Just Back AmaPrima Tulip Time Apr 6-13

Wow what an amazing week! Our first river cruise and it definitely won't be our last. There was so much to do every day that we feel in need of another week just to recharge haha. No rest for the weary, we're in France doing land now for another week.

I have the daily schedules which I'll post when we get home, with highlights of the week. There's multiple tour options daily for all activity levels - something for everyone. We took the bicycle tour in Rotterdam and regret not doing it in other cities earlier in the cruise.

Fantastic, attentive service from everyone - we were definitely spoiled. A shout out to Capt Ron, Ewe our cruise manager, Vladymer and Josip our waiters, Petar, Marius, and Robert who kept our glasses full (we joked we only had 1 glass of wine each meal as they never let them get below 1/3 full), Aurel our Chief Purser, Nadia who kept our room spotless, and Imola who entertained us all week with her outstanding keyboard skills.

More to come after we return to the States on Apr 21.

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Ewe was our tour manager during our Christmas market trip 3 years ago. He was wonderful. It was his last trip of the season and he was soooo anxious to be home with his family. He made arrangements for our luggage to travel on the bus while we took the train to Zurich so that we could see the Christmas markets on our own before we came home one day before the group. We love their attention to detail.

We are going on AMA in June to Paris and Normandy. We will spend 5 days in Paris before the trip begins. Please post about your trip in France. Enjoy the rest of your trip and travel home safely

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Glad you had a great cruise:),,,,,,,,,I did the same cruise last year. I went on AMAStella and it was FANTASTIC:D....I am trying to

figure out what to do next year for my 60th birthday...That Paris to Normandy sounds interesting!

Thank you so much for posting. I am looking forward to the rest when you return home. We are boarding the Prima Jun 1 in Budapest and it is great to read something specific to our cruise. So little on the boards about AMA.

Wow what an amazing week! Our first river cruise and it definitely won't be our last. There was so much to do every day that we feel in need of another week just to recharge haha. No rest for the weary, we're in France doing land now for another week.

 

I have the daily schedules which I'll post when we get home, with highlights of the week. There's multiple tour options daily for all activity levels - something for everyone. We took the bicycle tour in Rotterdam and regret not doing it in other cities earlier in the cruise.

 

Fantastic, attentive service from everyone - we were definitely spoiled. A shout out to Capt Ron, Ewe our cruise manager, Vladymer and Josip our waiters, Petar, Marius, and Robert who kept our glasses full (we joked we only had 1 glass of wine each meal as they never let them get below 1/3 full), Aurel our Chief Purser, Nadia who kept our room spotless, and Imola who entertained us all week with her outstanding keyboard skills.

 

More to come after we return to the States on Apr 21.

 

 

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We did this cruise on the AmaCerto in 2013. We had such a fabulous time that we did the Romantic Danube on the AmaSonata in 2015 and are on the AmaLyra Paris to Normandy cruise this September. Love Ama!

Allyson

Thank you so much for posting. I am looking forward to the rest when you return home. We are boarding the Prima Jun 1 in Budapest and it is great to read something specific to our cruise. So little on the boards about AMA.

Good morning, this forum has some very helpful folks on it......the activity is less but that is because the amount of people

is less. But if you have specific questions, answers are usually always given:)....I sailed AMA last year and everything

was wonderful:D

Wow what an amazing week! There was so much to do every day that we feel in need of another week just to recharge.

 

There's multiple tour options daily for all activity levels - something for everyone. We took the bicycle tour in Rotterdam and regret not doing it in other cities earlier in the cruise.

 

Fantastic, attentive service from everyone - we were definitely spoiled. A shout out to Capt Ron, Ewe our cruise manager, Vladymer and Josip our waiters, Petar, Marius, and Robert who kept our glasses full (we joked we only had 1 glass of wine each meal as they never let them get below 1/3 full), Aurel our Chief Purser, Nadia who kept our room spotless, and Imola who entertained us all week with her outstanding keyboard skills.

I also just returned from the AMA Tulips cruise (March 30-April 6) and had the same reaction as Deval. Like Devel, I even did the Rotterdam bike trip, which was wonderful. The cruise was fabulous for all the reasons Deval posted, and more. I have also taken AMA's Seine, Douro and Rhine cruises - they do a terrific job - food, service, excursions, ships etc. I highly recommend them.

I am hoping to do AMA's Moselle Rivers & Castles cruise next year. Notamermaid's posts and suggestions about the Moselle have been invaluable. Thank you Notamermaid!

Good morning, this forum has some very helpful folks on it......the activity is less but that is because the amount of people

is less. But if you have specific questions, answers are usually always given:)....I sailed AMA last year and everything

was wonderful:D

That's for sure, Lois. I am on here every day! We will spend 10 days in Budapest, prior to the cruise, with our son and his family who are there on his sabbatical for a year. And 3 days in Amsterdam post cruise.

Did you decide on your treat for your 60th?

Like many others, I am trying to read everything I can about AMA. We are taking our first AMA river cruise in September on the Seine. I urge people who will be on the Lyra before us to write about their experiences. Our first river cruise last fall on the Danube with Tauck was amazing, and I expect another fantastic experience this fall with AMA, but am eager to hear specifics about both the cruise and Paris. We will be there for 3 days pre-cruise. Thank you, everyone, who has shared information.

Like many others, I am trying to read everything I can about AMA. We are taking our first AMA river cruise in September on the Seine. I urge people who will be on the Lyra before us to write about their experiences. Our first river cruise last fall on the Danube with Tauck was amazing, and I expect another fantastic experience this fall with AMA, but am eager to hear specifics about both the cruise and Paris. We will be there for 3 days pre-cruise. Thank you, everyone, who has shared information.

ConnMom,

When in September are you on the Seine? We are leaving on the Paris to Normandy on 9/7.

Allyson

That's for sure, Lois. I am on here every day! We will spend 10 days in Budapest, prior to the cruise, with our son and his family who are there on his sabbatical for a year. And 3 days in Amsterdam post cruise.

Did you decide on your treat for your 60th?

Nope, I have not figured anything out yet.. I was looking at Windstar and another River Cruise and of course possibly

an Ocean Cruise.....so many choices:D

Allyson, our Seine trip begins on September 28. We are doing some independent European travel before going to Paris pre-cruise. I am concerned that our 3 nights in Paris will not be adequate, but we do not have unlimited time. My Paris "to do" list keeps growing - so much to see and do, and I am much better at making plans than trimming them.

You seem to be a big AMA fan. I have heard so many good things about AMA cruises that I have very high expectations, and hope that the Seine itinerary is as fantastic at the Danube.

ConnMom -- I too find that every attempt to trim my plans ends up with more things added! One thing that helps me is the Rick Steves books -- because he ranks all the sights with a star system, and also includes some suggested e.g. "Paris in 1 day, 2 days, 3 days" type itineraries. I don't always agreed with his priorities, but they make a good starting point. Then I try to arrange each day of my personal dance card with high priority things first and lower priorities as the day goes on -- when we get tired, we just bag the rest of that day and move on to the next day's plan. [it must be working, since DW no longer refers to the "Bataan Death March"...]

Nope, I have not figured anything out yet.. I was looking at Windstar and another River Cruise and of course possibly

 

an Ocean Cruise.....so many choices:D

We're looking at Christmas markets Nov/Dec 2018. I can keep you posted if you're interested.

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We're looking at Christmas markets Nov/Dec 2018. I can keep you posted if you're interested.

 

 

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Thanks for thinking of me......but I am not looking that far out. Actually I am looking at the start of 2018, not the end of it:D

Allyson, our Seine trip begins on September 28. We are doing some independent European travel before going to Paris pre-cruise. I am concerned that our 3 nights in Paris will not be adequate, but we do not have unlimited time. My Paris "to do" list keeps growing - so much to see and do, and I am much better at making plans than trimming them.

You seem to be a big AMA fan. I have heard so many good things about AMA cruises that I have very high expectations, and hope that the Seine itinerary is as fantastic at the Danube.

ConnMom,

Yes, our time in Paris is limited, too, unfortunately - just 2 days. Actually, 2 1/2 days if we use the morning of the boarding day to keep going. I have been to Paris several times, and less than a week is not enough. More reason to go back! I have to get back to work to pay for the next adventure!

I'm not sure the Danube can be beat, I"m sure Ama will make it an enjoyable experience. I keep wondering what we should try next :).

Allyson

Jazz,

I also love Rick Steves' books, and generally love doing the research. That may contribute to my very long to-do lists; everything I read about sounds so interesting.

Thanks for sharing your organizing strategy. I try to prioritize, but have never thought about doing it for each day. We kind of go through as much of our itinerary as we can, and often we discover that time runs out before we do some of our high priority items that somehow get pushed out of the way as we come upon something else. So much to do, so little time.

Has anyone stayed at the Melia Colbert in the St. Germain district? Would love to hear anything about the hotel, the area, nearby restaurants and other things of interest.

Cheryl

We're on AMAPrima in August. Never been to Europe or on a river cruise. Trying to decide what kind of clothes to pack. In pictures I've seen people seem to dress pretty conservatively while in the towns. Dresses\slacks - nicely dressed for dinner. What about jeans are they acceptable in town or at dinner?

We have only been on cruise ships in the Caribbean and people are very very casual. I don't get the feeling that the European river boat cruises are like that. We're in our early 50's and I get the feeling that a lot of the people that do these trips are in that age group and older.

Any helpful hits or ideas would be very much appreciated

We're on AMAPrima in August. Never been to Europe or on a river cruise. Trying to decide what kind of clothes to pack. In pictures I've seen people seem to dress pretty conservatively while in the towns. Dresses\slacks - nicely dressed for dinner. What about jeans are they acceptable in town or at dinner?

 

We have only been on cruise ships in the Caribbean and people are very very casual. I don't get the feeling that the European river boat cruises are like that. We're in our early 50's and I get the feeling that a lot of the people that do these trips are in that age group and older.

 

Any helpful hits or ideas would be very much appreciated

Hi, welcome aboard:).....I took my first river cruise last year and LOVED IT:D... I went on AMA too.....daytime is

CASUAL.....jeans all the time.......and yes, I saw folks at dinner in them. I normally changed my clothes for dinner

but that is just me. After touring all day I preferred to shower and change clothes. I am 59 and found folks younger and

older than me........everyone was friendly.......hope you have a great cruise:)

PS River Cruising is casual.

Thank you, good to know. Since we're going in early August I'm hoping it will be warm and we can wear shorts during the day. Bringing jeans in case it's cool in the evenings. Just not sure about wearing jeans to dinner. Feels weird to do thank since it is nice dining.

Do they take photos on the boats? We always buy at least one.

Thank you, good to know. Since we're going in early August I'm hoping it will be warm and we can wear shorts during the day. Bringing jeans in case it's cool in the evenings. Just not sure about wearing jeans to dinner. Feels weird to do thank since it is nice dining.

 

Do they take photos on the boats? We always buy at least one.

Hi again,:) nope, I don't remember seeing a Photographer on board. You might want to take a look at the threads at the top

of this forum. There is some really good information about River Cruising on them. Like I said, I changed clothes for dinner.

River cruising is very different from Ocean Cruising. No "trying to sell you" anything.

I'm finally catching up after being on our European adventure of almost 3 weeks. I'm uploading the cruise overview and will follow with the daily programs. I've not seen these posted for a river cruise before, and it'll let you see the activity options each day, which on Ama were all included.

Overview.pdf

Day 1.pdf

Day 2.pdf

Day 3.pdf

Day 4.pdf

First time doing the upload I don't think I've done it right. Will work on correcting it.

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First time doing the upload I don't think I've done it right. Will work on correcting it.

Your method works for me.