Onboard AmaCerto

[caviargal]

Just arriving in Vienna and wanted to take a moment to post.

This boat is absolutely gorgeous and we are all having a wonderful trip. AMA has really delivered a premium river cruise experience.

Staff is wonderful, food very good, all aspects of trip so far are top notch. This is the best of our cruises to date and it will be hard to top it.

Budapest was very interesting. Andrea MkKay was our private guide and I highly recommend her. We stayed at Marriott Millenium and it was perfect for us in terms of location, accommodation and service.

Will post more details as time permits.

[5326jan]

I'm looking forward to reading more! Have a great trip!

[bobalink]

Hello caviargal,

Great to hear from you, and so happy that you are having a wonderful time.

Will look forward to your review!

[alexandra cruiser]

doing reverse itinerary. I loved it too.We opted for double balcony and was WORTH EVERY PENNY.
Loved Budapest so much,booked another for 2014 from there to Bucharest.
Have fun,know you will.

[KirkNC]

Look forward to your live updates.

[RachelG]

We are doing this cruise next November so anxious to hear all a out it.

[nana541]

Enjoy your cruise! Can't wait to hear about your journey

[BPCruiser]

Have a great trip! Anxious to hear all about it and your thoughts on Budapest! Did your transport in Budapest work out well with Pulai? The AmaCerto sound beautiful. Thanks for posting.

[caviargal]

The airport transfer was great. He was right there with a sign for us, waiting when we went through customs.

We flew on Lufthansa which was a very pleasant experience, other than the very small seats in coach class.


We have six cabins on this sailing so a variety of categories, ranging from Aquarium Class to AA, which is the largest of the twin balconies. That cabin is gorgeous, with a large bathroom.

Last night we went into Vienna far dinner and enjoyed the opening day of the Christmas Markets. They were insanely busy, due to the first bit as well as it being Saturday night. Vienna is at its best in the evenings IMO, when the lovely buildings are lit up and even more elegant.

Just docking now in Durnstein. We have had good weather for this time of year. No rain, temps in 40s and 50s.

Cruise staff continues to impress. Head chef is from Italy and food has been varied and delicious. We are going to specialty restaurant this evening to celebrate our anniversary.

More later but those of you booked on AmaCerto have something wonderful to look forward to!

[caviargal]

I also want to mention that at least 50% of the passengers on our cruise are under 50, with a good percentage 40 and under. Great mix of Brits, Canadians, Brazilians, and more.

Gorgeous, sunny day here in Durnstein, which is cute but touristy. Off shortly to Melk.

[oysterdam]

Originally Posted by caviargal

I also want to mention that at least 50% of the passengers on our cruise are under 50, with a good percentage 40 and under. Great mix of Brits, Canadians, Brazilians, and more.

Wow, that's the younger mix you were looking for. Just curious, with this younger demographic, are there teens and children onboard?

Sounds like your ship is first rate. I've never been on a river cruise that hold more than 128 people. How close to capacity is your sailing - it appears maximum capacity is 164? Can all passengers sit in the lounge for cruise manager talks and evening entertainment or do some have to stand due to lack of seats?

[bobalink]

caviargal,

Thanks for your live posts. It all sounds wonderful!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

[5326jan]

Thanks for your posts! Sounds perfect and reinforces our decision to go with AMACerto!

[beechfor]

Thanks for the information and the live posts. We will be sailing on the AMACerto next August and are looking forward to ot.

[RachelG]

How does one go about booking the specialty restaurant? Is this done once onboard or can it be done in advance?

[catkoe1]

Hi Caviargal!
thank you for the update. We board on the 13th of December. Cannot wait!
Could you please update me a little...what is the recommended gratuity per person per day please. One of the passengers traveling with me wants to know... and I can't find it!
Thanks in advance and enjoy Melk! Such a sweet town! I just hung up my hand painted Melk ornament that I bought two years ago! Must buy another one this trip!
Have fun!

[bobalink]

Originally Posted by catkoe1

Hi Caviargal!
thank you for the update. We board on the 13th of December. Cannot wait!
Could you please update me a little...what is the recommended gratuity per person per day please. One of the passengers traveling with me wants to know... and I can't find it!
Thanks in advance and enjoy Melk! Such a sweet town! I just hung up my hand painted Melk ornament that I bought two years ago! Must buy another one this trip!
Have fun!

Hi catkoe1,
I am not caviargal, but I just finished reading the information below on the AMA Waterways website.

Here is the link:
http://www.amawaterways.com/already-...avel-resources

From the AMA Waterways website:
Gratuities
Gratuities to your Cruise Manager and ship crew are not included in the vacation price. While the amount of these gratuities will depend upon your degree of satisfaction for services received, many of our clients have asked us for general tipping guidelines. For good service, we recommend 3 Euros per passenger, per day for the Cruise Manager and 12 Euros per passenger, per day for the crew, which will be divided up among the ship's personnel. It is also customary to acknowledge a particularly good performance of a local guide by leaving a tip of 1-2 Euros per tour. Gratuities on most vessels, but not all, may be charged on credit card as well as cash.

We're planning our first river cruise for August 2013 aboard the AmaLyra.

Enjoy your trip!

[catkoe1]

Thank you for that quick response. I should have looked it up.
My last Christmas Market Trip was on AMALyra and we loved it! It was such a fun crew! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Looking forward to experiencing this new ship AMACERTO and hope to continue for many years to come to experience the new ships of AMA WATERWAYS! My favorite!

thanks again!

[bobalink]

Originally Posted by catkoe1

Thank you for that quick response. I should have looked it up.
My last Christmas Market Trip was on AMALyra and we loved it! It was such a fun crew! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Looking forward to experiencing this new ship AMACERTO and hope to continue for many years to come to experience the new ships of AMA WATERWAYS! My favorite!

thanks again!

Hi catkoe1,
Glad to help a "neighbor"... we are in Huntington Beach .
We were originally booked on the AmaCerto, but moved over to the AmaLyra when AMA had a "sale". We ended up getting two extra days, an upgraded stateroom and $1,000 off.
I would have loved to go on the AmaCerto, but the deal was too good to pass up for the AmaLyra. It was basically the same cruise, just in reverse order.

Someday I would like to experience the Christmas Markets. I hope you will come back and write a review.

Safe travels!

[AmaWaterways]

Originally Posted by caviargal

Just arriving in Vienna and wanted to take a moment to post.

This boat is absolutely gorgeous and we are all having a wonderful trip. AMA has really delivered a premium river cruise experience.

Staff is wonderful, food very good, all aspects of trip so far are top notch. This is the best of our cruises to date and it will be hard to top it.

Budapest was very interesting. Andrea MkKay was our private guide and I highly recommend her. We stayed at Marriott Millenium and it was perfect for us in terms of location, accommodation and service.

Will post more details as time permits.

Greetings from AmaWaterways,

We are so pleased to read about caviargal's experience "live" from our AmaCerto, and we too are looking forward to seeing more posts. Happy anniversary to you caviargal!
We also appreciate the kind words from alexandra cruiser.
Rachel G and bobalink, we look forward to welcoming you aboard next year and hearing about your experiences.
Catkoe1, thank you and we hope to welcome you aboard again soon!

Warm Wishes,
AmaWaterways Customer Relations