This was our third cruise with AMA and it met every expectation. This is an excellent cruise line that knows how to "do it right." Everything was perfect; accommodations, food, and tours. We really enjoyed our pre and post time in Barcelona and Paris. The Barcelona hotel was on the La Rambla right in the middle of everything. The Paris hotel was a little bit away but still within walking distance of many of the sites. The staff on the AmaDagio was superb. They met every need. The were friendly and helpful. With the small number of passengers we were able to get to know the staff on a more personal basis. The ship was emaculate. For an older ship, AMA did a great job making it seem like it was brand new. There is more space per person because of the smaller number of passengers and cabins and the average age is lower than other cruise lines (55). I would strongly recommend that anyone wanting to do a river cruise to look into AMA. Read Less

We chose this cruise (technically, two cruises back-to-back) to visit a number of places in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially Barcelona, Nice, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Malta and Tunisia. Unfortunately, political conditions arose that forced Tunisia off the itinerary; however, Crete was added and that was certainly satisfactory. We also chose this cruise because it included both Christmas and New Year's Eve. The tours were excellent and we chose to go on as many as we could. I would note that we have gone on five Viking cruises and have found the tours offered to be uniformly outstanding - especially with the great guides. We did arrive in Barcelona a day early and toured on our own before joining the group on board. From La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona to Monaco, Nice, Aix de Provence Rome, Crete and Malta, we saw all of the main the sights with thorough trips, yet adequate "fun stops" at restaurants and markets. Two of the highlights were a private after-hours tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel and a wonderful concert in a cathedral in Malta. We were told that the Vatican Museum tour was limited to eight people (plus guides) and we were very skeptical - thinking it would be "groups of eight" from a number of cruise vessels or other tours. NOPE! It really was just the eight of us, two guides, Vatican security and the cleaning crew through the whole Museum and the Sistine Chapel. One tour was a visit to the salt processing (sal de mer) location in Sicily, together with a tour of a family-owned (multiple generations) olive farm and processing plant. The tour ended with a delightful sampling of olive oils, then moving into bruschetta, pate, pesto, cheese and wine in abundance. Two of the staff also provided traditional Sicilian music with a guitar and accordion and there was some dancing involved by those of us on the tour and various staff and family members. The on board accommodations were up to the usual excellent Viking standards. We went to two of the "specialty restaurants" (including one "Chef's Table" seating) and they were both very nice; but, as always, we most enjoyed the large multi-station buffet. We tend to choose the quieter bars and those were good. We went to several on-board lectures and a couple of shows. Again, these were fun, informative and entertaining. Read Less