AMA Waterways, formerly known as Amadeus Waterways, is one of the world's leaders in river cruising. AMA is the owner of some of the newest and modern river cruise ships in the world. AMA Waterways was founded by Rudi Schreneir (formerly of both Uniworld and Viking River Cruises) , Jimmy Murphy (the former owner of Brendan Worldwide Vacations) and Kristen Karst.
This luxury river cruise line is particularly well known for having great food, interesting ports of call and unique shore excursions. Their shore excursions are often given by local tour guides that have a true connection with the area being visited.
As they have become more and more popular over the recent years, AMA Waterways has been expanding their fleet at a fairly quick pace. After releasing a new ship each year in 2006 (ms Amadagio) and 2007 (ms Amalegro), AMA launched two new ships in 2008 (ms Amacello and ms Amadante), one more in 2009 (ms Amadolce) and another in 2010 (ms Amalyra).
AMA Waterways exclusively does river cruises, ranging in length from 7 to 30 days. Their itineraries are filled with great ports of call, and their destinations include Europe (the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and Western Europe) and Russia.
The AMA Waterways ships are some of the most feature-packed river cruise ships in the world. AMA Waterways has really taken river cruising up a notch with their innovations. Their ships feature spacious staterooms with premium bedding, flat-screen TVs, internet access, French balconies and luxury bath products.
Some of the onboard features offered by AMA Waterways include free Wi-Fi access for all passengers, bottled water, local wines served at dinner and specialty coffees. The AMA Waterways ships feature a fitness center, beauty salon and whirlpool.
The food served onboard the AMA Waterways ships is upscale, and the dining setup is in an open seating format. Tipping is customary (but optional) onboard the AMA Waterways ships, and is typically done at the end of each cruise.