Viking vs. AMA Waterways

[NMTraveller]

I have sailed AMA, but I am thinking about a Viking cruise.  What are the noticeable differences?

[AtlantaCruiser72]

In brief - More passengers, less included. 
 

Viking often have lower upfront prices than Ama, but you may pay more on the backside negating the upfront savings.  To some the extra inclusions on Ama do not justify the price difference. 
 

Vikings bundled air offering offers far more flexibility than the similar offer from Ama. Ama makes adding cruise only transfers much easier. Viking offers a far more diverse choice of pre and post hotels and land packages, but the ones offered by Ama seem more special and curated. 

Viking ships carry close to 200 passengers whereas Ama carry 160/165 on the same sized vessel with similarly sized public areas.

 

Ama has 3-6 included tour options per stop, with very few extra cost tours. Viking has one pre-defined option and a whole array of rather pricey extras. 
 

Viking touts their Aquavit terrace which is a lovely space, especially when the weather is nice, but it is essentially a scaled back version of the offerings in the dining room. Compare this to Ama larger menus and more diverse offerings in the dining room, afternoon tapas and tea service in the lounge and chefs table dining experience. Ama has a larger, and more varied list of included wines as well as a daily sip and sail cocktail hour, Viking charges for all alcoholic drinks outside meals. 

 

Viking does not have any fitness facilities onboard and to my knowledge no fitness class. No bikes onboard for guest use, charges for bike tours, charges for hiking tours.  Viking do not have any pools or hot tubs on the sun deck. 
 

Viking is not a bad choice as they obviously have a large number of loyal, satisfied passengers. They do the marketing game better than anyone else in the business in my opinion.  It all comes down to YOUR personality as a river cruiser and which brand best fits your needs.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Viking also demands final payment very far out [over a year for folks like you and me; insiders are pleased to get only 6 months!], whereas AMA is in the industry standard range at 90 days.

[Nippy Sweetie]

Are Ama passengers predominantly American?

[pontac]

6 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Viking ships carry close to 200 passengers whereas Ama carry 160/165 on the same sized vessel with similarly sized public areas.

 

I haven't been on AMA only Viking but I can say that max sized European Viking boats on the Rhine, Danube & Main have a max of 190 passengers. Boats on the Douro, Elbe & Seine are smaller and have less capacity.

 

7 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Viking touts their Aquavit terrace which is a lovely space, especially when the weather is nice, but it is essentially a scaled back version of the offerings in the dining room.

 

The Aquavit lounge offers a menu identical to the main dining room at both lunch and dinner. In fine weather the menu is also served on tables in the open on the prow. (This wasn't always so, Aquavit did use to have a limited buffet.)

[Squawkman]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Viking also demands final payment very far out [over a year for folks like you and me; insiders are pleased to get only 6 months!], whereas AMA is in the industry standard range at 90 days.

How much deposit at booking is required by AMA?

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Squawkman said:

How much deposit at booking is required by AMA?

The website T&C say $400 per person, but my current booking only wanted $400 total for a river cruise plus land extension.  And no further payment is due until 90 days prior to the start of the cruise.  [Viking advertises $25 deposits, but then wants full payment shortly thereafter.]

[ural guy]

4 hours ago, pontac said:

 

The Aquavit lounge offers a menu identical to the main dining room at both lunch and dinner. In fine weather the menu is also served on tables in the open on the prow. (This wasn't always so, Aquavit did use to have a limited buffet.)

 

I wish they'd go back to the limited buffet.  On our cruise last December, it would take at least 2 hours to complete a meal, with huge lags between courses.  On our first Viking cruise, you could be complete with your meal in under an hour, and we had the chance to go off ship and take a walk prior to them departing for the evening.

[pontac]

Over 2 hours seems an unusually long time. If you should return I suggest you'll get a quicker service in Aquavit because few people are there and largest table is for 4.

 

In the last cruises where there was a buffet in Aquavit very long slow queues built up because people chatted with the chef and or dithered about what to take.

[disgirl]

I have sailed on both (AMA x4, Viking X1)

 

Viking is good, you get what you pay for but nothing extra.

 

AMA (IMHO) has better service, larger rooms, better meals, better excursions, enough space in the lounge for everyone onboard (not having to bring out folding chairs), friendlier crew.  AMA also is able to sail in lower waters than Viking due to their ships (lower draft is the office term I believe), so if the rivers are low or high, keep that in mind.

[ural guy]

3 hours ago, pontac said:

Over 2 hours seems an unusually long time. If you should return I suggest you'll get a quicker service in Aquavit because few people are there and largest table is for 4.

 

In the last cruises where there was a buffet in Aquavit very long slow queues built up because people chatted with the chef and or dithered about what to take.

That was 2 hours in the Aquavit lounge.

[notamermaid]

5 minutes ago, disgirl said:

AMA also is able to sail in lower waters than Viking due to their ships (lower draft is the office term I believe)

That is basically correct and is not a marketing thing. Over the years I have seen it confirmed on the Rhine, not so much on the Danube. But it applies there as well. It is important to know that it is only a few centimetres difference. However, this could be all the centimetres that are needed at the time one sails.

 

notamermaid

 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

I think too due to the build of the Ama and Avalon vessels they can often navigate in higher waters than Viking due to bridge clearance issues

[NMTraveller]

17 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

Are Ama passengers predominantly American?

Yes mostly from my one cruise...

[RobInMN]

17 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

Are Ama passengers predominantly American?

 

1 minute ago, NMTraveller said:

Yes mostly from my one cruise...

I'll add my 3 to the 'yes' column

 

[CDNPolar]

We are going on our first AmaWaterways cruise in December - almost back to back from a Viking River Cruise.  I think that we have 15 days in between.

 

We are giving Ama a try because of what @disgirl said below.  We are also specifically trying the AmaMagna which is a double width river ship and the only double width ship sailing today.  It only sails the Danube because the locks permit this width.  

 

This ship is nearly twice the width of traditional European river cruise ships, which allows for larger staterooms, multiple dining venues, and enhanced onboard amenities. 

 

I believe that there are four dining venues on the AmaMagna.

 

I will come back after this and do a true comparison between Viking and Ama and a review of both our Viking Grand European tour and the AmaMagna sailing.

 

14 hours ago, disgirl said:

AMA (IMHO) has better service, larger rooms, better meals, better excursions, enough space in the lounge for everyone onboard (not having to bring out folding chairs), friendlier crew.  AMA also is able to sail in lower waters than Viking due to their ships (lower draft is the office term I believe), so if the rivers are low or high, keep that in mind.

 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, CDNPolar said:

I will come back after this and do a true comparison between Viking and Ama and a review of both our Viking Grand European tour and the AmaMagna sailing.

I'm sorry, that won't be a true comparison between Viking and Ama; it will be specifically between Viking and the AmaMagna. Because of its size, AmaMagna can do things that can't be done on any other Ama ship.

[CDNPolar]

5 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I'm sorry, that won't be a true comparison between Viking and Ama; it will be specifically between Viking and the AmaMagna. Because of its size, AmaMagna can do things that can't be done on any other Ama ship.

 

That is true, but it is also an advantage that Ama has over Viking.

I can still compare food, and service, and the fact that Ama offers 3-6 included excursions in each port - regardless of the ship - and Viking only one.

 

There are still things to compare, and still things to review.

[whitbob]

I have sailed Viking Ocean twice, not a river cruise, 1 Uniworld, and 4 AMA.  We have looked at Viking River, but their larger size and administrative policies, like early payment, are holding us back.  I agree with all of the other AMA comments.  
 

One item worth noting is AMAs pre/post excursions.  We typically travel independently to arrive early and stay late, but tried an AMA pre that started in Zurich.  It was such a great experience, we now include the pre and post trips as part of the decision process.  AMAs philosophy is to have your cruise director greet you at the pretrip hotel.  They usually have a cocktail reception and offer a walking tour of the area the first evening.  They use local guides for pre/post excursions, but the cruise director travels along on the bus, tour, etc.  The pre/post days are full with tours, not allot of time on your own so we feel they have been worth the money, and potentially sites we might not get to on our own.  The hotels have always been high quality, and surprisingly nice rooms.  Think balcony with view of lake at the Schweizerhof in Lucerne, rather than bulk rate hotel rooms in the back of hotel.

 

Once onboard there is flexibility about daily excursions.  We haven’t had a problem getting the tours we want, as you pick up a ticket after breakfast day of tour.  There is usually a few choices, but they tend to offer options like hiking or biking tours, regular bus/walking tours, and gentle walking tours for those with mobility issues.  

[NMTraveller]

Thanks everyone.  I noticed the lower pricing on Viking and I was wondering if they were comparable.  I will stick with AMA.  They have done a good job and I am very happy with them.

[Australia08]

On 9/24/2024 at 11:17 PM, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

Viking does not have any fitness facilities onboard and to my knowledge no fitness class. No bikes onboard for guest use, charges for bike tours, charges for hiking tours.  Viking do not have any pools or hot tubs on the sun deck. 
 

This is true of most of the European river boats, but Viking’s newer Mekong River boats do have a fitness room and a pool. They also only carry a max of 80 passengers. The smallest passenger cabin (French balcony) is 303 sq ft.   I was spoiled by the space and even the Viking AA two-room suite on the European boats only have 275 sq ft!

[RobInMN]

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

We are also specifically trying the AmaMagna which is a double width river ship and the only double width ship sailing today.  It only sails the Danube because the locks permit this width.  

This ship is nearly twice the width of traditional European river cruise ships, which allows for larger staterooms, multiple dining venues, and enhanced onboard amenities. 

 

I believe that there are four dining venues on the AmaMagna.

 

 

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

I can still compare food, and service, and the fact that Ama offers 3-6 included excursions in each port - regardless of the ship - and Viking only one.

 

There are still things to compare, and still things to review.

I was going to make a similar comment that @gnome12 did, but being aware of that, yes, the way Ama operates isn't necessarily different on AmaMagna. The amenities however... AmaMagna is amazing. We did the 2 week Grand Danube on AmaMagna. You can find my review in this forum. @CastleCritic also wrote a great AmaMagna review about the same time.

 

You will have a great time on AmaMagna. The rooms will spoil you.

Since you will be gone an extended length of time, you may appreciate that there is a free guest laundry. 2 washers, 2 dryers. It's what I call "European Dry", you'll have to dry multiple times just to get it to where you feel comfortable hanging it to finish drying. 🙂 

The "4 restaurants" should be asterisked. Jimmy's servers the same thing as the MDR, just family style. And the Al Fresco serves the same "lighter fare" menu every night. And while our go-to for lunch, it's dinner menu didn't really appeal to us. Then there's the Chefs table. I think all Ama ships in Europe have a Chef's table, and (the newer?) ships have an Al Fresco. Jimmy's is the only one that is unique.

 

 

 

[disgirl]

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

We are going on our first AmaWaterways cruise in December - almost back to back from a Viking River Cruise.  I think that we have 15 days in between.

 

We are giving Ama a try because of what @disgirl said below.  We are also specifically trying the AmaMagna which is a double width river ship and the only double width ship sailing today.  It only sails the Danube because the locks permit this width.  

 

This ship is nearly twice the width of traditional European river cruise ships, which allows for larger staterooms, multiple dining venues, and enhanced onboard amenities. 

 

I believe that there are four dining venues on the AmaMagna.

 

I will come back after this and do a true comparison between Viking and Ama and a review of both our Viking Grand European tour and the AmaMagna sailing.

 

 

 

Oh that is exciting!  I will be booking  the Magna in 2025 w some friends, while I'm on my AMA cruise in Nov.  It's been like nailing jello too a wall to organize everyone.  I want the onboard booking extras so I will take advantage of putting the deposit down

 

[Roz]

@whitbob, that's good to know about AMA's pre and post excursions. 

[gnome12]

7 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

That is true, but it is also an advantage that Ama has over Viking.

I can still compare food, and service, and the fact that Ama offers 3-6 included excursions in each port - regardless of the ship - and Viking only one.

 

There are still things to compare, and still things to review.

I still stand by my comments. With more passengers on AmaMagna, Ama can offer you more choices of excursions and dining options than other Ama ships. That isn’t to say that you can’t do your comparisons, but it isn’t a true comparison of any other Ama ship with Viking.