Your Guide to River Cruising With AmaWaterways

River cruising offers a unique and enriching way to experience the world, blending comfort, convenience, and cultural immersion. Unlike traditional ocean cruises, river cruises travel along inland waterways, bringing guests directly into the heart of historic cities. With smaller ships, personalized service, and a variety excursions, travelers can enjoy a more intimate and relaxed journey. We recently sailed on the Melodies of the Danube itinerary from Budapest, Hungary to Passau, Germany. To learn more about this particular itinerary and my personal experience, see my previous blog post here.

Let’s get this out of the way, aren’t River Cruises for the older population?

This is often the question we get when we start talking about all things river cruising. Well, in some ways, yes it is. They have the time off to do these longer trips because they are retired or they have had time to accumulate the days from work. Our trip was 10 days (7 nights actually onboard the ship), and not everyone my age (40’s) has that time to take. An older population also tends to have more financial freedom than we do and they typically don’t have to get coverage for kids while they are gone. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? From a business perspective, it makes sense to help this group of individuals have an excellent time onboard river cruise ships. So, while we were on the younger side while sailing on the Danube, there were plenty of people close to our age (and some even younger than us). I think the variety of activities that AmaWaterways offers specifically brings a more diverse crowd onboard, which was another reason we chose them for our adventure.

Now lets get to it!

5 reasons why we chose AmaWaterways:

1. Quality

   Winner of several industry awards, including Condé Nast, Travel + Leisure, and Forbes, AmaWaterways continues to be consistent in every aspect of their sailings. The food on board is actually renowned and many guests return again and again for incredible meals designed by the areas in which they sail. Additionally, AMA does not have freezers on board for their food... meaning nothing is frozen (outside of ice and ice cream, of course). This means everything is freshly prepared for their guests for every meal and snack. This extra touch is unique within the river cruising industry.

   Another fact to prove their quality? Ever heard of Disney? Well, they offer river and land group tours called Adventures by Disney. For their River Adventures, they commission AmaWaterways ships and crew to guide their guests through beautiful countries. Disney knows quality and that was a selling point for us as Disney fans.

   

   
   

2. Variety of Port Excursions

   Various river cruise lines do different things when it comes to the port excursions. Some include just one excursion per port and you have to pay for any extras. Some include 2-3 options per port. AmaWaterways offers up to 8 excursions per port and they are ALL included. Additionally, the excursions offered a variety of activity levels from gentle walks, bus tours, bike tours, hikes, and wine and food tastings. On our Melodies of the Danube tour, there was only one excursion that was an extra cost on the whole trip, which was a concert in Vienna. 

   

   
   

3. Larger Rooms and Full Balconies

   AmaWaterways offers a variety of rooms, including those with French balconies and those with full balconies. Waking up in the morning and having your coffee on your balcony while you’re sailing down the rivers of Austria… 10 out of 10. The rooms are also larger than on some other lines because the max occupancy is less than ships of the same size. Excellent service is a result of this more intimate experience.

4. The Ease of Planning

   AmaWaterways, and most river cruise lines, can bundle flights, pre and post cruise extensions, offer excursions at each port, and add airport transfers. It’s really an all-inclusive experience and we didn’t have to spend months making plans and booking our own excursions or transfers. We just got to show up. It was exactly what we wanted. 

5. The Crew

   Cruise Manager, Cruise Director, Wellness host, servers, stewards. All of these people make up the heart of AmaWaterways. Our Wellness Host directed morning stretches and evening walks. He came with us on our bike tour to ensure our safety. He was ever present and helpful. Unique to AmaWaterways, the cruise director actually accompanies guests on their pre and post cruise extensions, so you have the same guide for your entire journey. This allows him or her to get to know the guests and their unique needs. 

AmaWaterways is an amazing line and it’s worth considering for your next European adventure. You can view more about our last trip here.

Interested in River Cruising?

We are hosting a group cruise down the Danube River with AmaWaterways in October 2026. Come explore the unique towns on the Blue Danube! Visit this link or email info@amouseandabeach.com for more information.

A Mouse and a Beach partners with several river cruise vendors and we would love to help you get started by finding the right one for your trip. Get connected with an AMAAB travel advisor here.

Sara Dillon

AMAAB Travel Agent

@VacationPlanningbySara

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