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Go to Africa with AMAWaterways -- A Review


Circe
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We traveled to Africa with AMAWaterways in December 2012. AMA was amazing in creating, booking, and managing this trip, and the trip exceeded expectations! We spent time in Cape Town, Botswana/Namibia, and Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls). Africa is expensive, but AMA compared very well to other companies and delivered an outstanding experience. I researched all of the high-end companies before deciding on AMA. I've attached my long review here. Read and enjoy...nothing is better than observing the magnificent animals and being in this incredible environment.

Go to Africa with AmaWaterways.pdf

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Fascinating review, written very professionally. Thanks for sharing.

 

I don't think that I would book this trip, but I was curious about what the experience might be like. You sure make it sound very tempting.

 

Thanks again,

 

 

Sergio

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We traveled to Africa with AMAWaterways in December 2012. AMA was amazing in creating, booking, and managing this trip, and the trip exceeded expectations! We spent time in Cape Town, Botswana/Namibia, and Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls). Africa is expensive, but AMA compared very well to other companies and delivered an outstanding experience. I researched all of the high-end companies before deciding on AMA. I've attached my long review here. Read and enjoy...nothing is better than observing the magnificent animals and being in this incredible environment.

Dear Circe,

 

We are thrilled to read your lovely review of the African Sunsets itinerary with AmaWaterways! We also appreciate that you took the time to share your feedback on Cruise Critic. We greatly look forward to having you onboard again in the future.

 

Warm Regards,

AmaWaterways Customer Relations

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  • 2 months later...

Thans for writing this. I had looked at this trip before, but now I am convinced we need to do it. I noticed on the AMA website that a hotel upgrade was available (but very expensive). Did you upgrade, or use theiir standard rooms?

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We upgraded our hotels and were very glad we did so. Table Bay in Cape Town is magnificent, and the Vic Falls Hotel is an elegant hotel from a different era. Both are in great locations. In Vic Falls, be sure to do "Walking with Lions" (Lion Encounter) and the helicopter over the falls.

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We traveled to Africa with AMAWaterways in December 2012. AMA was amazing in creating, booking, and managing this trip, and the trip exceeded expectations! We spent time in Cape Town, Botswana/Namibia, and Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls). Africa is expensive, but AMA compared very well to other companies and delivered an outstanding experience. I researched all of the high-end companies before deciding on AMA. I've attached my long review here. Read and enjoy...nothing is better than observing the magnificent animals and being in this incredible environment.

 

Loved your review! You make me want to go to Africa, and on AMA. But I did have a question. You mentioned sleeping w/ the doors open. Does that mean that there is no individually controlled AC in the rooms?

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All of the hotels have AC, and the Orient-Express tents have AC, if needed on very hot nights. On this trip you spend 4-nights on the Zambezi Queen. The top deck with the dining area and lounge is air-conditioned, and as I remember AC was used during dinner. Usually opening the sliding doors that surround the top deck is sufficient because typically there is a breeze coming off the river. The entire boat has shutters to control the sun's light and heat and mosquito screens, although we had no problem with mosquitoes or any other insects.

 

The cabins do not have AC. There's a free-standing floor fan and usually a breeze coming through the open balcony doors. We had no problem and felt very comfortable the whole time. We slept very well.

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  • 8 months later...

Fantastic review, Circe -really enjoyed all the details. We are hoping to go to Africa in 2016 and were leaning toward AMA - your review has pushed us into making that choice. It is so exciting just beginning to plan our trip. Hope you are still on the boards until that time as I'm sure we'll have more and more questions as time goes on and consulting with you would be great. Thank you!

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All of the hotels have AC, and the Orient-Express tents have AC, if needed on very hot nights. On this trip you spend 4-nights on the Zambezi Queen. The top deck with the dining area and lounge is air-conditioned, and as I remember AC was used during dinner. Usually opening the sliding doors that surround the top deck is sufficient because typically there is a breeze coming off the river. The entire boat has shutters to control the sun's light and heat and mosquito screens, although we had no problem with mosquitoes or any other insects.

 

The cabins do not have AC. There's a free-standing floor fan and usually a breeze coming through the open balcony doors. We had no problem and felt very comfortable the whole time. We slept very well.

 

Your review is wonderful and I am considering this trip in the next couple of years. Having done AMA in Vietnam & Cambodia I agree that it is a class act and would not hesitate to use them again. We are also looking at their new itinerary in Myanmar.

 

I do have a couple of questions about which I was unclear after reading your review. Did you use AMA for the entire trip or just some portions? If just some portions, can you tell me which you did on your own? Thanks.

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  • 9 months later...
  • 1 year later...

Looking to book with AMA on their 15 day Stars of South Africa tour which includes 4 nights on the Zambezi Queen in August 2017. Was hoping for some feedback as to the quality of this tour. Look forward to your replies

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Looking to book with AMA on their 15 day Stars of South Africa tour which includes 4 nights on the Zambezi Queen in August 2017. Was hoping for some feedback as to the quality of this tour. Look forward to your replies

 

You may need to be flexible with your dates. We recently tried to book their Discover Africa tour [all AMA Africa tours include the Zambezi Queen portion] and were told that May 2017 is fully booked -- so we moved to May 2018 and got the last cabin! So I can't [yet] give you personal feedback as to the quality of the tour, but my TA shared her feedback from another customer who just did it and loved it.

Edited by Host Jazzbeau
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We traveled to Africa with AMAWaterways in December 2012. AMA was amazing in creating, booking, and managing this trip, and the trip exceeded expectations! We spent time in Cape Town, Botswana/Namibia, and Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls). Africa is expensive, but AMA compared very well to other companies and delivered an outstanding experience. I researched all of the high-end companies before deciding on AMA. I've attached my long review here. Read and enjoy...nothing is better than observing the magnificent animals and being in this incredible environment.

 

Do you might providing us with what the trip cost, without airfare?

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Looking to book with AMA on their 15 day Stars of South Africa tour which includes 4 nights on the Zambezi Queen in August 2017. Was hoping for some feedback as to the quality of this tour. Look forward to your replies

Hi - AMA delivers the highest quality services, accommodations, and experiences. You must visit Africa, and I highly recommend the AMA journey. The Zambezi Queen is a superb boat, and even though it doesn't travel very far, the small boat wildlife safaris off the Queen are incredible especially for the birdlife and elephants in Chobe. We did not go to Kruger, but our safaris and guides in Botswana exceeded expectations. When in Victoria Falls, opt for the lion walk, a "real" experience not staged and the cost supports their rehabilitation and release program (http://www.lionencounter.com/activities/lionwalk). Take the Africa trip!

- We did all the portions of the trip with AMA

- Only discounts we know about are offered on occasion by AMA.

- From the AMA website, looks like an African cruise will range from $11-14K (expensive, but worth the cost).

 

After much research, our riverboat cruises are exclusively with AMA. Our most recent trip was to Myanmar, and our 6th cruise will be Portugal/Madrid (other cruises were Vietnam, Russia, Provence/Barcelona).

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We just booked the AMA Discover Africa package for May 2018. It will be our third AMA trip, but quite different from the others because more hotel nights than the actual cruise portion and AMA doesn't own this boat. But it is a seamless way to experience Cape Town, Chobe Nat'l Park, Victoria Falls, and Johannesburg.

Edited by Host Jazzbeau
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Yes, it's not really a river cruise; the Zambezi Queen moves slowly back and forth between a just couple of points on the river. It serves as a hotel room and base for small boat trips to see the Chobe elephants and river wildlife. It's a beautiful river hotel with great food, relaxing, and excellent staff that strive to meet the needs of every guest. And hearing the hippos at night is a plus.

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Hi - AMA delivers the highest quality services, accommodations, and experiences. You must visit Africa, and I highly recommend the AMA journey. The Zambezi Queen is a superb boat, and even though it doesn't travel very far, the small boat wildlife safaris off the Queen are incredible especially for the birdlife and elephants in Chobe. We did not go to Kruger, but our safaris and guides in Botswana exceeded expectations. When in Victoria Falls, opt for the lion walk, a "real" experience not staged and the cost supports their rehabilitation and release program (http://www.lionencounter.com/activities/lionwalk). Take the Africa trip!

- We did all the portions of the trip with AMA

- Only discounts we know about are offered on occasion by AMA.

- From the AMA website, looks like an African cruise will range from $11-14K (expensive, but worth the cost).

 

After much research, our riverboat cruises are exclusively with AMA. Our most recent trip was to Myanmar, and our 6th cruise will be Portugal/Madrid (other cruises were Vietnam, Russia, Provence/Barcelona).

 

According to the AMA website the Discover Africa tour is $8,500 per person with the extension optional of $1500. That is 10K per person, and about twice what Vantage charges for its African tour.

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