AmaWaterways Reviews 90

Amaprima, Basel to Amsterdam on the Rhine sailing 19 November 2025
Accommodation. Excellent, we upgraded to a 200 grade stateroom. The 100 grade is on the waterline and we wanted a good view. The room was compact but very comfortable, and housekeeping was excellent.
Food. Excellent quality and service. We booked the Chef’s tasting table for our Golden Wedding anniversary evening which was perfect. We were presented with a chocolate gateau with Happy Anniversary on.
Excursions. Lots of choice and very well organised. Sometimes a little rushed as we found delights that deserved more exploration but had a schedule to follow.
Entertainment. The onboard entertainer was a very accomplished pianist with no feel for the floor. A little too much christmassy tunes and no DJ skills to create a dance opportunity after dinner. Two excellent visiting groups performed during the week. We missed being able to have a dance.
General. This boat had a very ergonomic layout with reception sited in the middle, accommodation on three levels aft of centre and restaurant, lounge, (with entertainment) forward of centre so our room, level two, three cabins from stern was quiet.
Fellow passengers. As an American company, there was a majority of Americans onboard. One group appeared to be repeat travellers and were very noisy all week but particularly during the safety briefing which was disrespectful and disruptive. Could have been managed better….
Would we go again? Yes, but perhaps on another river to discover new places. It is a very civilised way to travel.

I am always suspicious of reviews which eulogise over trips, but I can honestly say that our cruise on the Mekong and the additional visits within Vietnam and Cambodia were quite exceptional.
From the moment we met cruise director AK we had nothing but superb service.
My husband managed to leave his tablet on the plane so the first thing AK did was to help us get it back arranging for an AMA rep to meet us the airport when we went to retrieve it.
The one thing he kept emphasising was that we were all part of the AMA family and that's just what it felt like. Within an hour of us arriving on the boat, the staff knew our names and used them. Everyone from Jenny who served us in the restaurant to the young man who gave out the water when we were going on a trip greeted us with a smile.
The food was great with a superb choice at every meal - something to do with the Welsh chef perhaps?
The guides were outstanding telling us not only about the places we were going to see, but also gave us an insight into their lives and their families.
We enjoyed some very special entertainment from the dancing in Siem Reap and the water puppet show in Hanoi to the 'talent competition' put on by the staff who also did a farewell presentation.
But it was the attention to detail which was second to none - nothing was too much trouble and that came across so clearly.
Unfortunately the trip came to a bit of an abrupt end when I fell down the stairs on the boat in Halong Bay and broke my elbow, and I cannot thank AK enough for his diligence and care.He was with my husband and me for the journey to the hospital, talked to the doctors and nurses and visited several times to check up I was OK.
The AMA staff got into gear while I was stuck in the hospital and helped my husband with all the arrangements for getting us home. AMA reps stepped in wherever they were needed from taking us to the airport to organising a wheelchair when we got there.
When you are far from home and don't speak the language you feel very lost and I was so grateful AK was there. AMA should be very proud of their staff.
It was good to be part of the AMA family for a couple of weeks, we will certainly be travelling with you again - maybe try and avoid anywhere with stairs?
PS My fall was an accident, but maybe the dark stairs would benefit from better illumination?

The itinerary was excellent starting 3 nights in Budapest at a superb hotel and on disembarkation 3 night in Prague also a very smart comfortable hotel.
Transfers between ship hotel and airport were exemplary.
On board ship Stateroom was quite roomy and very comfortable the food was good but limited.
Staff very attentive with a good friendly attitude.
Would we go again? perhaps not
we found it very disappointing that drinks outside meal times were not included and we received an awful letter the night before suggesting staff gratuities to be circa 150euro per person
We felt this was totally distasteful this gives the impression of squeezing every last cent out of you.
By coincidence and unsolicited a friend of mine said exactly the same thing having been recently on the Duoro
Suggest AMA look at the business models of other cruises lines such as Silverseas and Azamara where inclusive means inclusive

Inquired about a Danube River Cruise in August 2026 online and spoke to agent on the phone. Agent was pleasant and took further information. Received email a couple hours later with a quote for September 2026 for a cruise in France. Felt like a complete waste of time and a poor first impression. Will likely look to another company

We did the River to Rails journey with Amawaterways June 6-19. The most standout part of the trip was the Ama trip coordinator Delia. She is a shining star and perhaps the best Tour Guide I have ever had and I visited more than 120 countries.

We started our trip in Cape Town and despite rough weather we had an amazing experience. The flight to Botswana was uneventful and the logistics were so simplistic because of Delia. On June 9, we joined the Zambezi queen cruise with some extra passengers. Two of the passengers were a couple celebrating an anniversary, and the lady (M) unfortunately could not be pleased by anything. I've never seen someone so miserable ever. I'm being specific with the dates of our trips because I suspect she's going to go out of her way to write bad reviews, and I want to be sure to counteract those. As I feel they will be dramatic and dreadfully inaccurate.

The Zambezi queen was a lovely boat. Of course it's not a new European river boat, but for an African river boat, it was spectacular and the crew was wonderful. Emilie was an amazing cruise director and the staff were all amazing including Moses and Gift. Everyone was kind. The food was great and it was overall a wonderful experience.

Following the boat, we went to the Victoria Falls hotel, which was also spectacular and such a lovely experience. The falls were gorgeous and the evening train ride was very special. We wanted a special crossing by foot into Zambia and Delia arranged everything for us. It was spectacular!

Following this, 10 passengers went on to the Rovos Rail. It's worth noting the Rovos rail Crew takes over at this point as the Amawaterways portion has ended. However, Cynthia with Amawaterways did a great job of coordinating and making sure we were seamlessly transitioned between the Ama portion and the Train. The one thing I will tell people is that you don't board the train until about 4:30 and the only place to wait is a room at the Victoria Falls Hotel with limited snacks. I wouldn't be in a rush despite what Ama may tell you to get back and wait for the train.

The train itself was lovely, but I personally learned I wouldn't want to do it again. The meals are served from a galley kitchen and in two cars. We sat at the back of the second car which meant we were one of the last ones served and each meal (lunch and dinner) was a more than two hour event. Don't forget to bring clothes to dress for the occasion too! (That was the fun part).

Also, There were only two choices the main meal or a vegetarian option. Don't give me wrong, it was great food, but just too slow for my taste. It was also challenging to sleep on this train. I've never slept on any other train, but this train in particular was very wobbly and quite loud.

This was my first Amawaterways trip and I was entirely blown away. I do intend to travel with them more. The attention to detail was second to none! Thank you Delia! Love from Florida.

We have traveled on Ama several times in the past and have been very impressed, these trips were in Europe. We booked a trip on the Magdalena River which was to include pre and post cruise stays. Originally we were to leave Feb 18, 2024 and return home March 4, 2024. Ama cancelled that trip and offered a small $500 if we rebooked. I rebooked the trip on the AmaMelodia, and they now have cancelled that cruise as well. The first cancellation cost us over $2400.00 because of the increase in airfare to rebook the flights, yet Ama offered a discount of $500.00, which was less than 10% of our initial booking for the cruise alone. For this second cancellation, they are offering nothing, except a form letter emailed to us. I have lost faith in Ama Waterways!!

The ship is clean, rooms spacious enough for the amount of time we spent there. The staff on board were great. Saw in housekeeping was fantastic, always smiling and our room was spotless after he had been there! Aung in the dining room was our server, very careful with my orders as I am celiac. Food was 8/10 for all of our group. The cruise manager, Jonathan sat at his desk on board and never looked up to say hello the numerous times we passed. He went to Mt. Rigi with us and seemingly there as a guest. I picked up some garbage-food bag- that someone had dropped and as we were exiting to go to Mt. Rigi, I asked Jonathan if there was a trash can on the bus, and he pointed outside and said there is probably a trash can out there. Also when directed to a water closet that wasn't a water closet, went back to the bus to ask about location and he assured me it was back where many people were directed to go, and alas, no water closet. He even fell asleep on bus back from Strasbourg rather than pointing out landmarks that we were passing. Do better Jonathan. He was certainly animated on the sip and sail discussing tips however. May be burned out? Excursions were packed. Local tour guides were fantastic.

We enjoyed an exceptional experience on our AMA Nile cruise this week. We have taken about 20 cruises in our lifetime and this experience far surpassed all others. We are now AMA cruisers for life! The service was unparalleled and the touring opportunities were perfectly executed. We were guided each day by highly qualified egyptologists who expertly designed our experience. We were well cared for from the time our plane landed in Egypt to the moment we had our tickets in hand to fly home.

We just returned from a 2 week cruise on the Danube on the AMA Verde with land extensions in Prague and Romania. (Pre-trip October 18, ship sailed October 21) This was our first river cruise and we were very pleased with the quality of the tours, guides, food, accommodations, and especially with all of the staff on the ship and the cruise directors who went above and beyond to make sure that everyone had a wonderful trip. We especially want to give praise to the people who are sometimes behind the scenes-- the housekeeping staff who worked tirelessly and kept the ship and our staterooms in perfect condition-- always with a smile and a friendly word.

They say you should rate a company on how they deal with things when the go wrong and that is this review.

We recently went on a river cruise down the Danube on the Amamagna. We also took the option of 2 days in Munich before and 2 days in Budapest after.

Munich wasn't a great experience, the hotel was billed as a 5 star and at £700 a night i expected luxury. Instead I got a room in an annexe that hadn't been refurbished in more than 20 years.

I approached Ama and the best they could do for me was pass on my comments to the hotel.

The cruise itself was nice as was the hotel and stay in Budapest but Munich tarnished what was supposed to be a holiday of a lifetime.

First AMA trip on Danube was great. Recent Duoro cruise was quite unremarkable. Ship seemed cramped. They were two great, fantastic staff—Christina the sommelier was absolutely fantastic as was the hotel manager. Excursion guides were also great. The front desk and lounge crew never made eye contact, never smiled, and seemed to lack English language skills. Made the whole experience seem lackluster and ordinary. Very different from my previous AMA cruise. I wouldn’t go on another AMA Douro cruise if it was free. I would not recommend this cruise. Maybe try the Danube instead.

After an amazing holiday in 2019 with AMA travelling the Mekong river when we decided to cruise the Danube AMA was our first choice but could not believe we could possibly get the same level of care and service we had before. It must be the company policy and the way staff are trained as customer care, the service and friendliness of all the staff was just as amazing.
Unfortunately I broke my wrist on the second day and the staff were a great help in particular Jasmina who accompanied me and my husband to hospital incase of language difficulties. Please pass on our thanks to all concerned.
Wouldn’t hesitate to holiday with AMA again hoping to go on the Rhine next year.
Angela and Davi’s Butti

We cruised the Danube on the Amabella August 2024 and had a wonderful experience. We appreciated that all the excursions were included in the price. The staff was amazing. For us, the highlight was how hard the culinary staff worked to assure that my daughter had her significant allergies addressed. She was able to eat without fear of using her epipen. They even made food that looked just like others so she didn’t feel singled out. This is so unusual and very hard to do. If there was a choice of more stars than 5… for us it would be a 10.

This was our first European River Cruise and it exceeded our expectations. The ship was lovely, the food fantastic and the staff and service was excellent. Our cabin was on deck 4, we opted for one with a balcony which we didn’t use that much, we were on the port side and quite frequently when docked another boat moored alongside us. There are plenty of chairs/loungers on the sun deck to sit and take in the scenery when sailing. The excursions were well planned and cater to all levels of fitness, we opted for the gentle ones as we both have dodgy knees. The local guides were informative and interesting. The AMA Waterways app was great for booking the free excursions and accessing the daily cruise itinerary. I would have no hesitation in booking another AMA cruise

My husband and I have just done the Douro River cruise on Ama Waterways. Ama has a good reputation and we were perhaps expecting too much.

When we arrived on the ship to check in, we were told to sit in the lounge for 1 1/2 hours. They charged us for drinks. We were sitting right next to a massage stool where the masseuse was massaging people's necks and backs. We felt that this was not appropriate and should have been done in private.

The cabin was extremely cramped with very little storage. The doors of all the cabinets were very difficult to open (nail breakers) as they did not have knobs. The carpet and the windows were dirty.

The TV channels were very limited. We were able to watch Wimbledon on a TV in the lounge in very cramped conditions as so many people wanted to watch.

The food was okay. Breakfasts were very good, but we sent back the tuna as it was overcooked and tough and my husband could not even cut the duck.

On the plus side, Ama does have great employees. The cruise director, Caterina, did an excellent job as did Christina, the sommelier, and the wait staff.

The daily excursions off the ship were wonderful, interesting, well organized, and we really enjoyed them.

Our conclusion is that we would probably choose another company for our next river cruise, or we would make sure that the ship was newer or recently refurbished.

My wife, Julie and I recently cruised the Netherlands and Belgium on AMA Lucia Tulipmania tour in mid- April 2024. We had another great experience on this our 5th AMA Waterways tour. We were provided with excellent service by Captain Henk and all of his crew throughout the week. But a special shoutout is reserved for one of the best Tour Directors:( John Riley) that we have ever had on our many river and ocean voyages. Mr. Riley went over and above his call of duties, and was always available for sage and sound advice to us on the optional tours. We are looking forward to our next AMA Waterways tour in 2025.

"Cruise" dates: Apr 5, 2124 - Apr 13, 2024 Normandy to Paris, "Impressions of the Seine"
Ships: AmaLyra and AmaDante

Be aware that climate change is causing unusual extremes in the water levels of the Seine. Thus, we never got the "Scenic River Cruise" experience, instead being tied at anchor first in Le Havre then at Paris. All we got were bus rides ("Ama Busways"?). And we will not get any money back from Ama, whose motto seems to be "We got your money - see ya".

But what all went wrong? Well:
1) This is sold as a high-end gourmet experience. It definitively is not. The food was unexceptional (except for the very excellent "Chef's Table", the ONLY dinner I got that was good).
2) The wait staff (on a "cruise" full of American Tourists) did not speak adequate English, so that what you ordered was rarely what you actually got. Several of my fellow passengers mentioned the same thing, so not just me.
One such was "Florian" on the AmaLyra. After one dinner where he brought me two items I had said "No" to, (and having him then question why I wasn't eating them!), he screwed up my dessert order. I am 74 years old, and have never faced off with a waiter over service issues until I met him.
Also, the wait staff was arrogant, often questioning my menu choices and giving "eye rolls" and other expressions of Gallic disapproval. Entirely inappropriate. It cannot be their job to critique my food choices to my face on a "cruise" I was paying for.
On the AmaDante, I had run-ins with Yanko Stoychev (sp?) who took it as a personal affront when I asked for the meat to be cooked a little more. It is apparent that on Ama, beef and pork come only as "Blood Rare" or "Shoe Leather". In one meal, I asked for the pork (blood rare) to be cooked a bit more, and Yanko came out with what looked like a burnt offering and literally stood over me - not taking "no" for an answer - until I took a small byte. Made me very uncomfortable.
One lunch, I tried to get a cheeseburger with "No mayonnaise". It was delivered thoroughly slathered top and bottom with a sauce - not listed on the menu - consisting of ketchup and...mayonnaise. I had to walk away from that one.
At another dinner, I ordered my steak medium well (since "medium" was also way too rare), and the waitress gave me an amazed look as if I were an idiot, and asked if I was sure? She then proceeded to serve mine to another passenger and gave me the usual (bloody) one he had ordered (so we were both annoyed). When I asked for a re-do, Yanko got involved again (again taking it personally) and proceeded (without any request on my part) to bring me another order which was shoe leather (par for the course with him), and insisted I try it. I did, and sent it back again. Third time was no charm, as he brought me yet another one overdone, at which point I gave up and told him it was fine - the only way to make him go away. Again, in all my years of dining out, I have returned a meal only twice; I beat that total in one meal here.
3) Ama advertises ship-board Internet but delivers only very low speed spotty service which was frequently unvailable. So if the Internet *might* be important to you, be advised that you will be stepping back in time at least 12 years to when such service was more normal.
Also, one morning after breakfast (with only 20 minutes to go until the bus tours were to leave), all the toilets on board stopped working. Was not fun, I assure you. I was later told that this was rectified fairly quickly.
4) The Cruise Director ("Dragan") was a great guy and a very good director; however, the immense number of changes in venues caused by the situation made him frequently unavailable. I feel genuinely sorry for that guy in such a no-win situation.
And the situation caused some of the excursion options to become unavailable, so again, what I got was not what was advertised and paid for.

So, this experience was very much not as advertised. I will never book anything with Ama based on this experience, and suggest that if you are seeking a good cruise vacation, look elsewhere. This was, to be polite, stressful; our once-in-a-lifetime splurge vacation pretty much ruined.

Update 4-17-2024: "Ama cannot find me in their database". So how was I given an ID card on board the two ships to access my room and to check on and off board?

Basel Switzerland to Amsterdam Netherlands on Amaprima. With many many Ocean cruises behind me both high end and medium. Large to small of 125 ppl. I can honestly say this Rhine River cruise w AMA was a true adventure. The cabins, layout of the ship, dining, music and ALL inclusive excursions both active and gentle. This maybe our first but not our last. Crew is remarkable, as well as tour guides. Modern new buses from one location to another. Small charge for laundry well worth it. I can’t sing their praises enough. Planning our next for 2025

The pre and post cruise trips were excellent, the organisation, the cruise manager, local guides and hotels were all exceptional. I would rate these as 5 stars. The actual cruise on the Mekong River aboard the AmaDara was not up to a standard that we were expecting. The ship was tired and felt in need of a refurbishment. With the exception of the chefs table, one evening, the evening meals were very poor. Hot food should be hot and not tepid, menu choices were not great, my wife had to have Salmon 4 out of 7 nights from the always available menu. The fruit selection at breakfast was the same day after day and a poor selection. I ordered the avocado on toast with a poached egg, both times they were cold. Lunch was also a buffet with a reasonable salad choice, without doubt the best food on board. The staff on board the ship were all excellent, they were very friendly, polite and extremely helpful. Apart from one full day cruising when we crossed the border there seemed very little cruising between stops. The views of the land when cruising was dull and boring with nothing really to see. Without a doubt the highlight of the trip was Halong Bay, Angkor Wat and the Chu Chi tunnels in Hanoi, Seam Reap and Ho Chi Min City respectively. Meeting new friends on this trip was also a highlight. Personally we would prefer the trip to be a little more expensive and remove the need for tipping and paying extra for certain drinks.

We had a lovely cruise. We started on the Amamora but due to high water levels we had to leave our boat and transfer to the Amaserena. The latter was slightly older. We preferred the staterooms in the Amamora. The staff on both boats were exceptional, nothing was too much trouble. Everything is very well organised including the boat switching! The food presentation was superb tho some dishes tasted a little bland. Overall I would recommend Ama Waterways.