AmaWaterways River Cruise Line
AmaWaterways is a high quality and family-owned river cruise line that sails not only the rivers of Europe, but rivers in South America, Asia and Africa. It’s a cruise line that has elegant ships, wonderful itineraries, delicious dining and very unique experiences. It has multiple room categories and a variety of included excursions. They have features we have not seen before on other cruise lines. Here is a tour of our experiences on AmaWaterways!
The Rivers
AmaWaterways sails on 15 different rivers on 4 different continents! You have many different options when traveling on AmaWaterways. Here are the different river options that AmaWaterways offers and a bit of what you might see on these routes:
1. Danube River – This grand river has multiple different itineraries you can choose from. The Upper Danube visits some of the most amazing cities in Europe with Vienna, Austria, Budapest, Hungary and more on the route. The Lower Danube allows you to see Eastern Europe with its unique cultures and you will visit countries such as Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania! There are Christmas Market Cruises and alternative itineraries as well! The new AmaMagna sails this itinerary and is a large river cruise ship with many amenities such as multiple restaurants! We have sailed the Danube in the past!
2. Rhine River – Another mighty river in Europe the Rhine takes you past castles, beautiful scenery and to historic cities both big and small. You can visit cities such as Amsterdam, Cologne, and Basel! There are also multiple different itinerary options on this river. We have sailed the Rhine River.
3. Duoro River – This river is in Northern Portugal that has itineraries that round trip out of Porto. This is a wine lovers dream cruise and has unique smaller ships due to the rugged terrain that causes a more winding river.
4. The Dutch and Belgian Waterways – The Netherlands and Belgium are the low countries in Europe with many waterways and canals throughout the countries. This cruise uses these small rivers to visit iconic Dutch Windmills in Kinderdijk, the Belgian cities of Ghent and Antwerp, Amsterdam and other small Dutch cities. We took this cruise to visit see the Tulips on a special itinerary only during the Spring.
5. The French Rivers (Seine, Saone, Rhone, Dordogne, and Garonne) – You can explore all throughout France seeing Paris, Lyon, Boudreaux, and many more cities. You can visit the wine country, the Normandy Beaches and much more on these different journeys. We have not sailed on the French Rivers yet but look forward to doing so in the future.
6. Other German Rivers (Main and Moselle) – You can sail on quieter German Rivers that also visit some neighboring countries and beautiful cities. We have not yet sailed these rivers.
7. The Nile, Egypt – One of the grandest adventures you can take is a trip down the Nile and follow in the footsteps of people for thousands of years. See the Pyramids, The Valley of the Kings, Temples, Abu Simbel and much more. It is an adventure like no other and one that we took in 2025!
8. The Magdelena River, Colombia – Colombia is an amazing country of adventure and culture. While it has had a turbulent past, it’s a wonderful place to visit. They use smaller ships on this river. We have not cruised the river, but we have been to Colombia before!
9. The Chobe River, Namibia – On this trip you visit South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and more. The Zambezi Queen is a stationary floating hotel where you go on safari tours from it. We have not visited this area of the world just yet!
10. Mekong River – journey on the Mekong River to visit the amazing sites of Vietnam and Cambodia for a very different adventure than a European Cruise. We have not been to this region of the world just yet!
The Ships and Crew
While the ship sizes and amenities vary throughout the rivers they all are luxurious and very well done. Many of the ships have amenities that you won’t find on some cruise lines like heated pools, a small gym, a massage room and more. The crew from our experiences are wonderful and very attentive. They also have a wellness crewmember who helps people exercise and be well in mind and body while on the ship. We did a digestive walk recently with the wellness staff. Watch the video below for more details about sailing with AmaWaterways from our experiences.
The Dining
The dining experience is excellent on AmaWaterways we found. Breakfast and lunch have a short order cook with different delicacies each day. Dinner has a wide variety of cuisine with some featuring local dishes and other dishes from around the world. They have the familiar dishes like grilled chicken, steak and more served every day if you don’t like what is being served. They have special nights like in Belgium we had a chocolate buffet one night. The bread and all the food is made from scratch each day.
The dining goes beyond the normal restaurant as everyone has the opportunity to eat at the Chef’s table once during the cruise and it’s included! The Chef’s table allows you to have a chef make you a 7-course meal all paired expertly with wine. The chef can be seen in an open kitchen making all the dishes. For lunch the Chef’s Table is an Italian Restaurant.
The Lark lounge has a quick hot breakfast and a hot snack like sliders at 10pm each night. They have great snacks all day and a coffee station there as well. We had an Ice Cream Social there one afternoon when we were sailing. Check out more about dining on AmaWaterways below!
The Rooms
The rooms are comfortable and stylish. We were in the smallest room category on our most recent cruise (Category E – Window Room) and we still had room for chairs and had a very nice restroom with a roomy shower for a cruise ship. AmaWaterways provides refillable metal bottles you can take home with you to refill throughout the trip at the water and ice stations on each floor. Each room has a TV with a few news and entertainment live channels and a suite of on demand movies, shows and music. There are multiple categories from window rooms to French Balconies to a double French Balcony – Regular Balcony to a roomy Suite. Check out room tours and more in the video below!
The Tours
For each port there are multiple tours offered that are all INCLUDED! On most cruises there are no extra charge excursions on AmaWaterways. In many ports there will be a Gentle Walker tour for those who want to go at a slower pace, a normal paced tour and a more strenuous tour such as a bicycle ride that can last for multiple miles through the countryside. On our most recent cruise there was a port that offered a tour to visit the Dutch Delta Works (storm surge barrier and museum), a historic city tour or a bicycle ride through the Dutch countryside. Each day is something different and you can choose what to do (some do require advanced reservations). Check out these videos about some of the tours.
Extras
AmaWaterways has an Air Program where you can either let them book your airfare for a discount or they can book your flights at normal fair and it includes transfers to and from the ship. They also often have pre or post land tour options to visit other areas of the region you are cruising.
Contact us to book your AmaWaterways Cruise or Join a Group Cruise!
If you are Interested in this trip:
Contact Donna or Jason Miller with ET Family Travel and we can help you book your dream trip today including customized trips, guided tours, cruises and much more. Our travel planning services are completely free if you book with us. Contact us at donnamiller.etfamilytravel@gmail.com or jasonmiller.etfamilytravel@gmail.com to book today!
