Why should you cruise on AmaWaterways?

Since Berlitz began publishing its guide to river cruises, AmaWaterways has dominated their rankings of top ships.

In its 2016 edition, Berlitz's list of "Top 10 River Cruise Ships" was again filled exclusively by AmaWaterways vessels.

You may incorrectly translate that to mean Ama costs considerably more than other lines.

AmaWaterways admittedly costs a bit more than some other lines including Viking, but that difference isn't significantly more, and sometimes Ama wins the price match game for specific departures when their availability is better.

Julie and I recently had the pleasure to cruise the Danube aboard AmaCerto from Vilshofen to Budapest, and the line lived up to its reputation and press coverage.

Comfortable as well as beautiful, the ship decor made us feel right at home, as did the crew.

One Evening's Dessert in the Regular Dining Room

Dining throughout the voyage proved excellent, beginning with our gourmet meal at the Chef's Table the first night.

This intimate venue for two dozen guests delivers course after course of the chef's specialties, paired with the perfect local wines.

Serving one of the best meals you may ever enjoy in your life, this specialty restaurant comes with no additional charge, and each guest on the ship has the opportunity to dine there at least once during the cruise.

Vineyard by Dürnstein Fortress Near Port of Linz, Austria

The local wines at other dinners and lunches were inevitably stellar, but if anyone enjoyed a wine from a prior night or perhaps wanted sparkling wine instead of the usual red or white choices, our beverage server Carmen happily brought those alternatives to the table.

A Unique Feature of Ama is a Refreshing Pool That's Perfect on a Hot Day.

Beer and soft drinks were also offered with lunch and dinner at no additional charge.

While a point in favor of the higher priced Uniworld is unlimited drinks of any kind throughout the cruise, quite honestly we really had plenty to drink on AmaCerto.

In fact, as I wrote on post cards (which are provided at no cost and even mailed free of charge by AmaWaterways), I occasionally found too much to drink.

Slap Dancing at "Oktoberfest" in port of otherwise placid Vilshofen

The first evening, AmaCerto's crew hosted an Oktoberfest-like party at the port of Vilshofen, with two beers or sodas per person.

An Oom-pah-pah band and slap dancers made it into a small version of the famous Munich harvest celebration.

After that great party, the Captain welcomed us with champagne in the lounge.  Our amiable cruise director Federico went on to give us an overview of the cruise including available excursions before we went off to dinner.

As mentioned previously, we dined at the Chef's Table that night, having received the invitation from Head Waiter Alex when he happened to be the crew member to lead us to our room the first day.  He and George delivered the courses with good-humored flair, and the wine went down all-too easily.

An evening of two beers, two champagnes and who knows how much wine had the predictable effect.  The next morning came with a headache, but a couple of ibuprofens and fresh cappuccino had me back in the game before the delectable breakfast.

Illuminations Cruise in Budapest, Hungary

On another evening, when we returned from an optional concert excursion in Vienna to hear wonderful chamber music by Strauss and Mozart in a small, palatial venue at which there was complimentary champagne, Ama hosted a late night buffet of beer with sausages and goulash that I forced myself to pass on.

I also skipped free beer during another German celebration one morning between breakfast and lunch.  All the food was terrific throughout, but there's a limit to how much I can eat and drink without negative consequences.  As Clint Eastwood said, "A man's got to know his limitations."

Anyone who didn't have enough to eat or drink on this cruise must not have been paying attention.

By the way, it should be noted that whether in the dining room, the lounge or the sun deck, there are always more than enough seats, so you never have to arrive early or elbow for room.

At meals, AmaWaterways also gives a thoughtful nod to single travelers, who may relish the opportunity to travel solo if pricing isn't prohibitively high.

Vienna, Austria

Many of the tables have five seats rather than four, so a single traveler need not feel like the odd-woman out.

One such single traveler, Vivian from Manhattan's Upper West Side, was delightful company for us one evening.  She was always thoroughly engaged in this wonderful vacation any time our paths crossed.

From the outset, AmaWaterways makes their intention to welcome singles clear: standard window category D and E rooms are often available without single supplement, which makes Ama offerings actually cost less for single travelers than many other river cruises.

There are select instances where single supplements are waived for balconies and higher categories, but those are rare.

The staterooms are comfortable and include free internet plus interactive TVs featuring extensive movie choices and music catalogs (Mozart, Moody Blues and many more).

Each dual balcony room features a small traditional veranda just large enough for a cafe table and two chairs, plus a separate French balcony (sliding glass door opens so that you can stand by a railing without leaving the comforts of your room).

View of Converging Rivers from Fortress in Passau, Germany

That way, if it is a chilly day outside but you still want to take in some fresh air without cooling the entire room, you can go on the veranda, but on the other hand, you can just open up the room to the river breezes any time you prefer that instead.

After partnering with Disney for select river cruises geared toward families, Ama has remodeled some rooms to accommodate triples and even added some adjoining rooms.

By the way, the Category E room (non-opening windows only) that we had was quite comfortable.

Our room steward Nicola kept our room impeccably clean in a very unobtrusive manner, and when we saw him, he always shared a smile.

We spent little time in our room, however, preferring the top deck on sunny days and the lounge at other leisure moments while cruising.

Julie in Salzburg

And, of course, this being a river cruise, most of our time was spent in the quaint villages and historic cities along the Danube.

This brings up another defining aspect of river cruising, the approach to shore excursions.

While all river cruises feature at least one introductory excursion per port, AmaWaterways frequently has full day excursions including lunch or the opportunity to take multiple excursions on the same day at no additional charge.

AmaWaterways also makes a point of having excursions available for different tastes and fitness levels, such as easy-walkers, late-risers or active travelers.

I thought perhaps "active" would be something of a joke on walking and hiking tours but was proven wrong repeatedly.

Bratislava, Capital City of Slovakia

Active guides took us at truly fast paces.  We saw quite a bit in a short time, giving us free time at highlight spots, which the younger (at least in our minds) set of river cruisers greatly appreciated.

Immaculate new buses manned by remarkably skillful drivers ---parallel parking a motorcoach in a space with only a couple of feet to spare?  No problem! --- and knowledgeable guides whisked us to more distant starting points, so we didn't have to trudge meaningless miles trying to find our way to remarkable sites.

Afternoon ride to Klosterneuberg Abbey in Vienna

Ama also offers bicycle excursions at no additional cost, and I was quite surprised by the speed of the ride I took.

We rapidly covered 7 1/2 miles to visit a very cool monastery, although from what I heard, we happened to be an unusually fast group of six (plus two guides) on that particular excursion as compared to larger groups that slowed down to accommodate some stragglers on the prior day's 22 mile bike excursion.

Our new friend Roberto from Brazil, who wasn't much younger than me, continually drafted our athletic guide Wolfgang, as if he were out to win the Tour de France and pushing the pace.

The ride back was even faster.

I would have needed some of those Lance Armstrong "vitamins" to keep up, but the leaders would occasionally pull over and wait for the rest of us.

A second guide trailed the group to make sure all of the dogies got along safely.

If you want to cycle without the structure of a tour, there are bikes with locks and helmets available at no charge throughout the trip.

On our particular cruise, there was actually a Backroads bicycle tour group imbedded within the guests.

Bratislava Church Stained Glass and Statue

Backroads Tours (yes, we represent them, too) cost more than a standalone river cruise, but their guests basically bicycle all the time in shore and sometimes parallel the route of the ship as she makes scenic cruises through castles and forests.  The ship serves as their nightly lodgings.  You know if this type of trip would suit you.

We had dinner with a very nice couple from Minneapolis who were on the Backroads trip.  They personally had special bikes with electric motors (furnished by Backroads) that could be kicked on to supplement their leg power and enable them to keep up with the more hardcore cyclists.

AmaWaterways should be on your short list of river cruise choices no matter who you happen to be, but if you are single or an active traveler, give them special attention.

"Better service leads to better trips!"