Denise,

Thank you for your comprehensive report about your experience on Amacello. I am so sorry it didn't live up to your expectations. I know you are a very thoughtful and fair person, so your comments are giving me pause regarding a cruise on AMA. Your comments and others I have read on CC are leading me away from AMA and toward Deilmann.

Wes,

I am glad to hear that Deilmann will be offering Christmas cruises as this is the one we would probably do. Did they tell you which ship they'll use for that route?

Ngaire,

Do you represent, or are planning to represent Deilmann as well?

Maria,

Below is the post I received, u may want to ask
Mr. Tym that ?...r/wes

From: Ted Tym

t.tym@deilmann-cruises.com

Wes,

The 2009 Great Rivers of Europe brochure will feature a brand new section on Christmas Market Magic. Peter Deilmann cruises will have river itineraries during this time and hopefully this will be an annual event.

Best regards,

-Ted


Ted Tymczyszyn
Reservations Manager
Peter Deilmann Cruises
1800 Diagonal Road
Suite 170
Alexandria, VA 22314
800-348-8287 - phone
703-549-1741 - phone
703-549-7924 - fax
www.deilmann-cruises.com

I just went on the Deilmann Web site. Am I correct in that they do not cruise Prague/Budapest?

---------------

Eugene

Wes, Sue/Tom,

A great decision on what looks to have the ingredients of a fantastic cruise! I will be really eager to hear about your plans and your Deilmann experience.

Eugene,

You are correct. Deilmann does not offer a Budapest/Prague or Prague/Budapest itinerary. If they did, we would have cruised Deilmann again rather than AMA, as our first cruise, Paris/Paris with them, was stellar.

Denise, thanks! Waiting for their Grand River
Brochure to come out...

Eugene; Deilmann does offer Budapest to Munich
and Prague to Berlin.

r/wes

I can definitely book a Deilmann cruise.

There are reasons I am not featuring Deilmann as a preferred river cruise line. Not to take away from Denise's good experience but these are things that do bother me.

You need to be aware of with Deilmann cruises is that most of the passengers will be German as this is a German cruise line.

Then you have announcements all the time in German and English with German being the primary language. When a B&K group were on the Hanseatic in Antarctica, which is also a German ship, we all found this to be very tedious.

I decided never to do a cruise again where English was not the primary language spoken on board and the only language for announcements. Hence for groups I will not consider Deilmann cruises.

Of course some may consider this a plus or minus depending on your point of view.

Deilmann has a lot of ships that are older though recently refurbished but they do not offer french balcony cabins. There are a few newer ships that do offer a french balcony. A french balcony really makes a difference in the light in the room and the feeling of space. However if I remember correctly these newer ships that offer a french balcony the cabins were 140 sq. ft. So small it is just too small for my tastes.

So you need to really look at the ship you may be considering for the size of the cabin and the availability of a french balcony.

MV Heidelberg looks like the best ship built in 2004 better sized cabins and two decks of French Balconies.

Also although Denise does not like the open seating dining as it is handled on AMA I will not go on a ship that does not offer open seating.

The open seating is the same on AMA and other river boat cruise lines as it is on Regent. Where you can change your dinner companions each night. Having a fixed seating table is just something I cannot live with anymore. I do not mind if there is a line at the restaurant, that can happen on Regent too, but not being able to change my dining companions I cannot live with at all.

So when you added up the details it just did not compare in my assessment no matter how good the food may be. I cannot remember all the details but there were a few other things as well but do not have my notes here at home. It may have been to do with the internet access.

Primary language not English
Older ships many without a french balcony
Newer ships (mostly 2001 time frame)offering a french balcony - the cabins were in the 140 sq. ft size range.
The web sites did not state open seating dining and being German I assumed fixed seating dining.

These items negated them as a good choice for me. As always different strokes for different folks but these issues were not negotiable for me personally or to consider a group cruise.

AMA, Avalon and Scenic are all brand new boats, with larger cabins and the majority of their cabins offer a french balcony. English is the only language spoken on board and most guests do speak English. The ships also feature open seating dining a "must have" for me.

Overall I feel these issues are more important as long as the food was acceptable. So far I have had good feedback on the food issue, not Regent but certainly okay. This is something Todd and I can assess when we travel on the ships in November.

Ngaire, I think those are all important points for us also. Therefore, I think it will come down to "your" assessment of food and dining. My sense is that the fact that there will be heavy reliance on large buses for the included shore excursions is something that cannot be avoided no matter the cruise line. Is that correct?

----------------

Eugene

To the best of my knowledge the included excursions are all the basic city tours with a bus with maybe a better tour or two thrown in during the trip. These you can take or not as most of the cities are right where the river boat is docked and you can always do your own thing in the towns. Either hire a private guide or just do your own tour in the towns. Most European cities are pretty easy to get around.

We did take a tour during our three days in Budapest from Avalon and it was actually quite good. Still a bus of course but a no brainer and we saw Budapest at night and had a good guide.

River cruising is a new area for me so as it progresses I will know more and more of course. I takes some time to get up to speed but I am going to focus on learning as much as possible as quickly as possible in the coming months.

I re-read cruise critic reviews last night on AMA Waterways and most are very positive.

There is another cruise line called AMADEUS that is NOT AMA Waterways so that is also a bit confusing. I think that is why they changed their name to AMA Waterways.

I dont want this thread to move into Deilmann versus AMA Waterways situation with people touting one or the other.

We are all different and our priorities are not the same. Kind of like those posters in the airport in the jet bridges. Some things are perfect to some and a nightmare to others. I love those posters it demonstrates the differences between people. No one is right or wrong we just make choices.

Denise loves Deilmann. Based on my priorities Deilmann does not meet my basic criteria as outlined above. The same issues are also a problem for me on the River Cloud River Cruises. I absolutely LOVED that ship and will book it for individuals but would definitely not take the ship for a group.

No right or wrong just different opinions which is something we must always remember reading reviews whether they be positive or negative.

Reminds me of a game drive at Madikwe. I was so excited at seeing a Brown Hyena with a really good sighting right in front of us walking to the watering hole - a rare sight indeed. The other new safari people think I am nuts to be so excited. My perception is from many game drives and to see a rare animal is more exciting to me than the mating lions. Not that I do not enjoy mating lions had only seen that once before in Botswana so it was a treat for me too. The rest of the vehicle could forgo the Hyena in a heart beat if they could see the mating lions. Different perspectives. It is what makes the world go round.

I've enjoyed reading the various takes on the different river cruises and appreciate hearing the pros and cons. Personally, I think Tom and I are inclined to view the same priorities as you do Ngaire. I'm not crazy about hearing announcements in various languages nor giving up open seating ESPECIALLY with a fun LCT group. Having a French balcony is also a huge plus rather than just a window plus free email.. Wine included with dinner....well, that's a given!

Ngaire, we'll depend on your guidance for the Christmas Market cruise in December 2009 from Paris to Amsterdam. The Amadeus sounds just fine to us.

We also look forward to Ngaire's & Todd's review of AMA since we are booked on one of their charters in Aug 2009.

We were on Avalon in 2005 and Uniworld in July - and found Avalon to be better overall than Uniworld especially the food part.

Ngaire,

I would like to correct the statement you made about my open seating dining preference. You stated, erroneously, that I don't like open seating. Incorrect. My preference has always been open seating, which was satisfied cruising on Regent. The open seating I stated I was not happy with was specifically directed towards AMA. Queuing up to grab a desirable table of our preference was not to our liking. After the first two evenings of cattle-call dining line-up, Alan decided to line up 15 minutes prior to the dining room opening so we could be assured a good table, accommodating at least 4 of us, if not more. We also wanted a table in a more quiet location. Obviously, any river cruise dining venue, and this includes the AMA dining room, is not as spacious as dining venues on Regent or any larger ship. Sitting in the middle of a smaller dining room venue is extremely noisy. While open seating is always our preference, assigned dining on Deilmann was one of civility rather than cattle call, and, therefore, far more to our liking.

Perhaps AMA’s knowing that you are a TA on board, escorting a group, will present a different dynamic and outcome in dining room seating arrangements and service. I do think that being a TA on board, is undoubtedly shared with all crew members, and does skew the experiences. For independent cruisers, it is very much first come, first served. On many evenings, people looking for tables to accommodate more than 2 or 4 people did not materialize if they arrived late to the dining room and they were disappointed and angered.

In conclusion of further commentary, I wish to say that people should make educated decisions based on balanced reviews and all facts provided not only here on LCT as well as CC, but through other reputable resources.

Regardless of which line one chooses to cruise with, I wish those taking the river cruise plunge an enjoyable and satisfying experience.

Sorry Denise probably just not worded the best way. I edited the post to make it clearer it was how AMA handled the open seating dining you did not like.

Actually, Regent and Silversea wont hold tables either. Olivia got to the Silversea dining room at opening to get her favorite table on CAMEL.

Just one of the negatives of open seating but still one that I will live with rather than fixed seating dining.

I think the best way to form an opinion on any cruise line is to experience it first hand. Everyone's preferences are different and you never know what pleases some and displeases others. I also think that each cruise is unique and what happens on one cruise isn't necessarily the norm for all sailings that follow. I have learned to take reviews for what they are, personal opinions.

As for food, that is subjective as well. I have been on a cruise and loved the food only to come home to read a review about how bland or salty the food was. I have even had to stand in line on Regent ships for dinner, most often when the show has just ended and the people come down the hall all at once. It's not really a big deal to me.

I think we've all said at one time or another that there's no such thing as a bad cruise... some are just better than others. We definitely enjoyed the river cruise we took but it was a completely different experience than going on Regent (or any ocean cruise for that matter). Also, we were with a group of friends and stopping in fascinating ports, so the rest of it really didn't matter that much. The food was fine, the cabin was fine, the tours were fine even though they were on big buses. The food, etc didn't compare with Regent, but we sure didn't starve--in fact we got to try a lot of regional specialties that we enjoyed a lot. The one thing I would not have been happy about is having all the announcements in more than one language--I find that really, really tedious. So I'm with Ngaire, put me on a boat, any boat, where I'm with a group of friends and everyone speaks English and I'm a happy person.

Perfectly said Peggy !!

First, want to say thanks to Denise (one of the top three posters on LCT), the original poster for taking time to write and share a review of AMA when she was reticent to do so to begin with.

Second, for the first time in over four years
of posting on LCT I see some (maybe not intentionally) posters marginalizing her review.
I could understand disagreement if it was based
on first hand river cruise experience with AMA or Deilmmann (Miriam in fact concurred with Denise's "cuisine" assessment)

Some of you are indirectly telling Denise, does not matter what you experienced..we are going to wait for Ngaire's review before we make up our mind.

Put yourself in Denise's shoes---she is probably wondering why she posted to begin with.

r/wes

Wes, We adore Denise and respect her opinions immensely. I think what some are saying is that we may have differences in priorities such as open seating, balcony cabins, multi language announcements. Different strokes for different folks. No one has discounted Denise's thorough and balanced review.

Wes, let's hold on here. I was not going to post on this thread for the reason that I know, respect and admire both Denise and Ngaire, and I've never been on a river cruise. Denise and I have been emailing for years, met twice, and I fully trust her judgment and opinions that she has posted in the past. I have been on many cruises with Ngaire as well, and usually concur with her opinions (except for food at one of the camps in Africa, but I am not a foodie!).

Ngaire I think said earlier she did not wish to see this thread turn into a debate about Dielman vs AMA, as they (Deilman)do not even have the Prague/Budapest itinerary. Isn't that the intinerary everyone is interested in for the future?

I was one of those who encouraged Denise to post her impressions. She is a person many of us know, and respect her views. I don't marginalize her views at all. Just waiting for more information, and looking forward to Todd and Ngaire's reviews on their next trip.

Editing to confirm, that like Ngaire said, yes, I did get to the Silversea main dining room each night to "claim" my table. I don't like being in the middle of the room, too noisy. Must be the same on a river cruise.

Wes, Denise is a great friend and I respect and SUPPORT her review - I don't think anyone has marginalized her review - all are saying open to ALL reviews and we ALL are different - Denise wrote a very fair and honest review as she would .. that is Denise - AMA was NOT her cup of tea - that review makes ME take notice of AMA since she wrote it!!!!!! - I will always listen to Denise she is a great traveler, researcher, and I am listening to her review, believe me!!!!!! - Joanna

Wes, I am not discounting Denise's opinion at all. This is not a Denise vs Ngaire situation. If it reads that way then I should probably delete the whole thread and may consider doing that if Denise agrees. I have travelled with Denise multiple times and we have shared some wonderful times together.

Deilmann kept coming up in the thread and I was asked on the thread if I would book Deilmann. I had some people booked on AMA and another line who called me and asked if they should change to Deilmann not knowing anything about the line except for this thread.

So I really needed to explain why Deilmann was a cruise line that was not in my sights when asked if I would book it. It has nothing to do with discounting Denise's feelings on the AMA cruises or her positive take on Deilmann.

This is simply as Marcie stated, different priorities for different people. No one is right or wrong here. We all make our own decisions on cruises based on information from many sources.

Wes, Thank you. However, no regrets on my part in posting my first-hand experiences and review of our 7 nights on the MS Amacello. I expected and anticipated the responses that I received.

Ngaire, No need to remove this thread. I stand by what I wrote. The thread is informative and very telling.

"Deilmann kept coming up in the thread and I was asked on the thread if I would book Deilmann. I had some people booked on AMA and another line who called me and asked if they should change to Deilmann not knowing anything about the line except for this thread."

Perhaps your clients who are questioning AMA vs. Deilmann are fully justified in questioning their AMA decision after reading the dialogue contained in this thread. The issues you have cited against Deilmann may be non-issues for your clients. Deilmann may not be in your sights; however, your clients should make educated decisions based upon what is in their sights, rather than yours.

Absolutely Denise. I can book Deilmann for anyone who wants it. As an agent I have to share as much information as I can on all the cruise lines and then the individual makes their own decision.

Ngaire, while others are asking about Deilmann, I'm curious about why you chose AMA, which you haven't sailed on, over Avalon, which you say you've tried. As noted on our earlier post, we took an Avalon Dutch tulip cruise, and had a vey positive experience. Avalon has two Christmas Danube cruises in 2009.

Actually I have not sailed on any of them. I am just starting to focus on the River Cruises.

I went to Budapest for three days and saw as many ships as I could in that time. AMA, Avalon Scenic and Tauck I chose as the top four based on the inspections of the ship, size and layout of the cabins, one meal on board each ship, the features and inclusions on the ships, and value for dollars.

AMA and Avalon came out about even when I read hours of reviews. I also had clients that had researched themselves that wanted to try AMA as they felt this was the line they would prefer. In fact the client that asked me to do river cruises that got me into this area in the first place wanted to try AMA. I also found the one meal I had on AMA to be outstanding, that is why I show a picture of it on my report. So the first group cruise that I could do was the Christmas Cruise in December 09 and for those reasons I chose AMA

I am certainly just as interested in Avalon, Scenic and Tauck. Eventually I will get to experience all the lines. Just got such a busy schedule I cant fit it all in just yet. If you look at my website I show AMA, Avalon, Scenic and Tauck as the lines that I will focus on representing.
http://www.bkrivercruises.com/

It is difficult to determine the best line until I have had the opportunity to sail on all four and have first hand experience. It all just takes time. If any of the lines, including AMA do not meet my expectations then I will not represent those lines as my recommended choices.

I think AMA and Avalon are very close, Scenic I really adored the cabins with a real balcony and the style of the ship, this line is more expensive. Tauck is much more expensive and in a different category.

This does not mean there are not other good choices out there but I had to make a decision based on what I felt the majority of people would find the most appealing. I always prefer to focus on a few lines and strive to understand that product well.

Ngaire, having done a couple of Tauck Tours I can tell you they are top notch. Quite comparable and even better in some cases than a Regent experience. Will you also book their tours?

Before I went into River cruises I would have said to just book Tauck elsewhere. However now I am registered with the company and all my ducks are in a row so my office will be quite happy to book a Tauck Tour. They do have a great reputation.

Oh that is great news! If we can't do cruise and we are going to tour, Tauck is the way to go. The best trip I've ever taken was their two week Classic Italy. Never touch your luggage from the time you boarded the plane to to time they take you back to the airport! Food off menus in all the venues. So much great stuff. Almost all inclusive!

FYI, found these recent (yesterday & today) AMA reviews on CC (river cruise section).


amadeus danube amacello

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just returned from Amadeus Danube Discovery 13 day Budapest to Prague and was very disappointed. While the accommodations were quite lovely in all the hotels and on the ship, the food was inadequate and at times quite inedible on the ship. The included tours were boring and poorly organized. They were unimaginative and everything you could think of that you may think that you would hate about a "tour"...i.e generic "herding" of people with boring spouting of facts, figures, and pointing out meaningless buildings while skipping the natural beauty and wonderful art and museums of the area (which would often have required an extra admission). All and all this was very poor value for the money. I wish that I had done a land tour of this part of the world or arranged some tours on my own in most of the ports. There were so many missed opportunities for the cruise line to immerse you in the culture etc. I would highly recommend you put your vacation dollar elsewhere. We are frequent cruisers, have taken many tours, and solo vacations. We are not usually disappointed and don't often complain. This is not something I would recommend to others. Pat


Prague to Paris AMA Amadagio -- Review (long)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All just returned and wanted to give you my review.

Trip started badly -- two hour delay in Chicago, missed the connection in London, so arrived in Prague 6 hours late and no luggage (but that is a whole different story!)

AMA desk at the Prague airport was easy to find. Got on a transfer right away to the President Hotel in Prague. As it was late at this point, we were tired so checked in and sent a quick email home. Internet access is free a the President. Room at the President was nice, spacious and well equipped. Has a large tub, big enough to soak and heated towel rack. Had a nice view overlooking the river. We were tired so ate in the restaurant, pricey and the food was just okay.

City tour was good, quite a bit of walking. A little too much information in the church. The Charles Bridge was a bit of a let down. They were working on half and it was just a quick walk across. Worth a visit on your own. Ended just at noon at the astronomical clock. Still plenty of time to wander on our own. And hit the mall for some clothes (Still no luggage). Weather was cool, but sunny. Transfers to Nuremburg went smoothly. Only an hour in Nuremburg to explore the square on your own. Then a tour of the palace, which we skipped. A lot of walking and stairs that Mom wasn’t up to. Quick photo stop at the courthouse where the Nuremburg trials took place, a drive through town and a quick look at Hitler’s parade ground. Really a bit much, everyone was ready to get to the ship.

Check in was good. Staff immediately carried your luggage to the room, no waiting. Room was standard for a cruise ship. We had two double beds and one chair. Probably a bit more room if you had it configured to one bed. Room for luggage under one bed only. No real drawer space, shelves in the closet and one desk drawer. Plenty of room in the bath, medicine cabinet and room under the sink. Beds were a bit hard for my tastes, but Mom loved them. Bed has a comforter and Duvet, but we were told at the welcome/safety briefing that a sheet and blanket would be provided upon request. Everyone has talked about the shower, and its as wonderful as everyone says. Be careful of the water -- extremely hot!

Overall impression of the ship, nice small and cozy. One large lounge and one aft lounge. Small library that just seems to have chairs in the way of the stairs. Elevator goes to all floors but the top deck. Dining room was noisy and got warm during dinner. Food was good, not necessarily up to par with a larger ship. Broth soups were not very good, cream soups better. Large selection of bread at breakfast, but limited at lunch and dinner. Just like anywhere else, some things were better than others. Portions were big, no one went away hungry.

Only one bar, bar service was busy before the welcome reception and captain's dinner. Glass of house wine was 5 euros, mixed drinks about the same, drink special daily. Watch out for the tables in the lounge. They have glass tops which are below the level of the surrounding wood. Many drinks took a spill. Entertainment consists of Kalin the piano player. Geared toward the older crowd. I actually enjoyed the atmosphere of the smaller ship compare with the larger cruise ships, much more relaxing.

Disembarkation in the ports was rather nice compared to the larger ships. You could normally walk out as soon as they docked, before the tours departed. Voice boxes are distributed to hear the guides, always a group for the gentle walkers. We normally went with this group or on our own, allowed us more free time to wander. Guides are often long winded and told more than I want to hear anyway. Guides often leave you in the middle of town, so make sure you have your bearings if you aren’t comfortable finding your way on your own. Maps available at the reception desk for each port.

I was initially concerned about the short time in some of the ports. Because these are small towns, there isn’t a lot to see in most of them, so the time was adequate to get an overview of the town and browse a little on your own.

Highlights – Zell and Bernkastel. The wine festival in Zell was fun, got to taste the ‘new’ wine that isn’t bottled. Bernkastel was small groups, there were only four of us and the tour guide did a good job of reading the group for when we had had enough information. Low light would have to be Trier – we were late in arriving and the city tour was not really that interesting, but if you want to see Trier, the tour is the only way. They drop you off outside of town and bus you in. You meet the boat in Trier at a different location. If you’re tired, don’t worry about skipping it. Captain’s dinner was that night also.

Long transfer to Paris—it takes a good 8 hours including a stop for lunch at what amounts to a truck stop. Our guide didn’t hardly shut up the whole way. Check in at the Hilton was a complete mess. Three buses arrived at the same time, everyone crowded the check-in desk. Luggage unloaded in the front, long lines for the elevator. I used the Hilton Honors check-in and waited for the masses to clear before going to the room.

The Hilton is right near the Eiffel Tower, no view from this room though. Internet access is 10 Euros for an hour or I think 35 Euros for the day. Too pricey for my tastes. You can also use the business lounge for 5 Euros for 15 minutes. Hotel is a bit tired, but the room was nice and large but noisy. The fire doors were closed due to maintenance so they banged everytime someone when through them. Supposed to be fixed by now. Could still hear everything in the hallway though.

City tour was good. Gave a quick overview of the city. Make sure you check museum opening days when planning your visits. The group took the Metro to Notre Dame because buses aren’t allowed there anymore. You can imagine the guide and the group of ‘elderly’ folks getting on and off the metro! It was fun though. After the tour you get the option of being left at the Louvre or by the Opera House or going back to the bus. I stayed at the Louvre, had lunch and took some photos and strolled back to the hotel. Bought some lovely watercolors from a street artist right outside of the Musee d’Orsey.

AMA has set up some additional optional tours in Paris. One to a can can show, one to the Eiffel Tower and a bus trip to Monte Marte. We didn’t participate in any.

The highlight of our trip was probably lunch at the Jules Verne on the Eiffel Tower. It is a bit pricey, but was a nice splurge for the end of the trip. Lunch lasted 3 hours and was to die for. Formal dress not required, smart casual is fine (at least for lunch). You can make reservations on the Eiffel Tower sight. We made ours a couple of months in advance and had a window seat.

Well that’s a general overview of the trip. If you have any additional questions, let me know.

Leaving tomorrow for my AMA cruise with Ngaire and Ken - will report along the way.

Many of us are looking forward to reading your impressions given the interesting (and sometimes conflicting) reviews we've been seeing.

Bon voyage,

-----------

Eugene