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Christmas Time Cruise on The River Danube
23 November to 30 November 2009

From the moment we arrived up to when we left the staff could not have been anymore courteous to us. We arrived on an early flight and they even served us an early lunch in the lounge while waiting for our cabin to be prepared.

The cabin was clean and very comfortable and was discretely serviced twice daily. An unlimited free supply of bottled water was very useful. The public areas were also very well kept.

The food in the dining room and lounge was always of a high standard and the waiting staff were extremely quick and efficient. The quality and selection of food was top class and could not be faulted. The included wine and beer at dinner was also a nice treat.

The information regarding the port of calls was informative and the opportunity for the included tour was always available, aswell as information for the independent traveller. It was nice to have options.

I would definitely recommend the cruises that cover the Christmas Markets in December as it’s a great experience.

This was my second cruise with AmaWaterways and will not be my last.

Susan Pentelow
Cruise Consultant - 1st4cruising

Jimmy Murphy, co-founder and Chairman of AMA Waterways, a premier tour operator which focuses exclusively on river cruising, appeared in the syndicated Travel Queen Radio Show with Jane DeGrow on Saturday, June 27, to discuss the joys and wonders of European River Cruising. Murphy, who recently retired from another company he founded, Brendan Vacations, is a pioneer in the modern travel business and considered one its finest innovators.

Founded in 2002 by Murphy, river cruise expert Rudi Schreiner and cruise industry veteran Kristin Karst, AMA Waterways currently operates 10 ships and christened two new ones this year and will launch another in 2010. In recent years river cruising has become extremely popular and in fact is one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry.

Jane DeGrow, whose Travel Queen Radio Show is syndicated to 12 stations throughout Michigan, is a travel industry veteran well known for conducting informative and entertaining interviews. DeGrow and Murphy went through his recent retirement from Brendan, which he co-founded in 1969, and then got into the various aspects of European River Cruising.

One of the lighter moments came when Murphy admitted he was right about river cruising for the wrong reason. His initial assumption was that coach touring had hit its peak and that those customers would go for river cruising, but it turned out that most of AMA’s customers are big-ship cruisers looking for a way to see the interior of Europe while still enjoying the cruise experience. He cheerfully noted that many of their best innovations came about by accident. DeGrow chimed in that the intimacy of river cruising was also a huge selling point.

Murphy explained that the ships are 360 feet long, accommodate 150 people, each stateroom is 170 square feet with French balconies, although he was at a loss to explain why they are called French balconies. One can have two-twin beds or they can be pushed together for a Queen sized bed that fits together so perfectly one will not fall into the crack between the mattresses. The bathrooms are roomy and the shower is big enough so that if “one drops the soap, you don’t have to open the shower door to pick it up”

Murphy also emphasized that, unlike large cruises ships, all of their shore excursions are included in the tour. Those shore excursions can add up to big money on the big-cruise ships. Each of AMA’s ships have 40 bicycles on board and that brought forth an accidental innovation as people started asking to ride ahead of the ship to meet it at the next port of call, but they were denied this privilege for safety reasons until AMA shifted policy and now it is a very popular part of the river cruising experience. Murphy noted that “so far no one has fallen into the river on their bike” Internet in every stateroom, complimentary Wi-Fi in public areas; nightly onboard entertainment and other amenities are available as well.

Three meals a day, free flowing wine, beer and soda at dinner and champagne at breakfast are also included in every tour. Murphy emphasized that even though 150 people eat together, the dining area is partitioned in such a manner that one feels they are in an intimate setting at a fine restaurant, plus the food is excellent. Quite simply the river cruising experience is one of the best ways to see Europe.

With programs of all types throughout Europe and Russia, AMA Waterways has just released its 2010 river cruise programs, which include itineraries on the Danube, Main, Rhine and Mosel rivers, as well as the Douro River in Portugal, the Rhône in France and the Volga-Baltic waterways in Russia.

The 2010 programs include:

Vietnam, Cambodia And The Riches Of The Mekong—Launching in the fall of 2009, it includes two nights in Hanoi, an overnight junk cruise in Ha Long Bay, two nights in Siem Reap/Angkor, a seven-night Mekong River cruise aboard the luxurious new MS La Marguerite, and an overnight in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).

The Enchanting Rhine—A seven-night cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, and two nights in Luzern and two nights in Zürich.

Heart of Portugal & France—An exciting combination of Cruising Portugal & Spain and Provence and Spain itineraries;

Romantic Christmas Cruise—A seven-night Danube cruise and two nights in Prague, featuring enchanting Christmas Markets.

Rhine Winter Voyage—Two nights in Zürich, two nights in Luzern, and a seven-night cruise from Basel to Amsterdam, featuring magical Christmas Markets; and Optional Pre-Prague Land Program—

For more information please call us Tel: 0800 389 9811

I spent a week onboard the MS Amadagio cruising from Amsterdam to Trier. It really was a wonderful week and hard to fault.

We travelled by Eurostar and local trains, I would only suggest this to the more active client as its tiring getting on and off trains with your luggage.

The ship held approx 150 pax with all cabins outside, the majority have French balconys. Cabins are well appointed, proper double beds if required or twins, clean white quilts and plenty of storage. There were extras like bath robes, alarm clock, umbrellas and free min water. They have a flat screen TV with free internet (dependent on satellite), movies, radio etc and the speakers are built into the ceiling so its pretty good.

Bathrooms were of an average size but with a high quality shower with all these jets and enough free toiletries you could ever need ( not that I took any).

The public areas are limited on a ship this size but there was a small gift shop, gym, library and reception area. There was one main lounge with a bar and a smaller one at the rear. Here they had drinks and snacks there all the time so you would never be hungry. There was plenty of space on the top deck which also had a hot tub. The outsides deck in December were not really used though much. They do have bikes to use but only in the summer months. When you came back onboard you were always greeted with a local drink.

Every day there was a sheet advising you of tours, meal times and entertainment. Breakfast and Lunch was a combination of buffet and table service while dinner was table service. Menus were varied and the food was of a high quality with some themed evenings. They try to use local seasonal foods. In the evening wine, beer and sodas were all included. Service was again very good. Dress code was very informal but they did have a Captains cocktails where you could dress up if you wished. There are no set table for dinner just sit wherever you wish and with whom.

Evening entertainment was quite relaxed, don’t expect any Vegas style shows, there was a pianist and some local entertainers some evenings, such as a local violin quartet.

The Cruise Director gave with talks of where you were and what you could do. It was very relaxed, you could attend if you wished. If you did not want to tour he advised you of independent options.

Guidelines were given for tips, amounting to approx 100 Euros a week pp. Staff did deserve them though.

The beauty of river cruising is that there is always something to look at as you sail and the ship is always docked close to town, so none of this effort to get ashore that you have with some of the larger liners.  They supply maps etc and if you do go on a tour it is all included in the cruise fare. At the end of the week you could easily only need to spend money on tips and spending money ashore. They will even mail your postcards free of charge. They even sent me one to my home address today thanking me for cruising, it was all hand written and signed by the crew.

It is certainly a good option for those P&O folk that seem to have done all those itineraries and would like something different. There is the train option for the non flyer just depends where it is sailing out of and to where. I would class this at your higher end market, suitable for couples and the retired market.

I would not hesitate in recommending AMAWATERWAYS, they really pay attention to detail and nothing is too much trouble.

River Cruising is the way to go I say….

Susan Pentelow
1st4Cruising