This was our first river cruise; we have completed 20 ocean cruises. The Amadagio is a fairly new river boat. It is well-maintained both inside and out. Embarkation/debarkation was a breeze with only 140 guests on-board. Cabins were smaller than the smallest cabin we ever had on a ocean cruise ship. It was comfortable, especially the bed. Service was outstanding both in the cabin and dining room. Free internet was offered in each cabin…a nice feature. Additionally, the ship mailed postcards for guests free of charge. Entertainment was provided by local talent during port stops and was every bit as good as that offered by cruise ships.
The food ranged from standard cruise fare to much below average. For example, a optional choice of a steak was tough and barely edible. Breakfast was much of the same thing for the seven days. Wine and beer were complimentary during the dinners but expensive if purchased on board. A large negative for us was that dinner was served between 6:30 and 7:00 every evening. This is much too late for us as it disturbs our sleep pattern if we go to bed on full stomachs.
Port tours were excellent. Our program director was outstanding.
One caution: we were assigned a cabin near the front of the boat. There was so much noise from the common areas that I was forced to wear ear plugs each night! Do not accept cabins near the common areas unless you don’t care about the noise.
