We are experienced cruisers, ocean and river. Our last river cruise was a Grand Circle cruise from Budapest to the Black Sea. We wanted to see the tulips, looked for a cruise at the last minute. Viking was fully booked, we were unhappy with the beds on Grand Circle, so we investigated other options, and chose AMA for several reasons: wine with meals, a pool on board, and a week tour that covered all the places we wanted to see. We were not disappointed.

We arrived in Amsterdam a few days before the cruise and had a great time at the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. We went to the Heineken Experience, reliving a memory from 50 years ago when I toured the factory and drank free beer as a college student. It was fun to revisit Amsterdam after many years.

We boarded the Sonata with no difficulty, found our cabin small but adequate - no smaller than the hotel room we left in Amsterdam. We were on the lower deck, with windows but no balcony, The major drawback was that the elevator served the dining hall, but not the rooms on the lower deck. The next day we took the Amsterdam tour and canal cruise, something we hadn't done in fifty years. At a stop on the walking tour, my wife walked down to the rest room in a restaurant, slipped on the stairs and broke her arm. We went directly to the hospital in Hoorn, our first stop, accompanied by a representative of the ship. The ER, like ER's everywhere, was modern, clean and slow. We were worried that the ship would leave and we eould have to catch up with it at the locks at midnight! Fortunately, the Captain was in constant contact with our representative, understood our dilemma, and held the ship for an hour waiting for our return. The diagnosis was a broken arm, the treatment was a sling and pain killers, and advice that we contact an orthopedist when we return to America. For the rest of the trip, my wife's right arm was incapacitated, but the crew of the ship was fabulous in their concern and ability to help. The waiter cut her food. The cruise director offered a wheel chair for the walking tours and advised the leader of the slow group to accommodate us. We managed the rest of the cruise with their help, and the help of the pain killers. Read more