David Olsen
GBNever Book with AMAWaterways! We booked a Nile Cruise with AmaWaterways and we’re told that the deposit would be refunded if we had insurance. We took out insurance. Before making the final payment Covid was still a concern so we thought it better to cancel. The insurance company, AIG, refused to issue a refund! We always enjoyed AnaWaterways and had four great cruises but based on our recent experience we will never book a cruise with them again! Our advice to anyone considering booking with AMA, DON’T BOOK! David Olsen
Brewl
GBMy 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.
Nancy Shugg
GBTRY 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.
Dawn Lang Spiekerman
GBChoose 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!
Dan Doll
GBObtaining a Refund from AMA We have toured with AMA twice. We were happy with the service. In June 2021, my wife and I booked a land/river tour from Madrid to Porto with AMA. They wanted $400 per person deposit. A final payment of $5308 per person due February 2022. As the deadline approached, we were very concerned about the pandemic outbreak in Europe. I have a compromised respiratory system and I fear being infected while on our tour. AMA rules for cancellation are ridged. If we decide to cancel within 120 days of departure we lose our $800 deposit. I spoke to a AMA agent concerning recovering our $800 deposit. She said if we pay an additional $175 ($350 total) per person, we would get a $800 credit toward another AMA tour. This made no sense. I read through the fine print of the contract online and found a section about terms of cancellation. It said "...unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances are...significant risks to human health such as serious disease...which make it impossible to travel safely" One problem: this clause is for UK guests only. Why are they treated differently? They are not separated on the tour boat. After numerous emails and calls, AMA decided to refund us half ($200 pp) of our original deposit of $400 pp. They refused to issue a credit toward another river cruise for the remaining $400.