A guided tour of AmaMagna in pictures

If you follow me on any of my social channels, you’ll know that I was away last week on the most beautiful river ship I think I’ve ever seen. You know I love a river cruise, and AmaWaterways’ new AmaMagna is spectacular - she’s a double-width river ship, but without double the passengers. I loved the feeling of space this creates, as well as the luxurious boutique hotel feel on board. So what’s it like to take a cruise on this delightful - and rather extraordinary - new river vessel? I thought the best way to show you around would be to create a guided tour of AmaMagna in pictures, to really give you a feel for this clever, and truly luxurious new ship

A guided tour of AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna in pictures

We flew to Vienna and joined AmaMagna in Spitz. It was already dark when we spotted her from the coach, but even from there you could see all the twinkling Christmas decorations on board! The staff had really pulled out all the stops and it seemed like every surface glittered with lights, decorations and garlands - there were Christmas trees everywhere and even a sweet little vignette representing an old fashioned Christmas fair in the lobby, complete with carousel and teeny ice skaters. Also, you can really see the scale of this ship when you look at this picture of the lobby with its double staircases.

AmaMagna’s public spaces

All this extra room means that the designers could really go to town on creating beautiful, comfortable public spaces. Up those festive staircases, the main lounge is on deck 3 (the Violin Deck), and we loved all the different colours and textures, which somehow all pull together into the cosiest of rooms. There’s space for a huge dance floor, a piano and performance area, a bar and a central coffee station too.

There are tons of squishy sofas and comfy corners everywhere you look.

A couple of steps down either side of the bar, and sandwiching the cinema (more of this later) take you to two library areas, perfect for relaxing with a book (or a pre-dinner cocktail). One is decorated in warm colours, and the other in cool. We loved these comfy little nooks, with their flickering fires and piles of inviting books and board games. Such a lovely place to sit and watch the Danube glide past.

Family friendly features

Another aspect of AmaMagna that I found really interesting is that it’s very family-friendly. There are several suites on board that can accommodate three or four people, plus there are also quite a few interconnecting rooms. The bikes on board include smaller sizes, and there’s a brilliant cinema/games room complete with PlayStations and films to watch.

Up on the expansive sun deck, there’s a decent sized heated pool and jacuzzi (we swam in the pool when the outside temperature was about 5 degrees and it was toasty in there!).

What are the different staterooms like on AmaMagna?

Because I wanted to give you a much more in-depth look at the staterooms and show you loads of photos, I’ve written a completely separate post about all the different stateroom categories (coming tomorrow!).

Dining on board AmaMagna

The culinary offering on board AmaMagna is definitely a highlight. The talented chefs offer some of the best menus I’ve come across on a cruise ship (river or ocean), incorporating fresh, local produce and often including local specialities. Add to this regional wines and beers in sophisticated dining venues with excellent staff, and the whole package is pretty impressive. Again, thanks to the space on board, there are four different restaurants to choose from:

Main Restaurant: serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a mixture of some buffet dining and a la carte choices, the Main Restaurant is cleverly split into sections, with loads of different sized tables (so don’t feel you have to socialise if you don’t want to - there’s loads of room). The serving staff are wonderfully friendly and attentive and nothing is too much trouble - no matter what dislike, craving, allergy or intolerance you might have, they’ll have loads of bright ideas for delicious food. Breakfast was a highlight, with a chef serving freshly made omelettes to order, and a buffet groaning with absolutely everything from smoked salmon to pastries, to homemade granola pots, fresh fruit and everything else you can imagine, as well as items like waffles, pancakes and eggs Benedict to order from the menu.

While the lunch and dinner menus change daily, there are always certain menu items, such as freshly made pizzas, steak and pasta dishes available.

Al Fresco: just out to the forward part of the ship past the two library areas, you’ll find the bright and breezy Al Fresco restaurant, surrounded by glass doors that can be opened out to the outside deck area in good weather. Al Fresco serves lighter breakfast, lunch and dinner options, often with healthy choices, plus afternoon tea, and other treats like late-night goulash, and there are always tea, coffee and delicious biscuits available.

Jimmy’s Wine Bar: named after AmaWaterways’ late co-owner Jimmy Murphy, Jimmy’s serves delicious food family-style, with big sharing plates and bowls of salad placed so that everyone can dig in. There’s a lovely, informal atmosphere in here, and it’s always a great place to go late at night for wine and tapas, too.

The Chef’s Table Restaurant: my favourite dining experience was the exquisite tasting menu in The Chef’s Table. Course after course of delicious, beautifully presented food is introduced by the chefs that have created the dishes. It’s a wonderful experience and feels so special that I’m surprised that it’s included in the cruise fare.

What’s included on an AmaWaterways cruise?

One of the things I loved about our AmaMagna cruise is that most things are already included in the fare. There’s at least one shore excursion included in every port of call (you might also find some extra ones for a fee), and all the dining on board is included (and that includes wines, beer, soft drinks, etc with your meal - lots of people indulge in champagne with their breakfast!). There’s a pre-dinner cocktail party, called sip’n’sail most nights where drinks are free, plus on the last night we had the Captain’s Farewell Cocktail party, with complimentary cocktails and canapés. All the Wellness on board is free, including the gym equipment, fitness classes, hosted walks, etc, and the bicycles are complimentary, whether you strike out on your own or join a guided bike tour. There’s also some pretty decent WiFi, a tea and coffee station, and lots of little extra touches: a gift left on your bed, full sized glass water bottles, a fridge stacked with soft drinks and champagne, slippers, bathrobe… it all feels very high end boutique hotel.

Fitness and wellbeing onboard

With all this space, there’s plenty of room to add extra value elements, and AmaWaterways have chosen to provide their guests with a Zen Wellness Studio, which I think is a great shout. Guests can join free classes like spinning, circuit training and resistance band sessions with resident PT, Tiago, as well as swimming, gym sessions, line dancing, walking and cycling on the complimentary bikes, so there’s no excuse for not working off all the delicious food!

There’s also the Juice Bar at the Zen Wellness Studio serving delicious freshly squeezed juices, smoothies, flavoured waters and other healthy treats, plus two spa treatment rooms offering a small but very reasonably priced range of spa treatments (a 60 minute head to toe massage costs just €60). There’s even a hairdressing salon.

Excursions - the Christmas markets

We boarded AmaMagna in Spitz, part way through her cruise itinerary and just in time to wake up in stunning Vienna. We decided to join the Vienna city walking tour and were really genuinely impressed by the tour organisation and the route, which took us several places that I’ve not seen in Vienna before, and finishing at a sprawling Christmas market where we sipped Glühwein and wandered the stalls packed with hand-made crafts, gifts and delicious treats. Shuttle buses were available to and from the ship, so it was also perfectly easy to strike out and explore on your own. Sadly we missed the Christmas lights switch on by about an hour, so you’ll just have to imagine these magnificent lights all illuminated!

We also spent a day in wonderful Budapest, exploring the Disney Princess turrets of Fisherman’s Bastion on the Buda side, and ending our day with more Christmas market gorgeousness across the Chain Bridge in Pest.

Our verdict?

So that’s it, my guided tour of AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna in pictures. If you’ve never done a river cruise before, or would normally book a festive city break at this time of year, I’d strongly recommend you take a look at this beautiful, indulgent and luxurious way to take in some of the best Christmas markets in Europe. What’s better than a gorgeous boutique hotel? Well, a gorgeous floating boutique hotel, with warm, friendly staff that gently delivers you to a whole range of destinations in one trip - and you don’t even have to unpack. It’s a big, festive 10 out of 10 from me!

Getting there:

Get £1000 off before Christmas!

AmaWaterways are currently offering up to £1000 off per person plus free flights and overseas transfers. The prices below reflect that and are valid until the end of December.

AmaWaterways offer a choice of seven and 14-night cruises along the Danube on AmaMagna for 2020. The seven-night ‘Magna on the Danube’ cruise from Vilshofen to Budapest (we hopped on in Spitz) currently costs from £1,732 per person (based on 2 sharing) including return flights from a choice of airports plus overseas transfers when you book by 31 December 2019.

For the suite that I stayed in, the price is £3,953, again including the current promotion (with discount, and including flights and overseas transfers).

For more information on AmaWaterways visit amawaterways.co.uk, call: 0800 320 2336 or visit your local travel agent.

Airport parking

We booked the meet and greet service at Heathrow Airport with APH parking. It’s just so easy: drive into the short term car park where you’ll be met by a driver who takes your car off to the APH car park while you head straight in to departures. On your return, just ring the number when you collect your luggage and your car will be waiting for you in the car park to drive away. No fuss, no hassle and no waiting. Remember, you can get up to 15% off your airport parking by using my special booking page!

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I was a guest of AmaWaterways. Header pic: AmaWaterways. Prices are subject to availability and correct at time of issue and include the current £1000 off deal.

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