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.

Choose another company or at least, itinerary This river cruise line was recommended by our TA and we were very disappointed all around with our first river cruise. The food was marginal at best, service could have been better (except for 3 outstanding employees) and the woman working the front 'welcoming desk' was not happy to be there; we heard others voice feedback about why is she working there! As for the excursions, they were pretty packed and many required hour long bus rides to cities. Then we had to deal with 'slow walkers' who didn't pay attention to the 'active tour' detail versus taking the 'gentle walkers' tour. The the average age of passengers on this particular cruise was over 70 - we weren't expecting a 'floating senior citizen home' !! And last item, for any of you readers thinking of choosing AMA and this particular route, the only night we (and quite a few other passengers) got a good night's sleep was when the ship was stationary; the captain increased the speed at night (obviously when he thought many would be asleep) but the walls of the cabin and the bed were rattling and vibrating all night making it impossible to get to sleep; and we were on deck two near mid ship! If we ever decide to try another river cruise, it will be with Tauck or Uniworld and a different itinerary. p.s. and the entertainment was pretty much 'non-existent - one night they brought on board a singing duo - they were fun but the rest of the nights consisted of 'elevator music' by a man playing an electric piano - disappointing there also!

My wife's parents took a trip with this… My wife's parents took a trip with this company where they departed 9/24/2022. They unfortunately contracted COVID by the time they arrived in Bilbao, Spain, and had to return to the US on 9/27/2022. AmaWaterways booked them a flight on Lufthansa/United from BIO to MUN to ORD to DEN for $2,800/person in economy. I did a quick search online and a round trip, with departure the same day, on the same airlines, with one fewer stop - BIO to MUN to DEN was $1,100/person. This seems like they were scammed out of thousands of dollars. I would like AmaWaterways to respond to this exorbitant charge.

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.

Rolf was rude and disrespectful. I was disappointed in my river cruise experience. I was expecting a more personal interaction than the large cruise ships but found quite the opposite to be true. Simple requests were met with responses such as, 'I don't think I can do that' , 'you want that' (followed by a turned up nose), or by simply not doing anything. I found Rolf to be very dismissive with guests (not just with me, but also with fellow passengers) and his sales pitch on the last night did not need to include bashing your competitors. Left a sour taste with me. Hopefully that is not company policy.