AmaWaterways - what is a wine cruise?

Hello, newbie to river cruising here. Thinking of taking our first river cruise next year, probably Melodies of the Danube with AmaWaterways. I will be traveling with my 13 year-old.My question is: what is the difference between the cruises marked "wine cruise" and those not marked such, aside from the price? Have googled quite a bit and looked through the forums but have not found the answer to this question.Btw, I am not a wine drinker. (I don't mind it, but my liver tests go up with any alcohol consumption.)

Thanks!

Wine cruises feature a particular winery and its winemaker. We did one with AMA and there were 4 owners of a California winery onboard. They gave talks about wine, wine tasting and there was a dinner that featured wine pairings-their wine of course. It was an enjoyable experience. However, study the itinerary closely as on our cruise, one port was eliminated to accommodate an onboard wine event. Many of the cruisers belonged to the winery's wine club. Some have said that wine cruises tend to attract a little younger demographic. We cruised in November and there were pax from 40's to 80's, with most being 50 to 70. There was a young girl onboard-maybe 12 yrs old.

Our 1st river cruise was last year doing the Bordeaux wine cruise with AMA. We love wine and it was great for us but if you aren't a wine lover you may not enjoy the cruise as much. Besides having wine experts onboard doing lectures, tastings and a wine pairing dinner, the off ship activities are mostly visiting vineyards and chateaux with lots of wine tastings. You will see other things in the different stops also but the main emphasis will have to do with wine.

Our AMA wine cruise on the Danube included the usual port tours and I only recall one tour option that went to a winery. In other words, our cruise did not emphasize winery tours in place of the tours offered during AMA's other Danube itineries. Best to study the actual itinerary for the cruise you are booking so you know what to expect.

We have done 4 wine cruises with AMA, on various itineraries: Rhine, Danube, Rhone, Douro. Wine and food are always the focus of our trips to Europe, as DH and I love both.:D

All of the standard excursions were offered on all of our cruises, and the winery visits were available to those of us interested in visiting. None of our itineraries were altered due to the wine, but two were due to water levels.

We had several onboard tastings and talks, as well as the Winemaker's Dinner.

On our cruises, about 15-30% of the guests were part of the winery's wine club (last one was the smallest and also the least enjoyable winemaker host we experienced), and there were another percentage (us included) that simply enjoy wine and being around others that do as well.

We plan to do another wine cruise with AMA next year, and will decide once all hosts are announced. We find them to be an excellent value and AMA is our preferred line.

My experience with "Theme" cruises is that people with that particular interest will get to have a more in depth experience in the subject matter (art, food, wine, etc). If you are not into wine then you would be wasting your time. Also, I would think a 13yo would be bored stiff. Better to try a regular cruise with an emphasis on historic sites and scenery.

My experience with "Theme" cruises is that people with that particular interest will get to have a more in depth experience in the subject matter (art, food, wine, etc). If you are not into wine then you would be wasting your time. Also, I would think a 13yo would be bored stiff. Better to try a regular cruise with an emphasis on historic sites and scenery.

Specifically in reference to AMA's wine cruises, I disagree. There was no less emphasis on history and culture on any of the theme cruises we have done (and we have done multiple Christmas market cruises as well as wine themed). The additional events and excursions are not at the expense of the regularly offered options.

My mom did not drink at all but loved all of her river cruises with us, themed or not.

IMO, most 13 year olds would be bored on most river cruises. The best for them would be the cruises that are geared to families or the Christmas cruises, which are simply wonderful for anyone who loves Christmas.:)

Caviargirl,

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree. I still can't see the point of taking a "theme" cruise if you are not interested in that "theme". Regardless, river cruising is a great way to travel and I agree OP would most likely have a good time -her daughter not so much.

We've done several ocean cruises as well as some European cities on our own. My 13 year-old is pretty mature; she likes traveling, history, trying out different foods. I started researching this a few months ago after Disney started offering their cruises on AMAWaterways. Have read some posts that a mature teenager would be fine on a regular river cruise. Thanks for your opinions.