AMA Waterways "Gems of SE Europe" was selected by my wife and me as a chance to observe the diverse cultures of the people who live along the Danube River, a major historical region of the world. We selected the AMA Serena Seven Day Cruise because of the opportunity to do a pre tour in Vienna, and a post tour in Istanbul. From the minute we met AMA's Tour Director: Jelena Milinovic at the 5 Star Kempinski Hotel in Vienna, we knew that we had made the right choice. Jelena stayed with our fellow travelers the whole trip to our final destination the Istanbul Intercontinental Hotel, and her knowledge and professionalism provided us with wonderful advice throughout our journey. Her sparkling personality and her ability to provide us with superb Local Tour Guides in each Port of Call only added to our learning about the cultural diversity of the region. Of course, we can't say enough about the attentive crew on the AMA Serena. The chef's noteworthy cuisine was augmented by his splendid choice of the local wines of the region. Also, the nightly entertainment often included the music and dancing folklore of the region. We were fortunate enough to sit at the Captain's Table on one night, and at the Chef's Table on another occasion. This was the icing on the cake for our tour!

After having done many Ocean cruises throughout the world, we switched to River boat travel for our past three tours, and this was our first AMA Waterways trip. We will definitely consider AMA in our future travel plans.