Egypt- AmaWaterways vs Viking vs Viking’s old ship MS Antares

[dcl999]

We’re hoping to go to Egypt, preferably December 23 or January 24.  We have sailed on a lot of Viking river cruises and never on AMA.
AMA’s availability is at a better time for us. I read elsewhere that AMA contracts out both ship and staff in Egypt. I think the new Viking ships are Viking owned. Is the staff Viking employed? Does anyone know about their old ship? 
This trip is a major milestone trip for us. We don’t want to end up on a tired ship with just decent food, and a poorly trained staff. The sightseeing seems to be similar on both cruise lines. 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

AmaDahlia was built in 2021, and AmaLilia will debut in 2024.  You can hardly get any newer than that!  As to owning vs contracting ships and staff:  Tauck is the very top river cruise line, and they contract all their ships and staff.  If you are willing to pay, a contractor will deliver the quality you demand.  AMA's reputation was built on the service delivered, not who hires the crew.

[Canal archive]

I think you’ll find that the majority of crews across the industry wherever and on whichever river they cruise are contract staff. I’ve never heard of indifferent or sloppy work from crews or staff on board apart from maybe a few hiccups post covid. Can you imagine a cruise company willing to loose their good name built up over several years employing inferior staff. 

[cruiseonward]

We did extensive research before booking our Egypt trip.  We chose AMA because we felt it had more included in the price.  We board 23 December and are very happy with our decision.

[dcl999]

We ended up booking the ama cruise starting 12/23.This will be our first with ama. We’re looking forward to the experience. We were a little disappointed we couldn’t book one of the larger cabins since we’re celebrating our 50th but we wanted to be on a ship that day. We’re planning to do an independent Jordan trip post cruise. Pre-cruise will be dependent on airfare. 

[TakingFlight]

You can waitlist with Ama for a larger cabin. We did this successfully for a Douro cruise this year. Cancellations happen all the time for a wide variety of reasons.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Or you can ask them to recognize your anniversary in the main dining room at dinner.  I was on Noble Caledonia for my 75th birthday, and boy did the public celebration make it special!  ["I don't know, but I been told ... somebody here is getting old!  Happy birthday to you... etc."]

[Canal archive]

I got escorted into the lounge by the hotel manager for my 70th because they started and I had disappeared for the dreaded weed given it up now for four years never thought I would but did thanks to a wonderful NHS nurse.

[BQEC]

On 11/27/2022 at 7:28 PM, dcl999 said:

We ended up booking the ama cruise starting 12/23.This will be our first with ama. We’re looking forward to the experience. We were a little disappointed we couldn’t book one of the larger cabins since we’re celebrating our 50th but we wanted to be on a ship that day. We’re planning to do an independent Jordan trip post cruise. Pre-cruise will be dependent on airfare. 

You may wish to inquire about AMA’s chefs table for the evening. Separate dining room  No additional charge and a special meal. Sign up at reception or with the cruise manager. 

[dcl999]

Thanks for the heads up. 

[BQEC]

Most welcome. Happy 50th!!

[yogagal47]

On 12/1/2022 at 9:13 AM, BQEC said:

You may wish to inquire about AMA’s chefs table for the evening. Separate dining room  No additional charge and a special meal. Sign up at reception or with the cruise manager. 

We did the Egypt cruise early December and I DO NOT recommend the "Chef's table." try it at your own risk...

[BQEC]

Sorry to hear this. I have done it several times and have been very pleased. 

[natonater]

On 12/29/2022 at 11:54 AM, yogagal47 said:

We did the Egypt cruise early December and I DO NOT recommend the "Chef's table." try it at your own risk...

Please elaborate. What happened?

[yogagal47]

43 minutes ago, natonater said:

Please elaborate. What happened?

 

[yogagal47]

Just now, yogagal47 said:

 

We did not become ill after the night we ate there, but it was a lot of grilled food, and very smoky. On another night, a large group that was traveling together from Florida had a meal there and two of the people in the group became extremely ill from some sort of food poisoning. Ultimately they had to bring medical personnel on board to treat them with intravenous, fluids and medication but it was pretty terrible. Personally, I am not convinced that it wasn’t from drinking water if they had mistakenly brush their teeth with tapwater or drunk a bit of it, that could’ve made them ill as well but ultimately it was attributed to the meal. I don’t recommend for the food!

[natonater]

On 2/17/2024 at 6:39 PM, yogagal47 said:

We did not become ill after the night we ate there, but it was a lot of grilled food, and very smoky. On another night, a large group that was traveling together from Florida had a meal there and two of the people in the group became extremely ill from some sort of food poisoning. Ultimately they had to bring medical personnel on board to treat them with intravenous, fluids and medication but it was pretty terrible. Personally, I am not convinced that it wasn’t from drinking water if they had mistakenly brush their teeth with tapwater or drunk a bit of it, that could’ve made them ill as well but ultimately it was attributed to the meal. I don’t recommend for the food!

Oh no!   Were you told specifically to absolutely keep away from tapwater even when brushing your teeth? What about the hotel? Did you take the same precautions? 
 

[yogagal47]

22 minutes ago, natonater said:

Oh no!   Were you told specifically to absolutely keep away from tapwater even when brushing your teeth? What about the hotel? Did you take the same precautions? 
 

Pretty sure we were so advised/ hotels too. Check with your healthcare provider before you go and make sure you have medication’s to treat Travelers diarrhea including antibiotics, just in case. Also, there is a product called drip drop-you can add it to bottled water for hydration(similar to Pedialyte for kids).

[natonater]

6 hours ago, yogagal47 said:

Pretty sure we were so advised/ hotels too. Check with your healthcare provider before you go and make sure you have medication’s to treat Travelers diarrhea including antibiotics, just in case. Also, there is a product called drip drop-you can add it to bottled water for hydration(similar to Pedialyte for kids).

Thanks for the information.

It will be added to list.