Rhine River European Cruise

The AmaPrima - The Enchanting Rhine

Our Amazing "Enchanting Rhine" Adventure began in Basel, Switzerland on December 30th! We were welcomed aboard the beautiful AmaPrima and were so pleased with the ease of getting on the ship and into our gorgeous cabin! Sandwiches and soup were available in the lounge as well as tea and coffee! It was the day to explore the ship and as we sailed out of Basel. Our first planned event of the day was a "Welcome Cocktail Party" where we met our Captain, Hotel Manager and Cruise Manager. After a mandatory Safety Briefing, we learned about our first port of call and the amazing excursion options! We enjoyed a wonder Christmas Dinner in the restaurant with complimentary beer and wine and after dinner, the talented onboard musician Norbert graced us with beautiful music while we met our fellow travelers and cocktails from the bar! All Aboard as the AmaPrima sets sailed for Breisach, Germany. 

This morning we arrived and docked in Breisach, situated on the German side of the Rhine and directly facing the Alsatian region in France. We enjoyed coffee and breakfast and relaxed in the lounge while we waited for our tour announcements. We were reminded to bring our quiet VOX device and earpiece and collected out colored tour card from the reception area. Maps were also made available! We chose the Black Forest Hike! We enjoyed a 1 hour bus ride (part of which was on the autobahn) to the Ravenna Gorge in the Black Forest! We enjoyed scenic views and authentic nature during our hike. After our hike, we enjoyed authentic Black Forest Cake and German Beer and a scenic bus ride through German vineyards back to the ship! 

Lunch was served in the Restaurant as we set sail for Strasbourg, France! Guests enjoy complimentary wine and beer with both lunch and dinner, plus sparkling wine at breakfast. In addition, AmaWaterways has a nightly “Sip ‘n Sail” happy hour in the main lounge with complimentary wine, beer and cocktails one hour before dinner. It was the perfect time to talk about our day, upcoming excursions and a time to gather with fellow cruisers!

We woke up this morning and were docked in the beautiful town of Strasbourg. With its monumental cathedral featuring carvings as delicate as any piece of lacework, Strasbourg is one of Europe's most attractive cities. We enjoyed the "Gem of the Alsace" Strasbourg City Tour. We started our discovery with a panoramic bus tour and continued with a walking tour towards the heart of the city, the Cathedral. We visited the Cathedral and saw the famous Astronomical Clock and explored a bit on our own! We enjoyed the Chef Table this evening! The Chef’s Table, which is included in your cruise fare, is an intimate evening, watching the chef prepare our dishes, delight our taste buds with a multi-course tasting menu. It was amazing and when sailing AmaWaterways, it became abundantly clear that this cruise line puts a strong emphasis on its food quality and highly-skilled yet friendly staff. 

This morning we arrived in Ludwigshafen, Germany and we enjoyed two excursions today - Romantic Heidelberg and in the evening, we departed on the WinzerExpress Train for our excursion to the Rudesheimer Coffee Tasting which was so tasty and fun! December 31st was Castle Day and we enjoyed a scenic cruise through the most famous stretch of the Rhine River, passing at least 30 castles! 

This morning we said Welcome to Cologne Germany and enjoyed a walking tour through the old town to Cologne's Cathedral. Later in the evening we joined the Captain for the Captain's Farewell Gala Dinner and cheered to our amazing journey! We enjoyed sailing on the Dutch Waterways to our final destination, Amsterdam, Netherlands. After a delicious lunch, we headed out for the Jordaan Walking Tour passing traditional canals, gabled houses, narrow bridges and house boats. We enjoyed our final "Sip and Sail" and "Strings of the Lowlands" was a wonderful end to our fantastic adventure on the Rhine River. We disembarked in the morning and enjoyed a few days in Amsterdam visiting the Ruks Museum and the Anne Frank Haus. We will cherish our "Enchanting Rhine" River Cruise with AmaWaterways. So many beautiful memories and we can't wait to visit again!