Why We’re Sailing With AmaWaterways River Cruises

While our young travel agency has vibrant and growing channels in private land journeys, small group land journeys, hotel + air packages, and ocean cruises; we had no idea when we started our agency that river cruises would represent nearly half of our annual sales.

As our name implies, our target market is the luxury baby boomer traveler, and these folks simply love river cruising.

What’s not to like?  You’re floating in a luxury boutique hotel on the world’s greatest rivers, you only unpack once, and you get to walk off the ship in the heart of some of the world’s greatest cities.

It is our objective to personally travel aboard all of the major river cruise lines, and further to sample the various rivers and regions available.  So far, we’ve sailed with Viking River Cruises twice and once with Uniworld.

We’ve enjoyed a Christmas Markets cruise on the Danube, and we’ve sailed both the Bordeaux and Burgundy wine regions in the south of France.

Up next, the River Rhine with AmaWaterways.

When folks call us to inquire about river cruising, they will often ask us which is “best”.  Well, different strokes for different folks.  Right?  We don’t all drive the same brand of automobile, and river cruising is no different.

Some of them cater to the 4-star crowd.  Some of them cater to the 5-star crowd.  And, some of them even call themselves 6-star.   Some of them have beds that you can’t wait to get out of in the morning, and some of them have beds you may never want to leave.   Some of them have wonderful cuisine, while some of them have cuisine that will blow your mind.  Some of them are truly all-inclusive, while some of them are not quite all-inclusive.

Therefore, while we know these river cruise lines very well, there’s no better way for us to know them than to sample their various experiences.  After all, it’s my strong opinion that we should all be looking for amazing experiences and not necessarily “the best deal”.  Right?

Chef’s Table

So, here’s a few of the reasons that we decided to make AmaWaterways our next river cruise experience:

• We’re going to be sailing AmaWaterways newest ship (released in 2017) the AmaKristina.  Fingers crossed that everything will work well on her maiden voyage.
• Our travel agency is a member of Virtuoso®, the world’s leading international luxury travel agency network.  And, for the last five years, AmaWaterways has won “Best River Cruise Company” in our network.  Clearly, our luxury travel advisor peers are excited about what AmaWaterways is doing.  Further, AmaWaterways has garnered an impressive list of other travel awards by prestigious luxury travel voices like Berlitz, TravelAge West, Condé Nast, Travel + Leisure, and more.
• AmaWaterways sails to more than 25 countries in Europe, Africa and Asia, including Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Kenya, Luxembourg, Myanmar, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
• AmaWaterways is the only river cruise line member of the invitation-only La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, one of the world’s most prestigious culinary organizations. It’s also a recently inducted member of La Connétablie de Guyenne – the third oldest vinous brotherhood in Bordeaux. Its award- winning executive chef oversees all menus (including a gluten-free menu) onboard the European ships, incorporating regional wines and locally sourced produce, meats and cheeses when possible.
• Themed Cruises  – AmaWaterways offers travelers unique themed cruises unlike anything they have experienced before with themed cruises like Art Cruises, Wine Cruises, and of course, Christmas Markets Cruises.
• The Chef’s Table–This popular dining venue offers a unique menu in an intimate setting (limited seating, reservations required). Guests can choose one night per sailing to dine complimentary in this charming onboard restaurant. AmaWaterways recently launched a true tasting menu as part of the dining experience. The menu features three appetizers, main courses and decadent desserts.

Plus, we’ll get to enjoy Amsterdam (I haven’t been there since my college years), Cologne, Koblenz, the magnificent castles on the Middle Rhine, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Breisach, and Basel, Switzerland.

It’s certain to be a blast, and we can’t wait to share our experience with you!  Stay tuned….

To explore the AmaWaterways website, CLICK HERE.

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