We booked a Danube Christmas river cruise, along with another couple, on the AMABella on 2/11/20, departing Budapest on 12/5/22. We took advantage of a cabin upgrade offer and were both booked in AA class cabins. We heard nothing further from Amawaterways (except confirmation of our final payment) until we boarded 12/5/22. Before heading to the ship on 12/5/22 we were told by another passenger that the ship had been changed to the AMAStella. We never did get any notification from AMA of the ship change and several passengers taxied around the dock area for some time trying to find the AMABella. Upon boarding we were informed that both bookings had been downgraded 2 cabin levels to category BA rooms (smaller sq ft). Ours was ultimately only downgraded 1 level to an AB class cabin. The other couple remained in a BA class cabin. No one on board could explain why we had been picked for the downgrade. All we heard was talk to corporate. Some crew members told us the ship change had happened more than a week ago.

We had been on another AMA cruise, same itinerary, pre-pandemic. And we were told by the AMAStella hotel manager that all covid restrictions had been lifted. On this cruise there was no breakfast buffet. If you wanted water with breakfast you had to order it and it was delivered in a small glass. If you wanted more, same process. They did not refill water glasses in the morning. There was no dessert table at lunch or dinner. On the past cruise there was a dessert table you could go to make an ice cream sundae or pickup whatever dessert you wanted. Not anymore. We felt the menu was overly embellished, more style over substance. Portions were small. Steak entrée was small and tough. Chicken entrée was smaller than amount of chicken in their classic salad. It was like the whole dinning experience had been cheapened.

On the positive side the staff tried to do a good job. The tours were good. The ship was clean and well maintained. Read more