kmf63 Posted June 16, 2017 #1 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Hello All - just booked this river cruise. Inviting all suggestions as to make this the best vacation ever!! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted June 16, 2017 #2 Share Posted June 16, 2017 We're booked on 16th April so also looking for any recommendations. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lois R Posted June 16, 2017 #3 Share Posted June 16, 2017 I did this cruise last year and it was FANTASTIC:D I suggest arriving in Amsterdam a couple of days early (if possible) and I highly recommend THE BANKS MANSION hotel.......I stayed here and would stay here again.:) Hope you have a wonderful cruise:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted June 17, 2017 #4 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Thanks Lois R can you remember what extra excursions were offered after final payment? Also did you find the walking tours give you time afterwards to explore on your own? We have been to Bruges so wondered what you thought of Ghent, is if worthwhile staying there to see? Thanks for any help[emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lois R Posted June 17, 2017 #5 Share Posted June 17, 2017 (edited) Good morning........excursions? You mean while on the cruise? Don't worry about final payment. Excursions are included in the price of the cruise and you will be given the opportunity to sign up for them after you are on board ship:) To be honest, I went to Brugge and that one was the only tour that was "Extra".......I paid for it on board and it was wonderful:D But again, all the other excursions (if memory serves) were included in the cruise price. Since I was in Brugge all day, I can't give you any Ghent information......sorry! Oh, they had morning and afternoon tours so you could choose one and then have time on your own for sure. Or go on your own first and come back for a later tour. It is VERY well organized and the entire experience is great:) Edited June 17, 2017 by Lois R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmaser Posted June 17, 2017 #6 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Have been to Ghent twice. It is worth seeing, although not quite a spectacular as Brugge. The Ghent cathedral houses the Van Eyck brothers altarpiece of the "Blood of the Mystical Lamb", considered one of the great masterpieces of European art. The collection of guild houses along the river is outstanding. You can do it in half a day with the other half in Brugge, if your trip allows and you feel energetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanciEA Posted June 19, 2017 #7 Share Posted June 19, 2017 I would second the suggestion to go a few days early to Amsterdam. We had two days pre-cruise on our own. One day we visited the Rijkmuseum and the Anne Frank house (book as early as possible) and the other we went to Keukenhof Gardens. The cruise excursion to the gardens was the last day and we wanted to make sure we were there on a sunny day, so that is the reason we went early. We were lucky and both the day we went on our own and the cruise excursion had sun. At the time of our cruise AMA offered two bike excursions. For us, those were the highlights of the trip. We were very glad we went to Ghent. I would recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted June 19, 2017 #8 Share Posted June 19, 2017 NanciEA, glad to hear someone mention the bike tours. We are walkers who ride very occasionally, would we find these bike tours a bit long or onerous? Are they full on or gentle with lots of stops? They seem a great way to see far more in a shorter time? Thanks for any help. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deval Posted June 20, 2017 #9 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Here's my review from this past April. Post #23 has Overview and Dailies I uploaded: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2485042 Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted June 20, 2017 #10 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Deval, you mentioned you did the bike tour but can you give me a bit more pertinent info. Ie how long do you ride for without a break, are bike trips vigorous or gentle with many stops, that's the info I am specifically looking for. Thank you for all the other info in your review and the dailies, they were great. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmf63 Posted June 20, 2017 Author #11 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Hello, Thank you for uploading the daily schedule of the cruise. Is it true there are other excursions besides the ones that are included in cruse for an additional cost. If so what were they and how much were they? Thank you, Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted June 21, 2017 #12 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Since you are booked with AMA, you should be able to see the "Limited Edition" tours for your cruise. They are all included in your fare, but they may fill up so you should book online now (you can always cancel later). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Lois R Posted June 21, 2017 #13 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Hello,Thank you for uploading the daily schedule of the cruise. Is it true there are other excursions besides the ones that are included in cruse for an additional cost. If so what were they and how much were they? Thank you, Kim Hi Kim:)....see my post #5......I took one of the additional tours (Brugge all day).......I can't remember how much it cost..... They will tell you the price once on board though. Whatever it was, I loved it:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanciEA Posted June 21, 2017 #14 Share Posted June 21, 2017 For davwen18, here is what our bike tours were like, although this was several years ago. On the first day of actual cruising, the ship dropped us bikers off in Volendam (which is just across from the Amsterdam port). We biked through the little town and then on to Edam. In Edam we stopped to sample cheese. From there we followed the dike north to Hoorn. Along the way we stopped at an inn/pub for a rest break, another time to be able to climb the dike for the views, and a third time to tour the inside of an old windmill. The ship was waiting for us in Hoorn. I'm not sure about how long it took, but probably about three hours. There were two guides (front and back of the pack) and perhaps 20 riders. We were in our early fifties at the time and we don't usually bike, but are active walkers and tennis players. The entire ride was flat and we did not have trouble keeping up. Most folks were at our level. There were two men who appeared on the dock to ride in complete "Tour de France" gear and seemed mildly upset that the rest of us did not want to do "top speed" to see how fast we could make the trip. They usually raced ahead and rode make to meet the rest of the group. No problem. We enjoyed the trip so much we signed up for the second bike trip offered. Sign up was on board and there were limited spots although everyone who wanted seemed to have gotten to bike. The second trip was in Arnhem, which I see is not in the current AMA tuliptime cruise. This ride was about two hours and had some hills. There was one guide, but she was great. We stopped at several WWII sites. We enjoyed this ride as well. It seems AMA listened to our comments that we would have liked more bike rides, because I see in their brochure that they now have four bikes trips on a seven day cruise. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted June 22, 2017 #15 Share Posted June 22, 2017 Thank you NanciEA, that's just the sort of Info we were looking for[emoji4] Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deval Posted June 24, 2017 #16 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Deval, you mentioned you did the bike tour but can you give me a bit more pertinent info. Ie how long do you ride for without a break, are bike trips vigorous or gentle with many stops, that's the info I am specifically looking for. Thank you for all the other info in your review and the dailies, they were great. Sent from my iPad using Forums We did the bike tour in Rotterdam. We took the bridge over the river to the other side, but stopped 1/2 way on the bridge to rest. There were lots of stops along the way, it was not a lengthy ride as others may have had going between towns. We crossed the river over another bridge and rode around downtown. It was not strenuous at all. We wished we would've known we could keep the bikes and ride around on our own at the end of the tour. Be sure to ask about that if you're interested. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deval Posted June 24, 2017 #17 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Hello, Thank you for uploading the daily schedule of the cruise. Is it true there are other excursions besides the ones that are included in cruse for an additional cost. If so what were they and how much were they? Thank you, Kim There were tours with limited space that we signed up for online during registration. There was no additional charge for them. They weren't "sold" out and people were able to sign up for the remaining spots onboard. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmaonboard4 Posted July 2, 2017 #18 Share Posted July 2, 2017 We are booked on the new AMALea on March 25th. We will leave the lights on for you !! By the way, on our other AMA cruise, we booked extra excursions and never paid extra for them. Love AMA Waterways and would never consider any other company. And we have cruised with other lines in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bella O Posted September 15, 2017 #19 Share Posted September 15, 2017 We are booked on the new AMALea on March 25th. We will leave the lights on for you !! By the way, on our other AMA cruise, we booked extra excursions and never paid extra for them. Love AMA Waterways and would never consider any other company. And we have cruised with other lines in the past. We are thinking of this date for this cruise as well. I believe this is the first sailing of the Lea. Could this be a problem with the staff "working out kinks" with first sailing like an ocean cruise? The ship and itinerary sound awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmaonboard4 Posted September 16, 2017 #20 Share Posted September 16, 2017 We are very excited to be on the Lea. I have no worries at all about the crew. I am sure they will bring in experienced people, and judging by our past trips with AMA, it will be flawless. I would have adopted some of these people---they were so kind and thoughtful in every thing they did. Already looking into a Danube cruise later in the year. Maybe another Christmas market trip. We did the Christmas one on the Rhine last year and had a great time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bella O Posted September 16, 2017 #21 Share Posted September 16, 2017 So good to hear such positive reviews, maybe we'll see you on board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmf63 Posted March 19, 2018 Author #22 Share Posted March 19, 2018 Leaving in 10 days! Can’t wait!! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davwen81 Posted March 20, 2018 #23 Share Posted March 20, 2018 A quick question for those who’ve done this one. We can’t get on the Ghent walking tour so we are just going to look around ourselves. But there’s a 1/2 hour bus ride on the Ghent walking site! Does AMA provide transport into Ghent if you can’t make their tours? Or is there transport available. Thanks for any help Wendy Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmaonboard4 Posted March 21, 2018 #24 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Check in with cruise manager as soon as you arrive and see if there is a wait list or something similar. AMA is so very helpful and kind that I have a feeling they will work something out. Have hope and we will see you on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted March 21, 2018 #25 Share Posted March 21, 2018 A quick question for those who’ve done this one. We can’t get on the Ghent walking tour so we are just going to look around ourselves. But there’s a 1/2 hour bus ride on the Ghent walking site! Does AMA provide transport into Ghent if you can’t make their tours? Or is there transport available. Thanks for any help Wendy Is this a "Limited Edition" tour? Otherwise, you should be able to book it on board. The AMA website for Tulip Time shows this itinerary: GHENT Discover medieval Ghent on a walking tour. Admire the canal-side architecture and some of its famous sights, including the Castle of the Counts and Ghent Cathedral. Those more inclined to learn about the art of Belgian chocolate making can join a master chocolatier as he shares his insights. Alternatively, you may also visit one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe, Bruges, on a full-day excursion that includes a visit to the Church of Our Lady, home to the beautiful Carrara marble Madonna and Child sculpture by Michelangelo. And for those who wish to see both Ghent and Bruges, join a highlights tour showcasing them both. In my experience that means there are four choices, all included at no extra cost, and all available for signup onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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