AmaSerena

Rhine Castles and Swiss Alps

October

Pros: The crew was outstanding! They anticipated our every need. Our cruise manager, Ilko Dimitrov, was exceptional. His communication, organization, and problem-solving were exceptional. He went above and beyond to make this cruise relaxing and worry-free for all the passengers. We will look for an opportunity to do another cruise with Ilko! We appreciated the wellness programming and the different activity level options of the excursions. The local guides on the excursions were knowledgeable and entertaining. We especially enjoyed the guided bike tour of Strasbourg and the onboard wellness classes. Finally, we really enjoyed meeting the other passengers and we made some lifelong friends.

Cons: It would have been nice to have more time in Cologne to get more of a feel for that city.

Recommended: No

Tulip Cruise

April

Pros: Size of the ship, food

Cons: Would like to have had assigned seating for dinner.

Recommended: Yes

Had to rush to find a table to accommodate our group for dinner.

Lovely ship

May

Pros: Rooms

Cons: Lounge very loud when ship full & lounge filled

Recommended: Yes

Amawaterways does great job. But, I must say that at times the dining room and the lounge got so loud it was uncomfortable and you felt like you ended up yelling to be heard.

Rhine River Cruise

August

Pros: Organized, capable staff, clean

Cons: not enough food options, especially in the evening for lighter or quicker service

Recommended: Yes

Second AMA cruise, staff helpful.

AmaWaterways Is Obviously The Finer River Cruise Line

August

Pros: Beautiful ship, wonderful crew, terrific itinerary ... high value in every aspect

Cons: bathroom air conditioning

Recommended: Yes

This was a long awaited journey and a milestone trip for my mother. As her daughter, we traveled together. The cruise itinerary, excursions, ship amenities menu and the staff themselves offered key advantages for both she and I. The AmaSerena is a beautiful ship! Along the Rhine, we would see other Ama Waterways ships on similar routes, but we would also see other cruise line's ships. Each time, when we passed by or parked along side it was obvious we were aboard the finer vessel. With the finer crew. And the finer meals. The AmaSerena docked in interesting places. On the first day I was able to map the docking address to meet a business colleague that lives in Basel. All I had to do was walk up an outdoor staircase to meet my friend at a popular outdoor gathering place at the top of a hill. The stops are logical and mostly easy to work with if you have additional aspirations. LOVED viewing the castles from the Sun Deck on "Castle Day" sailing through the gorge! And the double veranda at our room. The only things I would change are in the individual rooms. The air conditioning in the bathroom was sometimes difficult and the beds need a little upgrade.

Best Cruise Line

October

Pros: Great service, food and staterooms

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

Our cruise along the Rhine River on the AmaSerena was awesome. Our captain, Eddy, cruise manager Nemanja and the entire crew were wonderful. We look forward to another cruise on the AmaWaterways cruise line.

River boats

June

Pros: Fewer passengers, great food, amazing staff

Cons: Transatlantic travel

Recommended: Yes

We have enjoyed many ocean cruises. The first AmaWaterway’s cruise we took was in 2018. I couldn’t wait to go on another. There’s a max of 168 passengers. The lounge is comfortable and is a meeting place for updates on the next days excursions. Excursions are covered in the cost of the cruise. Beer, wine and alcohol are served in the lounge. Beer and wine are free at lunch and dinner and all drinks are covered during happy hour, the hour before dinner. The staff are very professional and friendly. It’s a wonderful experience!

Rhine Castles and Swiss Alps

May

Pros: Wonderful itinerary

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

My daughter and I enjoyed this cruise. The ship and our room was spacious and clean. The crew and staff were all very friendly and accommodating. The food was delicious and the cuisine served was linked to whichever country we were visiting at the time. We liked all of the ports. Our least favorite was Cologne, Germany. It was very loud, busy, somewhat dirty, and there was a lot of construction to maneuver around. All of the other ports were awesome - no complaints! I would cruise on Ama Waterways again. My daughter is only 23 years old and was by far the youngest person on the trip. She would prefer a trip with at least a few travelers closer to her age.

Captivating Rhine

August

Pros: Comfortable rooms, excellent food, wine, and drink selections, friendly staff. Tour options were really a plus. I liked that we had options including option for level of activity.

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

Introduction to the Danube

October

Pros: Tours had the best guides (both the included & optional ones); alot of towns seen; excellent food in towns; food on ship was very good, but generally better is found in towns; laundry done by ship was in expensive; cruise director was fantastic; ship was very clean; towns very clean; each tour had bike/hike/slow-reg walking;

Cons: money exchange was a challenge; local currency needed for public toilets; it was not relaxing until you took charge of schedule-said no to some events; figure spending 1st day after arrival in hotel sleeping;

Recommended: Yes

This is an excellent way to get introduced to the Danube and the countries along it. You need to decide between joining all tours vs saying no and having a relaxing day on or off the boat. My 4 vs 5 star is driven more from it not being exactly what I wanted. Extra days in Budapest is a must. Budapest is large, so not so crowded, Prague is smaller and much more crowded. The more planning (figure out a time line agenda, decide where you want to spend time on tours vs on your own - I don't understand why AMA cannot provide a sample tour timeline - a sample set of the sheets you get each day on board ship from a previous tour would suffice).

Danube delight

October

Pros: nice rooms, great service, wonderful food

Cons: none other than not enough time to travel longer

Recommended: Yes

John Riley made our trip wonderful. This is my second river cruise with Ama, and we plan to have many more.

Nothing but excellence

December

Pros: Clean and modern ship. The lounge is a great design and wonderful place to socialize. Great temperature control in the cabin and throughout the ship. Terrific cruise manager - friendly, concerned and well-informed.

Cons: Mattress was a bit firm for my liking but bedding was warm and cozy. Breakfast selection became tiresome after 7 days, but so it goes with breakfast.

Recommended: Yes

The entire staff aboard the AMASerena is best of the best - really top notch. They anticipated every need and excelled at meeting every request. The ship's decor and condition looks to be brand new, even after two years afloat. I've never been aboard a cleaner vessel or hotel, for that matter. Not a spec of dust to be found anywhere. The Captain was very visible and engaging. John, the cruise manager, oversaw every detail and provided meaningful and interesting information about the ship and itinerary. Bus transportation to sites was terrific. The on board entertainment and presentations were an unexpected bonus. Highly recommend the AMASerena.

Lori

September

Pros: lovely ship, overall great staff,

Cons: docking adjacent to other ships!--we were not able to use our balcony for most of the trip! privacy (and lack of sunlight) also an issues when docked within inches of other ships!

Recommended: Yes

we were very fortunate that our river cruise was not disrupted...Viking had some major challenges--with a very tragic accident and we understand that many passengers had to be bussed we would have liked a bit more in the way of entertainment in the evening..there were a lot of high energy folks on the cruise that (i suspect) would have welcomed more of an opportunity to dance..the one evening they offered this --the dance floor was packed!!.just a thought!

The staff and crew made the trip what it was.

April

Pros: The staff was excellent. They went above and beyond. Service deserved 50% tips for what they did.

Cons: The trip was too short. I did not want it to end.

Recommended: Yes

This was the best cruise I have taken. Far better than the competition.

Great experience

December

Pros: Beautiful, new ship. Stateroom very comfortable. Terrific views from French balcony and verandah

Cons: Very noisy in dining room at dinner especially. Hard to find a place to sit at a table

Recommended: Yes

Terrific trip going up the Rhine. Staff are fabulous with a few exceptions. Well run. Guides on excursions were excellent. Food delicious.

AmaAwesome

June

Pros: Beautiful boat. Fantastic service and food. Wonderful choices for excursions.

Cons: Getting off the boat after 7 nights.

Recommended: Yes

This was my first River Cruise, but I can't imagine a better experience.