AmaWaterways Rhine River Cruise Reviews 2023 UPDATED: Ratings of AmaWaterways Cruises to Rhine River

Table Of Content

• Choose AmaWaterways if you want some extras
• History, Review, Itineraries, Ships, Deck Plans, News
• Grand Danube Cruise
• FRANCE
• Night Charms Of The MekongDetails
• Choose AmaWaterways if you have allergies or dietary restrictions
• Travelmarvel Polaris
• Cabins on AmaWaterways & Viking River Cruises Vary Dramatically

The company is headquartered in Chatsworth (California USA) and is a CLIA member (Cruise Lines International Association). AMAwaterways as brand is represented on the UK and Australian markets by APT (Australian Pacific Touring) via the company APT-AmaWaterways Gmbh. Six of these staterooms can accommodate three people, and two of them have the ability to connect to an adjoining room. The window you see on the right side of this stateroom is one of those peek-a-boo windows.

Choose AmaWaterways if you want some extras

The Sun Deck features a shaded sitting area, as well as solar panels and an herb garden that allows chefs anytime access to fresh ingredients. Elevators on Viking ships also offer access to the middle decks but not the Sun Deck. It's at dinner that Viking's chefs inject more local flavors into the menu, with a suggested three-course Regional Specialties Tasting Menu (chicken paprikash as the main in Hungary, for instance).

History, Review, Itineraries, Ships, Deck Plans, News

Because 19 of AmaWaterways' core European ships fall into two size categories, accommodating 144 to 162 passengers, cabin and suite design is consistent across most of the fleet. Each of the generously sized rooms features a flat-screen TV and a bathroom with a roomy shower. Launched in 1997 by Norwegian-born cruise veteran Torstein Hagen and several partners, Viking River Cruises was designed to be destination-focused and culturally immersive.

Grand Danube Cruise

Both lines sail on the Danube, Rhine, Moselle, Main, Rhone, Seine, Garonne, Elbe, Dordogne and Douro in Europe, and both offer Christmas markets cruises. In 2023 it will launch a series of 46-night sailings through Europe on four ships and in 2024 will become the first line to offer sailings on Colombia's Magdalena River. With both lines, exotic itineraries in Asia Africa often combine longer land tours with time on the rivers. River cruise lines AmaWaterways and Viking launched within five years of each other.

FRANCE

The outlier is 196-guest AmaMagna, which is the line's flagship vessel on the Danube. At 443 feet long and 72 feet wide, it is almost double the width of the average river ship without significantly increasing the passenger count. This has created an abundance of space that AmaWaterways has used to enhance the cruise experience. Cabins and suites are larger than on its other ships at 205 to 710 square feet versus 160 to 350 square feet. AmaMagna also offers passengers a choice of four dining venues rather than two, as well as five onboard bars, unique for a river ship.

The company is known for custom-designed ships with destination-inspired contemporary decor. Its public spaces feel like those you'd find in a locally owned boutique hotel. A key design innovation by AmaWaterways was the introduction of the "twin balcony," which consists of a French balcony and a full-size step-out balcony.

Viking also has six smaller "Baby Longships," which sail the Douro River in Portugal and the Elbe River in France, which runs through Germany and the Czech Republic. Then, there are the ships in Egypt and China, Vietnam, which the line either owns or charters. All told, the fleet stands at 70 (excluding ships currently not operating in Russia). From Europe to Asia to Africa to South America, AmaWaterways carefully curates our river cruise itineraries, ensuring a variety of unforgettable and enriching experiences that connect you to the history, culture, gastronomy and people in every destination we visit. We are delighted to share with you some featured itineraries for our current and upcoming sailing seasons – all of which are now available for reservations.

Inside Look: River Cruise Inventory Available Into 2026 - TravelAge West

Inside Look: River Cruise Inventory Available Into 2026.

Posted: Thu, 11 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Convenience - Ama ships always dock in the heart of river towns and cities or by magnificent castles and other local landmarks. In 2023, the company replaced fleetwide the breakfast and lunch buffets with a la carte menus (full-service). APT fleet's newest boats include the sisterships Travelmarvel Polaris (2020), Travelmarvel Capella (2021) and Travelmarvel Vega (2021). AmaWaterway's seven itinerary options in Africa all combine a three- or four-night cruise on the Chobe River in Botswana with land stays in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe or Tanzania for a total of 10 to 17 nights.

Both cruise lines use a QuietVox system during excursions, where the tour guide speaks into a headset while passengers listen on receivers. This allows passengers to go at their own pace while still hearing the guide. The fairytale Rhine River is renowned for its UNESCO-designated Rhine Gorge, where more than 40 historic castles line the riverbanks. Century Legend and Century Paragon operate Yangtze River cruises in China. Both ships are privately-owned and operated under charter, including by other major European lines, like Avalon, Viking, Uniworld. Pre- and post-cruise programming (land tours/excursions, and hotel stays) are optional and cost extra.

AmaWaterways has teamed up with Adventures by Disney to offer family-friendly river cruises with excursions, meals and activities that are planned for multigenerational travelers. The partnership extends to the ship itself; Adventures by Disney helped designed Ama's newest ships, so there are connecting cabins and staterooms with extra beds -- both rarities in the world of river cruising. AmaWaterways has 25 ships offering river cruises to Europe, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma) and Africa.

As I mentioned above, this is quite unusual for a river cruise line to offer this option. Some river cruise companies are inclined to put their suites on the very back of the ship for expansive views. Sounds good, but if you’re headed upstream, you’re going to feel like you are in one of those vibrating beds in a cheap hotel as the engine is right under you. With AmaWaterways, the best suites are on the top deck and far away from the engine.

The unique itinerary program was scheduled to start in December 2023, with a newbuild riverboat owned by Metropolitan Touring and operated by AMA under a long-term charter. AmaWaterways' African cruise-and-safari program (2012-introduced) is based on Chobe River voyages (in Botswana), with travel options to Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Unlike other itineraries, it focuses on exotic wildlife with game viewing, fishing excursions, visits to local villages.

Travelers can take a walk on the wild side and sail along Africa’s Chobe River aboard the luxurious Zambezi Queen. On the chartered from AmaWaterways riverboat, Disney provides its passengers with all-inclusive deals (accommodation, meals, entertainment, shore excursions) including an immersive and pro-active onboard and ashore program curated by Disney's family travel experts. A team of Disney Adventure Guides includes English-speaking professional storytellers who review the visited by the ship destinations (port cities, towns, land tour sites and attractions). CruiseMapper's APT river cruise ship pages contain boat information, itineraries (destinations, ports of departure and call ports) and indicative lowest prices per person (based on double-occupancy cabin rates). We have AMAwaterways and TravelMarvel ships schedules (fleet's sail calendars with port dates and times of arrival/departure) and also the boat's cruise tracker that shows on a map the vessel's current position (location now).

Several factors play a role in the passenger mix aboard these competing river cruise lines. For one, Viking's ships are adults only (passengers must be at least 18), while AmaWaterways welcomes multigenerational families. That's not to say that you'll find kids running amok on the latter's ships, but you might share your river cruise with parents and teens or grandparents and younger children during summer and spring break.

Both are helmed by well-known cruise and travel industry executives and feature fleets of modern river ships. Yet each takes its own unique approach to itineraries, tours and onboard ambience. Although Avalon has added Active Discoveries sailings on several rivers and now has Adventure Hosts on its ships, AmaWaterways makes a point of having three activity levels -- active, general and gentle --  on tours in all of its ports. Most passengers go with the general offering, which usually combines tour buses, some walking and guided exploration of the top sites.