Ken and I met two really lovely Canadian ladies the night we had dinner on the AMA Waterways ship. I asked them to send me an honest review of the ship - both positives and negatives. I wanted a REAL review. I was not sure I would hear from them because often people do not follow up as they say they will. These are really nice down to earth people I would trust their judgement. Although I only met them for a short time I could tell these were really super people and I felt they would send me a review as they promised and my instincts were correct. I received this today and I thought I would post it. They were on the AMA Waterways, Amandante.

Hello Ngaire,

I’m so glad we had a chance to meet in Budapest. It was a lovely start to our cruise. I hope you enjoyed the remainder of your working holiday.

Here are my thoughts on our river cruise aboard the Amadante. The cruise was lovely with a lot of interesting stops. My favourite ports were Vienna and Salzburg. I wish there had been more time in Vienna, what a beautiful city. I cycled on the two occasions provided. The first was 29 km. in Austria and the second 35 km. in Germany. The bicycles were comfortable and in good repair. A special lunch was available to us on both occasions as we missed lunch in the dining room. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to be off the ship and cycling. We had a beautiful day for cruising on the Rhine gorge too. It was great!

The food was good for the most part, with regional dishes served every evening. The choices were good and the staff was extremely accommodating. I can say this with authority because Janis and I were travelling with my brother and his wife and her sister. The women are the fussiest eaters I have ever come across. The kitchen provided them with separate gluten-free bread and desserts as well as providing them with a separate and beautiful fruit salad for dessert every evening even though this was not on the menu. The wines were good and plentiful and many local varieties available for dinner.

The after dinner entertainment was excellent. It was classical music for the most part. There was a good variety of singers, dancers and musicians. It was much better than I had expected.

The service was excellent in the dining room, lounge, and purser’s desk. The cabins and public areas were kept spotless. The cruise director did a wonderful job.

Our cabin was small but comfortable and the bathroom shower was lovely with a massage feature and good water pressure. We had a French balcony but we didn’t open the window often because of the locks and the smell of the kitchen which wafted in before meal time. I don’t think this was a problem on the odd # side of the ship as some people kept their windows open all night. The television service was intermittent at first but was repaired. Janis wanted to watch the Olympics and was frustrated by the frequent satellite signal interruptions. There was no internet available in the rooms as was promised. This was to be corrected for the next sailing I believe. Eight laptop computers were set up in the lounge but the service was iffy.

There is a very small gym which I used on several occasions. The treadmill did not seem to be working well but the stationary bikes worked well as did the rowing machine. This helped to pass the time on cruising days.

My major complaints about the cruise are things over which there is no control. The top deck was closed for what seemed to be most of the trip because of high water levels. This in turn meant that the satellite device had to be lowered as well resulting in the lack of internet and poor television reception, The main problem for me though, was a lack of outdoor space. I found the ship to be very small and confining when the top deck was closed. I think this is a personal thing though. I exercise outside every day at home and really feel the need for outdoor space. Others in our party did not seem to have a problem with it.

Well that is all I can think of at the present. I hope this is helpful in your planning.

Very interesting review and pardon this dumb question buy why would the top deck be closed for high water levels?

Bridges, Karen Think about it, Debbie
;)

LOL Debbie, I guess that makes sense but I still need some 'splainin, though. If the water level is that high, wouldn't they hit the bridge and if not, why close the top deck, just in case they hit it??

The bridges are very low at certain times. If they did not close the top deck it could be very dangerous people could get hurt badly. Sometimes they barely pass under the bridges.

The "wheelhouse" on the ships in on a hydraulic lift and also goes up and down when they are in areas of low bridges so it can be flat with the sun deck during these times. This happens even if the water is not high.

With really high water often they cannot go under the bridges at all and river boats get "stuck".

Well if one was to get 'stuck' somewhere, this sounds a good place to do it! Lee