Having been on and enjoyed the Budapest to Amsterdam cruise we were looking forward to the 15 day Bordeaux cruise and we were not disappointed when came to the standard of food and service on both AmaDolce and AmaCello. Lovely ships with excellent staff and crew.We were also more than satisfied with the Rhone and Soane rivers with the standard of entertainment,shore visits and attractions.All excellent especially the cruise into Lyon at night and the meal at the Paul Bocuse L'Abbaye de Collonges Michelin starred restaurant was unbelievable. Unfortunately the Garonne River does not live up to the same standard and in so many ways was disappointing.Firstly the river is so muddy and looks like it runs upside down.Most of the so called attractions took a 3 hour coach trip there and back and none were worth the drive.The shops in the towns or villages visited were mostly closed and the markets were always held the day before or the day after we visited.Surely when going up and down the same river our berthing could have planned to coincide with one market or fete just so something of interest could be available.I respectively suggest when trying to promote this river APT is flogging a dead horse and many of our fellow passengers agreed. Read Less

Am single & never entertained the idea of cruising as I didn't want to be stuck on a huge boat for days on end but friends were going on this 8-day (small ship) Grand Bordeaux River Cruise with APT and needed even numbers (twin share keeps costs down). It was amazing! I imagined I would be able to relax, read and generally have a real holiday. Not so, the itinerary of onshore sightseeing trips at every stopover was not what I expected. These excursions (included in the cost of the cruise) were daily, geared to those who had difficulty walking and those who didn't. I got to see so much and experience so much of the old French history in places such as Blaye, Libourne, St. Emilion, Libourne, Cadillac and Bergerac with wonderful local guides. And being in the region of Bordeaux, the visits to wineries, the tasting of amazing wines was wonderful. The highlight for me was the visit to a Caviar Farm and actually getting into waders and being in a pond with the male sturgeon..wow! APT is an Australian company so by far the majority of people on this cruise were Australian. Average age would have been in the 60s to 70s - my group was the youngest and we did our bit to get others on the dance floor for some fun most evenings. There were no children thank god but there probably wasn't much for kids anyhow (none I know enjoy traipsing around ancient ruins and the like). There were a number of single ladies who were invited to sit at the Captain's Table on our last night on board - that was a nice touch. The food, the service, the crew were phenomenal. The crew were so good and fun and the food, all meals, to a gourmet standard I have never experienced before and plenty of choices. One could get very used to champagne for lunch and dinner every day and all the chosen wines were local.. fabulous! The cabins were compact but perfectly adequate. WIFI was hit and miss but that seems to be the norm from reviews I have read. I loved the fact that APT charge an all inclusive rate which is great, there are no extras to pay like some cruise companies where you pay extra for alcohol and tips. The onboard shop had some lovely jewellery at affordable prices. I hope I can travel with APT on their small ship cruise in the Balkans in a year or two, but that may depend on what they can do for me as a single 'solo' traveler. Outside of Australia and the UK, I don't think APT is that well known, but the quality of the whole experience for me was just so incredibly impressive. Read Less

This was our third time on AMA and the best cruise we have had with them. The crew was friendly and attentive to our every need. The cabin was standard but adequate for our clothing and normal traveling requirements. Thankfully the draft on this vessel allowed us to go all the way on the Danube with the low water levels. We heard of several other ships that had to stop and bus their passengers. Ornulf was a knowledgeable, personable and fun person who was our cruise director including the pre stay in Budapest and the post stay in Prague. Adrian was the chef and provided excellent food for us. We rate it the best we have had in all our River and large ship cruises. David was the hotel manager and although new to AMA, he was very social and had all the groups humming along at peak efficiency. He was having his first performance review while we were sailing and hopefully he got the excellent rating that he deserves. We understand that next year this ship will be doing the new Bordeaux itinerary. I am not sure how much of the crew will go with the ship. Read Less