Silversea compared to AMA river cruises

Someone asked about this in another thread.

We found our cruises on both to be fabulous. But they are much different.

An AMA river cruise ship is much smaller, maybe 140 pax. The cabins are much much smaller. However, since we were docked right in port we spent a lot of time off the ship. Food was excellent on both. Entertainment was a weak point on AMA but since ships stayed docked overnight it was easy to go ashore.

We'll do a river cruise again.

Hi, I have also sailed on AMA (once) and have been on SS once (going again in July:)).

I agree, River Cruising is totally different than ocean cruising (even though SS is much smaller than mainstream).

I will say, I LOVE both and am actually trying to decide which river cruise take in 2019. I found AMA's food, service, tours, etc...were all awesome:)........just to make you aware, the excursions are included in the price of the cruise.

There is only 1 dining room and one seating for dinner. I found the food delicious.

The cabins are much smaller but I sail solo and had plenty of room. I was off the boat on excursions every day so it was all good. The tours are very small in size and they had local tourguides.

Hope some of this helps:)

Lois, good point about one dining room. Also the excursions generally started around 9:00 or 9:30, which is much more civilized than 8:00. The extra hour makes a big difference to us!

Lois, good point about one dining room. Also the excursions generally started around 9:00 or 9:30, which is much more civilized than 8:00. The extra hour makes a big difference to us!

Hi, AND there were always 2 different tours times......(on my sailing anyway)........there were tours in the morning and then you could go back to the ship for lunch (if you wanted) and take another tour in the afternoon. And they had those audio devices which made things even better:)

CruiserFromMaine and LoisR - Thank you so much for taking the time to setup this topic and providing your perspective between AMA and SS. With this being my first river cruise, I've been worried that I'd be disappointed as I enjoy SS so much, especially since the AMA booking process wasn't very smooth. You both have put me at ease.

If I may impose, would you mind answering several more questions?

1. I've scheduled some excursions with a private guide, some with the ship, and some on my own as I enjoy the variety. Once docked, does AMA let you come and go as you please like SS does?
   
   • For example, in one city we dock at 4:30a and I would like to be off the ship by 6:00a.
     
   • In another city, we arrive at 9:30p and overnight. The next morning I want to be underway with the private guide by 7:00a as we have some extensive driving to do that day.
     

[*]I'm so naïve, I assumed dining on AMA would be like SS, i.e. show up whenever you like. I've planned all sorts of evening activities off the ship when docked, so when is the defined dining time and is it the same every night?

• How does the restaurant handle all passengers showing up at basically the same time for dinner?
  
  • Is there any flexibility at all with the time?
    

  [*]If you missed the single dining time, are there any other options on board, like room service or light snacks in the main lounge?

  [*]With just a single restaurant (other than the chef's table specialty restaurant), is there substantial variety in the menu, or does it stay static through the week?

  [*]Does the same procedure apply at breakfast and lunch, i.e. one single dining time?

[*]We're a party of three and the largest stateroom AMA would let us book is only 234 sq. ft. which is quite a bit smaller than what we're used to on SS. It seems so silly that they are willing to cram us into the small stateroom when we were more than willing to book their largest suite at 350 sq. ft. So, how tight are we going to be?

• Are there two sinks in the bathroom?
  

[*]As an ocean cruiser only, one of the oddest things to me was how long it took to receive the itinerary from AMA and then learning the ship tends to move during the day, for example leaving a city at 2:00p one day, or arriving at 6:00p in another city and departing at 7:00a the next morning. But, I understand now it's because there are things to observe while sailing on the river. So, how easy is it to find a chair on the sun deck to enjoy the ride?

• Are the chairs fixed on the deck (like in rows), or are they flexible like SS where one can place a seat virtually wherever they like?
  

Thanks again to both of you for taking the time to help me better prepare. It's apparent I should have looked to see if Cruise Critic has an AMAWaterways forum!

HappyCamper,

Glad to answer what I can...

You may come as go off the ship as wish as far as I recall. We went into town at least once and came back late with no issues. Someone from the ship will greet you.

There is a suggested dining time and really just one seating. Therefore, the dining room can accommodate everyone at once. There is probably a room service option but I don’t recall. The environment is much more congenial than even a SS cruise so dining is a group event. The menu was different each dinner, and each lunch if I recall. Breakfast was pretty similar each day. Lunch and breakfast times were a little more flexible and they included a buffet plus menu service.

Three people in our cabin would be a non starter. Way too cramped and only one sink. You might need a travel agent to help sort out your cabin selection.

It’s very easy to find a movable chair on deck. It’s a great way to see the countryside and you sail along.

There is a review cruising forum on CC that covers all cruise lines.

Happy Camper,

You might want to post your questions in the river cruise board.

Hi, I would also suggest posting your questions on the River Cruise Forum but will try and answer what I can remember..........I sailed with them in 2016.

One seating for dinner.........they opened the dining the room at 7 (I think) and they really do request everyone

dine at the same time.

If I recall, breakfast and lunch had choices from a menu and they had a buffet as well........this was inside the same dining room as dinner.

As for getting on and off the ship? You should not have any problems with that and crew/staff were always

very accommodating Remember tours are included in your cruise fare (you said you were taking private tours?) I remember the Captain always seemed to be waiting at the gangway to greet people upon their return:)

3 people in a cabin? Unless you book a suite I think that is going to be quite tight (just my opinion).

You shouldn't have a problem finding a deck chair. I sailed in APRIL and it was much too cold to sit out on deck. (for me anyway).

I also remember they served more of a "light lunch" in the lounge area...........if you didn't want to eat in the dining room..........if I recall, they had soups/sandwiches/pastries served...and another bit of information........the lounge area is like a living room......couches/chairs/coffee tables/etc..........it was a very comfortable area where you could chat during the day, read, relax......and the Cruise Manager would give talks about the next day's port and informative stuff about the area.

In the evenings, you could sit and have drinks in there as well and they had various musicians who played. (Not like a show in a theater) but in my case they had some wonderful singers. A couple of them were locals.

CruiseFromMaine and Lois R, once again thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and compare/contrast AMA and SS. Your responses were extremely helpful!

I wanted to second HappyCamper777's "Thanks" as I've enjoyed this thread too!

To answer the question about coming and going as you like when the AMA ship is docked, you are absolutely free to do that. We have been on 2 AMA cruises. The first one, we were docked overnight in Vienna. We had arranged to meet friends for dinner, and arrived back at the ship very late. The entrance to the ship was locked, but there was a night receptionist sitting at reception who was there to let late arrivers back on board.

Regarding meals, you really do have to turn up at the start of the mealtime, particularly lunch and dinner. The dining room is open for more limited hours than on a ocean cruise ship.

Thanks Rachel! I'm glad we'll be able to go and come as we please. And, regarding those meals served at the anointed hour, I have no doubt we'll be missing a few, especially lunches. No biggie, we'll just grab a light bite in the main lounge, or better yet, a local restaurant.

Thanks again for chiming in!

HappyCamper777, river cruising is very relaxed in general. We haven't done AMA but we have done a few on Uniworld, which we found similar to Silversea. But river vs. ocean cruises are definitely apples vs. oranges in a number of ways.

On Uniworld, dining times are definitely more flexible. I suspect this is true on other lines as well, but definitely on Uniworld, breakfast and lunch times are not fixed. You can come in when you want, and spend as long or as little time as you want, within the posted opening hours.

I will tell you that on Uniworld, there were times when we didn't want to join the dinner rush at 7, so we hung out in the bar and went to dinner an hour later without a problem. There are actually some advantages to doing that because they tend to move you along faster when you start later.

And yes, you can come and go as you please. We went out around 11:00 one night in Vienna, and on our Rhone cruise a few years back, we went out late for nighttime walks in Viviers and Avignon too. They won't make you sleep on the dock if you miss an arbitrary "curfew" time.

One caveat. The arrival and departure times can change with minimal notice. You have to be flexible. River conditions can and do change rapidly. It's not like tides, which can be predicted years in advance.

There can be delays or schedule changes at locks. The ship cannot miss its allotted time slot at a lock or it might be bumped to the end of the line. Or if the river level is rising, sometimes the captain will make a last-minute decision to leave a port early so that they can get under a low bridge while they still can. Or one of a myriad of other circumstances may necessitate a schedule change.

So it can be dicey to arrange a private tour whose hours are closely dependent on the ship adhering to the published arrival and departure times. It will probably work...but things can change. Don't be surprised. If you are out on your own, make sure that the ship knows how to reach you, or you might be catching a train to the next port - which would not really be a big problem, as distances tend to be small, and trains are faster than river boats.