I should start this review out with a word regarding my rating. It would have to be OUTSTANDING for me to give a 5, so in most cases my "4" should be considered very good. Now to our trip: " Melodies of the Danube" (Wine themed cruise) Our cruise itinerary was slightly modified from the standard since it included 2 tours not generally available on the regular " Melodies of the Danube" cruise. Our Itinerary: Budapest VIENNA plus Viennese Heuriger Tavern Evening KREMS plus evening at Schloss Gobelsburg Wine Tasting WEISSENKIRCHEN GREIN plus Exclusive Clem Castle Visit with Private Wine Reception LINZ PASSAU VILSHOFEN Our embarcation was at Mahart-Garam1 which at first seemed odd and a bit inconvenient since this pier is located up river in north Budapest and really doesn't provide very good views and isn't really near many of the hotels or sites. However, once on board it became clear why this pier was selected. Earlier in the year an accident during an "illumination cruise" resulted in all such cruises to be suspended for safety.( this cruise provided beautiful views of the lighted parliament, bridges and other government buildings). AMAWATERWAYS found that after our embarkation that our ship needed to be moved to the usual International pier (directly across from the Parliament building) and this move "needed" to be made in the evening to allow everyone to board. The result was a fantastic view of lighted Budapest at at night (clever). The tour stops were all interesting and provided multiple levels of tour depending on your ability. I injured my knee before the cruise and keeping up with the tours was a concern. The "level 1" tours were just right and maybe even a bit slow paced at times ( this did allow for easy setup of pictures along the tour though). For the most part the tours covered the same routes just at a slower pace with the exception of areas with many steps, where the slower tour would deviate. Being this was a "special wine themed" version of the cruise our it included wine activities on board and extra stops as noted in our itinerary. Most of the days tours started at 9:30am which made the morning a bit less hectic however,(here's a negative). The first 2 added excursions took place AFTER dinner starting at (8:00PM or 8:30PM) so with the bus rides and event we didn't get back to the ship until about 11:00. The next days tours started at 9:00 (half hour earlier than most) which resulted in not much sleep and barely time for breakfast. I think a bit better planning by AMA can correct this issue. This wan't our first river cruise , but it was our first with AMA , and overall everything was "VERY GOOD" and we hope to take another cruise with AMAWATERWAYS in the future. Read Less

My husband and I splurged on a Scenic cruise to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We enjoyed the location and ship but most of all we found the staff, service and ship atmosphere to be amazing. We really enjoyed that the emphasis was on having fun and enjoying the trip instead of dressing up for dinner. We found that the food was excellent and the cruise director was extremely organized in keeping everything moving. The many excursions offered were very well organized and interesting. Each excursion was unique. We particularly enjoyed the Budapest Jewish Quarter excursion and the Weltenburg Abbey. I am sending many thanks to the exceptional staff who went out of their way to make the experience so unique and enjoyable. I really enjoyed that speaking with many of the staff and did not get the sense that they were giving scripted answers. We would highly recommend to adults looking for a relaxed but informative experience. Read Less

The most beautiful lifetime expirience! First time on a river cruiser and we had a lovely time on board and on excursions. Everything went perfect from beginning till the end, we have met wonderful people for all over the world. Very pleasent and friendly crew, always with a smile on their faces. Excursions were organised perfectly and everything went smooth. We enjoyed every single guided tour, specially e-bike tour Durnstein - Melk, highly recomended. Cruise director Richard was just amazing and helpful for every question that was asked, the man really knows his job! Mario the Hotel manager was amazing and really we felt like home. Our batler Ratko was so lovely and he has been there for everything that we requested. Restoran waitress Ruzica put a lot of magic in her service, so professional and just perfect! We are very thankful to all the crew, great service, wonderful and tasty food and most important to mention THANK YOU SCENIC - WE'LL BE BACK! Read Less

This was my first ever cruise of any kind. It far exceeded my expectations. The ship was beautiful and comfortable. The cabin was tastefully decorated. The French balcony with the floor to ceiling sliding glass doors made the room feel more spacious and made for excellent scenery viewing. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was bigger than I expected. The crew and staff were friendly and efficient. The cruise director was joviable, engaging and well organized. I loved the small lounge on the 3rd floor with excellent coffee machine. Any coffee drink I wanted at the push of a button. The meals were excellent with a large variety of choices. The servers were fun to get to know. The city tours and excursions were enjoyable. Sometimes the city guides give more history than I desire. Seeing the city lights as we sailed out of Budapest in the evening was so beautiful! Just spectacular! What a beautiful start to our cruise. Cruising through the Wachau Valley and the Rhine River gorge was so enjoyable with our cruise director giving us some history and pointing out interesting sights along the way. I would love to take another river cruise with Avalon someday. Read Less

We were a party of eight and wanted to try a river cruse to celebrate our various milestone birthdays as well as anniversaries. we made a very good choice as the experience was great from beginning to end. Starting with the welcome on board as well the attentiveness of all the staff who worked well as a team. The catering was very good with a wide selection of hot and cold foods. The cabins were clean and functional and well maintained. The beverage station was open all day for with a selection of tea and bean to cup quality coffee at any time. Our advise is to purchase a drinks package as it works out more cost effective to purchase a drinks package as a three or four individual drinks work out more than the drinks package price. We will defiantly book up again as one of the best holiday we have had Read Less

This was chosen as it was a special offer. What an incredible choice, the cabin was very good even though it was the cheapest available, the cabin was always clean. The food was very good, the buffets had a wide choice of food available and the evening menus always had a variety that could satisfy anybody. the tours at each stop were provided with local guides who spoke good English and the personal audio gadgets meant that you could hear all that was being said. The pace of the tours was not rushed meaning that you did not miss things. All in all a very good tour. Harry the entertainment organiser impressed everyone with his singing of Neil Diamond and the Rat Pack. The ship looked very well maintained compared to some of the other cruise vessels we saw on the river the reflections theme of mirrors added to a feeling of space and lightness. The only minor disconcerting thing was that the cinema is in the pool arte with the pool floored over but you could hear the sound of water bubbling away beneath your feet ( it would be a good idea to turn it off for the duration of the film) Read Less

Exceptional service, excellent food, high class all the way! Embarking and disembarking is so different on this river cruise than we have experienced on ocean cruising... no line ups, very relaxed process, so smooth. The buffet breakfast was very good... all the options one would want including made to order omelettes and for the bread lover - a huge array of choices. Each meal featured a couple of options... a little less than we are used to on ocean cruises, but certainly satisfying. At one of the meals, I experienced the best pork I think I’ve ever eaten! The service was pretty top notch and the wine choices were very good! We found the shore excursions were excellent - local guides with a lot of knowledge. Having the bicycle option was an added bonus. The exercise room was well equipped with top of the line equipment. Our cruise manager, Kriss Stallabrass, was excellent! Very organized, knowledgeable and fun! Read Less

Chose this cruise because we are fiscally in good condition and knew at times there maybe some long days if you were to take in all or most of the activities on board and off. From time we arrived in Amsterdam to flying home from Prague we always were in excellent hands with tour guides and crew. Very knowledgable and friendly. Highlight, bike ride thro Austria. This is truly a five star cruise, very good food and liquor. Even the buffet was five star with wide variety of dishes and the presentation was exceptional. If the staff felt there was a problem with anything on board they were quick to rectify. Only two negatives I may have is with the same on board musician every night, got a little tedious at times, although the entertainment that came on board from the different countries was excellent. Second negative being we felt the staff should push the use of hand sanitizer prior to and upon leaving the on board restaurants. Read Less

We were impressed even before we boarded for our cruise! On the day before sailing we found the dock and boarded to ask a few questions. The staff was quite pleasant and accommodating. This was definitely a different experience than an ocean cruise. We brought our luggage to the ship around 11 am on the first day and they stored it while we ate lunch and then left the ship to explore Budapest. At 3 pm we were able to check-in. That was a very fast process. There again, compared to an ocean cruise, it was a snap. We were able to go to our cabin (223). The luggage was already there. The cabin had good storage for all our belongings. The sliding doors on the closet were neat and didn’t take up room in the cabin. We particularly liked the balcony being a part of the room. That made the space seem much larger, although it only added about 20 sf more. I liked that there were four glass doors that could close off the cabin if needed. We only had the balcony top window down a couple of times, but it was nice that we had that option. The room was quiet once the room above us got all situated. We didn’t hear them again until they were on their balcony Skyping their family in Australia and talking loudly. Closing the glass doors to our room helped solve that. The door really kept out the hallway noise. I didn’t hear anything noise in the evening. We usually turned in well before other cruisers. We found to the food to be good. The plated portions were on the small side. We could have ordered more, but there was adequate food and we never went hungry. The breakfast and lunch buffets had a nice selection. Tables were configured to seat 2 or 4, and occasionally a larger one. Many times the table for two would join in the conversation with the table for four. We found our fellow passengers to be quite congenial and interesting. The excursions were set for different activity levels. We usually took the more active walking tour. My husband also went on a 38k bike ride. The bikes are electronically assisted. It was a nice ride for them. They actually got to the port in Melk about the time that we were docking. We enjoyed the evening Enrichment concert at the palace in Vienna. It was a lovely evening of listening to classical music and opera. Another outstanding excursion was the day tour to Salzburg and then lunch and a Sound of Music Show. The morning started off foggy and then lifted by the time we got to Salzburg. That made walking around the town so much nicer. Most of the passengers were on their first river cruise. One other couple were on their fourth Scenic cruise (the only line they have been on)- a good testament to Scenic. Of the 169 passengers, Canadians had the most, followed by Australians, Americans, Brits, a New Zealand couple and three from Israel. It was a good mix. Average age was probably in the upper 50s or mid 60s – no kids (except for two 20 somethings). The staff was mostly from Eastern Europe- Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland. They spoke English very well and were very pleasant. We sad that the ship was continuing on from Nuremberg without us. We look forward to going on another river cruise in the future. Read Less

We wanted a short break and always enjoy river cruising. We kept our fingers crossed that we’d see this area along the Danube in beautiful autumn colours, and we did! Right from the start there was someone to help us on our way. As soon as we had our bags at Budapest airport we were met and put onto our buses. From then on there was always help at hand. The entertainment on board started on our first evening with a taste of local traditions and then during the week there was either music, quizzes or competitions. Some of the little towns were lovely and the city tours were to the pace of the passengers. If you wanted to hike up a hill to a castle or take a gentle stroll all were catered for. And the accommodation was just great - clean cabins, attentive service and lovely food. What more do you want on a relaxing break away! Read Less

We saw it advertised on tv. The river cruise was our first, but not our last it was everything and more then we expected. Starting with the unexpected free hand luggage and going on to be one of the best journeys of our life. Trips and the Concert were all outstanding, we visited the wonderful city of Budapest with its great culture. Then Vienna a lively and lovely city, where we watched an excellent concert. After we visited Durnstein and sampled the taste of the local Brandy and Wine. Next was Melk and a trip to the 900 year old Abby which was awesome. Following this was Linz where we visited the castle with it’s amazing views. The cruise down the Danube with the views and wonderful scenery were often watched while dining making it even more special. But what made the whole experience special was the outstanding staff. The facilities and food were all brilliant. Thank you. Read Less

My expectations were high having heard many good things about this cruise, but what I experienced was an exceptional quality of service, with great attention to details as I have never experienced before. The dining room is somewhat noisy especially when you have a few "loud voices" about, but in comparaison to the choices available, the quality of the food and service, it did not spoil my experiences. The excursions were of much greater value than those I experienced on Ocean cruise ships, especially when you consider that everything on the boat/ship is included ... you don't have to spend one cent on the ship unless you want french champagne, cognac etc ... All the tour guides I had spoke english beautifully and were obvously highly educated and mostl refined young people. One negative for me was the quality of the hair conditionner supplied in the bathroom, I should have brought my own ... a small detail indeed and no clock ! Another negative, was that some people have absolutely no idea about dress code ... shorts and thongs are not suitable for the dining room and in the lounge in the evening; just a couple of men, but still. I was not aware that there was an extension to Paris, so I had not booked it, and disembarked in Amsterdam. I would do another cruise with APT anytime. Thank you to all concerned on the ship for making this trip a memorable one. Read Less

Waited a long time for this cruise, got family and friends to join us and all reported a great cruise. Only one thing is the walking...that is for asthmatic passengers it a little grind. Cruise and ship personnel were the best could not of been more pleasant to deal with. All that they say is included is and then some more. I would say that this cruise line is as good as if not better that all the rest. The rooms are serviced twice a day. There is plenty of food 3 times a day. More storage than what it looks like, but when you find all the hiding spaces you can but all your clothes and luggage away. The ports are great. But watching this captain but this ship ina lock with only 18 inches to spare...9 on each side. We will travel with Emerald Waterways soon, maybe Amsterdam or another location. Read Less

We were first time cruisers and picked this line based on itinerary, ratings, and prices. It was a Danuberiver cruise in mid to late October (luckily the weather was very warm for that time of the year with almost no rain). We were not disappointed. The Embarkation process was efficient with hotel manager personally showing us to the room and explaining everything was great. Great selection of foods at all meals with regional themes and wine selection varied everyday with good quality local wines. Waitstaff was very friendly and attentive. Room service was great and the cruise director and activity director were excellent. Pool was perfect and movies were shown at night. Internet access was reasonable and daily information/schedule was very well done. Good itinerary with plenty of time at each stop and tour escorts were good quality. We recommend this cruise line without reservation and will use them our next time. Read Less

I was on the Budapest to Amsterdam Gate 1 Monarch Governess in October. There are practically no reviews. I promised to write a review as soon as I got back home, here it is. The ship was clean and modern, the cabin spacious enough, (the shower a bit small). We had a cabin on the middle level with a sliding glass door and railing. The views from the cabin while cruising were lovely. The room had a small fridge to keep your wine cool. We were very fortunate to have the best cruise director, Bart from Amsterdam. There is no one who can compare with the talent he has for his job. Both Bart and the activities director, Nad, were called in very short notice for our cruise. I can't believe how lucky we were to have these two guys for our two week cruise. What enthusiasm and talent they both have. Now to the rest of the staff, I believe they are with the ship for the season. All were excellent. The bartenders, the wait staff, the room steward/stewardess, all doing a wonderful job. The food was delicious. Marcus was our chef and Cameron the dessert chef. There is a good variety of food for all meals, breakfast and lunch being buffet with something for everyone. Dinner is a meal served by waiters, with 3 choices, plus wine or beer. You can sit where ever you like, no assigned seats. Dinner started at 7 and was usually over by 8:30-8:45. You can go to the lounge after dinner for drinks or dancing, some games, etc. Nad kept the action going. The mornings are usually when the tours take off, depending on the city/village. Most days we were off the ship and with our walking tour or on our bus by 8:30 or 9. We were most always back on the ship for lunch around 12. Occasionally we would sail in the morning and have an afternoon tour. We opted for 2 additional tours. The night time tour in Vienna of classical musicians, dancers and singers, with a break in the middle for champagne on the outside terrace. I am very happy we chose to do this tour, it was something I will always remember. Our second optional tour was to Rothenburg, a charming walled town, not to be missed. There is a small lounge in the back of the ship that is great for getting coffee/tea anytime. There are sweets and fruit there, as well as games, puzzles. A few would go there for early coffee, or to get together with friends while sailing. Two afternoons, local entertainers came on board to give us a show. We went through 68 locks on this trip. Many at night. I traveled with friends and family on this cruise. All of us agreed it was one of the best trips we've taken. Read Less

We chose Scenic because of the high level of service our travel agent mentioned. There are no surprises as to the cost as there are no up charges. Everything about the food and drink is top notch. The crew is fantastic. The shore excursions offered are great. In fact, you could do this same cruise, pick the opposite excursions, and have a totally different experience. We chose the excursions to Szentendre, Salzburg, Bratislava, and Regensburg. There were also tactical stops in Dürnstein and Melk. Our cabin was fairly roomy and very comfortable. I think having the balcony as an extension of the room is better than having the balcony outside. We still had the extra space and didn’t need to sit outside when it was chilly. My happy place on the ship was a heated patio near the bow of the ship. We had great views while cruising the Danube. Overall, an excellent value. Read Less

Our ship was changed from Ruby to Jade - same layout, same design, same cabin. The cabin was spacious enough. Lots of storage. Having the balcony window move up and down allowed for fresh air and picture taking. Found the wine selection wanting. Not terribly impressed with the meals. One that stood out: the herb encrusted lamb was delicious. Ordering off the breakfast and lunch menus took quite a while. Mixed messages from servers: 'no hamburger at lunch only at dinner'; another would say 'any time'. The burgers were very good. Most passengers used the buffet for breakfast and lunch. Shore excursions were well presented and executed. What a variety! Going through all the locks from Budapest to Amsterdam was fascinating and interesting at the same time. Some were narrower than others and consequently the ship bumped against the sides - what a way to wake up in the wee hours of the morning! Read Less

Sharing our Viking Grand European River Cruise experience, one that we will never repeat. Must say Viking does an excellent job marketing itself, however way under delivers. Buyer beware – don’t even think of sailing with Viking if you are younger than 70 (note to readers – I am a very active 59 year old). We booked our 2 week bucket list river cruise close to 2 years ago, and at that time, Viking demanded full payment up front, while no other cruise line has ever asked for full payment till 3 months before the cruise. Viking proceeded to “nickel and dime” us regarding our air reservations, which we had booked thru them. Just to speak to a live person cost us $50. pp. We then said we wanted to go 2 days early, so to ensure we did not miss the cruise if we had flight issues. That added another $100 per person on to our tab. They then tried to steer us to their “partner” hotel in Amsterdam and wanted $1200. for the 2 nights, we said forget that – and booked a great hotel for a total of $218. for the two of us. Then the “icing on the cake” was since we booked the air thru Viking, they told us our flight back home was to leave at 5:30 am –meaning we had to get up at 2 am, for a close to hour trip to the airport and then get thru security etc. So, we said a big “No” to that option, and Viking socked us with another fee to change the air. As part of the package we paid for, which we felt was ridiculously overpriced compared to ocean cruises, (we usually do 2 -3 ocean cruises on Celebrity annually and love them!), we were to have transportation from the airport to our hotel and then the hotel to the ship on embarkation day. Since we did not purchase their overpriced room for 2 nights at their partner hotel, Viking said, “you are on your own to get to your hotel and then to the ship”. They never offered a credit to our account, even though I asked for one, as we had paid for the service as part of our package. So, we were on our own to get to the hotel, which we managed, after we purchased the wrong train ticket, costing us $60. Upon leaving the hotel, we had to take several trains to get to the port. Once we arrived at the port, we were like a deer in headlights, as there were numerous Viking ships, and we had no idea where ours was located. So in pouring rain, we started walking, first one way, then another, as our luggage proceeded to get sopping wet. To the room, now. So every morning our TV would not work, and we had to call reception and ask them to reboot the system. We were excited to see that the History channel was offered, until we found out that everything was in German, of which we speak all of 5 words. The beds luckily were long enough for both of us, but only contained a duvet on it – no sheets or blankets. So every night, you woke up at least 10 times to put the duvet back on that had slid off the bed. There are no exercise facilities, nor a pool or Jacuzzi on any Viking ship as they feel guests get their needed exercise by walking the shore excursions. Well, their definition of “walking” and ours appears to be quite different. We would call it more of a “Mrs. Wiggins shuffle”, I could have run circles around many of the guests as they “walked” the routes. A number of the shore excursions offered a “Leisurely” or a more “Strenuous” walking route. However several guests chose the “Strenuous route” when they clearly should have been put into the “Leisurely” route. So many of our shore excursions enabled to see the sights at a ”snail’s pace”. Now on to the food. We had been told that the food would be quite good with Viking, however once again we were let down. I will say that breakfast was quite nice and offered plentiful options, however for lunch, you had a very, very small sampling of entrees at the buffet compared to what you would have on an ocean cruise. (we never ate in the dining room for lunch). One day they had on the lunch menu, “Bavarian Meatloaf”. I was SO looking forward to this dish as I absolutely love my mother’s meatloaf and that was what I was envisioning. Needless to say, my dream was shattered when they served what all of us agreed appeared to be Spam with gravy over it. Viking really promotes the never ending wine and beer served at both lunch and dinner. We were envisioning a number of varieties of nice European wine to sample throughout our 2 week cruise. Sadly, again, we were disappointed when we found out that only one red and one white wine were served at each meal, and appeared to be the same throughout the entire cruise, and quite disappointing. So much for sampling the lovely native wines. Every evening before dinner, the guests would gather in the lounge to hear the port talk for the next day and extremely loud, live corny lounge music from 2 Hungarians, who dressed in different sparkly sequinned outfits each night, playing all of those good “oldies”, as no “rock” songs were part of their repertoire. As the majority of the guests were older, there was never more than 1 or 2 couples that would go to the lounge after dinner, so don't expect any "nightlife". At the end of the two weeks, we were more than ready to head back home. However Viking made sure we would take a “memento” back home with us – getting sick. I can honestly say that about 90% of all of the guests were sick at some point during our cruise, so it was inevitable that we were going to get sick. I came down with the dreaded fast moving cold/cough the day we left the ship, which made flying quite painful. The night before leaving the ship, we were told to place our luggage outside of our stateroom and it would be taken to our bus and then we would pick it up at the airport. We were hesitant to do this, but were “guaranteed” all would run smoothly. So panic set in when we got off the bus at the airport and waiting patiently for my husband’s luggage to appear. When the driver said that was all he had, with no signs of his luggage, and us needing to catch our flight, extreme panic set in. Communication chaos ensued as the Viking coordinator tried to locate his missing luggage. Eventually it was found back at the ship and was given to a cab driver to get it to the airport ASAP. So 30 min. later it shows up, and off we go running to our flight. On the positive notes - as there was several, it was very cool going thru the 67 locks, some that were fascinating. The Program Director was excellent – Stephen was on our boat. We enjoyed most of the arranged shore excursions and the guides were all excellent, except for Hubert. Our ship stopped at some lovely little German and Austrian villages and we immensely enjoyed exploring Amsterdam and Vienna. The staff were very helpful and friendly, and our stateroom attendant was very accommodating. We are interested in going on some river cruises thru France, but will explore options with AMA or Uniworld, as we have heard wonderful things about those two lines. Read Less

I thought the ship and the food were excellent and we were happy with our cabin. Most of the staff were very obliging and friendly with one or two being a bit abrupt. I was disappointed with some of the shore excursions. I thought that the entertainment on board was average with just the one pianist. Our cruise was the Black Sea Explorer with Transylvania but we did not get to see the Back Sea due to the water levels in the Danube River. I accept that this can sometimes be the case. However no alternative means of transporting us to the Black Sea was offered.This was a great disappointment. We chose this cruise because it was different and we wanted to see the Iron Gates and the Black Sea. Given my experience, I probably would not choose to do another riverboat cruise. I am sorry to be negative in this instance because we have travelled many times with Scenic and have had nothing but praise for our trips. Read Less

The service staff were the best part of the cruise. The food and wine etc were very good. However, I found the sheer numbers of people -148 or thereabouts - quite overwhelming. The ship didn't get past Passau and we were berthed there for 3 days with our 'view' being a stone wall. That's not what I paid for. Why was there no contingency plan? Our river cruise turned into hours of being herded about on coach tours. I believe it was known from the outset that we wouldn't get past Passau. There were too many early rises and way too much walking. The tours, although good, were often too long and the guides too longwinded. i wear hearing aids and found the audio devices totally unsuitable for these. I got a flippant reply when I mentioned this to the TD. The wires and box are cumbersome and annoying when you're managing camera, walking stick, umbrella etc. I had a fall while on an earlier tour before joining the ship, and the after effects eventually precluded me from doing the Prague food and culture walk. When I approached the TD regarding a refund, he refused on the grounds that I'd pre-paid the trip from home. Penalised for being organised and saving him some paperwork. The overall atmosphere was impersonal and regimented. I definitely would not recommend Avalon based on my experience. Read Less

Several of our friends had booked the tour and it was an area of the world we would not otherwise see. River cruising appeals to us as there are fewer passengers and you normally arrive in the town - no tendering, etc. wine and beer are included with all meals and the staff was generous with refilling glasses. Meals had a nice variety and I was never disappointed in the quality. Most of our excursion guides were easy to understand and very knowledgeable. As in any cruise some were better than others but I would give them all a good rating. Having bikes on board for use in ports is a bonus for us. It is a relaxing holiday that combines visiting new places, good food and time to sit back while cruising down the river. Good weather on this cruise made it just that much better! Every crew member from the captain and tour director to our cabin steward and waiters were friendly and approachable. Read Less

Travelled previously with riviera and been impressed with their reliability and service. Ship was spotless loved our cabin on Diamond deck which had a fully retracting sliding window so you can watch the scenery glide past from the comfort of your own cabin. Plenty of storage space, cases fitted under the bed, there was a kettle for making tea, a Nespresso machine and a small fridge and safe. The bathroom was modern and well fitted out. There is a lift for all floors other than the Sun Deck. This had a small splash pool and putting green and masses of seating. Staff were excellent and friendly, all seemed to do at leats two jobs. The food really good, there is a bistro open lunchtimes and bookable (but free) for evenings. Main dining room buffet breakfast & lunch served in the evening. The tours were informative and well managed.Used a "voice box" on all the tours which is really helpful. Entertainment was on a par with other river cruises, a couple of local folkloric groups, quizzes, a crew show and a pianist . Ports were interesting we sailed from Budapest down through the Danube Delta to the Black Sea & back. Lots of old Soviet bloc countries with really interesting histories. It was fascinating to hear our guides varying views on the same events in relatively recent history. The value for money with riviera is much better than on many of their competitors and food etc is on a par, and the cabin layout to our preference. Read Less

I have always wanted to try a river cruise because I have always travelled on ocean cruises. I liked the smaller amount of people, the ports were exquisite, you could see land on both sides of the ship always, no rocking of the boat, the excursions were good except for one where we could not understand our guide. The cons were there was not a lot of choice as far as food, the rooms are small with some issues of smelling the drain in the shower. There was also issues with the woman’s bathroom on one of the floors. Another common thing is changing ships because the water level being low. Talking to the crew this happens almost every time and in that case you are shuttled to the next ship or to your next excursion but that usually is hours away. I’m glad I did it but will think hard about doing it again. Read Less

A friend recommended AmaWaterways and we are so glad we went on a river boat cruise with this company! The crew was amazing and always willing to help no matter what we needed. Christian was the best Cruise Manager. He went above and beyond whenever anyone had a special request. It was great having a small group of people. We were able to meet some really wonderful people on the boat. The food was really good as well, a lot of variety. Much better than a cruise line that we’ve been on before. The only thing they didn’t have was salsa. The wait staff was very professional and service was quick. Our cabin was spacious and very well maintained throughout the trip. The shore excursions were pretty good, but a couple of the guides were not as good as the rest. We wish we could have had more free time for shopping. Sometimes the excursions were a bit rushed and we didn’t get to see as much as we would have liked. All-in-all, we would definitely recommend AmaWaterways and will probably go on another cruise with them. Read Less

We had heard some positive reports about Viking - Had never done a river cruise before (although we have done several ocean cruises) We were excited to cruise the beautiful Danube and see the country - However, we spent very little time on the river - spent 3 days on canals, more than a day total on locks, and docked in only 2 cities - which required us to take bus rides (on their schedule - some up to 90 min to 2 hours) to get to the port cities we wanted to see. The worst part was having to change boats half way through the trip - a plan to which we were not notified until we were on the cruise. Worst of all - when we got on the second ship, we found belongings of the previous cabin occupants in the bed! Gross! After making us pack up and change ships, we weren't even put in cabins with clean sheets!! TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE - as well as disgusting and unsanitary. Read Less