Danube River Cruising

Slovakia has never enjoyed a very high profile in the U.S. For most of my life, I knew it as little more than the suffix of Czechoslovakia -- a little country hidden in the darkness behind Iron Curtain. But in the heyday of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Slovakia’s capital city of Bratislava was a major cultural center and the coronation capital of the Hapsburgs. Its history can be traced back to 200 B.C. when the Celts established a settlement there. Later it was part of the Roman Empire, then part of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The popular Hapsburg Empress Maria Theresa was crowned there and had a special relationship with the city. Czechoslovakia was created by joining the Czechs with the Slovaks. The country was annexed to Germany in the run-up to World War II. Then after the war it was occupied by the Soviet Union. It became independent when the Soviet Union fell in 1989, and the Czech and Slovak republics had an amicable divorce in 1993.

Bratislava was our first port of call on AMA Waterways’ Romantic Danube itinerary, which began in Budapest about the new Amalyra. We had experienced the ease of river cruising, where you are free to wander off the ship right into the city center in most cases. Those who wished to participate in a city tour would meet outside the ship. You could join the active group or a more moderately paced group, and there was also a group designed for people with walking problems. I joined the group for active walkers, and was happy to find that we would not be expected to scale the walls of any of the local churches.

The Amalyra docked a block or two from the old city center of Bratislava. Our guide showed us around some of the principal points of interest, gave us a thumbnail history of the city and then turned us loose to wander around the shops, squares and outdoor cafes or return to the ship. With a population of only 500,000, Bratislava is the smallest capital city of Europe. It is quiet, charming and unspoiled with well-preserved Neoclassical, Gothic and Baroque architecture.

That evening on the ship a group of musicians from Bratislava performed for us. Until departure time, passengers were free to come and go as they wished. Then at 11:30 p.m. the ship departed for an overnight cruise to Vienna. We’ve all heard the slogan “leave the driving to us,” but on a river cruise, you don’t even have to know you are leaving. At some point the ship shudders a little and gets under way, and if you aren’t paying attention you may not even know it’s happening.

In Vienna we docked in the Danube Canal at a suburb called Nussdorf. It was one of few places on the trip where we were not moored at the city center. But shuttles were provided to the most popular tourist sites and the ride was about 20 minutes. Vienna is an incomparable jewel, the capital the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and really the capital of Europe for 640 years until World War I. For classical music fans it has no equal. It was the city that great musicians flocked to for centuries, the home of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Strauss during the years in which they made music history. It’s also the center of Art Nouveau. The Amalyra was decorated with prints by Gustav Klimt, one of the foremost creators of Art Nouveau. Many of his originals can be found in the city. Vienna was also the place where Sigmund Freud revolutionized the study of psychology.

We were offered an orientation tour in the morning, after which we were free to roam until we felt like picking up one of the shuttles at 4, 5 or 10 p.m. and heading back to Nussdorf. The tour circled the Ringstrasse, the city street that was built in place of the old city wall, and then dropped us off near the spectacular St. Stephen’s Cathedral, where we began a walking tour of the old city center.

It was there in the Vienna suburbs that I first sampled the ship’s bicycles. The Amalyra maintains a small fleet of bicycles that are available to passengers when it is docked. The addition of bikes is a recent innovation of AMA Waterways, one of a number of ways in which the company has raised the service level of the river cruise industry. The bikes were sparkling, smoothly operating vehicles, with gears that switched with a flick of the wrist, hand and foot brakes, a rack for carrying parcels, and lights for night biking. I took one and cruised along the canal and into the business district of Nussdorf.

Vienna is a city you could explore forever. There is no end of things to see and experience. But after a day we were set to move on down the Danube into the Austrian countryside. Our next stop was Durnstein, a quaint town of only 1,000 people on a hillside overlooking the Danube. One of its claims to fame is that Richard the Lionhearted was kept prisoner there for a while. We took a tour through its steep cobblestone streets. A mini-train was provided for people with walking problems.

AMA offered a special bike tour from Durnstein to Melk, a distance of 29 kilometers. Those who signed up were given maps marking the route, a boxed lunch and then turned loose to ride along the Danube through the richly green countryside past the vineyards and villages of the Wachau Valley. It was an experience of exquisite beauty, with no noise and no window to obscure the view. The trip was perfectly designed because it was mostly downhill so it was easy to buzz along without struggling much. It was impressive to see many dedicated Austrian bikers riding the other way, uphill, as easily as I cruised downhill. By chance, the bikers that I rode with passed over the bridge over the Danube near Melk just as the Amalyra approached so we were able to watch and wave as the ship passed below us. It was a wonderful climax to an exhilarating experience.

The next day we spent in Linz, Austria’s third largest city, full of historic color, lively street life, shops, cafes and museums. The ship anchored at the city center and a walking tour in the morning took us to Hauptplatz, the bustling central city square, and showed us the balcony where Hitler announced the annexation of Austria in the run-up to World War II and the house where Mozart lived when he composed the Linz Symphony. After the tour I walked up Landstrasse, a busy commercial district, and just absorbed the electric energy of the crowds. The Ars Technica museum, an amazing glass structure that is built to look like it’s leaning over, was across the Danube from the Amalyra. I walked into the lobby and considered spending a couple of hours there, but on such a beautiful sunny day the street itself was more thrilling than any museum.

On Sunday we reached the culmination of the trip, the christening of the Amalyra in the town of Vilshofen, Germany. The ship would be bringing many tourists to Vilshofen, and the city turned out with a great deal of fanfare to greet its arrival and celebrate the christening. The day was sunny and warm and a brass band of men in traditional Bavarian outfits pumped jolly music into the air for the occasion.

Michelle Morgan, president of Signature Travel, and the Amalyra’s godmother was joined by Susan Murphy, a board member of AMA Waterways and the daughter of its chairman, Jimmy Murphy, and the company’s other principals, Kristin Karst and Rudi Schreiner. They each said a few words for the occasion, particularly paying tribute to Jimmy Murphy, who had been unable to attend for medical reasons. Then Morgan let the champagne bottle fly and it hit the bow just as a cannon shot exploded and the christening was complete.   For your money saving river cruise contact RiverDiscounts.com 800-640-4899

The cruise started in Nuremberg, Germany and was originally scheduled to end in Trier traveling the Main, Rhine and Mosel rivers. However, due to the high water level of the Mosel, the ship was forced to avoid Bernkastle (which I was most looking forward to due to the local wine country) and Trier. Instead, we went to Koln.
 

The food and port tours were the highlights of the cruise. The food for the most part was as good as many 5 star restaurants I've experienced with a couple of choices in each stage of the meal. I usually went with the "chef" recommendations in the evening. Dinner included free sodas and all u can drink wine. I expected the wine to rival "2 Buck Chuck" or "Yellowtail," but was surprised to find most of the wine selections from local regions quite good. Cocktails incurred a charge at all times, along with wine during the day.
 

Only one night was my food selection typical of the usual cruise mediocrity. Breakfast was a buffet. Lunch a combination of buffet and a couple of menu entree selections. All u can eat cheese selections accompanied each meal. Afternoon tea with sweets and hors-d'œuvres were served every afternoon. A coffee/cappucino/expresso/hot chocolate machine was available 24/7.

Since the ship was less than a year old, the cabins were top-notch. Clean & comfortable decorated in the IKEA motif. Although the square footage was only a little bigger than the standard ocean cruise ship cabin, the layout of the furniture allowed more room to manuever than any other ship on which I've traveled. Thus, my wife and I were able to avoid constantly stepping over each other as what usually happens.

The bathroom was larger than on other ships. The shower actually had a door (instead of a mere curtain) and actually had enough room to allow 2 people (not that we did that, mind you!)

TVs were LCD flat screens and contained free internet (albeit very slow and available only when the ship was stationed in port. While cruising, the antennae was removed to allow the ship to manuever under bridges.) Complimentary bottle water was in the room.

Since we received a complimentary room upgrade, our room had a "French" balcony. This is not a balcony in the true sense (since the ship must pass through locks with just a few inches maneuvering room on either side, real balconies would unwisely reduce the living area of the ship). Instead, "French" balconies are merely sliding glass doors that allow you to stick your head out the door for a 180 degree viewing. Protective bars prevent you from falling out.
 

The exercise room was practically non-existent. It had a few dumb bells and a couple of tread mills. AMA's market niche of retirees (think arthritic joints) along with the ship space limitation I assume are the likely reasons.

Tour guides and bus transportation were gratis at all ports. All guides were good except one. The one in Heidelberg was outstanding. In fact, she was key to my family's unanimous opinion that Heidelberg was our favorite city. She even provided us with locally made chocolate. Due to space, I won't elaborate on the actual sights of each port as they don't deviate from what you can learn about them from any guide book.
 

AMA usually offered each local port tour in 3 segments: fast, medium and slow paced. My family always selected the fast pace in order to pack more tourism into our time slot. Each person received ear phones and a radio transmitter to clearly hear the guide.

AMA sent us a small, multi-color guide book of the regions we visited 4 weeks prior to the cruise. Reminiscent of a Fodors or Frommers guide. Nice touch.

Details about the service.......on cruises, I'm used to being constantly accosted to buy stuff -- port tours, alcohol, souvenirs, pictures (a camera being shoved in my face at every turn), massages, beauty treatments, etc. Not so on AMA. What a relief! Of course, a river cruise is considerably more expensive on average than an ocean cruise. This reflects the fact of having 150 passengers as opposed to 3,000 -- more passengers allow more distribution of fixed costs, even with bigger, more expensive ships. Nonetheless, perhaps the profit margins of river cruising forego the necessity to harass passengers with additional purchases.

Our airline lost my daughter's suitcase. Upon boarding, my wife asked the ship's purser to make contact with US Airways to ascertain if they found the suitcase to deliver it at a future port of call. Though the suitcase never materialized, the next day the cruise director (whose name is Elke. She's from Belgium and deserves meritous recognition) offered us free laundry service. Please note, we did not request this. The ship merely volunteered to do this in light of our lost luggage, saving us over $200.
 

As I mentioned earlier, due to a rising river water level, the ship was diverted from the originally scheduled last 2 ports. No problem for my family, but it caused a minor level of hysteria for some of the older passengers set in their ways. They were disturbed about making their connections with flights, continuing with their holiday, etc.
 

Elke tracked me down to inquire of my plans at the cruise conclusion. I had reserved a car to drive from Trier at the cruise end to Frankfurt (MUCH less expensive and considerably more flexible than taking the train), where our flight departs the following day. Obviously, with the Amalyra no longer continuing to Trier placed my car reservation in jeopardy.

The next day, Elke informed me they had contacted my car rental company and rearranged my reservation to allow me to pickup my car in our final port of call at no additional cost. Moreover, since the car rental office was about 20 minutes away, AMA paid for the cost of the taxi.

Clearly, AMA bent over backwards to accommodate its passengers throughout the cruise -- even with the unexpected complications from Mother Nature. From the hallway comments I heard from the other passengers, they felt the same. And when you consider that AMA assisted 120 passengers or so in making alternate concluding cruise arrangements, that's a lot of work for the Amalyra crew 24 hours before the cruise ended. In the end, I heard no disgruntlement from any other passenger.

One final note. I do like good wine. And I was especially thrilled at the prospect of going through a German wine experience of visiting Riesling vineyards and wineshops. The unexpected change in the cruise itinerary prevented this opportunity. But as I stated earlier, I cannot blame AMA as this was due to rising river water levels. In the event, though, any AMA personnel reads this critique, I encourage you to incorporate such an experience in future cruises in a more pronounced way. I thoroughly enjoy historical and cultural sights and museums. But incorporating alternative visits, such as wineries or beerhalls which are so endemic to German lifestyle, to the standard sightseeing fare I believe provides a richer holiday experience.

BOTTOM LINE: Only superlative comments for AMA.