AMA Danube Part 1

Ports of Call: To do justice to this cruise, we had to write the review in two parts. The link to the second is at the top and bottom of this page.

Part #2 Durnstein, Austria; Melk, Austria; Salzburg, Austria; Passau, Germany; Regensburg, Germany; Nuremberg, Germany;

We have thoroughly enjoyed twenty ocean cruises over the last fifteen years. But, a major frustration with ocean cruises is that they can only visit ports that are on the oceans. Since we have always wanted to visit Budapest and Prague, the best way to do that would be on a Danube River cruise. This would also give us a chance to visit several other wonderful cities and get to experience our first European river cruise. We decided to travel with AMA Waterways on their brand new ship, the Amalyra. We had heard very good reports about AMA, and the itinerary we chose allowed us to have a one week river cruise with a two night pre-cruise stay in Budapest and a 3 night post-cruise stay in Prague.

When we got our airline schedule from AMA, I was thrilled. We would be arriving in Budapest at 9:20 AM, so it would give us a full day of seeing the sights; however we only had 75 minutes between connecting flights. On our drive down to Miami, we ran into torrential rains, and I began to get concerned about flight delays. When we arrived at the gate, there was no plane and the arrival time kept getting moved back. We ended up being delayed 40 minutes and never made up the time. On a positive note, the service on Lufthansa was great, and the food was very good. Free drinks also helped.

After running through the Frankfurt airport and begging people to let us move up in the immigration and security lines, we arrived just as the plane left at 7:50 AM. Very disheartening! We were told that there was another flight at 9:20 AM, then one at 1:00 PM. They confirmed us for 1:00 PM since the 9:20 AM was already full. We decided to go to the gate and see if we could stand by for the 9:20 AM flight. While there, we found out that our original flight that we missed had to turn back to the gate due to mechanical difficulties. So all of those passengers now had to be accommodated on the 9:20 and 1:00 flights. Although Lufthansa sent for a larger plane for the 9:20 AM flight, it still couldn’t handle all the people, nor could the 1:00 PM flight. So, by being late we actually got on an earlier flight than we might have if we had originally arrived at the gate on time.

The flight to Budapest finally left at 1:30 PM. As we were taxing to the runway, a passenger started to freak out because she was scared and wanted to get off the plane. She got out of her seat heading for the door; but the flight attendant did an excellent job of controlling the situation. We really didn’t need any additional delays. The girl’s mother gave her a pill and all was well after that.

We finally landed in Budapest at 3:30 PM. The first order of business was to get some Hungarian Florints from an ATM. In our rush to get down to baggage claim, I passed the ATM on the main level where we had arrived. After we picked up our luggage and met the AMA agent for the transfers to the hotel, I went back upstairs to find the ATM. We were very pleased to find ATM’s in every city we traveled to on this trip.

We got to the hotel at 4:30 PM after a 30 minute bus ride from the airport. It was overcast and started to drizzle a little. The first day of the trip was not going well; but at least we were in Budapest at last.

As we checked into our hotel we met our Cruise Director for the next twelve days, Bori Gulyas from Budapest. She was very helpful and seemed quite pleasant despite the numerous requests she was addressing. Bori did an outstanding job during the entire trip and we could not have been happier with her. She worked very hard at keeping everything under control and making our trip as enjoyable as possible. She couldn’t do enough for the guests and was always trying to help. We really lucked out having Bori as our CD. She was great!

AMA had put us up in a very nice hotel, The Kempinski Hotel Corvinus (http://kempinski-budapest.com/ ). We had read good comments about the hotel and it lived up to our expectations.

We had booked reservations through our hotel for dinner at a very popular and highly recommended restaurant, Café Kor. The restaurant was only a couple of blocks from the hotel. We made the reservation for 6:00 PM since we knew we would be tired from traveling all day. Since we would only be in Budapest on Saturday and Sunday nights and Café Kor is closed on Sunday, I had been concerned that we might miss our only opportunity to eat there had the flight been delayed any longer. The restaurant was smaller than I expected it to be, so I was really glad we had reservations.

We had a very helpful and friendly waiter; and we sure needed help to understand the menu. They had an English version, but the food and its description was quite different from what we are used to.

I ordered steamed veal with vegetable sauce on pasta, and Carol had a shish kebab with medallion potatoes and Greek salad. Both dinners were just incredibly delicious. We finished off the meal by sharing a type of apple pie with probably the best vanilla ice cream ever. Café Kor had been a great choice for our first Hungarian meal.

On our way back to the hotel we passed the beautiful St. Stephen's Basilica and the lovely Danubius Fountain in the park across from the hotel.

The fountain is a tribute to the Danube River. The three women on the fountain represent the three rivers that merge into the Danube.

On our drive to the hotel and our first walk, it was quite apparent that Budapest was a beautiful city. I couldn’t wait to see more, so after taking Carol back to the hotel, I decided to walk around town a bit to get a preview of the sights. I headed down to the famous Chain Bridge. From there I could get a view of the Buda Castle and the Parliament building.

There were statues and other sights everywhere I walked. I was tired from the full day’s travel, but I was still so excited that I walked around for about an hour before returning to the hotel for a great night’s sleep.

When we woke up, we were glad to see that it was not raining; the forecast had shown rain for the next two days. It had rained during the night, but hopefully the rain would stay away, because our city tour was planned for 9:00 AM till 1:00 PM.

We were very pleased with the buffet breakfast that was included at the hotel. While Carol was organizing our room, I walked over to the main shopping area, Vaci Utca Street. It was just a block from the hotel, so I knew it was going to be a frequently visited area for us. The hotel was really convenient to everything. I always enjoy walking around towns in the morning before the crowds arrive.

Since the Danube was only a couple of blocks away, I had to check it out, too. I had another great view of Buda Castle, and I could see a sister ship of our Amalyra, the Amadagio, across the river.

When I returned to the hotel, I showed Carol the way to the shopping area, since there was still a half hour before the tour. She got a kick out of the portable elephant statues that were all around the area. Some were used for advertising, and some were just decorated.

After returning to the hotel for the tour, Bori organized everyone into the proper groupings for each bus. We were in the Yellow group with tour guide Agnes. She was easy to understand and provided a very good narrative for us. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of all the tour guides AMA used at all the stops during the entire trip.

Agnes told us that due to the Pentecost Holiday, which is a National Holiday in Hungary, we would not be able to go to Hero’s Square; and would instead go to Gellert Hill. Apparently many roads are closed for special activities during the holiday, which prevents the bus from getting to Hero’s Square. On top of Gellert Hill are the Citadel, the Statue of Liberation and a great panoramic view looking down on Budapest. It was unfortunate that it was a cloudy day for photos; but it was a very nice place to visit in person.

Our next stop was at the Buda Castle, where we just walked around to get a view of the castle from the grounds and another view looking down into town. Since we didn’t get to go inside the castle, the main attraction there was another restroom stop.

Without visiting the inside of the palace, there isn’t much of a reason to stop there. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time in Budapest to return later on our own.

The last stop on the tour was Fisherman’s Bastion. It is a lovely area with a street leading to the Bastion with various shops. Unfortunately, while there, the rains began and were on and off for the rest of the day. The structure of the Bastion is a large wall with a walkway on top. The towers at various points give it a mystical look and it is just a lovely place to visit.

Once again there was a very good view of the city from the wall; and it is right across the river from the Parliament building. We were looking forward to a tour we had booked on our own to visit the inside of the Parliament building the next day before we boarded the Amalyra. I was particularly impressed with the large equestrian statue of King St. Stephen in the center of the Bastion walls.

The wall is also adjacent to the Matthias Church. It is an interesting church in part due to the colorful glazed tile roof. I had planned on visiting it while there; but it didn’t open until 1:00 PM; which was when our tour was to end. I was disappointed; but I knew there would be many opportunities on this trip to see many more churches. Were there ever! The Matthias Church was going through a renovation project, so there was a lot of scaffolding covering the outside. All during the trip it was surprising to see how many historical structures were being renovated. It is good that they are being protected; but unfortunate that it is being done during the tourist season.

Next to the church there was another tall statue and others along the street on the way back to the bus.

Most of the group waited under a bridge for the bus to pick us up. With the rain and the wind, it was getting a bit uncomfortable and we were looking for any protection possible from the elements. After we returned to the hotel, we walked over to the famous Café Gerbeaud, which was a block away. It had a reputation for wonderful desserts and sandwiches. After our club sandwiches, we passed on dessert to keep from overeating, again.

After lunch, Carol decided to go shopping down the Vaci Utca, while I began a walking tour of several places I had planned on visiting from my pre-cruise research. The first stop was to the Opera House, where they have English tours at 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM. Agnes told us that they frequently cancel the 4:00 PM tour due to setting up for an evening show, so I bought 3:00 PM tickets.

I arrived early to make sure I didn’t miss getting a ticket. I had seen the outside of the building from the bus during our tour in the morning, so it was easy to find again. The outside is quite impressive; but the inside just blew me away.

The waiting area to enter the auditorium was just beautiful. A side benefit of getting to the opera house early for tickets was that we could hear the end of the opera that was just finishing up.

As I entered the auditorium, it felt like stepping back in time 100 years. I guess it should, since the opera house is 125 years old. The room is so elegant that pictures just can’t do it justice.

When we left the auditorium, I thought the splendor would subside; but we kept going into other rooms and halls that were just too beautiful. This staircase and hallway led to the Emperor's box that was only to be used by him.

As the tour continued, I kept expecting to see some plain rooms; but everything in the building was ornate. The 50 minute tour cost 2,800 Hungarian Florins or about $14 US. I very highly recommend this tour. Don’t miss it.

The next stop on my walking tour was to the St. Stephen’s Cathedral. It is a large building that can be seen from all over the city due to its twin steeples and large dome. It is just a beautiful church.

Throughout this trip we saw many beautiful churches. I can’t pass up going into a church, especially ornate ones, so I hope that I don’t overload you with too many church photos.

After leaving St. Stephens, I was getting tired; but I was determined to visit the Doheny Street Synagogue. It is also called the Great Synagogue. It is the largest active synagogue in Europe and has a very unique Byzantine-Moorish style architecture, so it was on my must see list. It was a pretty long walk and I would pay the price later; but I am glad I went. We had seen the outside of the building while on the bus in the morning and it was quite unique looking.

The inside was unlike any church or synagogue I have ever visited. It was very large and quite a beautiful building. I am glad I paid the extra cost to take photos, because I want to remember this lovely place.

As I dragged myself back to the hotel I passed some interesting buildings and statues. Budapest is a great city to walk around. It is very safe and the people are friendly. I was pleased that most people could speak some English. Thank goodness, since I certainly didn’t know any Hungarian.

Before going to the room, I asked our Cruise Director Bori, for a dinner recommendation. Since it was Sunday night, most of the restaurants that I had read about were closed. She recommended one that was a couple of blocks away at the river called Dunacorso (www.dunacorso.hu/). It was in a great location with a very nice view of the river.

Once again we had a very friendly and helpful waiter. We both ordered the Kolozsvári style Stuffed Cabbage. When it arrived, in addition to the stuffed cabbage and sauerkraut, there was also a sausage and a pork chop on the plate. This meal was so good, and Carol swears it was the best cabbage roll she had ever tasted. We were really liking Hungarian food!

After dinner we walked around a little bit and went back to the hotel to download the many photos I had taken. Since the hotel had free WIFI, I looked up the Dunacorso restaurant. I found some comments about the restaurant saying that it was close to a well known statue I had been looking for called the Little Princess. I would have to go back in the morning to see if I could find the statue.

I had a voice mail to call the front desk. They told me that I had gotten a message that our Parliament Building tour had been cancelled. I was very disappointed, since we had really been looking forward to visiting this most recognized of Budapest buildings. I don’t know why it was cancelled, probably due to the holiday; but we would still enjoy our last day in Budapest.

It is recommended that while in Budapest to visit several sites that are illuminated at night. So at 9:00 PM, I headed out again with my camera to check them out.

Fisherman’s Bastion was also nicely illuminated. I walked across the bridge so I could walk toward the Parliament Building to get a better angle, but it started to rain a bit harder. I had to turn back before I could get closer to it.

On the way back to the hotel, I saw some other nicely illuminated buildings. My advice had been correct, Budapest is beautiful by night.

By the time I got back to the hotel, all of the days walking and climbing was taking its toll on me. I was very exhausted and ready for bed. The next day would be a relaxing day, since all we had planned was to board the ship at 2:45 PM.

After a very good night’s sleep, I was ready to head out to find the Little Princess statue and to see if I could see the Amalyra that was to have arrived in Budapest that morning. I walked to the Dunacorso and right next to it was the Little Princess. I couldn’t believe that I had looked all over for it, and we had eaten right next to it. It looks more like a Little Prince, but it is named the Little Princess. Everyone wants their picture taken with the bronze elf. You can see how shiny her legs are from people rubbing it and from children sitting on its lap for photos. Its a great place for photos since it is across the river from the castle

The highlight of the morning was looking right across the river and seeing our accommodations for the next seven days, the AMA Waterways Amalyra. I was anxious to get back to the hotel to bring Carol down to see my morning’s discoveries.

We had planned to just walk along the Vaci Utca and just enjoy our last few hours in Budapest, so this would be a good place to start.

We checked out various shops and took in the beautiful statues and building exteriors along the way.

While Carol was resting with a large Coke at a restaurant, I walked further down the street looking for a church that I had read about. While looking for it, I found a pretty, little church named St. Michael's, so I went inside.

When I finally found the church I was originally looking for, it was closed. Oh well, there would be plenty more to see. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch that had a lovely exterior. It was called Sorforra's. The food was good, but the portions were way too large and we left more than we ate.

We walked around some more, stopping at various shops. When we were on our way back to the hotel to catch the bus for the Amalyra, we passed Café Gerbaud. We decided to stop and share a dessert, since we hadn’t had one the last time we were there. We chose an ice cream dessert that was quite good. If we had had more time in Budapest, I would have tried several more of their treats. It was probably good for our waistlines that we were only there for two nights.

At last we were on the bus to board the Amalyra. To keep the check-in process less crowded, they gave us a 20 minute city tour along the river. That way some people could be checking in while others were touring. One of the sites that I had missed during yesterday’s tour was the Shoes on the Danube Promenade, where there were 120 iron shoes placed along the River.

It is a memorial to Jewish Hungarians who were slaughtered by the pro-Nazi Hungarian Arrow Cross Militiamen and then thrown into the Danube at that spot on the river. They were told to take off their shoes before they were killed. Now, sixty pairs of cast iron shoes, cast in the styles of the 40's, stand in remembrance of those people shot into the Danube during the Arrow Cross terror on January 8, 1945.

When the bus arrived at the Amalyra, it was a very easy embarkation process. We waited in the lounge for a few minutes until the crowd at the front desk lightened up. We then walked up to the desk, handed them our passports and we were given our key cards. Since we had put our luggage outside our room at the hotel at 10:00 AM for pick up, it had already been delivered to our cabin. A very easy no hassle process.

We left Budapest at 9:00 PM. This was a great time to leave since the buildings were already illuminated. The Amalyra had been headed in the right direction for the cruise; but as we left the dock, it turned around and started to head south rather than north. It was rather confusing at first, until we found out that Bori had asked the Captain to go south first so that she could share the beauty of more of her city at night with us. I was so glad, since I had not been able to walk to the southern parts of the city.

We got to go by the famous Gellert Hotel; as well as the Statue of Liberation we had seen on the city tour.

We also passed other places we had previously seen. Buda Castle was particularly lovely this night, as was the Chain Bridge and the view of the Fisherman's Bastion up on the hill.

The highlight was to see the Parliament Building. It was quite lovely; but it could use a bit more lighting in my opinion. As pretty as the building is, it should be shown off at night. We were really appreciative of the Captain’s going out of his way to provide this extra treat for the passengers. This attitude spread down throughout the ranks. The ship was very passenger oriented.

River vessels are designed to be very long (360 ft.) narrow boats so that they can travel through the many locks on the rivers. They are therefore, limited in size. The Amalyra can carry 148 passengers. We only had 127 on our cruise, but it was full for the next one. There are three levels with cabins; and a full sundeck on top. The lowest cabin level only has small windows on the upper part of the cabin, since the rest of the cabin is under water. The second and third deck cabins have what is called a French Balcony, which I will discuss later.

The Amalyra is constructed so that the front part of the boat is divided into only two decks, whereas the rest of the boat has three levels. There are basically five public rooms on the ship. The largest of these rooms are the Main Lounge and the Restaurant which are in the front of the ship occupying the area with two decks. This arrangement allows higher ceilings in those rooms.

Main Lounge – a large room at the front of the ship where all the entertainment, meetings and activities took place. It is of course also the bar, so there is activity there at all times. During the day many people would sit there and read or just relax and watch the scenery go by as we cruised along the river. The room is also used for light meals if you want to skip the main restaurant. For breakfast, breads and rolls are available there. For lunch and supper, soup, salads and other light items are offered. An afternoon tea is served in the lounge at 3:30 each day.

Restaurant – all of the main meals are served there. It is below the Main Lounge. In the mornings, a normal buffet breakfast is served with an egg/omelet station. In addition, special items can be ordered off the menu such as Eggs Benedict, oatmeal, etc. For lunch, there is a buffet for the salads and lighter foods. The main course is ordered from the menu. For dinner all items are ordered off of the menu. A cheese and cracker station is open at each meal. All dinner (a couple lunch) and bar menus; as well as, some food photos are at this link.

Aft Lounge – is primarily a card/game room at the back of the ship on the third level, that can be used for many individual or small group activities. It is also a nice place to just sit and watch what is going on behind the ship. Carol enjoyed working on the jigsaw puzzle that was provided. Since it is close to the ship’s exhaust system, it can get an odor of diesel fumes when the boat is not moving.

Lobby – where the main reception/business desk is located. There is also a tiny souvenir shop located to the left of the desk.

As tiny as it was, the shop did have some nice items; but a very limited selection and supply. For example, there was a nice Danube Cruise souvenir coffee mug. They only had two of them available for purchase on this cruise. If you see something you want, get it early. I was glad I got one when I could. Carol found a perfect light weight, fleece, zippered jacket.

The Lobby is also where the Main Lounge and stairs to the Restaurant are located; as well as the doors to the outside of the ship and stairs to the Sundeck can be accessed. It is a hub of activity, especially when port tours start and end. There is also a very small library located adjacent to the lobby on deck three.

An elevator can be accessed in the Lobby. It only goes between the lobby and decks two and three. This means that a handicapped person would have to walk the eight steps down to the restaurant from the lowest level the elevator descends to. New river boat construction requirements do not allow an elevator to go all the way down to the lowest level of a ship to prevent drowning in the event of an accident if the lower level is flooded.

Fitness Room – was a very small workout room that is adjacent to and also joins the Aft Lounge. The equipment was nice, but limited due to space. Since our cabin was only two doors down from the gym, the stair access just outside the room was a very easy way for us to quickly get to the sundeck.

The Sundeck is not a public room, but is the best place on the ship to watch the world go by. The most prominent part of the sundeck is the wheelhouse where the captain normally controls the ship. The top section of it can be lowered to allow the ship to pass under low bridges. When this is done, the captain can stick his head through a hole on the top of the wheelhouse to see where he is going.

The captain can also control and steer the ship from units on the side of the wheelhouse that are used when positioning the boat in some of the locks. From these positions, the captain can see how close they are to the lock walls.

There are areas for sitting or lounging, and some are covered. The chairs were quite comfortable. There is also a hot tub near the front of the ship. I only saw it used a couple of times, probably because it was cool when we were cruising; especially with the wind.

A walking track is marked around the outside of the deck and was used quite a bit when not in port. There was also a large chess set for use; but I never saw anyone playing with it.

At the very front of the sundeck were a couple of spare propellers; and a small lifeboat, that would only be used for the crew to handle unusual circumstances.

On the morning of our second day on the ship while traveling to Bratislava, we had a short muster drill on the sundeck. They had explained in a group meeting earlier, that there is no need for lifeboats on a riverboat, since a captain can quickly move close to the shore in case of an emergency. All of the life jackets are kept in compartments on the sundeck, which is logical, since that is where one would go if there were a problem. A plus with this setup is that no room is taken up in the cabin for life jackets.

AMA ships provide free WIFI. The antenna is on the sundeck next to the wheelhouse. It is moved to get the best reception. There were frequent times when there was no reception due to the antenna having to be lowered to go under bridges and other occasions. To use the WIFI, you have to get a password from the reception desk. I used it for my iPhone. Apparently it can only be used on one device, since I was unable to use it with my laptop. But that was OK, since it wasn’t the fastest connection anyway, and I didn’t have that much time to work online.

We had cabin 330, which was the next to last cabin on the top passenger deck; just in front of the Aft Lounge and Beauty Salon. The hallways to the cabins were very nice with attractive carpeting, textured wallpaper and nice pictures. They were wide enough under normal circumstances, but when the room attendants had their carts in the hallway every morning; it was a tight squeeze to get by them.

The cabin was 170 sq. ft, which is not bad for a riverboat. It was arranged so that there was plenty of room to move around, especially at the end of the bed where the closet was located. This makes a big difference, since this is normally a problem area in many ocean cruise line cabins.

We had a French Balcony; which is a sliding glass door with a railing outside of the door. This is really all that is needed. As long as I can put my head outside to look around and feel the temperature, I am happy. With the sundeck being so close, I wouldn’t have used a full balcony if I had one. One of the warnings that are given is to make sure that the ship is not entering a lock before sticking your head out of your balcony, because it would be easy to be injured by the sides of the lock, since the ship gets so close to them.

The cabin had two chairs by the balcony, that were comfortable to use, and one of them also served as a chair for the small desk area. A nice flat panel TV that had many entertainment options was a nice touch. The main thing I used it for was to watch the camera at the front of the ship to see what was coming up. I did watch the CNN channel a few times, but never looked to see what movies were offered, since we just didn’t have time to watch a movie. The TV also has a keyboard attached to it and is used as a monitor for the free Internet connection that is accessed through the TV system. It worked rather well, so I didn’t need to use my laptop other than for downloading and viewing photos.

The bed was firmer than we are used to; but it was comfortable enough. We had the two beds pushed together, but there were still two separate duvet covers, which was a nice way to do it. The air conditioning system in the cabin worked very well, so we were able to keep the cabin nice and cool all night for good sleeping.

One of the concerns that people have with cabins that are close to the back of the ship is vibration. The vibration we experienced was very minor. It was more noticeable when slowing down or accelerating around locks and obviously when docking, but it was not noticeable enough to be considered a negative.

The bathroom was a nice surprise. Like the cabin it was well laid out. The shower had three heads: the rain type at the top of the shower, a handheld type and a moveable head in the middle of the shower. The controls allowed various selections of different heads and type of sprays. It was a very nice feature. Although the triangular shaped shower didn’t appear that large, it was quite adequate for my oversized body; and having a door rather than a curtain is always nicer.

We really enjoyed this cabin due to its location. Carol used the Aft Lounge while putting together a jigsaw puzzle, and we both appreciated having the access to the sundeck only two doors away. Most people used the stairs in the lobby, which had more steps due to its location on deck 2.

The dress for the cruise is casual, with smart casual for evening dinners. Jeans were the most popular attire during the daytime, since the temperature was normally in the 50’s-60’s and only got over 70 a few times. Still, some people did wear shorts. I would have liked to a few days, but with the weather forecast normally being for cloudy or rainy weather, we never used our shorts. Fortunately, we had very little rain while on the cruise despite the forecast.

I had decided against bringing a sport coat, since smart casual would not require one. However, I was in a minority for the two Captain’s Receptions where most men wore a jacket. On those nights a few women even wore simple cocktail dresses; but most just wore a dress or a dressier slacks outfit.

Having been on many ocean cruises, we had lowered our expectations of the food quality for this cruise, even though we had read some good reviews. We found the food to be as good as many of the ocean cruises we had been on, and better than some. The presentation was superb. The service was very good and the attitude of the whole dining staff was amazing.

Carol fell in love with the maître d', Jozsef Vagany from Budapest. He had a wonderful personality and was always upbeat and smiling. His personality must have been contagious, since we were surprised at how all of the restaurant/bar staff really seemed to enjoy their jobs. They seemed genuinely happy to serve us and kidded regularly with each other and the guests. It really made for such a pleasant dining experience. The staffing is quite tight on these ships and they had to work very hard; but they helped each other in a team effort and it just worked wonderfully.

For breakfast there was a very nice buffet with all the standard items; and as mentioned earlier, items such as Eggs Benedict, oatmeal or other items that might not be on the buffet could be ordered. Jozsef was the egg/omelet maker. He did a great job of taking care of all the passengers while providing entertainment during the wait for the eggs to cook. There was never a long line, since he was very good at what he did. Coffee and pastries were also available in the Main Lounge before and after the breakfast times for those who woke up early, late, or just didn’t want a full breakfast.

For lunch the salads, appetizers, desserts and lighter items were provided on the buffet. The main courses and soups were chosen from the menu. It was a very efficient way of serving lunch, since it allowed those that just wanted a lighter lunch to be able to eat quickly and leave if they wanted to. Hamburgers and cheeseburgers were also available. There was also a lighter lunch offered in the Main Lounge with some of the same items as on the buffet for those that didn’t want to go to the restaurant. I don’t believe that anyone went hungry on this cruise.

As would be expected, the dinner menus had fewer options than on an ocean cruise. There was a chef’s recommendation on the left side of the menu that showed the various items that he thought were the best choices; as well as several alternative selections that were available every night. Also on the left side are the free wines that would be offered for dinner, a nice feature for wine drinkers. Different ones were offered each night. Since we don’t care that much for wine, I can’t comment on the quality of the wines; but most people seemed to enjoy them. I instead enjoyed the free beer at dinner; and Carol enjoyed the free Coke/Sprite. Although they were included with dinner, there were charges for these drinks at lunch and at other times during the day.

On the right side of the dinner menu were three choices for appetizers / salad, two for soups, three entrees and two desserts. With all meals there was a nice selection of cheeses, crackers and fruits that you could walk up to and take as much as you wanted. Since I am a cheese lover, this was a great feature. The three main entrée choices were a fish meal, a meat/poultry meal and a vegetarian meal. We chose the meat selection every night and were quite pleased with it. We were very surprised at the variety and quality of food on such a small ship.

At lunch and dinner, we could not believe how good the soups were. Even the consommé ones were extremely good. The only area we were not satisfied with was the salad dressings. Many of them did not taste like what we were expecting. For lunch there was always a selection of three different ice creams with all the toppings. They were also quite good.

We both fell in love with a drink attendant from Budapest named Tina. She was able to serve drinks, fill up water glasses and share her sparkling personality with everyone in the restaurant/lounge. Both Tina and Jozsef really made this cruise quite special for us.

We did not expect much from the entertainment, since it was a small ship and you can only do so much with limited space. However, it was better than I expected and rather enjoyable after very full touring days. The entertainers, other than the one night they had a crew talent show, were locals from the towns we were visiting.

The first entertainers, from Bratislava, were called Aphrodite. They were five girls who played piano, violins, cello, and flute. They played mostly songs from movies and were quite talented.

While in Melk, we had the crew talent show. Of course, it was a bit corny; but we expected that. Since we knew most of the crew by then, we had fun watching them have fun. Even Captain Bruijn got into the spirit. Unlike on the big ships, here you feel like part of the family. It was quite an enjoyable evening.

While in Passau, we had the highlight of the week’s entertainment with a three person group that had a guitar player and two exceptional violinists. The melding of the sounds in mostly classical type music was just amazing. They were outstanding and brought the crowd to standing ovations. I now wish that I had bought their CD that was offered. They were that good.

In Regensburg, we had the Bavarian Humpa Humpa Oberpfalz Duo. How’s that for a name that just flows off your tongue? They were two local musicians named Hans and Helmut who played the accordion and guitar. It was definitely a taste of local flavor and amusing.

Every day in the lounge there was a pianist named Peter who played a varied selection of music at various times during the day. At night, some danced to his music.

The Daily Cruiser flyer was put out every night in the cabin giving the next day’s activities. It was very nice and informative. It provided the daily schedules and helpful port information. Unlike ocean cruises, it wasn’t filled with lots of advertisements and sales because the boat wasn’t selling anything. Unlike the ocean ships, you are never prodded to go to particular stores onshore, nor are you confronted with constant ads. That was so nice!

There were various information briefings in the Main Lounge during the week. The first day’s meeting was an information and safety briefing to get you acquainted with the ship and to meet the staff. There was another one to discuss what we would see in Bratislava and to make people aware of the optional tours in Vienna and for Salzburg. There was also a disembarkation briefing. One day we had a guest speaker discussing Bavaria. He was most informative and his talk was well attended.

Our main reason for taking this river cruise was to be able to experience Eastern Europe’s interior cities that cannot be visited while on an ocean cruise. We could not have been happier with the many ports since all of them were new to us. Each one was quite special and most enjoyable.

After our first night on the ship we were looking forward to a morning of river cruising before our arrival in Bratislava at 1:00 PM. Everyone was anticipating going through our first lock at around 9:30 AM, the Gabcikovo Lock. Bori narrated what was happening from the wheelhouse. The sundeck speaker system works very well and could be easily heard. This was one of the larger locks we would go through, since it allowed two river boats to be side by side. We shared it with the Viking Pride and some barges.

Each ship was attached to floating moorings to keep it from moving around in the lock. The waters rushing in could create movement that could cause a lot of damage. The Captain used the side controls to line up within the lock. Whereas a captain on an ocean cruise has a large staff to do many of the functions, Captain Jan de Bruijn puts in a full day’s work and is very busy actually running the ship. He does have a second captain who works at night.

Filling up the lock took about twenty minutes and then we were on our way. The terrain in that part of the cruise is relatively flat with not many people living on the river, so there wasn’t as much to look at as there would be later in the cruise.

Close to 1:00 PM we arrived at Bratislava. There was a very unusual bridge over the river in front of us. It has a restaurant on top. In front of a lovely building, we could also see the busses at the dock waiting to take us on a tour.

AMA has a very nice way of doing tours using vox audio devices. Each person on the ship was given their own behind the ear headset to use throughout the cruise. The earphones attached to a small cell phone size receiver that picked up the guide’s conversation. It was the same color as the tour group you were assigned to. There was a pink group for people that wanted to take a very slow tour, a red group for those interested in a faster tour; and blue, green and yellow tours for everyone in between.

It was so nice to have relatively small groups and to be able to hear the tour guide when I couldn’t get close to her, or if I was away from the group taking photos. At the end of the tour the receivers were turned back in to be recharged overnight for the next day’s tour. It’s a great system. For this tour, we were in a group with Ludmila as our guide. She was a real character and very informative. As soon as we met her we knew it was going to be a nice tour.

We took a short walk from the boat passing a patriotic statue that honored Hungary’s assistance to Slovenia during its quest for independence.

While walking around, we saw many little red train-like vehicles driving sightseers around. The people in the Pink group were picked up in these; which must have made for an easier tour.

The first major building we came to was the Slovak Philharmonic concert hall. A very pretty building indeed!

Bratislava has some unusual statues around town. They do get a lot of attention. You have to be careful that you don’t trip over “Man at Work” because it is in the sidewalk. I still don’t know why there is one of Andy Warhol; and the Napoleon one is kind of strange. But, they are all a light hearted touch to the city and provide funny photo ops.

We saw Michael’s Gate which is the only remaining part of the old town’s original fortification that was built around 1300.

When the tour was ended, I walked over to St. Martin’s Cathedral while Carol did some shopping before returning to the ship. It was not as spectacular as many of the other churches I had seen or would see, but it did have some lovely stained glass.

After walking around a bit more, I returned to the ship also. When I got to the dock, I saw that a Viking ship was on the other side of the Amalyra. This is how river boats maximize dock space. To get to the dock the Viking passengers walked through the Amalyra lobby.

The next day promised to be a very long, tour intensive day, and we couldn’t wait. We would be going to one of the cities on our "must see" list.

Vienna is one of the cities we have always wanted to visit. In addition to the four hour city tour that was included with the cruise from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, we had also booked an optional four hour tour to the Schoenbrunn Palace from 1:00 PM till 5:00 PM. To add to our day, we had also booked the optional Mozart & Strauss Concert from 7:15 PM till 10:30 PM. It was going to be one very full day. And based on the lovely church close to the dock, it looked like it was going to be great sightseeing day.

Our city tour was with Martina. We loaded onto the busses and headed for the majestic Ringstrasse or Ring Street. The avenue circles the old town and contains some of the most beautiful buildings in Vienna and possibly the world. On our way to town we got our first view of one of Vienna’s landmarks, the massive Prater’s Wheel. It is a 200 ft tall Ferris wheel that was built in 1897, and is still operational. We would pass by it many more times during the day.

We were riding by some incredibly beautiful buildings. I couldn’t wait to get out of the bus to get better views of them. Since we were on the Ringstrasse, we were going around the outside of them. When we started walking, we would get to see the real beauty close up. The more we drove, the more oohing and aahing could be heard in the bus. Vienna was some gorgeous city.

When we finally were dropped off, our first stop was at St. Stephen’s Cathedral. There were a lot of St. Stephen’s Cathedral’s in the different towns on the trip. This was one massive cathedral and quite beautiful.

I was very impressed with this 700 year old church. I couldn't get over how large it was. From the front of the church, it was difficult to even see the very large organ in the back of the church. The ornate Pilgrim's Pulpit, like so much of this church, was quite beautiful.

The Column of the Plague was just amazing. It was erected in celebration and thanksgiving for the ending of a plague that had devastated Vienna in 1687.

The Imperial Palace is called simply the Hofburg. It is actually a compound comprised of 18 semi-independent buildings and 19 courtyards. It was the winter home of the Hapsburg Dynasty for 700 years. The monarchs believed it bad luck to occupy the rooms of their immediate predecessors, so they would just build another one. The whole compound is gorgeous, and I took way too many photos there as well as in most of Vienna.

While walking over to Joseph Square and the National Library, we got to see the world famous Lipizzaner Stallions. They were being moved from their stables to the Spanish Riding School where the horses and riders are trained, which is also part of the Hofburg. Martina told us that we could get tickets to see them practicing during our free time in Vienna after the tour. Since Carol has always wanted to see them, she planned on doing just that.

The reason we were in Joseph Square, which is part of the Hofburg, was to go to what is considered one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, the Austrian National Library.

We had to climb a lot of steps to get up to the library, but oh my was it worth it! It was just breathtaking. I was walking around with my mouth open gawking at the beauty and snapping photos from every angle. It is so sad that photos can’t accurately reproduce the beauty of the room. You can get an idea, but it pales in comparison to the real thing.

The Austrian National Library has over 7.4 million items in its collection. The part we were touring called Prunksaal, or Splendour Hall, lives up to its name. Two million volumes are contained here alone. There are two major rooms in the Prunksaal. The room shown below is the smaller one, but only in size, not beauty.

After leaving the library, we passed through one of the courtyards of the Hofburg, and saw a statue of Franz I in front of the Amelia Palace.

We then walked to the busses and drove past some more of the beautiful buildings and statues. We passed City Hall and The National History Museum.

Vienna has so many beautiful places that these weren’t even listed in the book I got, so I don’t know what they are called.

We returned to the Amalyra via the Ringstrasse. Once again there was another boat next to us. It is interesting to be on the sun deck and look over to see another sun deck next to yours.

After a quick lunch we were ready for the 30 minute drive out to Schoenbrunn Palace and Gardens, the Hapsburgs’ summer residence. Once again we had Martina for our guide. We were lucky to have her, since she did do a very good job on the city tour. Carol helped her by holding the sign while Martina got the entrance tickets. The palace itself is just huge. It wasn’t as pretty on the outside as I had expected it to be; but the inside made up for that.

We weren’t allowed to take photos inside the palace, which was unfortunate; but needless to say, the interior was opulent and quite grand. Here is a link to the Schoenbrunn Palace website’s 360 degree photos of some of the rooms (www.schoenbrunn.at/en/things-to-know/360-view.html ). This website will give an idea of what some of the rooms looked like; but they don’t have what I considered some of the prettier rooms we visited in this collection.

We left the palace through the back door, which led to the gardens. The back of the palace was almost a mirror image of the front. It is very impressive.

The garden area is huge and quite lovely. Thankfully, we were allowed to take photos in the gardens.

The highlight to me was the beautiful fountains. The main fountain, the Neptune Fountain, was covered up due to there being some type of show going on that night.

Martina had told us that the Obelisk Fountain was worth taking a walk to. I started out in the direction of the Obelisk Fountain, passing the lovely Round Pond, with a Naiad Fountain at its centre. I didn’t think it would take too long to get there, but I kept walking and walking. I could see the fountain, but it must have been quite large because it looked like it was closer than it actually was. When I finally got to it, I was most impressed and glad I had spent the time walking to it. It was so beautiful with so many gorgeous marble statues.

The obelisk itself was sitting on four large gold turtles. Quite impressive! I really enjoyed this fountain. It was just breathtaking. I would have enjoyed spending more time at the fountain. The longer I looked at it, the more beauty I would find in the various statues.

While I did this, Carol checked out the gardens on the west side of the palace. She found a beautiful rose arbor which led to numerous pools, and shaded paths. It was very peaceful since there were almost no tourists there.

After I took the long walk back to front of the palace, I met Carol who had been sitting in the shade chatting with some of the others from the tour. This was probably the warmest day of the trip and all the walking took a bigger toll than normal. It was in the low 70’s, but the bright sun was quite warm. Once again we got on the bus and headed back to the boat. And once again we went by way of the Ringstrasse.

Once back on the boat, those who were going on the optional Mozart & Strauss Concert excursion had a special early dinner seating time at 5:30 PM, rather than the 6:45 PM for those that were staying on the boat. Over 90 of the 127 people on the cruise went to the concert. Once again, we had Martina to lead our group. Once again we headed to the Ringstrasse to get to the Hofburg where the concert was being held.

Earlier when we were touring the Schoenbrunn Palace, Martina had pointed out a large painting on one of the walls that showed Hofburg Palace's Redoutensaal Hall where we would be for the concert that night. It was quite beautiful. She said that in 1994 there had been a fire that damaged the room quite extensively and that the original frescoes were destroyed. The hall had been restored; but a bit differently than the original look. We were anxious to see how it had been remodeled since she had said that it was controversial.

We couldn’t believe it when we walked into the large room in such a beautiful palace and saw the horrendous orange and red paintings all over the walls and ceiling. How could this have been approved by the city leaders! They did leave much of the elegance; but the new paintings just spoiled the look for us. To us, the bright colors actually distracted our attention from the wonderful performance.

But, we were there for the music not to be architectural critics. The symphony started out playing some lovely music. Then for each piece a singer would come out and perform along with the orchestra. There were three women and two men. They were some very talented professional singers.

There was even some comedy with one of the percussionists hamming it up with the conductor on a couple of pieces. It was an excellent show and well worth the cost and time. Before we came, I had been worried if it would be something I would enjoy; but I was quite glad I listened to the many recommendations to attend the concert.

Once again we headed back down the Ringstrasse for the sixth time that day. This time it was a bit different, since it was night and it was called an illumination tour. There were some nicely lit up buildings; but it wasn’t up to my expectations. I thought there would be a lot more of the gorgeous buildings illuminated. By the time we got to the boat, we were both very ready to go right to bed.

Below are links to the photo albums on Snapfish.

If you use the slideshow feature, please be sure to click on the icon at the bottom so it will show the captions.