{"id":45811,"date":"2021-11-19T13:55:30","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T18:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/?p=45811"},"modified":"2022-10-17T13:57:13","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T17:57:13","slug":"amasiena-the-captivating-rhine-final-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/2021\/11\/amasiena-the-captivating-rhine-final-thoughts\/","title":{"rendered":"AmaSiena & The Captivating Rhine: Final Thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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After recapping my time onboard AmaSiena for what feels like forever, it\u2019s time to share my final thoughts on my experience sailing the Captivating Rhine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Since sailing on AmaSiena, I have taken another river cruise and two ocean cruises, but this one still sticks out strongly in my memory.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AmaSiena docked in Amsterdam. \u00a9 Britton Frost 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My AmaWaterways sailing sticks out for two reasons. One, because it was my first river cruise since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And two, because AmaWaterways sailings are simply that – memorable. The itinerary, the crew, the excursions and my fellow passengers made this a trip I will never forget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the last article I wrote about AmaSiena, I wrote about the smart design of the new ship: \u201cAma has taken what works so well for them, an already impressive ship layout and style, and added details that enhance the guest experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: AmaSiena: My Overall Impressions<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though I already covered what it felt like to return to river cruising for the first time in over a year, I want to highlight again what a good job Ama did with their COVID protocols<\/a>. Though when I sailed on Viking Oceans I was tested daily, there were a lot less masks and a lot more people on board that ship than on board AmaSiena. In that article, I wrote that some of the rules seemed harsh. There was no dancing allowed on board and there would be assigned seating at every meal. From what I have heard from others traveling, Ama has changed some of these rules a bit but, even so, the focus on safety made for a comfortable return to Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Crew<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The thread that holds AmaWaterways together is, without a doubt, its crew. In July of 2019, I sailed on another AmaWaterways ship, AmaMagna. The crew on that sailing was such a standout that I wrote an article titled Becoming Part Of The AmaWaterways Family Aboard AmaMagna<\/a><\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every time I talk to a crew member, an executive, and investor, or even certain passengers on Ama\u2019s ships the word family comes up. The crew does a wonderful job of making the passengers feel like family, because they feel like a large family themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Milos and AnaMaria stepped out to take a maskless photo for me on one of the last days of the trip. The first time I saw their faces. \u00a9 Britton Frost 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Things were different with masks on. In fact, my server Milos said to me: \u201cI remember you from AmaKristina.\u201d I didn\u2019t recognize him behind his mask. Lucky for Milos, my mask doesn\u2019t hide my most identifiable physical characteristic: \u201cI would never forget your tattoos.\u201d The masks didn\u2019t stop passengers from bonding with the crew. My dinner table quickly became friendly with both Milos and his wait partner AnaMaria. Fortunately, masks didn\u2019t inhibit these two from remembering my food and, more importantly, wine preferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Captivating Rhine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It would be an injustice to talk about the experience I had on AmaSiena without mentioning the itinerary that we were on. Ama\u2019s Captivating Rhine itinerary sails from Amsterdam to Basel with stops in Cologne, R\u00fcdesheim, Ludwigshafen, Strasbourg and Breisach. It is lovely to start or end in Amsterdam, especially if you plan to spend a few days there pre- or post-cruise. The ship docks right outside of the city center, making the canal-laden streets of Amsterdam easily navigable by foot. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Cozy R\u00fcdesheim. \u00a9 Britton Frost 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

R\u00fcdesheim is a lovely town filled with charming streets, cozy cafes and cute shops. In R\u00fcdesheim, we visited a winery to sample different wines of the region. There was also a night excursion to town where we rode in a choo-choo train to drink R\u00fcdesheimer Kaffee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AmaWaterways offers a choice of excursions in every port so, even though I got boozy in R\u00fcdesheim, I balanced it by biking in Strasbourg and Breisach. Even when I wasn\u2019t able to exercise ashore, our wellness host Teo hosted classes on board to make sure that those who wanted to could stay active. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Thoughts <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AmaWaterways always provides a memorable experience. The crew on these ships in wonderful, especially during Covid times. The company provides a nice variety of excursions in every port, allowing guests with varying abilities to find excursions that interest them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also like the direction that Ama is headed in. The use of additional space in the lounge for Al Fresco dining feels smart, especially in allowing people to spread out during Covid times. The aforementioned attention to detail on AmaSiena makes it the smartest ship I\u2019ve seen in Ama\u2019s fleet, and it\u2019s not even the company\u2019s newest ship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It felt good to return to AmaWaterways and to be able to experience something that I have known and loved for so long, with a small but refreshing twist. I am so happy that Ama was able to not only survive but thrive throughout the pandemic and I can\u2019t wait to see AmaSiena\u2019s sister ship, AmaLucia, christened next year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though nearly three months have passed, my journey on board AmaSiena still sticks out strongly in my memory. AmaWaterways always provides a memorable experience. The crew on these ships in wonderful, especially during Covid times. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":45814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"0","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[599],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45811"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}