AMA waterways

[lois1112]

I am an experinced ocean curiser and am thinking of doing an AMA Waterways tour on the Duro river in 2014...I will be traveleing by myself

 

my questions are? how is ama? are there many solo travelers on a river cruise and will I feel out of place?

[Needzavacation]

We've taken two cruises on AMA, with a third coming up at the end of May. We were very happy with the quality all around - rooms and bedding are very comfortable, great bathrooms (especially the showers), great food quality and wines, great tours, etc. And the service was second to none - from every crew member. We didn't see a lot of single travelers, but on both cruises, the travelers were pretty wide-ranging and friendly - can't imagine a single traveler wouldn't be warmly welcomed.

[bobalink]

You may want to look at Mike and Carol Preisman's outstanding website... http://www.thepreismans.com/

 

They did Budapest to Prague with AMA Waterways on the AmaLyra in 2009 - the postings/pictures about their experiences were a significant part of my decision to book the same trip.

 

Have fun planning!

[pacmom]

We took this trip with AMA a few years back--think leased boat. They now have their own boat. It was a wonderful trip. There were singles on board, they blended in beautifully--after the second day no one knew who came with whom. So go for it, such glorious scenery and the white port is scrumptious. Personally think river cruising is easier for a single cruiser than on the ocean. Pat

[ConWen]

We are cruising on the AMA Waterways Tulip Time Tour on April 9th, 2013 departing from Amsterdam. Is there anything we should know as first time River Cruisers? Also, is there anyone else going to be on this tour? We would love to hear from you.

[Dakota Traveler]

We are cruising on the AMA Waterways Tulip Time Tour on April 9th, 2013 departing from Amsterdam. Is there anything we should know as first time River Cruisers? Also, is there anyone else going to be on this tour? We would love to hear from you.

 

ConWen - Welcome to CC, I'm sure you will find a great deal of information here. We sailed AMA last Sept. and had a great time. Check out this link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1799876 on roll call. I think this maybe your cruise even though they say it's a April 10 cruise.

 

DT

[edeco]

The link above to the trip report of the AMAlegro is fantastic. We are going to be on the same ship in May- Paris to Normandy. Really enjoyed the post.

 

Thanks!

[bocatraveler09]

We are going to be on the same ship in May- Paris to Normandy.

 

We're going on the AMALegro on May 10-17, Paris to Normandy. When are you going? Or have I already asked on another posting :confused:

[waltd]

For those who have cruised with AMA why AMA vs other river cruise companies. Do river cruise companies discount like many of the cruise lines do/did? Since I have never been on a river cruise anything to watch out for when booking?

Thanks

Joe

[edeco]

We're going on the AMALegro on May 10-17, Paris to Normandy. When are you going? Or have I already asked on another posting :confused:

 

We sail on the 24th of May. Looking forward to hearing about your trip as you are sailing before us!

 

Deena

[Needzavacation]

For those who have cruised with AMA why AMA vs other river cruise companies. Do river cruise companies discount like many of the cruise lines do/did? Since I have never been on a river cruise anything to watch out for when booking?

Thanks

Joe

 

Because the river cruises are on smaller boats with fewer passengers than ocean cruises, there is little similar discounting. But if you do a search, you can find some travel agents who discount somewhat.

[cruising1117]

I have cruised on AMA twice now and both times were in the month of November. Both sailings had between 5-10 single travelers onboard ranging in age from around 45 and up. Beautiful ships, excellent cruise experience and the food and wine could not have been better.

[DTWgypsy]

Hi ConWen, We will also be on the AMA Prima Tulip Time cruise on April 10th. Others on this river cruise are using this link to chat- http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1799876

See you then!

[4774Papa]

We did AMA's Rhone river cruise in Southern France and it was super. We have been considering the Douro river at some point, either with AMA or Vantage.

[euro cruiser]

We had a great cruise with AMA on the Moselle and Rhine rivers, from Luxemborg to Amsterdam. I don't remember any singles on board, but I agree that everyone is very friendly and there are so few passengers that you will quickly blend in.

 

We did get our trip significantly discounted - a two-for-one offer (we grabbed four cabins at this price). I don't know whether or not this is true, but when we booked the agent told us that a large group had cancelled making this block of cabins available relatively close to the cruise date (I think we booked about 2 - 3 months prior to the cruise), and that was why they offered the deal.

[nole62]

We did the Danube in 2011 and loved it. Could not have asked for a better experience. They have a "slow" walking group, which we learned about from Mike Priesman, whom we got to know on our Princess Med cruise. They aslso don't require all of the money up front.

 

We are signed up for the Doro August. They had a great discount for this trip.

 

Do not stay home!!! Go and meet all the great people on your trip. You will not regret going.

[newfirsttimer]

AMA was a great company to go with. We had a couple of single women on our Prague to Paris cruise and they were included in all of the activities. It is not like the ocean cruises, this is very intimate and friendly.

[eh2zed]

Just got back from the AMADagio Rhone River cruise. Top notch food, service, excursions.

[CAPinBoynton]

You may want to look at Mike and Carol Preisman's outstanding website... http://www.thepreismans.com/

 

They did Budapest to Prague with AMA Waterways on the AmaLyra in 2009 - the postings/pictures about their experiences were a significant part of my decision to book the same trip.

 

Have fun planning!

 

Thank you very much for the nice compliment. We have been on another AMA cruise since then, and found the service and food was still wonderful. In Aug. 2011 we were on the Amalegro for the Europe’s Rivers & Castles Cruise that went from Paris to Prague. It went down the Rhine, Mosel and Main Rivers. You can check out that one if you wish, as well as our revamped website at http://www.thepreismans.com/

 

Thanks again for your kind words.

[mpbmark]

Just got back from the AMADagio Rhone River cruise. Top notch food, service, excursions.

 

I'm doing this same cruise in July 2014. Any thoughts on the pre and post cruise "land" portions? The cost seems high considering in both Paris and Barcelona there is only 1 included tour. I'm considering doing my own thing in both cities before joining up on the cruise.

[eh2zed]

I'm doing this same cruise in July 2014. Any thoughts on the pre and post cruise "land" portions? The cost seems high considering in both Paris and Barcelona there is only 1 included tour. I'm considering doing my own thing in both cities before joining up on the cruise.

We always do our own pre and post cruise. We flew into Geneva and stayed 2 nights. Took the train to Lyon for 4 nights. Took train day trips to Grenoble and Aix en Provence from Lyon. Got on the ship and after went to Paris on the TGV for 3 nights. Airfare was cheaper going Geneva and Paris rather than Paris return. Geneva is a 1 1/2 hour train ride to Lyon 37E first class pp. If we wanted to go to Barcelona like many on the cruise did, we would have trained it over and did our own thing but we had been there a number of times. All kinds of possibilities and combination when you DIY.

[mpbmark]

We always do our own pre and post cruise. We flew into Geneva and stayed 2 nights. Took the train to Lyon for 4 nights. Took train day trips to Grenoble and Aix en Provence from Lyon. Got on the ship and after went to Paris on the TGV for 3 nights. Airfare was cheaper going Geneva and Paris rather than Paris return. Geneva is a 1 1/2 hour train ride to Lyon 37E first class pp. If we wanted to go to Barcelona like many on the cruise did, we would have trained it over and did our own thing but we had been there a number of times. All kinds of possibilities and combination when you DIY.

 

Thanks. I'm not clear on exactly what you did, but it sounds interesting. Guess I need to look at the map more closely. We are going into Paris and sailing Lyon to Arles. I want to spend a couple of days in Paris again in order to travel to Giverny. Also have a favorite wine bar to return to plus can't get enough time for the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and l'Orangerie. The question is what to do at the end. We've been to Barcelona so I thought of spending a couple of days in Madrid.

[eh2zed]

Thanks. I'm not clear on exactly what you did, but it sounds interesting. Guess I need to look at the map more closely. We are going into Paris and sailing Lyon to Arles. I want to spend a couple of days in Paris again in order to travel to Giverny. Also have a favorite wine bar to return to plus can't get enough time for the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and l'Orangerie. The question is what to do at the end. We've been to Barcelona so I thought of spending a couple of days in Madrid.

Mark, maybe I was a bit unclear. We flew across the pond to Geneva where we spent 2 nights. Then we took the train to Lyon and stayed 4 nights there in a hotel. While in Lyon we took day trips to Grenoble and Aix en Provence by train. After the 4 nights there we got on the AMADaggio in Lyon and went down to Arles. When we got off in Arles we took the train to Paris where we spent 3 nights before flying home. Just one possible itinerary out of hundreds you might consider if you DIY.

[mpbmark]

Mark, maybe I was a bit unclear. We flew across the pond to Geneva where we spent 2 nights. Then we took the train to Lyon and stayed 4 nights there in a hotel. While in Lyon we took day trips to Grenoble and Aix en Provence by train. After the 4 nights there we got on the AMADaggio in Lyon and went down to Arles. When we got off in Arles we took the train to Paris where we spent 3 nights before flying home. Just one possible itinerary out of hundreds you might consider if you DIY.

 

Ok, got it. Going back to Paris threw me. :o I'll keep that option open if we decide fly for the cruise only.

[jafslg1]

If you've never taken a river cruise, you'll love any of them. But after talking an AMA, you'll see the difference. Best all around in service, food, accommodations, tour guides and flexibility. More pricey than most, but worth it. We did the Budapest to Prague with both pre and post last year. We rate it as one of our top 3 out of 60 plus cruises.