MS AmaStella Reviews

We completed this same itinerary seven years ago with Viking at the same time period in mid October. There were obvious differences between the operators. Viking cruisers were predominantly from the USA whereas this cruise was mostly from Australia and to a lesser degree the UK. The Scandinavian design of Vikings ship was much preferred to that of both ...read more of the APT ships. This cruise was impacted by low water which we were aware could be a problem. As a result we were placed on a Travelmarvel ship after a two hour bus ride from our starting port of Budapest.

Unfortunately for many guests the planned activities for Budapest did not happen. APT did arrange for guests to travel by coach to have a lunch cruise the next day (6 hours of road travel) The staff on Travelmarvel tried very hard but it was obvious more training is needed. The food and wine advertised in APT’s brochures emphasises fine wine and food. The wine was far from fine and food was bland. Viking also excelled in this area. Passengers had no other wine option made available to guests. One house white and one house red and a sparkling. When off ship we purchased wine. APT’s advertising promotes that passengers will not need to spend any more dollars once you are aboard. Viking’s offering in this area was far superior!

We did approach a senior staff member about these issues and were told we should expect better when we changed ships. APT had ample time to upgrade wine and food menus prior to commencing the cruise .
The wine offerings continued to fall short on quality though you could purchase from a short list of wine around the 30euro mark.
Staff on the Amastella were more proficient and the cabin were meticulously cleaned. Viking was also rated highly in this aspect.
The off ship excursions were very good on both cruises. We have traveled on 3 Viking river cruises and have experienced high quality cruises. We cannot say this about our most recent APT experience.

Overall the cruise was fabulous. We were a little disappointed with the conclusion of our trip. Engine problems along with a public holiday meant that we were not given sufficient time in Budapest.

So many wonderful things about this cruise. Everything is organised for you. The meals are great and the drinks are free flowing. The staff are so helpful and nothing is too much trouble for them. Some fantastic sights that you stop and see along the way. Highly recommend this to anyone young or old.

After a year of stress our trip with APT from Budapest to Amsterdam was just what we needed. All the arrangements were worry free thanks to Yvonne of Global Journeys, and once on board relaxation was the order of the day. Autumn was in full colour enhancing the already beautiful landscapes. Nothing was too much trouble for the hard working crew on AmaBella ...read more and cruise director Korana especially, made our trip one to remember forever. A fantastic trip, one I absolutely recommend.

So very pleased we made the decision to do this amazing tour - just unbelievable from start to finish . We recommend this to all our family and friends.

Great trip, met some really lovely people, very social trip. Food excellent - so much, definitely recommend this trip, nothing to do but be pampered. Thanks Global Journeys for a very smooth booking.

Wonderful cruise with a great variety of excursions and wonderful food. The staff were courteous and helpful.
Bikes were available for use and a escorted rides could be taken between some towns. One enjoyable bike ride was between Melk and Durnstein along the banks of the Danube.

This is the second time cruising with APT and I loved every minute of it. Extremely comfortable and the food was excellent. I travelled alone but found that everyone was very friendly and the crew made an effort to introduce me to fellow travellers, particularly at meal times. Madeline Lewis at Global Journeys provided excellent service when booking ...read more the trip.

My trip comprised actually three one week cruises - the first two (Rhone and Seine) were wonderful and the third (Bourdeaux) was marred a little by some poor organisation and less-than-helpful approach of some staff. All three trips gave me a truly enriching experience of regional France and is to be recommended - perhaps just one or two of them at ...read more a time, if three cruises seems too long.

This has been an amazing holiday. It was very well organised. A wonderful very experienced guide, Kitty Weigert, and guest lecturer Anna Pavord, a world authority on tulips and an historian, made sure the whole trip ran smoothly and it was incredibly interesting. The flowers....tulips, daffodil and hyacinths were amazing and in full bloom.

We went ...read more to some spectacular private and public gardens and museums and also the largest flower market in the world, Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer, to name a few of the highlights. The fortnight ended with the triumph of Keukenhof, the spectacular spring park an absolute masterpiece of colour and beauty. Thank you also Georgie for your excellent and professional management of my booking. I will certainly be using Global Journeys again.

What a fabulous holiday! Everything was thought of - from tours to teas!

APT are a very well organised operator focusing only on the satisfaction of holiday makers. We were on the move from day one but had the option to have quiet time if it suited. Many memories of cities, culture and history!

Wonderfully exhausting holiday! Don't expect perfection but gee these guys come pretty close! Can't praise the crew and staff enough - always cheerful, attentive and helpful despite the long hours they work. Scenery and historic wonderment is beyond description and would go back and do it again tomorrow just to capture what I missed this time round. ...read more Thank you! PS. Shower a tad cramped and not having laundry included was very expensive and disappointing.

Our tour host was friendly, competent and hospitable. All the tour guides were friendly and helpful. We particularly enjoyed Ludmilla, our guide in Bratislava who has the driest sense of humor I have heard in a long time.

It was well organised holiday, relaxed and stress free. Tour director, Stuart, was fantastic: friendly and very informative. All crews were nice, too. We cannot fault anything for the holiday. Other passengers were nice, getting on well.

Our highlights of this holiday were Salzburg and the Concert in Vienna. These were offered only with APT, I believe. ...read more So we'll travel with APT again. And finally, we were very happy that Hannah at Global Journeys who organised our trip without any problems. Thank you!

The best holiday we have ever experienced. Five star luxury and inclusions travelling with APT on a European river cruise. We travelled Budapest to Amsterdam onboard the Amabella and it exceeded every expectation and we would highly recommend. We booked through Hannah at Global Journeys and she was fantastic. Hannah made the whole experience of choosing ...read more and booking an absolute breeze. When we contacted her during our trip with a question regarding flight connections she got back to us with an answer within minutes, we were extremely impressed. Thank you Hannah, Global Journeys and APT for the trip of a lifetime.

This trip certainly lived up to our expectations and was professionally handled on a day by day basis by the Cruise Director. All on shore activities that we participated in were also very well organised an informative. We particularly liked the fact that we were treated like royalty by the on board staff and all costs including food and drinks were ...read more all included in the cruise cost. The booking process through Global Journeys was handled efficiently and all flight connections worked out perfectly.

Overall APT River cruise was of a very high standard but not as high standard as previously. The quality of the food varied between excellent and just good. The Paul Bocuse dinner in Lyon was really outstanding. Shore excursions were well organized and very good.