River Cruise line with the Windstar experience?

[6rugrats]

I have taken one Christmas Market cruise on AMA.  We never had free drinks one hour before dinner, just free wine and beer with lunch and dinner.

I would not say the food, service or anything else was like Windstar at all.  My DD really wanted to take this cruise, and we did have a good time, but it was one of my least favorite trips.

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, 6rugrats said:

I have taken one Christmas Market cruise on AMA.  We never had free drinks one hour before dinner, just free wine and beer with lunch and dinner.

I would not say the food, service or anything else was like Windstar at all.  My DD really wanted to take this cruise, and we did have a good time, but it was one of my least favorite trips.

 

It was added recently.  Most other cruise lines are cutting back, but this is an actual enhancement.

[Host Jazzbeau]

11 hours ago, Bizmark'sMom said:

I've done river cruises on both Viking and AmaWaterways. Ama was head and shoulders better than Viking, in every way.  The decor, even at Christmas, was very tasteful. The tours were all well done. The food and included beer and wine were fantastic.  Yes, there is a single seating for dinner, but you'll find that on the majority of river cruises. 

 

One nit to pick about Ama, there is a switch in the bathroom that turns a window from opaque to clear. And that switch is located right next to the towel rack. My friend and I took turns flashing each other unintentionally while drying off after a shower. We know each other very well, so it was just funny. But it's something to be aware of.

 

And they say there's no after-dinner entertainment on river cruises!!!

[Bizmark'sMom]

LOL! It was definitely memorable!

 

 

[Pudgesmom]

I believe we've been on 8 Windstar cruises, mostly on the Windsurf, but a couple on the rest. Windstar is by far our favorite cruiseline, although after the last, we may give Regent a try.

 

We've been on one mass market European river cruise, with Viking. We've also been on river cruises in China and Vietnam. One was a ship similar in size to Viking. We had experienced some of the differences in river cruising, including rafting. 

 

The Viking experience for us was nothing close to a Windstar cruise:  in comfort, food or service. My long standing travel agent suggested we try something else, but my friend, who had been on a couple of Viking ocean cruises, would not consider it. After wards, she felt the river cruise was a steep downgrade from the Viking Ocean, particularly in food quality.

 

There were some river level issues, we are intrepid travelers, ok, fine, but Viking would not provide ANY information in advance. We had mostly booked private tours, and were unable to let our guides  know what was happening.  Cabins smaller than a Windstar/Windsurf standard, and not as well laid out. Balcony was not really useful as we never sailed in the daytime. 

 

And the staff, well, nice enough, but that's a really high bar when comparing to those working on the Windstar ships. We won't do it again and will stick to land travel when in a continental interior.