My husband and I have taken eleven ocean cruises since 2006. This was our first river cruise and it was recommended by my daughter's in-laws. What can I say? It exceeded ALL of our expectations in all areas: ship size, more intimate number of fellow cruisers (158 vs. 3,000), tours, service, cleanliness and on and on. Our cruise manager, Karen Bies, did an outstanding job. She was at her desk from early morning to late evening (by late I mean 11 pm). The difference between her and ocean cruise managers is that they are only available for about four hours a day, if that. Karen was always available, she even joined us on several tours, she worked miracles when we decided to change tours at the last minute. Our captain was always visible, friendly, genuine. The food was excellent and it was representative of whatever town/city/country we were visiting on that day. Sailing along the coastline gave us a view and insight into each town's history and beauty. We made friends that we will probably have for a lifetime because of the intimacy and coziness of a small vessel. We felt like we were traveling with family and friends and we looked forward to what adventure each day, each tour would bring. We placed a deposit on a future river cruise and look so forward to traveling on AMA Waterways in the near future!
Cabin was decent size considering the ship size. Bed was comfortable, balcony was an added attraction. Bathroom size was not horrendous and compared to an ocean ship the shower was bigger and easier to work with. I will say that the bathroom lighting was not great. Had hard time trying to apply make-up. Heard from other passengers about the same issue.