Just off AMAStella Danube Cruise!

We just returned from our fabulous AMA Stella Danube cruise. Loved it! I will post a review this weekend but am happy to answer any questions. If you are travelling soon, note that many of the Xmas markets are already open and they are great! Also it was COLD on this trip. We wore every layer we had brought - 2 down jackets, hats, gloves etc. And often rainy. Also note if you are transferring through Munich or Frankfurt - we had horrendous experiences here - too short connection times (air booked by AMA Waterways), confusing airports, lack of signage. In fact worst connecting flights of my whole life! Also, not to be negative, but we did not like Lufthansa. If you are flying Lufthansa, dress in layers, the planes are HOT and there is no ventilation.

Loved the ship, the food, the crew, the sights. As I said I will post details soon.

Thanks for posting and I look forward to reading your review.

Keith

Heading to Prague on Saturday and boarding the AMAStella on the 29th.

We just returned from our fabulous AMA Stella Danube cruise. Loved it! I will post a review this weekend but am happy to answer any questions. If you are travelling soon, note that many of the Xmas markets are already open and they are great! Also it was COLD on this trip. We wore every layer we had brought - 2 down jackets, hats, gloves etc. And often rainy. Also note if you are transferring through Munich or Frankfurt - we had horrendous experiences here - too short connection times (air booked by AMA Waterways), confusing airports, lack of signage. In fact worst connecting flights of my whole life! Also, not to be negative, but we did not like Lufthansa. If you are flying Lufthansa, dress in layers, the planes are HOT and there is no ventilation.

 

Loved the ship, the food, the crew, the sights. As I said I will post details soon.

Oh boy... we have connections in both of those places. Two hours in Munich going and only one hour in Frankfurt returning. Did you make your connections or have to reschedule? Any tips?

Did you fly business class on Lufthansa? What was bad about it?

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Loved to hear more. We are heading on 12/6 to Prague for a 12/11 Nuremberg to Budapest Christmas Markets on the Danube. Can't wait to hear your review.

Annmarz.. detail, details please!!! We leave in exactly one month!!!

So glad you enjoyed your sailing.

Oh boy... we have connections in both of those places. Two hours in Munich going and only one hour in Frankfurt returning. Did you make your connections or have to reschedule? Any tips?

 

Did you fly business class on Lufthansa? What was bad about it?

 

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We were in coach. We connected in Frankfurt going. Headed to our gate area along with everyone else. A looooong walk. Then we were told we had to go to the other end of the terminal for passport control. and then another loooooog walk back to the other end and then a looooong walk thru a tunnel. The passport control place was labeled for A Gates and our Gate was B. Totally disorganized. We did make the flight with time to spare.

Returning thru Munich we had one hour but the plane was a half hour late. Found our L Terminal with no problem and long passport control line there. But they were yelling "Chicago, Chicago to the front of the line. " This was us. We ran for the gate and got on the plane as the doors were about to close. Way too stressful!!

I will do my review in segments. First the 3 day pre-cruise in Prague.

This was great! We were met at the airport and driven right to the hotel, just my partner and me and a really nice guide. We were met outside the Intercontinental Hotel by our Cruise Manager, Reza, whom we had the entire trip. Check-in was smooth. We loved the hotel. A perfect location, nice indoor pool, wonderful breakfast. I wished afterwards we had requested a room with a view but it didn't really matter.

Reza provided a sheet with tips and helpful recommendations, which we followed. Do this! The restaurant recommendations were excellent. The included city tour was very good, mostly a walking tour, like most of the trip. We had plenty of free time. Tip: If you are interested in the Jewish Museum, which is really a collection of sites, buy the tickets the first day - they are good for a week and you can go back on later days and see more sites. We went on the tour to Terezin, the concentration camp which was arranged by the concierge because there weren't enough AMA guests for them to arrange it. This tour was one of the highlights of our whole trip. Very interesting and moving.

It was chilly and rainy. Be prepared for this type of weather.

Our checkout went smoothly and we boarded our nice, noncrowded bus for the drive to the ship -- to be continued.

We were in coach. We connected in Frankfurt going. Headed to our gate area along with everyone else. A looooong walk. Then we were told we had to go to the other end of the terminal for passport control. and then another loooooog walk back to the other end and then a looooong walk thru a tunnel. The passport control place was labeled for A Gates and our Gate was B. Totally disorganized. We did make the flight with time to spare.

 

Returning thru Munich we had one hour but the plane was a half hour late. Found our L Terminal with no problem and long passport control line there. But they were yelling "Chicago, Chicago to the front of the line. " This was us. We ran for the gate and got on the plane as the doors were about to close. Way too stressful!!

Wow... We don't need the stress either... we have Munich on the way over and have almost 2 hours... hoping that will go smoothly. Only an hour in Frankfurt on the way home, but by then, it will be what it will be... not a crisis if we are a day late getting home... haha

We too are taking the AMA Stella Danube river cruise on the 20th out of Budapest. Would you mind sharing the AMA tip sheet if you still have it as we are doing Prague on our own?

The Ship: The AmaStella was lovely. We had one of the "cheapo" cabins on the bottom deck. It was on the small side but well designed. The bathroom was surprisingly large and the shower had two heads. A large vanity and medicine cabinet as well. The bed was comfy, on the firm side, and I appreciated the reading light and the USB port by the nightstand. We had a sizable, cold fridge, a large safe and a tv/computer monitor that was a bit quirky. The tv would turn on at random times all by itself. Note: Do not turn off the tv/monitor when you are on the internet. You have to do a hard reset to get back to tv mode then. We never interacted with or even saw our steward. The room was cleaned and refreshed twice a day and we had towel animals twice as well. These seemed to count as our daily allotment of towels since they were fewer in the bathroom on these days.

I liked being close to the fitness center, not because I wanted to work out but because there was a scale with which I could torture myself seeing how much weight I was gaining and a lovely pitcher of lemon water with ice there as well. We never heard any noise in the hallway.

The main lounge was large with many configurations of the furniture and nice windows but it was often hard to keep the drapes open when you wanted to look out. A small "library" was on one side - they could really add some actual books here. The coffee machine area was great - the coffee was better than usual. There was an outdoor terrace in front of the ship accessible from the lounge which was convenient but ruined for us when they put ashtray and allowed smoking there. I thought the smoking area was to be only the back of the sun deck. Since the weather was so chilly no one really used the sun deck. I could imagine what a nice space that would be in good weather. The pool was heated and one brave soul did use it.

Umbrellas and walking sticks were available. Enjoyed the printed daily news digest. The nighttime entertainment was pretty good - singers and musicians, This was a wine cruise so lots of onboard wine talks and samplings. We are not "winos" but many passengers seemed to love this. In fact many passengers seemed permanently attached to their wine glasses at all times of the day.

One thing that really surprised us was the casual dress. Not complaining at all. It wasn't even "smart casual" for many pax in the evenings. The only time we saw any men in coats/ties was the night when some went to the Vienna Concert. Most passengers changed into something nicer for the evenings, but many did not.

to be continued

Food: My expectations were high since AMAWaterways touts their food. We were not disappointed. Very very happy with the food!

Breakfast was pretty much the same everyday. You could get eggs cooked to order and some things like Eggs Benedict and waffles off the menu with the rest served buffet-style. There is a fun "Vitamin shot" of the day - a juice blend - and a "detox" water blend. The bacon is to-die-for - my partner kept saying how it was "real" bacon - not chemically "smoked" like in the US. And the yogurts were great - especially the apple-pomegranate. Fresh fruit and beautiful berries also.

Lunch also had main courses to order off the menu and the rest of the food buffet-style. The fish and chips was memorable. The Vietnamese Make-your-own Pho Bowl was great too. Always had 3 choices of delicious ice cream with toppings too.

Lighter breakfasts and lunch were also available in the lounge along with snacks throughout the day and tapas at the bar.

Dinners were wonderful. I can honestly say the rack of lamb was the best I have EVER had. The portions are small and we saw people ordering double entrees. The food is beautifully presented with some unusual tastes and combinations which I totally loved. My partner who is a little less of an adventurous eater than I was not as thrilled all the time. Some of the meals were just good, not great, but overall I would rate it excellent. Service was very good, a few nights a little slower than we would have preferred. I like the way the dining room is designed. They had comfortable booths as well as varying table sizes.

One morning they served sausages and beer at 10 am in the lounge. Very fun! One afternoon was an Ice Cream Party in the lounge with 6 flavors and more toppings.

They were very sensitive to people's food preferences and allergies. A Gluten-free snack area was always at the bar.

What's not to like? It's a river cruise and I really don't see how the food could have been any better. They balanced local specialties like schnitzel and goulash with familiar "Always Available" items on the menu.

Annmarz

Thank you so much for the feedback so far....

Breakfast and lunch - open seating (time wise) from when to when? Lunch may not be around but tend to start the day with a good breakfast. Made my day with the GF mention - while I know what I can and cannot eat - sometimes having that designated GF snack available is nice ;)

Loving the reviews. Thank you so much. Our AMASerena leaves Prague on Dec. 11. We leave Dallas on Dec. 6 for a few days in Prague before the cruise.

Annmarz

 

Thank you so much for the feedback so far....

Breakfast and lunch - open seating (time wise) from when to when? Lunch may not be around but tend to start the day with a good breakfast. Made my day with the GF mention - while I know what I can and cannot eat - sometimes having that designated GF snack available is nice ;)

On an average day, Dining Room breakfast was served from 7:30 to 9:30 am and lunch at 12:30. But they would adjust the times based on the daily schedule. On departure morning they started serving breakfast at 3 am since some pax had early departures! They were very accommodating - you won't miss out on anything!

I forgot re food: The Chef's Table: We sort of shot ourselves in the foot here. We were very happy and comfortable eating in the Main Dining room and since partner is not a "foodie" we wavered about signing up for the Chef's Table. Towards the end we decided we should try it. We went to sign up for that evening and it was full. (Doing the math, since our cruises had only slightly over 100 pax and this was the 5th night it seemed like they were allowing repeat reservations.) The next night was Vienna, with evening activities off the ship so no Chef's Table. We did not want to do it the last night. So we never tried it. We heard good things and will definitely make sure we get in on our next cruise.

We too are taking the AMA Stella Danube river cruise on the 20th out of Budapest. Would you mind sharing the AMA tip sheet if you still have it as we are doing Prague on our own?

I tried to upload it but it didnt work. Will try again when I have more time but the biggest takeaway was the V Kolkovne restaurant, which we loved. It is across from the Spanish Synagogue.

We just returned from our fabulous AMA Stella Danube cruise. Loved it! I will post a review this weekend but am happy to answer any questions. If you are travelling soon, note that many of the Xmas markets are already open and they are great! Also it was COLD on this trip. We wore every layer we had brought - 2 down jackets, hats, gloves etc. And often rainy. Also note if you are transferring through Munich or Frankfurt - we had horrendous experiences here - too short connection times (air booked by AMA Waterways), confusing airports, lack of signage. In fact worst connecting flights of my whole life! Also, not to be negative, but we did not like Lufthansa. If you are flying Lufthansa, dress in layers, the planes are HOT and there is no ventilation.

 

Loved the ship, the food, the crew, the sights. As I said I will post details soon.

Annmarz... what did you think about the temperature onboard the ship? Did you wear fleece or sweaters to dinner and sitting around the lounge? Hate to pack a whole separate wardrobe for on the ship... lol

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Annmarz... what did you think about the temperature onboard the ship? Did you wear fleece or sweaters to dinner and sitting around the lounge? Hate to pack a whole separate wardrobe for on the ship... lol

 

 

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I was comfortable wearing short sleeves in the dining room. So was my partner. Ship was not chilly. Our cabin was, but that's probably because we were below the water line. (Good for sleeping tho'.) No need to pack warm stuff just for the ship.

Annmarz

Would love to hear about your ports and the excursions offered by AMA if you have time to post. thanks again

Bob

Good morning, glad you had a good cruise:)........I sailed AMAStella last year and loved her too:D

If you could manage it, I would love to see the daily programs. Thanks for sharing!

Ports and Excursions - We were very happy with the itinerary and the ports - a nice mix of big cities and small - almost deserted this time of year - towns. They offer several choices and different levels of activity on the walking tours. I was surprised how many people opted for the bike tours in the chilly, often drizzly, weather, too.

The Cruise Manager gave several briefings onboard about the tours and procedures - good to attend these.

Salzburg was a highlight for me. We had an exceptionally good guide here and just really enjoyed the lovely town and the Sound of Music angle. We went on the full-day tour here which stopped at Mondsee which was lovely. And on the way back the bus drove around the main sights of Linz which we enjoyed. Other people who opted for the tour to the Medieval town in the Czech Republic were also very happy with their choice.

In Vienna, we went on the optional tour to the Schonbrunn Palace which was one of my favorites. The Carriage Museum was very interesting and there was an enormous Christmas market . Well worth the upcharge for this tour.

The AudioVox sound headsets they provide worked well (remember to place yours in the charger in your cabin) and I thought the pacing of the tours was just right. We always chose the "Regular" level of activity as did most people. There was always free time alloted and plenty of helpful suggestions for where to eat, shop etc. The maps provided by AMA were good too. The buses were very nice.

We felt like we saw a lot and actually found it quite rigorous at times. We did not go on some of the winery events just to give ourselves some downtime.

The Illuminations cruise in Budapest was spectacular. They even distributed blankets and brandy to warm us up out on deck.

Happy to answer specific questions about ports, excursions.

Anmarz

What was your experience (seating wise) at dinner? We are a family of four reconnecting over the holidays for some family time - and not that we are anti-social but would like to dine at a table for four vs a larger table. Understand that depending on the number of passengers on the sailing - but tables for 4 available? and or easily accommodated?

Also I know in 2018 AMA is promoting more healthy/fitness related options on board - did you see/notice any offerings on board? (yea I am a yoga enthusiast :D)

Anmarz

 

What was your experience (seating wise) at dinner? We are a family of four reconnecting over the holidays for some family time - and not that we are anti-social but would like to dine at a table for four vs a larger table. Understand that depending on the number of passengers on the sailing - but tables for 4 available? and or easily accommodated?

 

Also I know in 2018 AMA is promoting more healthy/fitness related options on board - did you see/notice any offerings on board? (yea I am a yoga enthusiast :D)

Hi, I am not Anmarz but I also sailed AMAStella......if you want to sit as a family, that should not be an issue. They

really cater to everyone:)......I can't remember all the table sizes, but I do know they have booths, you can get one

for the 4 of you as well.

Yes - there are quite a few booths and tables for 4. You will have no problem finding one.