Rivers connect more than destinations
For nearly 25 years, AmaWaterways has been redefining the art of river cruising: pioneering double-width ships, introducing pickleball courts and bringing yoga to the Sun Deck. It’s river travel at its most considered and contemporary. Is it time for your next getaway?
Somewhere past Austria’s Melk, the Danube bends and the vineyards start climbing the hills in narrow terraces. You could be watching it
unfold from the Sun Deck with a coffee in hand, or gliding beside the river on a guided bike ride. The beauty is, you don’t have to decide until the day begins.
The same rhythm on and off the river
Every day begins with possibilities. Consider how most cruising works. You are handed an itinerary and an upsell menu, and the interesting parts cost extra. AmaWaterways inverts that. Every shore excursion is included with up to six daily choices available on many itineraries, so travellers can simply decide what feels right that morning.
Perhaps it’s a gentle walk-through cobbled streets with a local guide, a vineyard hike overlooking the river, a culinary experience celebrating regional flavours or a leisurely bike ride along the waterfront.
It’s a refreshing approach to exploration. Couples with different interests can spend the day exactly as they wish before reconnecting to swap stories. Every journey becomes uniquely personal.
The same philosophy extends onboard. By evening, conversations are just as memorable as the destinations, with stories and laughter shared over dinner or a glass of wine in the lounge.
Wellness as part of the journey
When travelling with AmaWaterways wellness is more than an option, it’s woven into every aspect of the day. The Wellness Hosts lead yoga on the Sun Deck at dawn, fitness sessions, dance classes and stretching for people who have been sitting on planes, ensuring there is movement for everybody onboard.
The food is a standout, with four distinct dining venues. A curated selection of 32+ premium wines pours as part of the standard onboard
experience, while The Chef’s Table offers an elevated degustation experience, featuring locally inspired dishes crafted with fresh regional
ingredients and paired with local wines. Every meal becomes another way to discover the region.
This is the part of wellness that will not fit on a timetable. Somewhere along the journey, something shifts. You sleep better because you moved your body. You eat food grown within sight of where you’re sitting. You stop checking the time, because the ship arrives whether you watch it or not and your nervous system drops into a restored state.
Redefining River Cruising
Today, AmaWaterways’ fleet of 34 award-winning ships explores rivers across Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Among them are the revolutionary double-width AmaMagna and the upcoming AmaRudi, launching in 2027. Designed to offer more space than traditional river ships, they feature six dining venues, a full-sized pickleball court and generous public spaces that redefine life on the river.
From the castles of the Rhine and the vineyards of the Douro to the temples of the Mekong, the wildlife-rich Chobe and Colombia’s vibrant Magdalena River — where AmaWaterways became the first river cruise line to sail — each itinerary reveals places that have always been
connected. Long before roads linked these communities, rivers carried people, traditions and stories from one town to the next. Perhaps that’s why friendships seem to form so naturally onboard. The crew—known for their warmth and heartfelt service—welcome you by name and
create the kind of genuine connections that make every journey feel personal. By the end of the cruise, it’s often those moments of connection, as much as the destinations themselves, that stay with you long after you’ve returned home.
To book your next river cruise or find out more visit amawaterways.com
