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All Ama cruisers!!! Share expierences and ideas


Crusin-Suzan
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anyone that has recently been in budapest, any idea of maximum cash spit out at ATM's in one transaction? any tips ?

Well I can tell you for sure that the ATM in the Central Market will give you $700 worth of forinths (?). I made a big mistake when I calculated the amount I wanted. HAHAHA! This was in June.

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another question for anyone on christmas markets cruise - nuremberg to budapest, on ama website in Passau I see a morning Passau city tour or alternatively full day salsburg tour. I am unable to decide as I dont know what is on offer for the afternoon if i do the Passau for morning. thanks

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another question for anyone on christmas markets cruise - nuremberg to budapest, on ama website in Passau I see a morning Passau city tour or alternatively full day salsburg tour. I am unable to decide as I dont know what is on offer for the afternoon if i do the Passau for morning. thanks

 

Its been a few years but I believe you cruise down the Danube and the other tour joins downstream.

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another question for anyone on christmas markets cruise - nuremberg to budapest, on ama website in Passau I see a morning Passau city tour or alternatively full day salsburg tour. I am unable to decide as I dont know what is on offer for the afternoon if i do the Passau for morning. thanks

 

We did the Salzburg tour and it was very good. Saw a few places from Sound of Music, also they have an Easter Egg store there that is really cool. Real eggs that are decorated. I bought 6 and they made it home with no problems. Even if you do not buy, they are worth looking at them. https://www.enchantedserendipity.com/christmas-salzburg-hand-painted-egg-shop/

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Thank you margord, that information helped me decide on salsburg.  As I could not wait for this board to be up and running I sent you an email as well.

I am going on Ama waterways cruise line, do you think I will get to go to this store while on my excursion ?
if its not a regular stop on excursion, would you remember which spot it was close to ?  the church or the gardens etc.  Secondly, in your picture I saw the prices were like 4 euros and upwards for each egg - do you know if there is a charge for packing if I buy like say 2 ?  Have you been to Budapest ?  if yes, are the eggs that are available there different ?
 
thank you
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Embarkation day question - I see on Ama waterways site, my embarkation is 3:00 pm on Dec 7.  I arrive in to Nuremburg on Dec 6 and am staying at a hotel close to the market.  Dec 8 morning 4 hour included excursion (ramparts, castle, fountain & market square)  but the itinerary on Ama website says city tour of WWII highlights.  can someone who has done the iconic markets on ama viola in Dec, clarify this for me.  Are there going to be any programs on embarkation day for which I need to arrive in the afternoon ?  or can I book a WWII hightlights tour on my own and then embark after ?  thanks

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CaroleLee....I did the Vilshofen to Budapest segment in June.  You absolutely don't want to miss the Illuminations cruise dinner the last night!  You will have ample time to walk the decks after dinner to take in the magnificent lights.  We opted to do the Chef's Table the first night and met great people who we did a lot with during the rest of the cruise.

If you have a choice to go to Czesky Krumlov on an excursion, go!  It is a magical village in the Czech Republic.  I think it was the Linz stop for the boat.

Edited by SkygirlSue
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  • 1 month later...

I will be doing Melodies of the Danube in June, 2019 on Sonata. We will be in Budapest a day early and I wanted to see (hear) a performance at the opera house. Unfortunately there is no performance the day we arrive. The next evening is the illuminations cruise, which we don't want to miss. The following day there is free time in the afternoon. My question is what time is the departure from Budapest? Would we be able to see an opera that evening and make it back to the ship for the departure?

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This whole topic makes me incredibly sad.  Went on my third AMA cruise in Nov. and it was a disaster.  Have heard nothing from AMA or my travel agent.  Spent thousands for next to nothing.

 

Budapest----straight to hotel, then river dinner boat

. Just circled around two bridges. Food was inedible.

3 hour bus trip to Bratislava.  No problems except we had to catch bus back to Vienna.

Bus tour of Vienna. We had free time, but everything was closed as it was Sunday. Took uber back to boat.

Durnstein---walking tour then back to boat to go to Melk. Took bus to Abbey, but it was dark so unable to see much.

Passau---walking tour, but it was dark, so didn't see much. Also raining so dangerous on cobblestones.

Took bus to Regensberg.

Regensberg--walking tour with small amount of free time. Back to boat.

Took bus to Nuremberg. Bus tour the to hotel for horrible buffet dinner at hotel. (unbelievable)

Had to meet driver for airport at 4:30am. We were given a sack breakfast that had broken eggs and leaky yogurt. 
had to throw away at airport.


all together, we had two tours in the dark and rain.  One where everything was closed and a lot of time on buses.
We also had approx. 40-50 rowdy, drunken travel agents who ruined almost every evening on board.  We could not sit
in lounge to listen to the limited entertainment as they were so loud and rude. Cruise Manager refused to do anything 
about it.

I am embarrassed that I encouraged two friends to take this trip and had to apologize over and over again.
 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just back from Iconic Christmas markets cruise on Ama Viola.  Kudos to Ama waterways, right from sending me updated emails a week before departure regarding water levels and changes if any to my cruise ports and also a plan B as per their ships and routes.  I have been trawling these boards for months now and have been anxious like everyone else but I realized the reason why there may not be advance notice of changes.  The water levels, the locks, the position of the ship - all these play a factor and as long as the cruise company talks to the travelers, not a lot can be done in advance.  The minute I boarded the cruise, all is forgotten and forgiven - service is top notch.  All the 60 passengers that were bused in from port left their luggage and some of them don't even have tags and not one luggage missed making to the right cabin - THAT IS MAGIC !!!!  Ama Viola ship is 2-3 years old, pretty much travels every day up and down and still looks clean.  The inside glass doors cleaned with steam machine, banisters & stairs cleaned every day, not to say the cabins.  All the crew right from cruise manager to dining room staff - were amazing.  Never once have I seen a bored expression on anyone's face.  They all do deserve more than the suggested gratuities.  I don't know how they do this day in and day out for a whole year and still stay sane.  In keeping with such a busy itinerary, they still managed to include a gingerbread decorating session in keeping with the Christmas time theme, a crew carols singing session, visit of St.Nick with chocolate and gifts - such small things do go a long way in making wonderful memories.  All meals were sit down - good selection of food and wine (no complaints here).  Information regarding excursions provided every day, weather instructions given before we left so we could take what we needed with us.  Umbrellas were provided in every room for use, complements and gifts to every traveler.  The gift shop with limited souvenirs is a godsend nonetheless - there was no time to buy in some of the ports which means we did visit the shop and we did buy stuff - prices trust me were not too bad.  Regarding cabin - I had the smallest one, two adults and a child fit very well.  Yes, its a little tight for suitcases but then there is enough cabinet space, ample water bottles provided daily and all toiletries as well.  Two to three times a day they would come and clean/change.  No noise or smells or anything like that.

 

This is just my experience and my opinion.  I feel bad for anyone that did not have a good experience considering how much these little vacations cost.  But I also want to add to the list of good experiences for other people so it sends good vibes their way.

 

Feel free to ask questions on anything as these details are fresh in my mind

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  • 4 weeks later...

You will love the AmaSerena.  Our first river cruise was on this ship.  Touring depends on when you stop in the port.  Sometimes you sail in the morning or sometimes its overnight.  If you have a full day stop then yes, you can go out on the tours, morning or afternoon.  We found that we had time in the ports on some days to go on a tour and then wander around on our own.  You will get an Itinerary Guide with your package after full payment is made and it will give you the sailing times and the tour times.  This will show you when the ship arrives in port.  AmaWaterways is great to give you lots of time to have your meals on the ship and get ready for your tours.  Wonderful cruise line, hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

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For anyone who is interested, I heard today that AMA Waterways will be discontinueing their 2 for 1 fares at the end of January 2019.  There are still some available for this spring but it sounded like they will no longer be offering this option for river cruising.  Not sure what they will offer in its place if anything but this year they did have an airfare credit offered with their special deals.  Disappointing as it made river cruising so much more affordable.

 

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3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Maybe they are just dropping the fake rack rates, so the basic rate will now be the old “2 for 1” price. 

Exactly. I thought everyone “knew” those 2 for 1 rates, no matter which cruise line are a gimmick. 

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1 hour ago, Got2Cruise said:

Exactly. I thought everyone “knew” those 2 for 1 rates, no matter which cruise line are a gimmick. 

Well the book price for 2 people with a balcony upgrade says $10,000.  Without any of the discounts AMA offers from time to time.  I have lots of friends that paid the full price for their river cruise and we were able to get the cruise for $5000 for both of us, which was exactly 1/2 of the full price that others have paid. 

 

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On 3/14/2018 at 11:23 AM, mdroho34 said:

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.

We were on the boat last summer, Basel to Amsterdam.  No issues at all.  Cabin was 205.   This boat is specially designed and can handle the low water levels.  Some other lines were busing people from place to place or even canceling.  They are a class organization.  We plan to travel with them next summer on the Danube which I hear has even better scenery.

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