Our trip on AmaStella’s 14 day River cruise of Europe was our first river cruise. We arrived early morning on day one and waited 45 minutes at the airport for our transfer to the ship. We were told that room check in was in the afternoon so we did not expect a reception…..but it took some time before we were acknowledged by a few men in Ama uniforms who approached us, took our luggage, and led us onto the ship. Since we had plans to meet a private tour guide in Amsterdam that afternoon, we picked up our key cards and left to enjoy the rest of the day in the city.

Our room was small but comfortable. Luggage storage under the bed and enough hangers (there was very little shelf space) kept our clothing organized. On a river cruise the humidity in the room is a bit higher and the air conditioning in the room didn’t dehumidify, thus hand- washed clothing stayed damp and the room had a slight dampness that I didn’t like. Erika, our housekeeper was fantastic. Always greeted us with a smile and was quick to put the room in order, keeping it clean for the entire trip. She was very fast at helping us resolve an air conditioning problem. The TV services were only available on an Apple computer screen: streaming television shows were inconsistent; various shows would stop for 20-30 minutes at a time making it frustrating to watch. In addition, show availability was limited to mostly reality TV reruns.

Excursion offerings were divided into regular pace, active pace, and biking. Every guide on each excursion we took was excellent. Kata, the cruise director, was available to help guide excursion choices. In some cities we participated in two excursions because of the time allowed; in others we had time to explore museums and sites on our own. We chose this cruise, in part, to see a variety of cities of Europe and we were not disappointed. Read more