AMA Danube cruise

Five of us will be taking our first European River cruise with AMA Waterways in May. Just a couple of questions....I so want to see Gustav Klimt paintings at the Belvedere in Vienna. Our plan is to take the ship tour in the morning then do our own thing in the afternoon. Should I purchase tickets online for the Belvedere? Don't want to waste a lot of time standing in line to purchase tickets. Also, one of us is flying in to Budapest alone. We purchased our airfares and hotels through AMA. Will there be a AMA person at the airport to meet us?

Thanks

If you purchased you air and pre-cruise hotel from AMA then you will have included transfers. Once you get your luggage look for the AMA Waterways desk or representative in the area. All of this information will be spelled out in your travel documents when you get it.

As for tickets to the Belvedere, I think that anytime you can purchase tour tickets ahead of time and avoid the lines is great. Be sure to double check how long the boat will be docked in Vienna to make sure your tour time will be finished in time.

Thank you tribbs1. I am also a big believer in purchasing tickets ahead of time!!

Just a note about AMA... we took our first river cruise aboard the Ama Certo in October. We were so pleasantly surprised by every aspect of the trip. The ship, the cabin, the crew, the food and the excursions were all excellent. I hope you have the same experience!

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Thank you. The reviews of AMA were what made us decide. Well aware they are not perfect, but very difficult to find a bad review. The five us are all widowed and getting a little older, so we did like the idea of everything taken care of for us. May not be the least expensive way to do it, but it works for us. Four of us have traveled quite a bit and the Danube was an area we had not seen before. We all did a Viking China trip and loved it so we decided to try river cruising again. While Viking did a fabulous job on our China trip, we weren't comfortable booking them for the Danube after reading many reviews.

We too, are on our first AMA sailing, Budapest to Amsterdam Jun 1. We chose AMA for the same reasons you did. I'm sure we'll all have a great time.

Thank you. The reviews of AMA were what made us decide. Well aware they are not perfect, but very difficult to find a bad review. The five us are all widowed and getting a little older, so we did like the idea of everything taken care of for us. May not be the least expensive way to do it, but it works for us. Four of us have traveled quite a bit and the Danube was an area we had not seen before. We all did a Viking China trip and loved it so we decided to try river cruising again. While Viking did a fabulous job on our China trip, we weren't comfortable booking them for the Danube after reading many reviews.

Rahrah50 and TeaBag, we've sailed with Ama twice (Paris to Normandy in 2013 and Vilshofen to Budapest in 2015).

Both trips were great, beautiful scenery and great food and tours.

RahRah50, the most famous Klimt painting is hanging in a gallery in NYC, his famous painting of Adele Bloch Bauer known by it's nickname "Woman in Gold."

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I am also doing my first river cruise with AMA in may as well on the Danube may1 -15th and am super excited im traveling solo and picked it because of the reviews

Hello All,

My wife and I are considering our 1st river cruise for sometime in 2018. For those of you who booked a cruise with AMA Waterways, did you use a travel agent or did you book directly with the cruise line? I usually book our ocean cruises directly with the cruise line but may consider using a travel agent for our first river cruise since it will all be new.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Brian

I am also doing my first river cruise with AMA in may as well on the Danube may1 -15th and am super excited im traveling solo and picked it because of the reviews

Wow, what a super itinerary! I truly got excited for you as I read the details of the tours/activities in each city visited. I believe this may be the right itinerary for my wife and I in 2018 or 2019. I had better start putting money aside now. (lol)

I hope you have a wonderful cruise experience!

Hello All,

 

My wife and I are considering our 1st river cruise for sometime in 2018. For those of you who booked a cruise with AMA Waterways, did you use a travel agent or did you book directly with the cruise line? I usually book our ocean cruises directly with the cruise line but may consider using a travel agent for our first river cruise since it will all be new.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

Brian

Great itinerary on a great cruise line. I always book my cruises with a TA because (a) the cabin price is the same, (b) the cabin selection is the same, © the TA can give me advice based on his/her own experience plus feedback from customers, (d) the TA gives me a little OBC that helps cover tips and other minor expenses, and (e) if anything goes wrong the TA has leverage based on lots of business with the cruise line and is sitting at work with internet and phone connections that I may not have while traveling. For more information, see my sticky:

River Cruise TRAVEL AGENTS – Why You Need One and How to Find a Good One

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2429094

But – Cruise Critic has a very strict rule against giving any specific information about TAs, including asking you to email for more info. Some cruise line websites have links to recommended TAs – with those you at least know they do a lot of business with that cruise line. Some TAs advertise here in Cruise Critic – which shows their good taste and judgment ;) But the best way to find a good TA is by word of mouth, and that may require booking this first river cruise direct and then asking around on board ship.

Great itinerary on a great cruise line. I always book my cruises with a TA because (a) the cabin price is the same, (b) the cabin selection is the same, © the TA can give me advice based on his/her own experience plus feedback from customers, (d) the TA gives me a little OBC that helps cover tips and other minor expenses, and (e) if anything goes wrong the TA has leverage based on lots of business with the cruise line and is sitting at work with internet and phone connections that I may not have while traveling. For more information, see my sticky:

River Cruise TRAVEL AGENTS – Why You Need One and How to Find a Good One

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2429094

 

But – Cruise Critic has a very strict rule against giving any specific information about TAs, including asking you to email for more info. Some cruise line websites have links to recommended TAs – with those you at least know they do a lot of business with that cruise line. Some TAs advertise here in Cruise Critic – which shows their good taste and judgment ;) But the best way to find a good TA is by word of mouth, and that may require booking this first river cruise direct and then asking around on board ship.

Thanks Host Jazzbeau. Yes, I was aware of the sticky and have read it. I also checked out the two river cruising TA links provided in the sticky. When I read the backgrounds of the TA listed for metro-Atlanta, I was surprised by how few actually seemed to have real river cruising experience. (lol) I am going on a South America cruise next week and a group of us plan to meet during the cruise to discuss river cruising. I hope to get some TA recommendations then from the experienced river cruisers. Wish me luck! :)

Hello All,

 

My wife and I are considering our 1st river cruise for sometime in 2018. For those of you who booked a cruise with AMA Waterways, did you use a travel agent or did you book directly with the cruise line? I usually book our ocean cruises directly with the cruise line but may consider using a travel agent for our first river cruise since it will all be new.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

Brian

Hi,

My husband & I did Spain & Provence July 2016 on AMA. They were wonderful. Cabins are very nice & storage is good (shelves yea!)Cruise director (nick) and local guides were excellent. I am surprising him with Paris-Normandy this year.

As for booking- these are my rules - 1. Find the rack rate (booklet) of thetrip you want. Add in port charges and upgrades. 2. If you have a club membership (Sam BJ etc) Airline, AMEX call them and ask for their rates. Also call AMA directly and get their rates. Then do the math and decide. A good TA will get you value for your $- plus sometimes throw in bonus OBC etc.

Enjoy your trip

carole

As for booking- these are my rules - 1. Find the rack rate (booklet) of thetrip you want. Add in port charges and upgrades. 2. If you have a club membership (Sam BJ etc) Airline, AMEX call them and ask for their rates. Also call AMA directly and get their rates. Then do the math and decide. A good TA will get you value for your $- plus sometimes throw in bonus OBC etc.

Enjoy your trip

carole

Thank you very much Carole. I have been watching various videos of river cruises and get more and more excited about this type of travel. It also appears as though the industry is experiencing "growing pains". So choosing the right cruise line (for our personal needs/desires) is important. I am sure your tips will help us to make an informed decision.

Cheers!

Hello All,

 

My wife and I are considering our 1st river cruise for sometime in 2018. For those of you who booked a cruise with AMA Waterways, did you use a travel agent or did you book directly with the cruise line? I usually book our ocean cruises directly with the cruise line but may consider using a travel agent for our first river cruise since it will all be new.

 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

Brian

Brian, we priced our 2 AMA river cruises with AMA and 2 separate travel agents we use regularly for our ocean cruises and 1 of the agents provided discounts for both cruises of about $200/person so it could be worth your time to do some shopping with different agents. Also, we leave in about 1 month on our 2nd AMA cruise and received a surprise $150/person ship board credit coupon in our paperwork for every member in our party of 7. We were somewhat reluctant to take our 1st river cruise due to the lack of active options but found AMA meets our interests perfectly.

Brian, we priced our 2 AMA river cruises with AMA and 2 separate travel agents we use regularly for our ocean cruises and 1 of the agents provided discounts for both cruises of about $200/person so it could be worth your time to do some shopping with different agents. Also, we leave in about 1 month on our 2nd AMA cruise and received a surprise $150/person ship board credit coupon in our paperwork for every member in our party of 7. We were somewhat reluctant to take our 1st river cruise due to the lack of active options but found AMA meets our interests perfectly.

Thank you for your input Aly7859. Yes, your suggested strategy sounds good. I am sure your upcoming cruise will be great....especially with the nice ship board credit surprise for your entire party :).

Best Wishes & Safe Travels!