AMA Waterways Questions for Newbie

[CaroleLee]

16 hours ago, Cruisepucks said:

Ahoy, all,

 

We will be taking our first river cruise. This will be a seven night cruise on Amawaterways from Paris to Normandy.

 

A few questions for anyone who can provide some information for us:

 

1. Which of the seven nights is the Chaine des Rotisseurs dinner? (Is it the same on each one week sailing, or does the timing vary?)

 

2. We have heard that the Farewell Dinner is actually on the next-to-last night as opposed to on the last night of the cruise. Is this true?

 

3. Does the air conditioning keep the indoor areas of the ship cool? France, especially around Paris, has been having some exceptionally warm weather this summer.

 

Thanks for your help with these queries.

 

Have a great evening.

 

Cheers! 😎 🍷

Dinner varies- consult your front desk

Yes, the farewell dinner is on the next to last day

AC works great

Have a wonderful cruise

Carole

[PopPopBear]

My wife and I will be on the AmaStella next May. We have river cruised with Viking twice so aren't new to river cruising. I would like to hear from anyone who has cruised both with Ama and Viking about any differences we can expect.

TIA

[Cruisepucks]

7 hours ago, CaroleLee said:

Dinner varies- consult your front desk

Yes, the farewell dinner is on the next to last day

AC works great

Have a wonderful cruise

Carole

Thanks Carole

 

Just the answers we were looking for.

Looking forward to a wonderful river cruise.

[Lolotte]

We have cruised on Viking and Ama and we like both equally.  We do not like the huge penalties when you cancel Viking, their deposit policies are really over the top.  On Viking we liked the Aquavit Terrace where you have a buffet if you want to eat outside.  On Ama we love their pool and they have more choices of excursions at each place.  So we go with who offers the best itinerary at the time we want to travel.

[gma rae]

PopPopBear Take a look at this article.

AmaWaterways vs. Viking

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2496

[CarolynFH]

3 hours ago, gma rae said:

PopPopBear Take a look at this article.

AmaWaterways vs. Viking

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2496

 

Please note that per other threads on this board, Viking's payment policy has changed, and they now require full payment a year (or more?) in advance of the start of the trip.

[PopPopBear]

On 7/27/2019 at 8:55 AM, gma rae said:

PopPopBear Take a look at this article.

AmaWaterways vs. Viking

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2496

Thank You! I enjoyed the comparisons. A lot the same with a few discernible differences.  

[CUTTERSAM]

On 6/18/2019 at 10:07 PM, Got2Cruise said:

We did an extension with Ama and were very pleased. No doing homework or worrying about logistics. Plus there is an Ama rep to assist you at the hotel. Now back to your original question concerning the balcony. We tried the full balcony and quite frankly didn’t feel that we utilized it enough to warrant the extra cost. We love the top deck with the 360 degree view. That’s us, you might enjoy spending more time in your room but bear in mind it might be rafted to another river ship. We now prefer to use the money saved by not using a balcony and spend it on the pre and post extensions and upgrading our air to business or at least premium economy. 

Heartily agree.  I started on AMA with a French balcony and it was nice to have some air. However, traveling solo it gets a little steep with the SS, so I started going to cabin with fixed window and honestly don't mind a bit..snug as a bug.  I believe you will be up top more that on that double balcony. 

[AF-1]

so you guys feel french balcony is better than double balcony?  Or does it matter really?  I am going on my first ever river cruise next May and have booked the double balcony.  My wife likes to sit and read in quiet

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

so you guys feel french balcony is better than double balcony?  Or does it matter really?  I am going on my first ever river cruise next May and have booked the double balcony.  My wife likes to sit and read in quiet

My experience with twin balcony (with Ama on the Mekong, but should be similar) is that neither the real balcony space, nor the bit of French balcony were useable because they are both so small, even though I was only one person. However, I was with Avalon on the Irrawaddy, and loved to open my French balcony all the way and enjoy the air. I had a table and chair by the window and loved it.

 

However, neither experience was in Europe, where I did fine with an aquarium class cabin.

Edited July 30, 2019 by gnome12

[Got2Cruise]

1 hour ago, AF-1 said:

so you guys feel french balcony is better than double balcony?  Or does it matter really?  I am going on my first ever river cruise next May and have booked the double balcony.  My wife likes to sit and read in quiet

I think you should give the double balcony a try because it’s your first cruise. You don’t want to say I wish I had the balcony. But besides the Duoro there is very little down time to sit and read on your balcony. You’re always out and about. 

[AF-1]

Thank you Got2Cruise;  we will be sailing up the Rhine from Basel

[4774Papa]

We always pick the cheapest cabins on river cruises.  They are at the bottom deck of the ship.

We don't spend much time in our cabin.  When on the boat, we are usually in the bar, restaurant or on deck viewing the countryside.

[Got2Cruise]

On 7/30/2019 at 11:33 AM, AF-1 said:

Thank you Got2Cruise;  we will be sailing up the Rhine from Basel

There is the day that you sail the valley to see the castles but you don’t want to be on your balcony reading! You need to be on top to enjoy the views on both sides if the river. Plus the Cruise Manager will be narrating. 

 

The day you are heading to Amsterdam there is a couple of hours of cruising through industrial towns. You’ll get good use of balcony there. 

[Pauliepaul]

Hi everyone. Does anyone know what the cocktail prices are like on board? We know wine and beer is included, plus sip and sail, but we do like a good cocktail in the evening and wondering what the prices are like. Have searched for the bar menus but to no avail--only found a version from around 4 years ago and guessing those prices are no longer true! Thanks to anyone who has the answers :). 

 

[CaroleLee]

36 minutes ago, Pauliepaul said:

Hi everyone. Does anyone know what the cocktail prices are like on board? We know wine and beer is included, plus sip and sail, but we do like a good cocktail in the evening and wondering what the prices are like. Have searched for the bar menus but to no avail--only found a version from around 4 years ago and guessing those prices are no longer true! Thanks to anyone who has the answers :). 

 

I did not want a cocktail after the lovely wine at sip & sail+ dinner but you can always ask for a final glass at dinner & take it with you. I belive that coktails were in the 3-6 euro range- sorry didn't look @ scotch $

[AF-1]

So is the currency onboard in Euros or us dollars?

[Got2Cruise]

5 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

So is the currency onboard in Euros or us dollars?

It’s in Euros. 

[AF-1]

Thank you.