For the first time, I went to the Cruise Critic River & Canal Cruises board and came across a thread mentioning a very recent review of a Danube cruise on the AMA Amalyra--it took place in June of this year and went in the reverse direction of the one that Ngaire and Ken are escorting next September. I really thought it was worth posting the link to this review. It is very long, but it is mostly photos without a lot of verbiage, and I think there is a wealth of information about the ship (a somewhat newer sister ship to the Amalegro that we are taking) and the ports and, buy the way, the photos are beautiful.

The review is on a Web site of a couple (Mike and Carol Preisman) who appear to take at least a couple of Ocean cruises each year--mostly on the larger lines. If you go to the Web site below, just click on Danube. The review is in a several parts, so have a look. I know that it will be very helpful in planning what we want to see on our September Prague-Budapest River cruise. Web Site for River Cruise

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Eugene

Wow Eugene, that really is a nice review! I am pretty sure they took Ray with them as the pictures are great, too! The boat is much more spacious and prettier than I imagined.

How long did that take? So many pictures it is incredible and I am glad to see those menus and the food. When I visited all those River Boats the food on AMA I thought was the best of any of the lines and it looks like this is still the case. That is good news.

Cant wait to leave for Paris next week and do our first group trip on AMA.

What a nice treat to see this review & photos, Eugene. First rate experience on AMA. Looking forward to following the PARIS-ites, too :)

I wrote Mike a note saying how great I thought his review was. He answered me promptly and mentioned that he had taken about 5,000 photos. They're going to SE Asia in February on Azamara and to S. America on Celebrity in 2011.

I told him about LCT and that I was posting a link to his review. I'm sure he'll be pleased by the reception.

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Eugene

Great photos! But, I wonder about the luggage in the cabin - did he take the photos on arrival or departure day or do you have to "live" with your suitcases in the room?

That's a great website! I really enjoyed the AMA review and the two Celebrity Solstice reviews. Terrific photos and such detailed info! Thanks for sharing the link, Eugene!

Andrea

Very Very Good review Thanks for posting the link Eugene.

Wow! Great link and review!

Eugene, you're right. This will be a tremendous help in planning CASTLE next year! Thanks for posting!

Great link Eugene,but for us its the Egyptian Expedition...LOL....CASTLE...mmmm,oh well a gal can dream.

Looks like they were on the Amalyra a few weeks after us this past summer. Luggage will fit underneath the beds if they are not too large - but very large luggage will not fit underneath the beds.

Food was acceptable but always looked better than they tasted. At least there was enough food unlike on Uniworld the prior year where we were often relatively hungry.

I finally had time to look at the review more carefully. With some trepidation, I'll mention what Mike wrote about dress:

"I had decided against bringing a sport coat, since smart casual would not require one. However, I was in a minority for the two Captain’s Receptions where most men wore a jacket. On those nights a few women even wore simple cocktail dresses; but most just wore a dress or a dressier slacks outfit."

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Eugene

Guys without a jacket can be hosted by Ken during the Captain's reception.

Tony and David can host the jacket group.

We will have it all covered.

Tony, David and MARC will host reception for jacket guys and both parties will be winners .....it really is all about what works for you....I never ask what people are wearing I just wear what makes ME happy!

Good attitude Joanna

Eugene:

Impressive well organized site with loads of interesting photos.

Cheers! Ray

you betcha Joanna. i feel nearly no stress about packing for this trip! Let David and Tony bring their trunks, actually he usually gets some space in MY suitcase....Great info here. Thanks

I finally read this review. I hope they allow multiple servings at dinner; portions seemed quite small. As for the drinks, pretty expensive when you realize those are prices in Euros, not USD. Ship looks wonderful.

Really looking forward to the cruise!!

See everyone soon!!!

:lct:

Marc they come around with platters of extra food and serve you without you even having to ask. Or at least that is what they did when I was on the ship. No problem when I asked for a double serving of rack of lamb.

Drinks are expensive, I am so used to not having to pay for drinks. Hotels also, I cannot believe what it costs these days for a glass of wine. At least they have wine with dinner and that helps. Not great wines but drinkable.

Probably the most memorable pictoral tour review ever; marvelous, just marvelous!

They did come around with "seconds" back in August - although I think that very few people ever took additional servings.

With all the very nice comments on my review, I wanted to reply and thank each of you for them. I am so glad that my review has helped you in your cruise planning and hopefully will remind you of the beautiful sights on a Danube River cruise after you have completed one.

Eugene,
Thank you for sharing my site on this fine cruise board. It is really appreciated.

Leslie,
I normally take photos of our cabin when we first arrive before it gets that lived in look. :D Since the luggage was delivered to our cabin so quickly we hadn't had time to unpack and put it away. We did have plenty of storage space under the bed.

Mike, welcome to LCT and thank you so much for the best review I have ever seen! I am going to add an copy of the link to your review in our cruise review section so others can find it easily in the future.

Mike,
Really loved your cathedral / church shots. I love church architecture as well.

Nice, nice, nice photos.

Welcome to LCT, Mike and thanks for providing so much great information. Good to know there is room for the suitcases!

That review really, REALLY makes me want to go! Wow! We love old churches, and that looked like enough for even us.

I loved your review, cannot even imagine how long it took you to post all those pictures. I read several of your other reviews too, would appreciate you posting future reviews of your trips here for everyone to enjoy.

Welcome to LCT.

Thanks all for the great comments. I will certainly let you know when I post future reviews. I will be doing a SE Asia cruise on the Azamara Quest in February. Since this is our first trip to that part of the world, I am really looking forward to writing up the review on it.

Pam,
You will be in heaven with all of the incredibly beautiful churches. I was really blown away by some of them; which is why there were so many photos of them. I couldn't help myself. The photos in the review are in a small format; but my photo gallery site in Smugmug will give you lots more and larger photos of the churches. Go to http://mvpinboynton.smugmug.com/ then click on vacations and Danube River Cruise. If you click on slideshow, you will get full screen views of them. Enjoy!