My First River Cruise.....OMG....

[ptrpanpens]

Hello everyone

 

I am going to chime in here as I am currently in Arnhem. Although I did not go to it, there is an optional tour to the open air museum here. I wanted to have a free day so just walked into the town which has an open air market and many interesting shops plus a nice cathedral.

 

I had planned on booking AMA for my first river cruise as I have heard fantastic reviews of it (including yours, Lois). However I happened to notice a cruise from a company known as Collette which uses ships built by Lueftner, an Austrian company. There were not many reviews and they were mixed but since a full French balcony was almost $1,800 less for solo occupancy than AMA I decided to give it a try. Lois, did you still get no single supplement for your cruise next year? I did not see if for next year when I looked at AMA as I am also hooked and planning the Amsterdam to Basel cruise next year on one of the lines? But I digress....

 

I think someone on this board asked about the Amadeus Princess and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I am sure it is not as deluxe as AMA or Viking but for the price I paid, I think it is a bargain. The cabin I am in has a French balcony and is located right by the reception and on the same deck as the restaurant. So very convenient. I was surprised it is so roomy as it is the lowest category with a full window - 162 ft, the same size as some RCCL balconies. Yes, the bed could be a little softer (I like a hard bed) and the linen is not as high a percale count but these things are minor to me. The housekeeping is immaculate, the bathroom is nice size and the shower does not leak like some on Celebrity. And it is very quiet. There is plenty of storage too.

 

The dining room service is excellent and almost all of the food has been great especially their soups and breads, plus they have the best salad dressings of any ship I have been on, very light and tasty. The meals have all been great (too good..lol).

 

The crowd of this ship is very friendly and there is a lot of commanderie which is nice traveling solo. I was invited to join a group from near Chicago who are traveling together and have eaten mostly with them, although you can eat in practically any open table with whomever you like. Everyone is very friendly. One of the nicest things is that the dining room is full every night, because no one is going to specialty restaurants, the buffet, etc. there are 142 people on the cruise and it is at full capacity.

 

I would definitely consider this line again if the price is right but also am interested in trying AMA or other higher end lines. My problem is that I prefer at least a French balcony so will just have to compare lines. But there are a lot of good options to consider including Lueftner.

 

If anyone has any questions I will try to answer them. I still have 4 days left on this cruise and Internet is not always great, but no worse than Celebrity.

 

I would finally like to throw in a recommendation for an unbelievably outstanding hotel in Amsterdam. Weirdly, I am much pickier about hotels than cruise lines and I can highly recommend the Ambassade on Herengracht Canal without any reservations. This hotel, while fairly expensive, is one of a kind, especially if you book a room overlooking the canal. It is in the middle of the street but just a couple blocks from the flower market without all the commotion that goes on over there. It is totally non touristy and quiet but regal and elegant. Their restaurant the Braserie Ambassade is one of the highest rated in the city and I can see why. The service is superb as one would expect. I like being near the tourist areas but not too near, and this hotel really fills the bill. So if you would like a splurge, you may want to check it out. I am planning a stop in Amsterdam in October on the way to Istanbul and will definitely be staying at this hotel.

 

You can see I have some time to kill this afternoon since I did not take the excursion, but I just wanted to give my 2 cents worth and say I agree with Lois and others completely about river cruising and the wonderful experience.

 

To the person asking about the windmills, this morning I opened my blinds and sat and watched them go by from my window. The scenery is so lovely here and it is the most relaxing experience you can have watching the countryside from your window! Which is one of the reasons I don't think I could give up a full window.

 

Anne

[Lois R]

Hi Anne, glad you are enjoying yourself:)

 

AMA offers no single supplement on all their European sailings in Category

E. So if you want a balcony? You will have to pay the SS.

I am fine with the windows and saving the money;)

 

Tamara, you could just chill out on the first day for sure....and with

6 days in Amsterdam, you could see things that are not all for the tourists

too.;)

 

I think my river cruise was less money than the ocean lines mentioned.

REGENT, OCEANIA and AZAMARA...I have not priced them out specifically

recently but I know I have looked at them over the years and they were

all more than my paygrade.:eek:....

[Host Jazzbeau]

I think my river cruise was less money than the ocean lines mentioned. REGENT, OCEANIA and AZAMARA... I have not priced them out specifically

recently but I know I have looked at them over the years and they were all more than my paygrade.:eek:....

 

The rack rates on those cruise lines are very high, but with the soft economy over the last few years they have all gotten into the game of discounting. Things seem to be firming up again, but there are still terrific bargains to be had if you can jump on a cruise at the last minute -- especially in the eastern Mediterranean.

[Lois R]

The rack rates on those cruise lines are very high, but with the soft economy over the last few years they have all gotten into the game of discounting. Things seem to be firming up again, but there are still terrific bargains to be had if you can jump on a cruise at the last minute -- especially in the eastern Mediterranean.

 

Hey Jazz,:) but if I want to just try one for a fall Caribbean Cruise?....

Sept/Oct? I guess I need to do some research.....not sure if they are

all in Europe at that time.

[marysb]

Anne,

 

Thanks so much for your reply. Glad you are having a great time! Thanks for the info on Arnhem. I just realized that we will be there on market day too, so I think we will just wander around town too. I am still tempted to go on the optional tour to the Palace in Apeldoorn, which is the sister city to our Canadian city where we live and would be nice to see some of it. hmmm... decisions, decisions :D

 

 

Sooo glad you saw some windmills while cruising.

I know I am on a very unique itinerary (that in itself if kind of cool I think),

but I was on a land trip to the Netherlands in the 90's and I remember driving on the highways thinking how much it looked like where we live in Canada and then we would see a windmill to bring us back to reality. So, I was hoping they would pop up to see along the rivers .... whichever one we are on.

 

By the confusion in answers I got from this question, I think they may be a rarer sight on the rivers. But was just wondering.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Hey Jazz,:) but if I want to just try one for a fall Caribbean Cruise?... Sept/Oct? I guess I need to do some research.....not sure if they are all in Europe at that time.

 

Those three lines don't tend to station ships in the Caribbean for a season, and do the same itinerary over and over (like the mass market lines) -- and their cruises are usually longer than 7 days. Azamara for instance only has one Caribbean cruise this fall, but it is on sale (cabin category upgrade; $1000 air credit per couple, don't know how it works for singles, but single supplement is only 25% -- and it has a terrific itinerary:

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/voyage/1477454400/16-night-new-orleans-west-indies

[caviargal]

I agree that you really cannot compare ocean to river cruising, except perhaps in terms of lines that offer similar quality of service, food, staterooms, etc.

 

We gave up on mass market cruising years ago. These days, on the very rare occasion we consider an ocean cruise, it is Oceania we look at first. We would consider Crystal if pricing and itinerary worked for us. And someday we will try Windstar in the Caribbean, on one of their sailing ships.

 

We have no future ocean cruises planned but have two more river cruises booked. If we want the Caribbean, we much prefer to fly and stay.

[ptrpanpens]

Lois, thank you. The reason I asked is that I did not even see the no single supplement for category E when I looked. I guess I will have to weigh all the pros and cons when I get the exact quotes. In the meantime I may be sorry for trying a picture window for my first cruise because now I am spoiled. The jump up to a French balcony on AMA is quite a lot because of the single supplement on that category. On the other hand if I had chosen AMA for my first cruise I would not be able to downgrade the cruise line to Lueftner. So it's a decision.

 

All I know is that I will be going on another river cruise next year.:D:D

 

Anne

[cruise kitty]

Hey stranger:)..........I remember when I was thinking about going on

your upcoming cruise. Boy, was that a long time ago;)

 

Yes, this trip is about tied with my first ever cruise to the Med....I would

say A and 1A:)

 

Hope you have a wonderful time too.

 

Thanks so much! We leave in 9 days... for the first time I'm not feeling prepared enough, we've had some big life changes both good (new grandson) & bad, lost my Dad way too young, & I definitely haven't been on these boards much.. still looking forward to our trip, & I'll try & do a photo review when we return. :)

[TargetsMom]

Thanks so much! We leave in 9 days...

 

cruise kitty, which line/itinerary are you sailing on? We leave Tues. 5/2 for Amsterdam, sailing on AmaViola ("Tulip Time") 5/5-5/12. Our first river cruise and first time to Amsterdam. Starting to get anxious about all the packing. I HATE packing. :)

 

kathy

[Lois R]

Those three lines don't tend to station ships in the Caribbean for a season, and do the same itinerary over and over (like the mass market lines) -- and their cruises are usually longer than 7 days. Azamara for instance only has one Caribbean cruise this fall, but it is on sale (cabin category upgrade; $1000 air credit per couple, don't know how it works for singles, but single supplement is only 25% -- and it has a terrific itinerary:

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/voyage/1477454400/16-night-new-orleans-west-indies

 

Hi Jazz, I saw that one. One thing you will learn about me is......I cannot

sail at the end of the month due to w o r k:rolleyes::eek:...yes, that damn

work gets in my way;)....so a cruise that leaves on the 26th of the month

is something I can never do......I am the accounting dept..month end.

I just had my 25th anniversary at my job and the only time I ever missed

a month end close was when my Dad died........

[Lois R]

cruise kitty, which line/itinerary are you sailing on? We leave Tues. 5/2 for Amsterdam, sailing on AmaViola ("Tulip Time") 5/5-5/12. Our first river cruise and first time to Amsterdam. Starting to get anxious about all the packing. I HATE packing. :)

 

kathy

 

Hi Kathy, they are sailing on Celebrity.

[Lois R]

Thanks so much! We leave in 9 days... for the first time I'm not feeling prepared enough, we've had some big life changes both good (new grandson) & bad, lost my Dad way too young, & I definitely haven't been on these boards much.. still looking forward to our trip, & I'll try & do a photo review when we return. :)

 

Congrats on the new grandbaby:) and condolences on the loss of your

Dad:(....I lost mine in 2011.....I can't believe in August he will be gone

5 years:(.....losing Daddy's are just the hardest.......I miss him every

day.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise. If I recall you are going to Cann....

have fun.:)

[TargetsMom]

Hi Kathy, they are sailing on Celebrity.

 

Thanks, Lois. Celebrity is the only mainstream cruise line we have not sailed on yet. We may sail Celebrity to Antarctica one of these winters if I can convince hubby that we will survive Drake's Passage. He really doesn't like it when the ships rock n roll. :)

 

kathy

[Lois R]

Thanks, Lois. Celebrity is the only mainstream cruise line we have not sailed on yet. We may sail Celebrity to Antarctica one of these winters if I can convince hubby that we will survive Drake's Passage. He really doesn't like it when the ships rock n roll. :)

 

kathy

 

Hi Kathy, I have been really loyal to them over the years. I started

cruising with them in 2003..actually May 2003 so next month will be

13 years of ocean cruising. I can't think of my last land vacation:eek:

Oh I think it is was 2001 or 2002......actually yes, in the summer of 2001.

May 2001 I went to Las Vegas with a girlfriend and in the spring of 2002

I went to Williamsburg and North Carolina......both trips were fun but

they have nothing on cruising;)

[dabear]

PTRPANPENS; we also looked at Lueftner that had a great itinerary & the newer ships were very nice but the timing didn't work for us. we then gave a deposit for a Viking cruise and discovered Emerald River cruises (a new subsidarary of Scenic. ) Emerald's french balcony cabins are 180sq ft, ships are new and have a heated pool that converted to a cinema at night, gratuities and transfers were included, all at a price less than Viking. Even though I lost part of my deposit with Viking (which I didn't appreciate as I cancelled 2 weeks after deposit and almost a year before the cruise), I'm saving money. Reviews say that Emerald is competing against Viking, AMA, etc. We'll see if we can recommend the cruise line.

 

Lois: I agree that the 3 ocean cruise lines that I mentioned are on the expensive side but there are some good deals out there & many amenities were included in the fare (thus not nickled & dimed as many mass market lines tend to do), & some include air fare for real!

Edited April 23, 2016 by dabear

[ptrpanpens]

I was frankly pleasantly surprised with the Amadeus Princess as it is not one of the newest ships but is extremely clean and well maintained. Staff was on their hands and knees today washing down walls and banisters and everything in the cabin is so clean. I will check out Emerald as I have seen it advertised but would definitely take Lueftner again. One thing about Lueftner's Amsterdam to Basel itinerary is that they visit both Strasbourg AND Colmar whereas AMA does not visit Colmar. That could be a deal breaker for me as well as the single occ price difference between the lines for cabins with French balconies. I don't think the lowest priced cabins are that different due to AMA's no single supplement for their lowest category.

 

But I would like to try AMA sometime so if I decide on them, I will just bite the bullet and economize elsewhere. ( God only knows where..lol.)

 

Anne

[cruise kitty]

cruise kitty, which line/itinerary are you sailing on? We leave Tues. 5/2 for Amsterdam, sailing on AmaViola ("Tulip Time") 5/5-5/12. Our first river cruise and first time to Amsterdam. Starting to get anxious about all the packing. I HATE packing. :)

 

kathy

 

Hi, we're on Celebrity... definitely not river cruise size with 2800 pax, would love to try a river cruise someday, but they are a bit pricey for us right now.

[cruise kitty]

Congrats on the new grandbaby:) and condolences on the loss of your

Dad:(....I lost mine in 2011.....I can't believe in August he will be gone

5 years:(.....losing Daddy's are just the hardest.......I miss him every

day.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise. If I recall you are going to Cann....

have fun.:)

 

Thanks Lois, I remember when you lost your Dad, & yes, I agree, it's just heartbreaking.

[2Canucks]

cruise kitty, which line/itinerary are you sailing on? We leave Tues. 5/2 for Amsterdam, sailing on AmaViola ("Tulip Time") 5/5-5/12. Our first river cruise and first time to Amsterdam. Starting to get anxious about all the packing. I HATE packing. :)

 

 

 

kathy

 

 

Hi Kathy...I'm on the AmaViola right now...the first/maiden cruise for this riverboat. You are going to love this riverboat and the friendly staff. I'll be departing on April 28/16 then travelling to Haarlem to board another riverboat with a different itinerary. Different company (Avalon Waterways) so will be comparing the two experiences!

 

Enjoy your AmaViola riverboat cruise! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Hydrokitty]

Hi, we're on Celebrity... definitely not river cruise size with 2800 pax, would love to try a river cruise someday, but they are a bit pricey for us right now.

 

Hi cruise kitty.....we just got off our second celebrity cruise and have two more booked.....after 8 river cruises I've finally been priced out....not a matter of can't...more a matter of won't!!! But I'm loving Celebrity and I find I don't mind the 2800 pax because there's so many places I can take my book and just zone out...after the pace of river cruises (and make no mistake, I loved every one) I find ocean cruising way more relaxing.

[Lois R]

Hi cruise kitty.....we just got off our second celebrity cruise and have two more booked.....after 8 river cruises I've finally been priced out....not a matter of can't...more a matter of won't!!! But I'm loving Celebrity and I find I don't mind the 2800 pax because there's so many places I can take my book and just zone out...after the pace of river cruises (and make no mistake, I loved every one) I find ocean cruising way more relaxing.

 

How ironic;).....you are starting to Ocean Cruise with 2 more booked.

I wish I could do River cruises multiple times a year but that is impossible.

 

What type of cabin did you book on Silhouette?

[Hydrokitty]

How ironic;).....you are starting to Ocean Cruise with 2 more booked.

I wish I could do River cruises multiple times a year but that is impossible.

 

What type of cabin did you book on Silhouette?

 

C-2 on the "bump"...resort deck....a little nervous about proximity to pool but since the sky suites are next to me, I'm guessing it will be ok. Any thoughts I should know about?

[Host Jazzbeau]

C-2 on the "bump"...resort deck....a little nervous about proximity to pool but since the sky suites are next to me, I'm guessing it will be ok. Any thoughts I should know about?

 

Did you check the S-class cabin sticky on the Celebrity Board? The first post has a link to the updated spreadsheet compiling all reports. All S-class ships are very much alike, except details on Reflection, so your cabin number should track across all ships.

[Lois R]

C-2 on the "bump"...resort deck....a little nervous about proximity to pool but since the sky suites are next to me, I'm guessing it will be ok. Any thoughts I should know about?

 

I agree with Jazz, you might check the S class cabin thread. It is at the

top of the Celebrity forum.

 

I actually meant what cabin did you have on your most recent cruise;)