Covering all the bases. The staff and crew were all excellent. The room was very nice. We were disappointed in the dinners for an award winning chef. The outside areas were not made inviting. The common area was not that comfortable. Not enough included excursions.

Took a 7 day cruise… Took a 7 day cruise with extended family in a larger group. The furnishings on the ship are gorgeous and comfortable, the excursions lovely and Maung who did our housekeeping was second to none. That’s where any positives ended. The rest of the staff varied between ultra friendly to downright hostile so much so that I often avoided ordering a drink - and I am someone who often gets told that I’m the smiliest person people have ever met. Food, although very well presented, was mediocre and the 2 vegetarians in our group were served meat on more than one occasion (wrong order). For their Chef’s table evening, they were served bland salad and chewy spring rolls as alternatives. Most of our group, as with most passengers were American. Being British myself, in a conversation with Dinu, hotel manager, I told him that my father was originally Lebanese and he responded ‘I’ve been there, Lebanese are great - they are nothing like Arabs which makes them great and which is what I like about them and some even have blue eyes’. Telling someone so openly something this racist was shocking and I needed to calm my partner down who wanted to complain about this comment - this is the hotel manager who should know better. He then went on to say ‘My favourite place is Israel in the Middle East, and they are better than the Palestinians who just cause trouble’. I couldn’t believe this man was getting political with absolutely no exchange of a political nature from us. Finally, by the end of the cruise, at least half the passengers were showing signs of sickness and on the last morning we found out that staff knew of Covid cases and didn’t provide tests, masks or warnings. Given most of the passengers were elderly and a few who had recent cancer treatment, this kind of outbreak should be taken more seriously. Our whole group tested positive a day or two following the end of the cruise.

Cancellation policy We booked a cruise and pre-trip to Egypt departing next year but had to cancel because my wife fell while in Japan in September and broke her femur. Even though we cancelled 9 months before the trip, AMA charged use the full insurance premium even though we had only made a 9.8% deposit on the trip. We were aware of the contractual penalty but not the forfeiture of the 91.2% of the insurance for which there was no risk. The difference was over $3000 so no small change. No one from the company ever discussed this issue during booking process other than to say insurance would be 13% of the trip cost. Seems fraudulent and have reported issue to State Insurance Commissioner.

The pre and post cruise trips were the highlight of the trip. The pre and post cruise trips were excellent, the organisation, the cruise manager, local guides and hotels were all exceptional. I would rate these as 5 stars. The actual cruise on the Mekong River aboard the AmaDara was not up to a standard that we were expecting. The ship was tired and felt in need of a refurbishment. With the exception of the chefs table, one evening, the evening meals were very poor. Hot food should be hot and not tepid, menu choices were not great, my wife had to have Salmon 4 out of 7 nights from the always available menu. The fruit selection at breakfast was the same day after day and a poor selection. I ordered the avocado on toast with a poached egg, both times they were cold. Lunch was also a buffet with a reasonable salad choice, without doubt the best food on board. The staff on board the ship were all excellent, they were very friendly, polite and extremely helpful. Apart from one full day cruising when we crossed the border there seemed very little cruising between stops. The views of the land when cruising was dull and boring with nothing really to see. Without a doubt the highlight of the trip was Halong Bay, Angkor Wat and the Chu Chi tunnels in Hanoi, Seam Reap and Ho Chi Min City respectively. Meeting new friends on this trip was also a highlight. Personally we would prefer the trip to be a little more expensive and remove the need for tipping and paying extra for certain drinks.

TRY OTHER RIVER CRUISE LINES...LIKE UNIWORLD. I have traveled on AmaWaterways last year on the Danube and this year on the Rhine. I enjoyed both ships. However and this is a big however, the food is mediocre at best. Breakfast the same every day and definitely lacks in variety. Special of the day such as Pancakes came in a pair the size of silver dollar and they were cold. Fresh fruit now sliced. No cereals. It was atrocious. They try to be a gourmet priority which comes up short because they fail miserably. Ordered Chicken Schnitzel and it was a piece of chicken breaded thinly and served hard. Steaks were also thin, tougher to chew and a disappointment as well. They include wine and beer and champagne with lunch and dinner. If you want a diet coke in mid-afternoon they charge for it. This is hardly a 5-star recommendation. I will never travel AMA again and I had 2 other cruises booked for my 3rd and 4th. If their food service was even halfway between Celebrity and Regent they would have something to brag about. Dismal.