Last month I took my mom on an 8 day AmaWaterways river cruise on the Rhine River from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, Netherlands. We did our own sight-seeing by land in Switzerland before the cruise and in Amsterdam after the cruise, but I’ll write about that in a future post. Today, I want to share some of the highlights and special touches you should know about when considering a cruise on AmaWaterways.
1. Boarding is a breeze on a river cruise
Our Uber driver dropped us off about 100 feet from our ship, the AmaMora at its port in Basel, Switzerland. Crew members from Ama greeted us under a branded Ama canopy and took our luggage straight to reception. After a very brief check-in, the crew brought our bags directly to our cabin. In other words, unlike on an ocean cruise, on AmaWaterways, there is no waiting for your bags to finally arrive in your cabin! Your bags arrive at your stateroom when you do!
2. AmaWaterways goes all out for Christmas
Since our cruise was in mid-November, our crew began decorating for the Taste of Christmas Markets cruise and Christmas Market cruises to follow later in November and on into December. During our stay, the ship went from no holiday decorations, to a completely decked out ship with lit garlands on the top deck railing, a beautiful tree in the lobby, a wreath on each stateroom door, and festive decorations throughout the ship. Our ship truly sparkled compared to the competition we were in port with along the way.
3. A hot towel and tea
At the end of each excursion, as we came back aboard the ship, the crew was there to greet us with a hot towel and a glass of hot tea. I don’t recall what they called the tea, but it was lime green, sweet, and delicious! The hot towel was also a nice touch, considering the temperatures were in the 40s and 50s Fahrenheit most days of our trip.
4. A rose for the ladies
Another nice touch came the first night when the captain of the ship handed all the ladies on board a red rose. Later that evening our “housekeeper” placed the rose in a white vase that remained on our desk the rest of the cruise.
5. A “mint” on the pillow
Each night as part of the bed turn-down service, we were greeted with a different Rausch chocolate on our pillow. They were each different flavors and the cacao % increase by 5% each night, from about 50% to 85%. Yum!
6. An option for “gentle walkers”
At each stop, AmaWaterways offers numerous included excursions. Usually there is a bike tour a walking tour and one other tour from which to choose. For the walking tours, they provide three options: regular walkers (about 80% of the passengers chose this one), active walkers (about 15% of the passengers) and “gentle walkers” (about 5 %). The active walkers generally walked about an hour more than the regular walkers which equated to additional mile or two. The gentle walkers typically were those guests with mobility issues, whether age-related, or because they were recovering from knee surgery, a foot injury, etc. The gentle walking tour is also a great option for adult children traveling with their older parents who maybe aren’t up for as much walking or who don’t want to walk as fast as an average pace.
7. Time to explore
Finally, I really appreciated that when we arrived in a port, only 110 of us were getting off the ship (total capacity is 156 passengers) rather than the 3000-7000+ you typically see on the large ocean cruise ships. And while the included excursions were great, I was grateful to have many hours of free time in most of the ports, because that allowed us to explore on our own and experience even more of the local culture, food, and shopping.
If you are considering a river cruise in Europe, AmaWaterways’ service and included touches should put them near the top of your list of options. Want to talk more about river cruising? Schedule a complimentary consultation today!
