Tim Reviews: AmaWaterways' AmaMagna
If you want to see the best Christmas Markets in Europe without packing and unpacking every few days, the AmaWaterways Christmas Market river cruise on the Danube on the AmaMagna is the answer. I used to be a river cruise skeptic, but this double-wide ship destroyed all my assumptions about small rooms, tiny showers, bland food and limited excursion options. This past December, I joined Anne on the AmaMagna and explored markets and attractions from Budapest, Hungary to Vilshofen, Germany.
AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna
Long story, short… I strongly recommend AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna. The quality of the ship, dining and entertainment, the diversity of the itinerary, and the convenience of having a floating hotel make this an A+ experience. We did it on a Christmas Market Cruise, but I would 100% jump on board again in the summer.
AmaMagna’s double-wide design provides a much less claustrophobic feeling in the rooms and communal spaces than ordinary river cruise ships. We had a longer itinerary, so the full size shower alone would bring me back to this ship.
The food on the AmaMagna was great and options varied enough that we never got bored with the menus. Specialty dining helped give the ship the feel of much bigger ships, but the main dining was different enough every day that you could have lived on that alone.
AmaMagna’s onboard entertainment was fun and diverse with a cinema room, a spa, a pickle ball court, heated pool, nightly live entertainment and more.
The crew of the AmaMagna provided spectacular service. The entertainers, bartenders, housekeeping, chefs and servers were all top notch and we never had an issue. Every day on the ship was diverse enough that you never get tired of the setting.
The AmaMagna’s itineraries at each stop were great. There were options for every type of traveler, with choices for everyone from heavy cyclists (bikes provided) to day drinkers, with lots of accessible options from what I could see. I have been on plenty of cruises, so it’s odd to feel that no port felt too rushed.
The Christmas Markets in the cities and towns along the Danube all had a unique flavor of their own, which kept the concept from getting too stale.
The AmaMagna and Our Stateroom
The first thing you notice about the AmaMagna is its size. It’s double the width of all the standard river ships we saw along the way. Because it doesn’t sail the narrow locks of the Rhine or the Main, it has room to breathe. When you are up on the deck, you don't feel like you can trip over the side at any moment, and inside, and each floor feels like you’re in a normal hotel.
The Sun Deck
The Sun Deck of the AmaMagna is a great place to relax or take in the sights with 360-degree views of cities and landmarks like the Liberty Statue in Budapest. Some of my favorite time on the deck was spent watching the ship work its way through the locks or watching the golden hued Budapest Parliament Building glide by in the night.
The deck offers a heated pool and whirlpool, a lap track, and even a pickleball court. While we didn't use every amenity in the middle of a European winter, it certainly piqued my interest in summer cruising on this ship.
Dining and Entertainment
I was amazed by the diversity and quality of the food offered on the AmaMagna. Everything from buffets to cafe bites or high end multi-course dinners paired with the perfect wines, this ship had everything.
The ship also offers specialty dining experiences that are not to be missed. Al Fresco is where you can grab light bites or smaller meals if you don’t want to do the buffet or bigger dinners. Some evenings the chef also had a recommended menu there that was different from the other options on the ship.
At Jimmy’s Wine Bar, we enjoyed a family-style Italian dinner with dishes like shrimp risotto and braised beef. It was a good opportunity to get to know others on the ship outside of our crew.
At the Chef’s Table, we were treated to a multi-course dining experience, including highlights like homemade ravioli with egg yolk and slow-roasted beef sirloin with octopus. This more upscale dining opportunity was a nice break from everything else on the ship and was worth making a reservation for on day one of your cruise.
The Lark Lounge and Bar is the highlight of the social scene. The bartenders were excellent and they carried some great brands to make any drink you can imagine.
Every night featured happy hour with locally inspired drinks and live entertainment. The couple that was in charge of the entertainment were great and really set up a diverse program that didn’t get stale from night to night, even though this was a relatively small ship. They hosted trivia nights, karaoke nights, and themed nights to keep the space fresh and lively every evening. There was even a hilarious evening where the whole crew got together and sang Christmas carols for us.
The Stateroom Experience
My experience with rooms on cruises has been mixed, but on the AmaMagna, we had plenty of space. We stayed in Stateroom 329, a 252 sq. ft. Category AA room on the starboard side. It featured a full, spacious shower—a luxury for any long cruise—and a balcony with excellent views of the cityscapes and countryside. The storage space was well-designed, with plenty of room for luggage and personal items.
You can check out Anne’s full AmaMagna cabin walkthrough here.
Conclusion
AmaWaterways’ AmaMagna was an amazing ship. I’m not the biggest fan of cruising on smaller vessels. There’s normally not enough staff on the ship to make the onboard experience fun and unique, the itineraries have normally felt packed and rushed, and the rooms have been pretty bare bones and claustrophobic. None of these are a problem on the AmaMagna. The double-wide design allowed for a much more open feeling. The staff seemed to rotate in and out of positions around the ship and made it feel properly staffed, which led to great experiences in dining, at the bar, and in entertainment. The itinerary left so much time to explore each location that there was a time or two where I went on an adventure, came back to the ship to relax, and then headed back out.
I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to enjoy another smaller vessel the way I enjoyed this one, but if more river cruises had ships like this, I’d be much more open to trying them out.
