My First River Cruise.....OMG....

[Lois R]

WED we were docked in Amsterdam and had buses take us to the Gardens.

Not sure I posted that already. When we came back to the ship we had

lunch and then did the Jordaan tour in the afternoon. A bus drove us from

the ship to the area and we did more walking and the bus picked us up

and took us back to the ship.

 

I would say there is ALOT of walking on a River cruise and to make sure

you have good walking shoes. I don't do walking here at home (yes,

I know I should)....but I got a pair of Merrell's and they were the

best......wore them every day (with socks) and my feet felt fine.

I know I did not list everything/everywhere we walked but I know

it was miles and miles....

When we went to Bruge (for example) the busses pulled up and I thought

the area looked like a park...it was beautiful. It took a good while to

get to the inside of the city....I was speaking with some other folks on

the tour and we all thought we walked somewhere between 8-10

miles that day. Thankfully we did have "downtime"...I found a great

place for lunch.....try the Mussells:D......they are delicious.

 

And I know most of you are photographers/picture takers....I am not.

I do know you will find lots of flowers/statues/items to take pictures

of though;)

 

We had our last night on the ship and Thursday morning everyone was

off....they had everyone in different colored tags, depending on what

time you needed. Get this......it was me and 1 other couple...we had

transfers included in our cruise. Well, for just the 3 of us they had

regular sized bus.....yes, a big bus for just us lol.....they could have

gotten an SUV......

We were on the bus at 8:15am....I gave Nick and the Capt big hugs and

Thank you's.....and AMA had staff waiting at the airport for us as well!

Had a guy help me get checked in and everything......very classy.

 

Oh, when we got off the ship, they had staff who took our bags to that

big bus:)

 

I had a fantastic time and probably missed some things on here so if you

have any questions I would be happy to answer them.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Lois R

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks Lois. We haven't done the Tulip Time tour, but your experience sounds just like both of our AMA cruises (Rhine and Rhone). So when you are ready to book your next river cruise [and we all know there WILL be a next time!], you can be sure that AMA will be just as good as you remember it, whichever river you choose next!

[Lois R]

Thanks Lois. We haven't done the Tulip Time tour, but your experience sounds just like both of our AMA cruises (Rhine and Rhone). So when you are ready to book your next river cruise [and we all know there WILL be a next time!], you can be sure that AMA will be just as good as you remember it, whichever river you choose next!

 

Hi Jazz:) thanks.....oh, they were offering a lower deposit if you book

on board......you didn't have to pick a specific itinerary. So I gave them

the $...so there will be a next cruise for sure;) and they said you will

get a 5% discount on the total too.:D

[Host Jazzbeau]

Hi Jazz:) thanks.....oh, they were offering a lower deposit if you book

on board......you didn't have to pick a specific itinerary. So I gave them

the $...so there will be a next cruise for sure;) and they said you will

get a 5% discount on the total too.:D

 

Yes, and you can continue to build your set of Napkin Rings!

[Rebel54]

I really enjoyed your report. :) It made me even more excited for our upcoming adventure. I'm so glad that you enjoyed your trip. It shouldn't have ended so quickly.

[purduemom1]

Hi Lois,

 

Great review with a lot of details-thanks do much:) I appreciated your comment about the knit tops and the care AMA took when washing them. I have never sent anything to be laundered because I don't put most of my cloths in the dryer so figured it just wouldn't work for me. Guess I may have to give it a try next cruise.

 

You commented about the bikes and that each person has 4 bikes. You may have noticed that most of the bikes aren't all that fancy or new looking. Right near Central Station is a multi level bike parking garage as well as bike racks along the sidewalk. Always a "sea" of bikes there. We saw people cram bikes in between 2 parked bikes when it looked like there wasn't any space at all! Boy those bikes really take a beating so it's no wonder that people have more than one!

 

I wanted to ask who your Captsin was? Also, how did you like lotion, bath gel, shampoo etc? Was it Hydro? I loved it and wish I could find it here in the US.

 

Glad you have so many happy memories-you chose really great tours!

 

Sharon

[Jayayeff]

Lois,

 

Thank you for posting re your recent river cruise experience. Knowing you were previously a solo ocean ship cruiser, it is reassuring to read that you enjoyed your river cruise so much. I will be making the change from ocean to river in September, and whilst I will have company onboard as a couple I have travelled with previously, plus another solo lady friend of theirs, will be on the same cruise, it was good to read your positive review as a solo onboard..

 

I have one question re accommodation. What deck level were you on?? I am booked on the lowest deck (aquarium class) in order to get the lowest single supplement and my one concern is how light, or dark, those cabins with just the higher lever windows are...Thanks..

 

Anne...

[Lois R]

Good morning folks:)

 

Before I answer the questions I want to say you cannot really compare

an Ocean cruise to a River Cruise. They are so totally different it is not

a fair comparison (in my opinion anyway). I wish I could put one word

on it but it is more than 1 thing....the whole experience is so opposite

of a large ship. They do give you what is called a "Safety Card" and you

need to take it with you everytime you leave the ship. It is up to you to

remember to give it back each time you step back on the ship. There

is no machine that you have to use to put said card in out and of.....(like

the big ships have).

Also, they know you quite well after the first day and are good at

remembering your cabin number too. Maybe "Intimate" would be part

of it all.....an easy experience and they try to make the week easy

for all of us.

Again, Kudos to Nick. He seemed to be the type of person who truly

loves his job and it comes across that way. I am guessing the other

Cruise Managers probably feel the same.

 

I forgot one other thing....at the end of the cruise there was a blue

gift box on my bed.....(everyone got one)......AMA gave us beautiful

blue scarf's.....I am not a scarf wearer but I was VERY impressed with

it.....what a wonderful gesture:)

 

Now to answering some of your questions..

Captain Sjaak van der Weide.....big guy, bald, very jovial:)

 

Toiletries were Hydro and yes they were very nice. I brought a travel

size bottle of my Aveeno shampoo but never opened it.

 

I was on deck 1....had no issues at all with lightness/darkness. It is

also the deck AMA uses for waiving the single supplement so I was very

happy with it too:)......during the day the curtains opened (had 2 good

size windows)....at night the curtains closed.

Edited April 17, 2016 by Lois R

[Lois R]

Hi again:)....Jazz, I realize I did this broken up in posts......is there a way

you could help me get it together so it could be posted on the Reviews

Section?....this is a brand new ship and it is not listed on the AMA listing of ships

over on that page on here......AMA STELLA:)

Edited April 17, 2016 by Lois R

[Lois R]

I knew I would forget stuff.....we did have rafting so now it makes sense

to me. Not in every port but there were a few. You walked through other

ships to get to land....actullay one of my cruisemates didn't realize it and

thought our ship was larger than it really was:D;)....we were in another

ship LOL.......;)

[DrChip]

Hi George here,

 

This will be our second river cruise, the first we went from Amsterdam to Budapest, this time we are going Budapest to Amsterdam.. The main reason why the same cruise but in reverse is that the offered price was just to good to refuse.

 

My lovely wife and I travel two to three time a year over seas and did a three month stint driving through the south of France last year and loved it.

 

This offer came up and we thought why not? 15 days, we don't do tours, we just like to grab a couple of bikes and do our own thing.

 

We end up in Amsterdam once again, there we pick up a car and drive down through France to Italy keeping well away from big cities.

 

Our first cruise was through AAPT and then Viking, we must say we had a ball, loved every minute of it. This time we are with a company we had never heard of. Lüftner Cruises.. sailing on the Amadeus Princess on the 25th of June.. here's hope all goes well .. They have free bikes so we are happy with that.

 

Cheers

George

Edited April 17, 2016 by DrChip

[phabric]

I enjoyed your review. I will on my first river cruise 2017 with AMA.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Hi again:)....Jazz, I realize I did this broken up in posts......is there a way

you could help me get it together so it could be posted on the Reviews

Section?....this is a brand new ship and it is not listed on the AMA listing of ships

over on that page on here......AMA STELLA:)

 

All I can suggest is that you copy and paste each of your posts into a word-processing document, edit to stitch them together as you like, then use that as the copy/paste source for your review. There is no direct path from the Boards to the Review section. But I don't know where you should create the review if there is no page for AmaStella...

Edited April 17, 2016 by Host Jazzbeau

[Bonnie Voyager]

Hi again:)....Jazz, I realize I did this broken up in posts......is there a way

you could help me get it together so it could be posted on the Reviews

Section?....this is a brand new ship and it is not listed on the AMA listing of ships

over on that page on here......AMA STELLA:)

 

.......Not sure where to start........LOL.......I know CC has a review section

but after receiving so much help on here I want to post about my cruise

on this forum

After 13 years of Ocean cruises I decided to take my first River cruise.

I had been thinking about it for quite a few years but never booked one.

Last year I finally made the decision and realized I really wanted to do

it. My sister has been on both Ocean and River cruises and I know she

enjoys both. I also know my TA and she and her husband love River

Cruising too so I had at least 2 individuals who love them and both have

sailed AMA and recommended them to me very highly.

I was not disappointed

 

I have always wanted to go to the Netherlands and when I saw the

"Tulip Time" itinerary I knew that is the one I was going to choose.

I booked this cruise back in the summer of 2015 (very end of July)

and so there was a lot of time to wait......(with a Caribbean cruise in

between) back in November.

 

........for a bit about me.....I am 58 and I sail solo. I had done

a lot of research and knew this would be very different than an ocean cruise

and that was the case for sure. I would say it is 180 degrees different.

The Ambiance, food, ship, everything..........totally different.

We had (from what I was told) 114 passengers on board on a ship that

holds 158.

So it was very easy to meet other folks, passengers as well at the staff.

 

AMA is a privately owned company and I felt VERY welcomed.....brand

new ship. I originally thought this was the Inaugural sailing but it was not...

it was the 3rd cruise.....although I would have never known anyone was

on board before me. It was spotless...beautifully appointed and in my

opinion, she has a warm and welcoming feel to her. That includes the

staff and crew and as the Capt stated, a ship can be beautiful but the

people are the soul of her and they have a fabulous crew.

 

Backing up a bit........I arrived in Amsterdam a day early and stayed at

"The Banks Mansion" hotel. It is a lovely property. A big flower market

on one side, with a canal on the other, it is sort of a cross between a

B&B and a hotel. The lobby is like a living room with a fire place and

complimentary juices/coffees/teas/booze (yes liquors are included).

The large breakfast room is downstairs and is also included in the price.

The staff (reception) are very warm and welcoming.....and helpful too.

 

My flight actually arrived in Amsterdam 45 minutes early and finding

my luggage and a cab was very quick. It cost 60 euros from AMS to

Banks Mansion. There were probably cheaper forms of transportation but

this worked out fine for me.

I got to the hotel about 8:30am and of course there were no rooms ready.

I really wanted to shower and change clothes from what I flew in all

night but that was not possible. The gals at the front desk were really

nice but they were sold out the previous night so nothing much they could

do....I had a couple of cups of tea and sat for awhile.......then I walked to

Flower Market for about an hour and there are lots of shops/cafes/cheeses

and strolled around there until about 11 and then felt myself getting tired

again. I went back to the hotel but there were still no rooms ready.

Then about 12:15 the gal said they had a room...I wanted to give her

a hug!.....I took a hot shower...it was fabulous and changed my clothes.

 

I had done research on different tours/excursions in Amsterdam for

my one day and found a company called "HUNGRY BIRDS". It is a culinary

tour and sounded like a lot of fun and it was......

It started at 2:00pm (the other big reason I wanted to shower and change)

who wants to tour in clothing they slept in all night on the plane...........

 

I had a map of where to meet the tour and found it pretty easily. The

guides were 2 gals and we had about 9 others so I think we had 11 of

us.....and there were 9 stops....different restaurants/cheese shops/etc.

It was an international group.....me, a couple from the UK, a couple from

Israel and 4 folks from Germany. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

The downside was it rained all afternoon. And by the time we reached

stop 7 I had lost all my energy. There were 2 stops after that but I could

not continue and it was about 4:30 by then.......you know, 2nd wind is

gone and you feel like you cannot do anything more.......I wish I could

have stayed but it was just not possible. One of the gals walked with me

to the corner and I got a cab back to the hotel. It was about 6.5 euros

from where we were so not too far away. I gave the girls (tour guides)

a nice tip and the minute my head hit my pillow I fell asleep. I slept for

about 4 hours and woke up (thinking it was the next morning LOL.)......

I went back to sleep and then woke up about midnight...watched tv in the room,

and fell back asleep about 4am and finally woke up again about 9am

(this was finally sail day)! So I did end up sleeping but there were a few

hours in the middle night of tv watching........

I felt much better after finally getting up about 9am

 

Next up would be sail day.....I woke up about 9am and took another

hot shower and proceeded to head downstairs of the hotel for breakfast.

They had all sorts of meats/cheeses/fruits and breads, along with

cereals and an omelette man who was making whatever you like......

omelettes or just scrambled eggs with all sorts of fixings.....mushrooms,

cheese, ham, etc....and they had sausage and bacon too. This was

included in the price. For anyone interested, I paid for this directly

through the hotel. It was 249 euros.....in US $ my total came to 291.00.

This is a bit more than I usually spend on hotels but I decided to "go for

it" and in my opinion, it was worth it. As I mentioned earlier, I would stay

here again.

 

The hotel called a cab for me and the driver comes inside to pick you up.

It was about 11 Euros to the ship and yes, the driver knew where to drop

me off. If you are sailing on AMA, the birth is listed in your cruise

documents. I gave the driver 15 euros and told him to keep the change.

I arrived about noon at the ship and there are AMA staff waiting at the

curbside for you.....they take your bags and walk with you to the ship.

 

Next up......the ship...etc…..

 

 

Oh wait, before I get to the ship I want to make sure for those of you

who have yet to visit Amsterdam or if it has been many years since

your last visit.......one MAJOR tip......PLEASE watch out for the bicycles.

Seriously, they own the roads and do not care who else is there...cars,

buses, PEOPLE......it seems bike riders have the right of way over anyone

else and I heard a joke (I think it is a joke) that every person owns

4 bikes.....that is why some places have so many And the weather,

it was cold, windy and rainy. Not that it affects anyone. Everyone just

dresses accordingly and goes about their business. But the weather

got better for the entire cruise (more on this later).

 

So, Thursday morning I wake up, shower, have breakfast, check out

of the hotel and wait for the cab. From the time the hotel called one,

he was there within about 10 minutes.

 

So, the staff takes my bags and we walk up to the ship (nice start)....

The reception area is right there as you board the ship and they take

your bags and let you know there is coffee/tea/etc in the main lounge

area. Rooms are not ready till about 3:00 but that is ok. There were

already folks on board and I met 2 couples and started chatting with

them a bit.

 

The main lounge on this ship is very comfortable with a welcoming feeling

to it. This is in place to hang out before/after dinner and also, during the

day, if you don't want to eat breakfast/lunch in the dining room, they

have "lighter fare" here.

There is a bar with about 12 stools (I think it was about 12) and the

rest of the lounge is couches and chairs and of course windows with

lovely views. And if you are not getting off the ship for a tour, you would

definitely sit in the lounge (if not your cabin).

Speaking of cabins, AMA offers cabins for the solo cruiser where they

waive the Single Supplement in this particular category. It was on deck

1 and was fine for me. Double bed and 2 windows. Complimentary

internet in your cabin too. The bathroom was small but fine for me too.

Actually it was a nice bathroom with a great shower......doors, not a

curtain and the counter top was granite.....really lovely. The cabin comes

with a Duvet but I after the first night I had them remove it (too hot for

me). I just used a top sheet and there is an additional blanket supplied

if needed.

Your tv in the cabin is also your computer. I only used it a few times

to check my mail and I posted on here a couple of times. Other than that,

I didn't have much desire to use it. I do sleep with the tv on though.....

it is a sedative for me

 

More about the ship.....it may be a boat that sails on a River but the

Capt calls it a ship so I will too

Speaking of the Captain, he was always visible and outgoing. I was up

on the sundeck after boarding to see what was up there and he was in

the Bridge Area. The door was open so I looked inside and introduced

myself and shook his hand. Very classy guy. He would be at the doors

as folks left for tours and as they returned from them too.

 

The ship has 2 restaurants.......the main dining room and there is a

Specialty Restaurant on deck 3, all the way Aft. The meal held in here

is called "The Chef's Table" and each person was given the opportunity

to eat here once during the cruise. As good as the meals in the main

dining room were, this had to be one of the best dinners I have ever

eaten, land or sea. The presentation was outstanding as well. This was

what would be considered a tasting menu....you did not order anything.

They brought it to you, course by course and wine was part of it too.

No extra charge for this meal.......and if there was? I would have paid

for it......it was FANTASTIC.

 

Food is always a subjective topic so I am guessing it will be here too.

I found everything to be good to excellent....food came out hot and cooked

as ordered. Since this is such a small forum, there will probably not be

anyone to give you another opinion (as on the Celebrity forum, for example).

I really enjoyed all my meals.....trying to think back if there was something

I didn't like but nothing is coming into my memory bank

 

The dining room has booths and tables and I sat with different people

for dinners, although some were the same a couple of nights. They had

3 entree choices AND they also had 3 other "every night items".....if you

did not like what the choices were you could order a steak, chicken or

salmon that was on the "every night offerings". The presentation of

everything was beautiful. And the wait staff was just that, wait staff.

They did the food portion and the beverage staff did just that....your

beverages. Really superior service. Oh, yes, there were appetizers, soups

and salads too......full menu and the desserts? YUM......and those

presentations were always lovely too. I was very impressed with food

and service throughout the week.

 

Breakfast and lunch.....same dining room but you could order off the

menu or get the buffet or both! They offered quite a few choices and

also, they had lighter fare set up in the main lounge if you wanted to

eat up there. The food up there was good too...different soup every day,

small wraps/sandwiches, different cookies/pastries too

 

Nick was our Cruise Manager and he has worked for AMA for 6 years.

This position is quite different than a CD on an Ocean Cruise. He is very

approachable and also is the person who handles EVERYTHING....from

your tour to how you are getting to the airport on disembarkation day.

If you have a chance to sail with him? Do it. He also gives talks about

the places you are going to visit. Sort of like a lecture but not boring

and he is very knowledgeable. He sat with me and 2 other ladies for

dinner on the first night of the cruise.

He was always projecting a very positive attitude and really encouraged

people to interact with one another throughout the cruise. Not in a fake

way either......he has a great personality and it was a pleasure meeting

him.

Coming up........ports and tours......which of course as most of you

regular River cruisers already know....this is what a River Cruise is

all about

 

 

I know I said ports were coming...they are LOL but I want to say they

did have some evening entertainment too.

There was a pianist in the lounge who played each night and on 2 other

evenings there were others as well.

One night there was a trio called "La Strada"....2 Violinists and a guitarist

who played classical music but it was very different and very good.

And the other evening they had a singer named Rolf who did Broadway

tunes. He was also very good and I really enjoyed both.

 

Dress code...during the day it was cold, we were lucky and had sunshine

throughout the week but long sleeves and jackets were the attire of

day....along with jeans. As for dinner, it was casual. I changed for dinner

each night (that is just me).....after being out all day, I wanted to take

a shower and change. Now, I did not "dress up" but did bring about 4

different pairs of pants for evenings....most of them black or in the black

family......with different tops of course.....you could have worn what

you had on during the day and I am guessing some folks did. I chose

to change. I felt totally fine in my clothing choices. Oh, I did wear my

jeans multiple times during the week....I brought 3 pairs......2 blue and

1 black. But I always wore a new top each day.

I also used the ship's laundry service about 1/2 way through the cruise.

Everything came back fine and I thought the prices were reasonable.

And how good is this......I sent 2 knit tops out.....they washed them but

did not put them in the dryer and Head of Housekeeping explained they

were hanging them to dry and would have them back to me later in

the day....she delivered me everything else folded in a nice plastic bag.

All clean

 

Here we go......so, each day they offered multiple choices in the tour

area. You could sign up for whatever was appealing. Normally the morning

tours started at 9am. Oh, back up again.....they had audio devices (small)

for the tours so when your guide spoke you were connected with earpieces.

Kind of neat really....you had a card that had different colors/numbers on it

and you were given a color for your tour group. You wore the device

around your neck (like a lanyard) and put the earbuds in your ears and

the guide would not have to yell...they spoke into a microphone and

you were connected to them.....sounds a bit strange but it works I would

say my tours had no more than 25 people..and that would be a high

number. Some of the tours I went on only had 6 or 7 people on them.

The audio devices I mentioned above.....well, they looked

like a rectangular shape. Not heavy at all. The device and

earpieces connected to the tour guide......hope that made some sense.

If you are cruising with AMA you will see them in person.

 

Anyway, we stayed in Amsterdam overnight before sailing....I boarded

on Thursday and Friday morning I did a canal boat tour and when we

got off the boat we walked around an area of Amsterdam.....very good

tourguide on that one.

We sailed in the afternoon and docked in a town called Hoorn......they

had 3 different tours offered and I chose to just walk around Hoorn....

ended up with only 5 others and a tour guide.......loved it...quaint

city.....

Saturday we were in Arnhem and I decided to sleep in. I had planned

to go to a Palace but changed my mind. I went with a group on a tour

in the afternoon.....it was the only place I remember having to walk up

a hill to get into the city center (HOPE I am remembering this right)....

I was out of breath by the time we got to the top

 

 

Sunday....docked in Antwerp and in the morning I walked around

on my own....in the afternoon I did a "Limited Edition Tour".....it was

chocolate, waffles and beer. Had a good time with a nice group.

 

I am missing something so trying to think here a moment.......we docked

close to a BIG Produce Market and my mind is trying to remember which

place.....I walked around on my own and for the life of me I can't

remember which port it was I have my daily's so will try to re-read them..I know I walked around on my own...no tour at all.

(that was in the morning)......

 

I do know on Monday we went to Ghent and I took an all day tour to Bruges.

If you have a chance to go there, I would definitely recommend it. Had

a good day.....a great lunch and the weather was sunny all day. Very

interesting place. This tour was extra $ but in my opinion, worth the

money. All the other tours were included in the cruise.

 

Tuesday we were in Williamstead in the morning. It is very small town

and I got off the ship for maybe an hour to walk around. In the afternoon

we were in Kinderdijk and had a tour of windmills ( about 20 of us on

this tour).

 

WEDNESDAY.......KEUKENHOF GARDENS.....YOU MUST GO.

I went on the 2 hour tour and in the afternoon we were back in

Amsterdam and I went on another limited edition tour to the Jordaan

area.

 

The Gardens?....it would take more than 2 hours to see it all and you

could have the option of staying longer. The flowers were truly

magnificent. The colors and choices both……….

 

WED we were docked in Amsterdam and had buses take us to the Gardens.

Not sure I posted that already. When we came back to the ship we had

lunch and then did the Jordaan tour in the afternoon. A bus drove us from

the ship to the area and we did more walking and the bus picked us up

and took us back to the ship.

 

I would say there is ALOT of walking on a River cruise and to make sure

you have good walking shoes. I don't do walking here at home (yes,

I know I should)....but I got a pair of Merrell's and they were the

best......wore them every day (with socks) and my feet felt fine.

I know I did not list everything/everywhere we walked but I know

it was miles and miles....

When we went to Bruge (for example) the busses pulled up and I thought

the area looked like a park...it was beautiful. It took a good while to

get to the inside of the city....I was speaking with some other folks on

the tour and we all thought we walked somewhere between 8-10

miles that day. Thankfully we did have "downtime"...I found a great

place for lunch.....try the Mussells......they are delicious.

 

And I know most of you are photographers/picture takers....I am not.

I do know you will find lots of flowers/statues/items to take pictures

of though

 

We had our last night on the ship and Thursday morning everyone was

off....they had everyone in different colored tags, depending on what

time you needed. Get this......it was me and 1 other couple...we had

transfers included in our cruise. Well, for just the 3 of us they had

regular sized bus.....yes, a big bus for just us lol.....they could have

gotten an SUV......

We were on the bus at 8:15am....I gave Nick and the Capt big hugs and

Thank you's.....and AMA had staff waiting at the airport for us as well!

Had a guy help me get checked in and everything......very classy.

 

Oh, when we got off the ship, they had staff who took our bags to that

big bus.

 

I want to say you cannot really compare

an Ocean cruise to a River Cruise. They are so totally different it is not

a fair comparison (in my opinion anyway). I wish I could put one word

on it but it is more than 1 thing....the whole experience is so opposite

of a large ship. They do give you what is called a "Safety Card" and you

need to take it with you everytime you leave the ship. It is up to you to

remember to give it back each time you step back on the ship. There

is no machine that you have to use to put said card in out and of.....(like

the big ships have).

Also, they know you quite well after the first day and are good at

remembering your cabin number too. Maybe "Intimate" would be part

of it all.....an easy experience and they try to make the week easy

for all of us.

Again, Kudos to Nick. He seemed to be the type of person who truly

loves his job and it comes across that way. I am guessing the other

Cruise Managers probably feel the same.

 

I forgot one other thing....at the end of the cruise there was a blue

gift box on my bed.....(everyone got one)......AMA gave us beautiful

blue scarf's.....I am not a scarf wearer but I was VERY impressed with

it.....what a wonderful gesture

Edited April 17, 2016 by Bonnie Voyager

[tamsno]

Lois, so glad you had a wonderful time. My first river cruise is in a few weeks, Tauck AMS-BUD, solo as well. Thank you for taking the time to write this excellent review and for all the info learned in your pre-cruise posts. I eagerly read everything. Jazz and all the other contributors, thank you too for your continuing insights. Smooth sailing and safe travels to everyone.

[marysb]

Thanks Lois -

loved your report and enthusiasm. We are off on our cruise on May 3rd. You have added greatly to our anticipation.

 

We are going to Keukenhof also, hope the flowers will still be nice late in the season. How long was the drive from Amsterdam?

 

 

Mary

[venicecruiser]

Nice review, Lois! Brugges is one of my 2 favorite places in the world-the other being Venice Italy...............

 

 

VC

[capriccio]

Thanks Lois -

loved your report and enthusiasm. We are off on our cruise on May 3rd. You have added greatly to our anticipation.

 

We are going to Keukenhof also, hope the flowers will still be nice late in the season. How long was the drive from Amsterdam?

 

 

Mary

 

Even if the tulips are past their prime, there will be plenty of flowers. One year we went in May and the irises in some pavilions were gorgeous.

Edited April 17, 2016 by capriccio

[Lois R]

wow....Bonnie, thanks for doing that.:).......I didn't mean for you to

go through that for me.:o

 

Jazz, there is an AMA arena....just Stella is not there......do you think

Laura can have someone in IT add it ?

 

Mary, I think the busride to the the Gardens was about 45 minutes.

[Lois R]

I sent an email to the help desk asking for them to add the ship to the

AMA ship list........hopefully someone can do it.

[Bonnie Voyager]

wow....Bonnie, thanks for doing that.:).......I didn't mean for you to

go through that for me.:o

 

 

Lois, I was bored this morning and when I saw you mentioned the review being "disjointed", I was happy to do it for you! I know we've never formally met, but I feel like we have been friends for years! :D Friends help friends! :)

[Lois R]

Lois, I was bored this morning and when I saw you mentioned the review being "disjointed", I was happy to do it for you! I know we've never formally met, but I feel like we have been friends for years! :D Friends help friends! :)

 

Thanks so much:)....you could almost make me cry.....it was very sweet

of you to do it.

[Bonnie Voyager]

Thanks so much:)....you could almost make me cry.....it was very sweet

of you to do it.

 

It was my pleasure Lois! Mwah! 💋

[Lois R]

Right back at you:D:)

[Roz]

Lois,

 

So where are you going on your next river cruise? I'm probably booking this Tuesday - Bucharest to Budapest. I may have missed this in your review, but approx. how many other singles/solos were there onboard? Cruising, whether ocean or river, is a great way for a solo to travel, IMO.

 

Roz