AMA Waterways/Viking River Cruises - What's the Difference?

[SailingSiggy]

Looking into my first river cruise in 2017. Well traveled on ocean cruises however trying to distinguish the difference between AMA and Viking from all of the "brochure" talk which sounds like the same individual wrote them all. For those that have sailed on both lines, is there anything that stands out on one over the other?

[JVilleGal]

Start with cabin size and number of passengers per ship. Hint: ships/boats are pretty much the same size

 

Some posters on this board would tell you that this would be an Apples & Oranges comparison. Spend some time reading the River Board, an evening or 2.

[hiccups]

With the caveat that I haven't sailed on either, based on my research and the posts I've read here, AMA is a bit more upscale than Viking, and I believe in the past has had much better customer service than Viking when there's a problem. AMA's dining is also regarded as a higher quality than Viking's.

 

Unless there was a huge price differential, personally I'd go with AMA over Viking. There are a couple posters that have sailed both so hopefully they will chime in, and I'm sure you'll hear from posters that have sailed exclusively on one or the other.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Welcome to the River Cruising forum!

 

I suggest you start by reading the sticky New to RIVER CRUISING??? at the top of this forum, especially the downloadable pdf:

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-g...t_rid=99616845

which discusses each cruise line and compares them to ocean cruise lines and hotels [this will give you a frame of reference]. The range among river cruise lines that market in the US is fairly small -- but there are differences from the bottom to the top, and the prices don't vary as much as it first appears because the more expensive lines include more things that cost extra on the "cheaper" lines. For information on choosing a river, read the sticky River Cruise Basics articles on Cruise Critic at the top of this forum. I also recommend the book Berlitz River Cruising in Europe by Douglas Ward, which may be found at your public library.

[franski]

I have sailed with both.

 

The biggest difference - when booking - is to be aware that Viking wants the entire cruise paid for up front. That is a huge turn off for many - but, given that we don't get much interest on our money in the bank - not a huge issue for us.

 

Viking advertises the sale that never ends - so don't get pulled into that one....

 

I still maintain that one of the biggest factors on any river cruise is the Cruise Director, and you have no way of controlling that --> or even finding out who your CD will be.

 

Food is subjective - so is decor. Room space, and shared space you can find out from the brochures - so read them closely. Only you can decide if a balcony (french or real) is important.

 

Is there a reason why you are focused on those 2 lines? There are a number of other lines that also offer a solid product.

 

You will find many "cheerleaders" here - and everyone has their favourite - for their own personal reasons... (either loyal as their 1st was so good they won't look elsewhere... or a good or bad experience that they want to repeat/avoid).

 

If there is something that you *really* want to see or experience, look for a cruise that meets that need. You should think about how all-inclusive you want/need the cruise to be - as that will affect the price. If price isn't really a factor, then you may want to consider one of the companies that have a higher "luxury" factor (Scenic, Uniworld, Tauck).

 

Our 1 cruise with AMA wasn't stellar, but I place a lot of that at the feet of the CD (not great...). I would sail with them again if they had an itinerary that met our needs. The food was satisfactory - but not memorable. Again - food is subjective - and you are really at the mercy of the chef - and his galley crew. We are not "foodies" - so food doesn't drive our choices the same way it does for others.

 

AMA (from memory) is slightly more upscale in some ways - but I have found the prices slightly higher than Viking. Viking does not advertise a luxury experience - and they really don't deliver it. I feel they offer a solid product for the money.

 

Viking has a customer service department that can be a challenge to deal with if you have concerns. Many here complain about it (lots of CC members who have never sailed with Viking complain about it...:confused: ) but there are many who have never had any problems. I have had challenges - but persevered and Viking addressed my issues.

 

Not sure if I really helped... please post with any questions if you feel you would like some further detail.

 

Have fun planning!!

 

Fran

[SailingSiggy]

Is there a reason why you are focused on those 2 lines? There are a number of other lines that also offer a solid product.

 

If there is something that you *really* want to see or experience, look for a cruise that meets that need. You should think about how all-inclusive you want/need the cruise to be - as that will affect the price. If price isn't really a factor, then you may want to consider one of the companies that have a higher "luxury" factor (Scenic, Uniworld, Tauck).

 

 

Not sure if I really helped... please post with any questions if you feel you would like some further detail.

 

Have fun planning!!

 

Fran

 

Fran,

 

Thanks for all of the info, this indeed does help and good to hear from someone that has been on both. As someone else mentioned the # of cabins/passengers, cabin sizes etc., I have all of that information available in the brochures. Cabin sizes are basically the same and the majority of the additional cabins on Viking are on the lower deck without French/balcony.

 

I had also checked Uniworld and on comparable itineraries did find them to be high priced. 8 night Uniworld more expensive than 10-12 nighters on the others. And yes, AMA is slightly higher than Viking. Had not considered Tauck and had not heard of Scenic but will check them out.

 

One thing I do like on AMA is that the ships do have some pool/hot tub whereby Viking doesn't. Also AMA at least advertises nightly entertainment while Viking/Uni don't even mention entertainment. Not sure what the entertainment is and it may be lectures on the next days stop which is ok. My one concern is that by 9 pm on a river cruise (European or US) the ship will amount to a ghost town. I can only read myself to sleep so many nights in a row. And yes, I would not expect entertainment along the lines of the major cruise lines.

 

For now I'm specifically looking at Rhine/Danube river cruises. Have always wanted to do at least one but always pushed back after figuring out prices and then comparing that to what I pay for a Caribbean cruise. I know, you can't compare the two cruise experiences.

[hiccups]

Fran,

 

Thanks for all of the info, this indeed does help and good to hear from someone that has been on both. As someone else mentioned the # of cabins/passengers, cabin sizes etc., I have all of that information available in the brochures. Cabin sizes are basically the same and the majority of the additional cabins on Viking are on the lower deck without French/balcony.

 

I had also checked Uniworld and on comparable itineraries did find them to be high priced. 8 night Uniworld more expensive than 10-12 nighters on the others. And yes, AMA is slightly higher than Viking. Had not considered Tauck and had not heard of Scenic but will check them out.

 

One thing I do like on AMA is that the ships do have some pool/hot tub whereby Viking doesn't. Also AMA at least advertises nightly entertainment while Viking/Uni don't even mention entertainment. Not sure what the entertainment is and it may be lectures on the next days stop which is ok. My one concern is that by 9 pm on a river cruise (European or US) the ship will amount to a ghost town. I can only read myself to sleep so many nights in a row. And yes, I would not expect entertainment along the lines of the major cruise lines.

 

For now I'm specifically looking at Rhine/Danube river cruises. Have always wanted to do at least one but always pushed back after figuring out prices and then comparing that to what I pay for a Caribbean cruise. I know, you can't compare the two cruise experiences.

 

Make sure you check out the "current deals" section of each company's website, and get on their email lists. We wanted to do a Rhine cruise and were really interested in Uniworld but at first blush thought it was outside our price range. Thanks to one of their specials Uniworld ended up being cheaper than AMA, and the gratuities and all but premium spirits were included. We went with a longer Rhine/Moselle itinerary that isn't offered by all the lines.

[JVilleGal]

I think you may have missed an important component of this comment. Those extra cabins may well be on the lower decks and maybe you won't be... But all those extra passenger (40 - 60 of them) will be overflowing into the limited public spaces to include the one seating dining room and tours.

 

The river boats can only be so big as they have to fit in locks that are a fixed width and length and still be able to sail under many old bridges.

[SailingSiggy]

I think you may have missed an important component of this comment. Those extra cabins may well be on the lower decks and maybe you won't be... But all those extra passenger (40 - 60 of them) will be overflowing into the limited public spaces to include the one seating dining room and tours.

 

The river boats can only be so big as they have to fit in locks that are a fixed width and length and still be able to sail under many old bridges.

 

I fully understand the ship size restrictions and I didn't miss the point. The difference in passenger capacity of the ships I'm looking at for the cruises I'm considering is 26.

[nordski]

I have sailed with both.

 

The biggest difference - when booking - is to be aware that Viking wants the entire cruise paid for up front. That is a huge turn off for many - but, given that we don't get much interest on our money in the bank - not a huge issue for us.

 

Viking advertises the sale that never ends - so don't get pulled into that one....

 

I still maintain that one of the biggest factors on any river cruise is the Cruise Director, and you have no way of controlling that --> or even finding out who your CD will be.

 

Food is subjective - so is decor. Room space, and shared space you can find out from the brochures - so read them closely. Only you can decide if a balcony (french or real) is important.

 

Is there a reason why you are focused on those 2 lines? There are a number of other lines that also offer a solid product.

 

You will find many "cheerleaders" here - and everyone has their favourite - for their own personal reasons... (either loyal as their 1st was so good they won't look elsewhere... or a good or bad experience that they want to repeat/avoid).

 

If there is something that you *really* want to see or experience, look for a cruise that meets that need. You should think about how all-inclusive you want/need the cruise to be - as that will affect the price. If price isn't really a factor, then you may want to consider one of the companies that have a higher "luxury" factor (Scenic, Uniworld, Tauck).

 

Our 1 cruise with AMA wasn't stellar, but I place a lot of that at the feet of the CD (not great...). I would sail with them again if they had an itinerary that met our needs. The food was satisfactory - but not memorable. Again - food is subjective - and you are really at the mercy of the chef - and his galley crew. We are not "foodies" - so food doesn't drive our choices the same way it does for others.

 

AMA (from memory) is slightly more upscale in some ways - but I have found the prices slightly higher than Viking. Viking does not advertise a luxury experience - and they really don't deliver it. I feel they offer a solid product for the money.

 

Viking has a customer service department that can be a challenge to deal with if you have concerns. Many here complain about it (lots of CC members who have never sailed with Viking complain about it...:confused: ) but there are many who have never had any problems. I have had challenges - but persevered and Viking addressed my issues.

 

Not sure if I really helped... please post with any questions if you feel you would like some further detail.

 

Have fun planning!!

 

Fran

 

 

Great post.

 

Thanks!

[SailingSiggy]

Welcome to the River Cruising forum!

 

I suggest you start by reading the sticky New to RIVER CRUISING??? at the top of this forum, especially the downloadable pdf:

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-g...t_rid=99616845

which discusses each cruise line and compares them to ocean cruise lines and hotels [this will give you a frame of reference].

 

Host Jazzbeau, thanks. This did give a good comparison and reference points.

[SailingSiggy]

Fran,

 

Any information regarding flights? Viking lists references for flights booked through them, understanding that their listed price is probably a "target". However, the other river lines don't talk pricing for their airfare. Assuming you may have used the cruiselines air did you find AMA to offer comparable prices?

[TravelerThom]

... However, the other river lines don't talk pricing for their airfare. Assuming you may have used the cruiselines air did you find AMA to offer comparable prices?

Many of the river cruise lines try to hold the line on pricing (or in Viking's case hold the line on their eternal half price). One way they sometimes discount cruises they are trying to move, is by offering air at half price or free, so looking just at air pricing does not tell the whole story. Usual list price for air offered by most river cruise lines is the same or slightly higher than readily available on the web, but the cruise line air does typically include transfers. Many companies charge an air deviation fee if you want to arrive early or stay late for travel on your own (generally no deviation fee if you are taking their often quite overpriced extensions). This all gets confusing enough, that the best solution is figure out what places you want to go, and add up all the charges (addition charges may include tips to the ship crew, to the Cruise Director, to local guides and drivers, port fees, beverage charges, optional excursions, air deviation, etc - some companies include almost everything in their price, some expect extra for almost all). With at least estimates of total price for trips that go essentially the same places, then consider company reputation for customer service, public spaces, etc and how much extra you are willing to pay for niceties. River cruises are distinctly at the mercy of water levels - too much water and they can't get under the bridges, too little and they have insufficient depth to move; company reputations turning lemons into lemonade at such times varies a LOT. I wish it was easier, but I will thankfully say that I personally have encountered very few problems in a dozen river cruises.

 

Thom

[pereirageorge7701]

Viking the best .. May be no pool no sauna but u gotta be there to believe. Viking magni

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Capt_BJ]

recently back from our first river cruise and went thru this same decision process ....

 

a couple of comments

 

) if the ships are 'new' they are the same size - ship wise - from line to line. The locks are just SO big, and the new river cruisers are built to maximum canal size, which includes a vertical component too! Room size might vary, and we saw some that looked like every room was a huge suite Hint - look at max pass' number if you can find it.

 

) our VIKING longship was 2 years old . . . . it was in great shape. In fact our "basement room" on VIKING was nicer than our balcony room on the QM2 (how we came back to the states) ..... the bathroom was nicer ... the TV bigger ..... Along the river I was surprised when we were close to an AMA vessel, how SIMILAR they appeared from the outside.

 

) when we got down to VIKING vs AMA vs UNI the question reduced to 'all inclusive' or pay for booze in our case . . . thru the TA we used we got $200 pp OBC on VIKING. DW does not drink much and in the end we saved $$. On the last day the staff 'advised me' we had OBC to use ..... (btw free wine and beer dinner and lunch on V .... we had no complaints altho some do complain about the quality of the wine. We're wine slobs I guess.)

 

) some of the other lines offered free use of bicycles ... and I'll admit, I might have used them. For how many $$$$ ..... I think our decision is obvious by now.

 

) we always book our own air ..... we flew LOT JFK to Warsaw and connected out from there and saved a TON over what any of these guys wanted to charge. YES, it takes a little work. We sat in 'premium class' for less then any of these would charge for coach and got better food, bigger seats and and and. BTW, have you read about crowds in Frankfurt or Paris? Warsaw was EMPTY ... new and super clean!!!!!

 

) on our cruise ... anything on the top deck (pool) was inaccessible for half the cruise as the top deck was closed due to water levels vs low clearances. (and did you see the size of those pools?????)

 

) food is subjective and having only done one can not compare. But the Vik' food was at least as good as the food on QM2 . . . AT LEAST

 

) V's advertising is 'creative' in their numbers but they are not alone in doing that in the cruise industry!!!!!!

Edited July 14, 2015 by Capt_BJ

[DrivesLikeMario]

I think you may have missed an important component of this comment. Those extra cabins may well be on the lower decks and maybe you won't be... But all those extra passenger (40 - 60 of them) will be overflowing into the limited public spaces to include the one seating dining room and tours.

 

The river boats can only be so big as they have to fit in locks that are a fixed width and length and still be able to sail under many old bridges.

 

Totally agree! And, with more passengers, that means many more meals to prepare all at once. Many have reported cold food that should be hot in the dining room or lukewarm food at times. Also, it's that many more passengers to get organized onto buses for the tours. I prefer to sail with the smaller suite boats that carry about 128 passengers. Tauck and Avalon's boats carry less than the others. Just another consideration when choosing. ;)

[JVilleGal]

Even 26 extra passengers is 13 extra cabins..... Give me AMA any day of the week! Please :)

[caviargal]

Even 26 extra passengers is 13 extra cabins..... Give me AMA any day of the week! Please :)

 

Same here. Viking is never even an option, period. We'll pay more to have the quality of experience we enjoy.

[JVilleGal]

Same here. Viking is never even an option, period. We'll pay more to have the quality of experience we enjoy.

 

I think possibly the OP is a fan of Public Tellevision/Masterpiece Theater and those very gorgeous Viking TV commercials

 

Sorry I don't mean to sound critical....

Edited July 15, 2015 by JVilleGal

[franski]

Fran,

 

Any information regarding flights? Viking lists references for flights booked through them, understanding that their listed price is probably a "target". However, the other river lines don't talk pricing for their airfare. Assuming you may have used the cruiselines air did you find AMA to offer comparable prices?

 

John - we will usually ask what the cruiselines are offering as far as air goes, and then try to match or beat it. We tend to go in a day early - and stay a day or 2 later (if our cruise is less than 2 weeks) and have only found it "cheaper" to go with the cruise air on 1 or 2 occasions (we have gone on 9 river cruises to date...).

 

Uniworld, Scenic and (I believe) Tauck offer transfers on day of embarkation and disembarkation even if you book your own air. Most others offer the service if you book air through them - and will offer transfers at a price if you want to pay them for the transfer. We usually have been able to find reasonable private transfers on our own - and can provide some options in Budapest, Bucharest and Prague if you are interested. We have found public transport in both Amsterdam and Nice.

 

If you are looking at the Danube or Rhine - look at Scenic's 8 day Gems of the Danube. We found that itinerary comparably priced when we did it 2 years ago - and it was all inclusive. We did Budapest on our own ahead - and then stayed a few extra days in Nuremberg (we did not do the extension to Prague as we had been there before....). The price starts to climb when you add in a land portion. Scenic is quite pricey except for this itinerary.

 

Right now Avalon has some specials on their 2016 cruises. Scenic is offering free air for some of their longer cruises (ie: 15 days). There seems to be some deals available across the board if you think you are interested in traveling this year.

 

Hope this helps... Happy to answer further questions if you have any.

 

Fran

[SHIPMEOUT]

Uniworld, Scenic and (I believe) Tauck offer transfers on day of embarkation and disembarkation even if you book your own air. Most others offer the service if you book air through them - and will offer transfers at a price if you want to pay them for the transfer.

 

I'll add Avalon to the list. They also included transfers on day of embarkation and disembarkation, even though we booked our own air.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Fran -- how well do private transfers work with the (apparently) increasingly variable docking locations? I figure the cruise line transfer has to know where the ship actually is, but how do the private drivers know?

[pacmom]

Am probably not as articulate as Fran, but here goes. We have sailed on both Viking and AMA. Have never sailed on a longship and do not want to. The french balcony cabin is 135 sq.ft,--quite small for the price asked. Also have traveled on the Viking Sun with 198 pax and it was crowded and noisey in the public spaces. Tours were also crowded. As Fran has said repeatedly the CD can make or break a cruise. Our first V trip had a wonderful CD, as did our 4th in China. The other two were terrible. Food and included wine were okay.

 

AMA--3trips--the duoro and 2 Christmas market trips. They were all excellent and the CDs were also excellent. Cabins very nice, the last had both a true balcony and a french balcony. Food was excellent on all three. The one last December had the chef's table--small dining room with a fixed menu, cooked right in front of us----sooooo good.

 

Viking's main downfall as repeated on many threads is customer service or lack thereof. We have traveled on all the major lines but for Tauck and Senic. We are running out of rivers and are looking into the Road Scholar offerings on CroisiEurope--Spain in Oct.

 

Good luck finding the best fit for you. Pat

[franski]

Fran -- how well do private transfers work with the (apparently) increasingly variable docking locations? I figure the cruise line transfer has to know where the ship actually is, but how do the private drivers know?

 

Hi - not sure - as we have only used them for transfers to hotels so far.

 

On one trip where we missed our transfer (horrible snow storm - arrived in Cologne at 6 pm - although scheduled to arrive before noon) we phoned the boat as the number was in our documents - and they told us where they were docked so we could take a cab.

 

When we did the Danube with Scenic, we flew into Budapest a couple of days early - and asked the concierge at our hotel to call the boat to confirm the docking location before setting out.

 

Fran

[SailingSiggy]

John - we will usually ask what the cruiselines are offering as far as air goes, and then try to match or beat it.

 

We usually have been able to find reasonable private transfers on our own - and can provide some options in Budapest, Bucharest and Prague if you are interested. We have found public transport in both Amsterdam and Nice.

 

If you are looking at the Danube or Rhine - look at Scenic's 8 day Gems of the Danube. Scenic is quite pricey except for this itinerary.

 

Right now Avalon has some specials on their 2016 cruises. Scenic is offering free air for some of their longer cruises (ie: 15 days). There seems to be some deals available across the board if you think you are interested in traveling this year.

 

Hope this helps... Happy to answer further questions if you have any.

 

Fran

 

Fran great information. I am actually planning ahead for a 2017 cruise and just trying to get some decision points so I can be ready, or close to ready, once the 2017 schedules come out.

 

Based on the 2016 schedules I'm leaning towards either Viking's Rheinland Discovery (12 nights Bruges to Basel) or AMA's Enchanting Rhine (12 nights Amsterdam to Zurich). I do have 4 others on my list under consideration including Viking's Grand European Tour but at this early point am most likely to select from the first two.

 

I need to go over some time in the next week or so and sit down with my TA and go over all of this to see what info she can provide. Seems to me that today TAs are more a booking agent rather than a travel agent. And for the major cruise lines that is pretty much what I use them for as I have done almost 40 voyages on cruise ships so I know what I want there.

 

That's why I'm looking at 2017 for my river cruise as I already have 2016 filled with the major cruise lines and need to decide if I'm doing a river cruise before the cruise lines remaining 2017 schedules come out and I book myself full.