AmaMagna Review

[Needzavacation]

Since there aren’t a lot of comments about AmaWaterways’ new AmaMagna, I thought I’d start a thread with some highlights based on our sailing in late May/early June. We’re multiple cruisers on Ama, having now sailed on all three generations of their ships.

 

Overview:  The ship is stunning in general, and the double width gives it a much more spacious feel. The quality of the staff equaled the impressive spaces – every member of staff in every area provided top-notch service in a professional, yet friendly, manner.

 

Staterooms:  We were in a category SA, which is categorized as a suite, but is really like a large stateroom on an ocean ship. Lots of storage space, and a large bathroom with a big shower. The toilet was actually in a separate area off the stateroom entrance (akin to a European water closet), but without its own sink. The beds seemed unusually high, but maybe that was to ensure space for luggage underneath. Air conditioning was great – as cold as you want! Unlike the previous generation of ships, AmaMagna is not “divided,” with stateroom corridorss up or down a few steps from the reception area. As a result, noise from the lounge traveled into the stateroom corridors; our stateroom was very noisy at night until the late-night revelers closed down the lounge. If you’re a light sleeper, choose your stateroom carefully. This category included laundry service, which was very convenient, although it was very basic laundry service (clothing sometimes came back damp-to-wet). There were also two free washers and dryers on the bottom deck for those without included laundry service.

 

Main Dining:  The main dining room was very comfortable, with booths for 2, 4 or 6, as well as larger tables. I’m not a fan of large booths (I hate getting trapped!), but the seats were comfortable. Menu choices always included a fish and meat, as well as a vegetarian option, and was certainly of a higher standard than a mass-market cruise line. During breakfast and lunch, the layout of the various buffet areas could get a bit congested.

 

Alternative Dining:  The Chef’s Table was a superb experience, but we prefer the location in the earlier ships, with the larger windows and natural light. On the first deck, it was a bit dark. We ate at Jimmy’s one night, which occupies a space next to the Chef’s Table. Again, it’s a bit dark, but it fits the wine bar atmosphere. The menu, though, is the same as the menu in the main dining room, although they serve everything on the menu family style (no choices – they serve everything). The third alternative venue, Al Fresco, was a nice spot for a quick snack, but we never ate there for dinner. It seemed too casual, almost cafeteria-like, for a nice dinner, but that’s just our opinion.

 

Services:  The larger ship provided more space for spa services, rather than just a single room for hair and massage. AmaMagna has space for a hair salon on the bottom deck, and then two massage rooms and a manicure space at the end of the third deck.

 

Wellness:  We never used any of the wellness facilities, but they looked fairly basic. The outdoor exercise bikes overlooking the wake of the ship was a nice touch. The pool (very shallow) didn’t seem a lot bigger than previous ships, and we never saw anyone use it, but that might have been a function of the weather. The pop-up elevator that goes up to the Sun Deck is a nice option, although the elevator is very slow (incentive to use the stairs!). No mention was ever made of the Sundowner dock that folds out of the back of the ship, which we thought was a bit odd, since it was highlighted during construction.

 

Entertainment:  Entertainment consisted primarily of the piano player, who was good. Local entertainment came onboard a couple of times. On previous cruises, we seem to recall local entertainment on board almost every night, so we missed that aspect of the experience.

 

In Summary:  The size of the ship had its pluses and minuses. The extra space was nice, but the overall experience seemed less intimate than cruises on the “smaller” ships. There seemed to be a more congenial atmosphere on the prior ships, with passengers getting to know one another as the voyage progressed. Not saying it’s better or worse, but even though we tend to like our privacy, we enjoyed the experience on prior cruises a bit better.

 

Happy to answer any questions.

 

[Coral]

Thanks! First review I have read of this ship.

[AF-1]

Thank you for your report.  My wife and I are looking to book Ama for a Rhine cruse next year.  We have only been on cruise ships; so this would be our first river cruise.  I appreciate your review

[LTC]

Thanks for your thoughts on the AmaMagna. Have cruised with Ama before and wondered what this ship was like. Thanks for posting the review.

[AllisonJames]

Hi, I was considering booking this ship for our first river cruise, but was put off by the lack of flexible dining times as well as table-for-2 options.  I see you mention booths for two so it does seem like there are some options for couples dining.  Are there any other 2-tops in the other restaurants?  Also, is there a set dining time of 7 for everyone at the various restaurants?

[Needzavacation]

2 hours ago, AllisonJames said:

Hi, I was considering booking this ship for our first river cruise, but was put off by the lack of flexible dining times as well as table-for-2 options.  I see you mention booths for two so it does seem like there are some options for couples dining.  Are there any other 2-tops in the other restaurants?  Also, is there a set dining time of 7 for everyone at the various restaurants?

 

There are six booths for two, but if they're taken, you can take a booth for four (there are six of those) and sit in the outside seats. Unless the dining room fills up, you'll have it to yourself. I will say, though, that you can meet some delightful people when someone asks to share. We generally prefer our own table, but  always had a good time when asked to share. In the Chef's Table restaurant, there are tables for four, but if you reserve early in the cruise, they'll book it for two. In Jimmy's, all the tables are large (think "family"), but it wasn't full when we dined there and every couple had their own table.

 

In terms of dining times, the daily program says you can arrive for dinner within 90 minutes after the doors to the dining room open, but in reality, most people arrived within the first 20-30 minutes.

[AllisonJames]

Thank you, this is very helpful.  I assume the restaurants open at 7?  We are not anti-social people, it's just that we have very scheduled work lives that often require us to socialize and we'd like to be able to be more relaxed and flexible on vacation -- we also tend to dine later, so the "forced" group dining scheduled for 7 that some lines seem to have is a real turn off for us.  We ended up going with Crystal for this reason, but we are interested in the Amamagna in the future due to the larger size.

[AF-1]

Does Ama only have one dinner seating for all passengers?  What time would that be?  Thanks

[Needzavacation]

7 hours ago, AllisonJames said:

Thank you, this is very helpful.  I assume the restaurants open at 7?  We are not anti-social people, it's just that we have very scheduled work lives that often require us to socialize and we'd like to be able to be more relaxed and flexible on vacation -- we also tend to dine later, so the "forced" group dining scheduled for 7 that some lines seem to have is a real turn off for us.  We ended up going with Crystal for this reason, but we are interested in the Amamagna in the future due to the larger size.

The restaurants typically open at 7, sometimes a little earlier and sometimes a little later, depending on evening activities. For example, when docked outside Vienna, they offer an optional evening concert in Vienna, so there are two dinner seatings that night - one earlier for those opting for the concert, and one later for those staying on board.

[Needzavacation]

35 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Does Ama only have one dinner seating for all passengers?  What time would that be?  Thanks

There's one seating time for all the restaurants, typically around 7 pm, although the alternative restaurants tended to open 15 minutes later.

[castle701]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting. We are taking our first River Cruise on Magna with a dozen people in September. If I could ask a few questions:

Are there any other alternative surcharged excursions that are available?

How hard is it to get a bike excursion since they have to be done once onboard? - 

So basically after dinner, if there is no piano music and local entertainment, there is nothing to do at all?

For the Captain's Gala-what would be the dress code?

Did you have the Chane Des Rotisseur dinner?

Do you have any daily AMA schedules you could share?

Any pictures?

 

 

[Needzavacation]

16 hours ago, castle701 said:

THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting. We are taking our first River Cruise on Magna with a dozen people in September. If I could ask a few questions:

Are there any other alternative surcharged excursions that are available?

How hard is it to get a bike excursion since they have to be done once onboard? - 

So basically after dinner, if there is no piano music and local entertainment, there is nothing to do at all?

For the Captain's Gala-what would be the dress code?

Did you have the Chane Des Rotisseur dinner?

Do you have any daily AMA schedules you could share?

Any pictures?

 

 

There are two surcharged excursions: The first is the evening concert in Vienna. It's billed as a "classical concert," but it's really one of any number of tourist-focused concerts around the city every night - light classical, a little opera, and some comedy (believe it or not). If you search on Google, you'll find a number of reviews of these types of concerts. The other surcharged excursion is a visit to Schonbrunn Palace in the afternoon in Vienna. So in Vienna, there's an included morning excursion, then the two optional excursions. If you do all three, it makes for a long day.

 

It's not hard to get a bike excursion. There are a LOT of bikes on AmaMagna compared with the other ships. I can't recall any of the bike excursions turning anyone away.

 

Dress for the Captain's Gala is the same as for every other night, which I'd describe as smart casual or country-club casual. In reality, attire was across the board every night. No one ever got really dressed up. On men, you'd see a couple of sportcoats, but mostly anything that's a step above a t-shirt and jeans will do.

 

The Chaine des Rotisseurs dinner was very nice, but I wouldn't say it was remarkably all that different from dinner on most nights. The food on board is a step up from what you'd experience on a mass-market ocean cruise, but not quite up there with the food on Regent or Crystal or the like.

 

I do have a handful of schedules - most of the photos were taken of the excursions, not the ship. If you want to ping me with your email, I'll be glad to copy and send them.

[MikeBR]

16 hours ago, castle701 said:

THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting. We are taking our first River Cruise on Magna with a dozen people in September. If I could ask a few questions:

Are there any other alternative surcharged excursions that are available?

How hard is it to get a bike excursion since they have to be done once onboard? - 

So basically after dinner, if there is no piano music and local entertainment, there is nothing to do at all?

For the Captain's Gala-what would be the dress code?

Did you have the Chane Des Rotisseur dinner?

Do you have any daily AMA schedules you could share?

Any pictures?

 

 

No alternative excursion other than in brochure, included or paid extra.

They have an awful lot of bikes and I have never seen them all booked out, but I have seen guests being refused as they did not pass the proficiency test as being safe to cycle on roads or paths [They could not cycle in a straight line or were not fit enough]. The cycle excursions sometimes get canceled at short notice due to wind or rain so have a tour 'B' you want to take.

There is always a keyboard player/vocalist. and some nights other local entertainment.

Dinner is always 'Smart Casual' a few guests sometimes get dressed up, but is the exception.

Everyone gets the Chane Des Rotisseur dinner. But book 'Chef's table' as soon as you board to get the night you want and who you want to dine with to avoid disappointment. Last cruise we took in May half of the nights had already been booked up by those on the 'Pre-Cruise' stay, and it was fully booked up by breakfast  of second day.

[castle701]

31 minutes ago, Needzavacation said:

There are two surcharged excursions: The first is the evening concert in Vienna. It's billed as a "classical concert," but it's really one of any number of tourist-focused concerts around the city every night - light classical, a little opera, and some comedy (believe it or not). If you search on Google, you'll find a number of reviews of these types of concerts. The other surcharged excursion is a visit to Schonbrunn Palace in the afternoon in Vienna. So in Vienna, there's an included morning excursion, then the two optional excursions. If you do all three, it makes for a long day.

 

It's not hard to get a bike excursion. There are a LOT of bikes on AmaMagna compared with the other ships. I can't recall any of the bike excursions turning anyone away.

 

Dress for the Captain's Gala is the same as for every other night, which I'd describe as smart casual or country-club casual. In reality, attire was across the board every night. No one ever got really dressed up. On men, you'd see a couple of sportcoats, but mostly anything that's a step above a t-shirt and jeans will do.

 

The Chaine des Rotisseurs dinner was very nice, but I wouldn't say it was remarkably all that different from dinner on most nights. The food on board is a step up from what you'd experience on a mass-market ocean cruise, but not quite up there with the food on Regent or Crystal or the like.

 

I do have a handful of schedules - most of the photos were taken of the excursions, not the ship. If you want to ping me with your email, I'll be glad to copy and send them.

Wow!! Thank you so much for taking the time - I really do appreciate it. My email is renee244@comcast.net

[castle701]

11 minutes ago, MikeBR said:

No alternative excursion other than in brochure, included or paid extra.

They have an awful lot of bikes and I have never seen them all booked out, but I have seen guests being refused as they did not pass the proficiency test as being safe to cycle on roads or paths [They could not cycle in a straight line or were not fit enough]. The cycle excursions sometimes get canceled at short notice due to wind or rain so have a tour 'B' you want to take.

There is always a keyboard player/vocalist. and some nights other local entertainment.

Dinner is always 'Smart Casual' a few guests sometimes get dressed up, but is the exception.

Everyone gets the Chane Des Rotisseur dinner. But book 'Chef's table' as soon as you board to get the night you want and who you want to dine with to avoid disappointment. Last cruise we took in May half of the nights had already been booked up by those on the 'Pre-Cruise' stay, and it was fully booked up by breakfast  of second day.

Thanks for all the information. Glad to hear if our little group gathers in the bar there is at least a keyboard player. We are so used to ocean cruising so this is very different for us. My husband unfortunately is not too excited as he would have preferred another ocean cruise in Europe but since so many friends coming with us, I'm hoping he'll be fine since he is not a big sightseer. 

[Needzavacation]

3 hours ago, castle701 said:

Thanks for all the information. Glad to hear if our little group gathers in the bar there is at least a keyboard player. We are so used to ocean cruising so this is very different for us. My husband unfortunately is not too excited as he would have preferred another ocean cruise in Europe but since so many friends coming with us, I'm hoping he'll be fine since he is not a big sightseer. 

Evening options are very different than an ocean cruise. But unlike ocean cruises, there are no sea days, so the daytime is pretty full, and a lot of people wind down early to get ready for the next morning's excursion. But in a couple of cases, you may be in port late or overnight, so you can always go back into the village or city for your evening options.

 

And in any case, sitting on the sun deck in the evening with an adult beverage as you glide down the river is a really nice way to end the day. 

[Hbgyergers]

On 6/12/2019 at 1:06 PM, Needzavacation said:

There are two surcharged excursions: The first is the evening concert in Vienna. It's billed as a "classical concert," but it's really one of any number of tourist-focused concerts around the city every night - light classical, a little opera, and some comedy (believe it or not). If you search on Google, you'll find a number of reviews of these types of concerts. The other surcharged excursion is a visit to Schonbrunn Palace in the afternoon in Vienna. So in Vienna, there's an included morning excursion, then the two optional excursions. If you do all three, it makes for a long day.

 

It's not hard to get a bike excursion. There are a LOT of bikes on AmaMagna compared with the other ships. I can't recall any of the bike excursions turning anyone away.

 

Dress for the Captain's Gala is the same as for every other night, which I'd describe as smart casual or country-club casual. In reality, attire was across the board every night. No one ever got really dressed up. On men, you'd see a couple of sportcoats, but mostly anything that's a step above a t-shirt and jeans will do.

 

The Chaine des Rotisseurs dinner was very nice, but I wouldn't say it was remarkably all that different from dinner on most nights. The food on board is a step up from what you'd experience on a mass-market ocean cruise, but not quite up there with the food on Regent or Crystal or the like.

 

I do have a handful of schedules - most of the photos were taken of the excursions, not the ship. If you want to ping me with your email, I'll be glad to copy and send them.

 

We just switched from a Danube Discovery cruise at the end of July (which was cancelled) to the Magna on the Danube cruise that is running a few days earlier and is scheduled to go!  I would appreciate any copies of those schedules that you offered, just to give us a little better idea of what to expect.  Please send to hbgyergers@msn.com.    Thank you!  They will be greatly appreciated!

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by Hbgyergers

[Otis]

We JUST booked the Owner's Suite on the Magna and, upon reading the original post, I fear that it

might bring a world of pain to this light sleeper.  Specifically, it is the second cabin after the lounge.

I've been in this location on the smaller ships with no problems because of steps, etc.  According to

Needzavaction, there is no separation between the stateroom corridors and lounge, which seems

like quite a thoughtless decision.  Does anyone have any experience this?  I am thinking of changing location or ship.