www.eatingpraguetours.com/blog/prague-breweries/

We purchased our Hop on Hop off bus tickets including the river cruise from Viator and paid in our own currency before we left for Prague. One thing of note, the HOHO bus is great, but sometimes its hard to find their stops. The advertisement is on the bottom of the light poles, so if something is parked in front of the pole, it makes it a little harder to find. Stop # 1 was very close to our hotel in Prague, but we missed it several times because a bus was parked in front of it.

We just booked AMALea for April 2019, our 1st river cruise. We are doing the Budapest precruise & Prague post cruise. Have you used them to extend your trip? Also, did you have to purchase any shore excursions, or was everything they included enough to see what you wanted?

I agree, doesn't seem to be much info for the river cruises as opposed to the very active roll calls for the Celebrity cruises I have used cc for.

I like that you say you can move tables in the dining room. Hubby & I are going by ourselves, but we are not adverse to socializing. Do they generally have night time entertainment? I recall seeing something about them bringing on local groups.

!st cruise without a "real" balcony too. Since we are going in cooler weather, we opted for the french balcony.

We did not book our pre and post stay with AMA. When I figured in the pricing I thought it was very high for hotel rooms even though it included our breakfast and some tours. Many of our fellow passengers did the booking with AMA and were quite pleased. Another reason we didn't book with AMA pre and post cruise was because we wanted to have time to ourselves for the first few days to wander around Prague and do the Hop on Hop Off bus as well as the river cruise, which we enjoyed immensely. It gave us the time we needed to adjust to the time change and not be on any schedule.

We did end up booking the same hotels that AMA used but I have memberships in many hotel reward programs and we got a much more decent price for our stay in Prague and Budapest. We stayed at the Hilton Old Town in Prague, (great location) which is where the AMA group stayed and the cruise director was in the hotel daily so we were able to pick up our luggage tags from him for the transfer to the cruise ship. We also stayed at the Radisson Blu hotel in Budapest which was one of the hotels that AMA had recommended. My husband and I too went on our own and we met several people from our home town as well as from the next Province to us. It was great to sit with different people each night at dinner and meet people from everywhere. We too had the French balcony and the weather was such that we could only open it a few times but it was great to have the option for taking pictures while cruising. There is no cost for shore excursions, they are all included even the few special activity excursions.

With regards to entertainment, each evening a group of musicians or dancers or a dj come on board and entertain you after the dinner hour. In Vilshofen, there was an Octoberfest event beside the ship where we were entertained and given beer and pretzels. Very nice.

Highly recommend a trip to Fisherman's Bastion in Budapest. We are on the countdown to our next AMA cruise on the AmaDante in 41 days. Happy travels.

I appreciate all of the information regarding transfers! Although not sailing until early November I’m so excited already. We have been to Europe before but never on a river cruise.

Thank you! I've put it on my list. Did you stay an extra night in Budapest? We are thinking of doing that then training back to Munich.

Yes, we did, we stayed for a few nights at the Radisson Blu in Budapest. We took a taxi that the ship arranged for us after we disembarked. The Radisson Blu wasn't within walking distance to the waterfront, but we did like the location. We had a newly renovated room, which was lovely. The area was within walking distance to the big Mall and the train station. There were quite a few restaurants in the area as well. We took a taxi to the Fisherman's Bastion and did the Hop on Hop off bus one day. Enjoyed our stay there. One thing of note, we asked our Concierge what it should cost us to take a taxi from the hotel to the Fisherman's Bastion, and he gave us the price and called us a taxi. On our way back, we walked down the hills and across the bridge, and tried to pick up a taxi near the river cruise ship port. The taxi driver we first checked with was trying to overcharge us by a lot, so we walked a few more blocks and picked up a cab that was more in line with what we knew it should cost.

Does anyone have experience with transfers through AMA? We arrive in Munich very early in the morning. I assume there is some waiting for other guests before the AMA transfer leaves. Could we be waiting until the afternoon to depart for Vilshofen?

The AMA transfer services works very well. We used it from Prague to Vilshofen last year and it included a tour in Regensberg and time for lunch. Not sure how long your trip is from Munich to Vilshofen but I don't think AMA would leave you waiting for long for your pickup. You may want to call them and ask or ask your travel agent for this information. Our AMA experience was amazing, hope yours is too.

HI! A friend and I just booked the June 1 cruise. Are you on that one? My first river cruise so I'm open to any info.

We are going into Munich a couple days early (been there 3 times). Looking forward to Budapest!

Evening dress is more smart casual on river cruise ships. Many men wear jeans or khakis and a golf shirt or cotton shirt. Ladies wear a mix of clothing. Perhaps a nicer top with pants or capris especially in June. The Captains Dinner people dress a little better. You will see a mixture of clothing on that night. My husband wore a shirt, tie and khakis. We didn't see many suits or sport coats at night on the river cruise. I wore a sparkly top with dress pants. Some ladies did wear dresses. It is much more casual dress than ocean cruises. Hope this helps.

I do not recall a Signature coctail from last year. In 2018 AMA Waterways now has a cocktail hour each day which is included in the price of the trip. Perhaps this Signature cocktail may be part of the new coctail hour. I have two friends sailing next week on AMA and when they return I will ask them about this.

I was able to load a cruise on my Ipad using the AMA Cruiser app. The only cruise so far that was in the system seemed to be the AMA Viola leaving Budapest on March 23. Since this is a learning experience I've been looking at the cruise on the app each day. Its a pretty cool app. You can share it with family and friends. You can download your Daily brochure that shows the activities. There is a map which shows your location. You can share any pictures you take with your Ipad or telephone with your family or friends. The Daily brochures shows that there is a signature cocktail each day, and it gives you the times of the cocktail hour. I for one will use this app when we are on our river cruise in May.

I do not recall a Signature coctail from last year. In 2018 AMA Waterways now has a cocktail hour each day which is included in the price of the trip. Perhaps this Signature cocktail may be part of the new coctail hour. I have two friends sailing next week on AMA and when they return I will ask them about this.

I forgot to ask if anyone on AmaKristina or a similar ship had any issues with engine noise or vibration? We are in cabins 320 and 322 and I have no idea how close to the engine room we are. I now understand it would have been smoother doing the Rhine northbound but we are starting in Amsterdam and getting off in Basel because we are carrying on to Italy after so it made more sense that direction for us. Appreciate any input.

Optional excursions

 

When do you find out about the optional extra-cost excursions?

 

Thank you.

The special interest tours are listed on the same page with the regular tours. They are distinguished by (special interest tours) in the list. I do not believe there is any extra charge for them.

I am curious as to how far in advance of your cruise you were able to select your excursions.

I agree, I like to be well prepared and there is limited info from previous river cruisers available.

Thanks for all the info, my teenage boys will appreciate the snacks between meals :)

With ocean cruising I picked my shore excursions months in advance, how does it work with Ama? We cruise in July on the Rhine and our final payment is due in April. Will I get all my info after final payment is in and that is when I pick my excursions or do you just decide once on the ship?

Much appreciated.

Maureen, Calgary, Alberta Canada

Just to let you know, AMA has a different system this year for excursions. Right under the cruse check in option, it shows a button that says Shore Excursion Registration. This is new this year for us. You can now go and sign up for excursions ahead of your departure and read about them. If you decide you want to make changes when you get on the ship it is no problem. After you sign up for your excursions, you will get a confirmation from AMA along with a list of what excursions you signed up for. For repeat AMA clients, when I went to sign in, my personal information was included and I just had to verify there were no changes. Saved me a lot of inputting the information and digging out passports again. Very convenient.

AMA told me we won't be able to add our cruise until just before departure. We will get an email from them inviting us to download the App and at that point the specifics of our cruise will be available.

I can sign into that! ! Its the App on my ipad that wont let me sign in!!!

I downloaded the new App for AMA on my Ipad and although I'm logged in, cannot get any further than the screen that says Add your cruise.

Hi All

 

We are two Seniors who have taken many ocean cruises ,and will be taking our first river cruise with AMA on The Prima in about a month.

Any thoughts/suggestions regarding such things as dress code, tipping, land tours, dining, etc would be greatly appreciated.

Over 80 and still loving the cruise experience.

Thanks in advance!

 

Cambriah

We took our first river cruise last April after many years of ocean cruising and we were immediately hooked. Booked our second one for this upcoming May. Dress code is very simple. Most people go to dinner in casual clothes. Even on the Captain's dinner night, you do not see a lot of men wearing jackets, etc. Some may wear a pair of khakis and a shirt and tie. But mostly, its casual. We paid our tips when we booked our cruise both times and that works out well. We also tip as we go along to people that we feel deserve some extra. The staff on these ships work hard and go out of their way to make you comfortable and happy. There are several types of tours at each port. One is for gentle walkers and the other is for people that want a bit more of a tour. The cruise line is very good to provide the right transportation for each type of activity level. Dining is very relaxed. People often sit with others at a table each night which helps you meet many people from all over the world. There is always a buffet at each meal but you can also order from the main menu. Always lots of snacks in the lounge with afternoon sandwiches and sweets around 4 pm even if the ship is almost empty. Hope this helps and if you have any specific questions, please let me know. Enjoy your cruise.

:hearteyes:Just looked at the itinerary - that's what we did in Dec 2014 on Avalon - NUE to BSL. Christmas Markets. It was nice but a few towns not walkable off the boat, so be sure to check when you look at things to do....We had a couple more days (our cruise was 9 days if I'm remembering correctly).:hearteyes:

Thanks for all the information, we will be sure to check it out. Our cruise this year is called Medival Treasures. A new addition to AMA Waterways this year. Looking forward to it.

Thanks for letting us know about the App. I downloaded it but can't sign up yet. I can't sign in on the AMA site either yet. I booked with a travel agent and suspect AMA won't get my file until my final payment is due in April as AMA doesn't seem to recognize my name yet. Thanks everyone.

We were able to sign into the AMA Waterways site as soon as we put the down payment on it. The confirmation # is an 8 digit number on the top of our invoice on the right side. Seems strange that you cannot log in, as this information is usually available immediately after your booking. Perhaps check with your TA to find out your proper confirmation # so you can log in and check out the site.

Our cruise was April and it was cool and somewhat wet. There were a few that used the pool as it was nicely heated. Nice bathrobes in the rooms as well. I don't think the swim up bar portion was open due to weather but in the summer it definitely would be. Looked very inviting. Enjoy.

 

Have you logged into your reservation on the AMA Waterways site and put in your online checking information? There is a lot of information on their site about each port and type of excursions. Have fun.

My travel agent just advised us of a new app that AMA Waterways has for river cruising. Might make things easy to check out while travelling.

AmaWaterways recently developed an app calledAmaCruiser, which is available for free and features a live cruise-tracking mapas well as photos and information about each of the destinations and theavailable shore excursions. The app gives users the opportunity to upload theirphotos and create a personal cruise album or share images via email or onsocial media. The daily cruise newsletter is also made available during thesailing, with the daily schedule of events”

Thanks for all the great info! We make final payment next week and so looking forward to viewing the excurions!

 

Does anyone use the swim up bar????:cool:

Our cruise was April and it was cool and somewhat wet. There were a few that used the pool as it was nicely heated. Nice bathrobes in the rooms as well. I don't think the swim up bar portion was open due to weather but in the summer it definitely would be. Looked very inviting. Enjoy.

Have you logged into your reservation on the AMA Waterways site and put in your online checking information? There is a lot of information on their site about each port and type of excursions. Have fun.