AmaWaterways wine cruises add a unique epicurean dimension to a variety of itineraries at no additional cost. Join one of these wine cruises with a special wine host and be treated to a menu of exclusive wine and culinary experiences designed to delve deeper into the wonderful flavors and tastes of Europe.
European cities transform into majestic winter wonderlands for the holiday season – and we invite you to experience all their splendor with us. In addition to our variety of daily excursions, you will also have the opportunity to visit festive Christmas Markets in select destinations and participate in nostalgic traditions.
Maximize your Christmas experience by embarking at the height of the holiday market season with daily or near-daily visits to Christmas Markets.
Get "just a taste" of the holidays in mid-November or late December with visits to one or two Christmas Markets during your river cruise.
We are pleased to offer guests the opportunity to experience Floriade in 2022 while sailing along the Rhine River and Dutch and Belgian Waterways between April 14 and October 9. Right outside Amsterdam, this rare experience calls for its visitors to “explore, touch and change” as part of their journey into Floriade – which is set to feature stunning gardens, innovative sustainable gardening exhibits, live entertainment, talk shows, souvenirs and food stalls.
We invite you to join our incredible cruise on the Rhône with a Latin Touch, featuring bilingual cruise managers, daily tours with Spanish-speaking guides, Latin-inspired music nights and other distinctive elements.
Explore the rich history of classical music along the Danube River where famous composers lived, worked and performed. Plus, be treated to a variety of live performances on this melodious journey.
Based on the overwhelmingly positive response received from the announcement of our first-ever “Soulful Experience” on the Rhône River in 2023, we are delighted to announce four new opportunities for guests to celebrate their heritage and discover Black history and culture along the rivers with us in 2024.
Join award-winning television host and travel expert, Samantha Brown, Godmother of AmaMagna, as we cruise through four countries along the Danube River. Special events and Travel Talks are included on this exclusive sailing.
Join Chef Joanne Weir, award-winning cookbook author, restaurant owner and host of PBS television series “Plates & Places” as she hosts a special 7-night Flavors of Burgundy river cruise.
We invite you to join our incredible cruise on the Danube with a Latin Touch, featuring bilingual cruise managers, daily tours with Spanish-speaking guides, Latin-inspired music nights and other distinctive elements.
Based on the overwhelmingly positive response received from the announcement of our first-ever “Soulful Experience” on the Rhône River in 2023, we are delighted to announce four new opportunities for guests to celebrate their heritage and discover Black history and culture along the rivers with us in 2025
Explore the rich history of classical and folkloric music along the Danube River where famous composers lived, worked and performed. Plus, be treated to a variety of live performances on this melodious journey.
Countries Visited: Austria, Hungary, Slovakia
Join award-winning television host and travel expert, Samantha Brown, Godmother of AmaMagna, as we cruise through five countries along the Danube River. Special events and Travel Talks are included on this exclusive sailing.
We invite our loyal past guests to join us once again on these special Loyalty Cruises, offering unique experiences in multiple ports, commemorative gifts, and many more surprises and delights.
Imagine if there was a way to combine luxury river cruising on the iconic Danube with the opportunity to indulge your passion and play golf. We have created the perfect package to enable you to do just that with our Exclusive Concierge Golf Program. Discover Europe, complete with award winning cuisine, incredible service and a choice of excursions in every port, as well as up to 5 rounds of golf at some of the leading championship courses on the continent.
AmaWaterways’ Exclusive Concierge Golf Program is available on select Magna on the Danube cruises sailing aboard the AmaMagna.
Hello! "I'm Kristin Karst, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of AmaWaterways and I'm passionate about river cruising. Each month, I love to share with you my thoughts, personal stories, travel tips and latest news on the people and places that help turn every mile of our guests' river cruise experience into one of their most cherished memories!"
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln aren’t the only figures to make their mark with mountainside glory. Dacian King Decebalus, the last Dacian King in the area now known as Romania, stares out from above the Danube River on the Romanian side of the Iron Gates. See the spectacular monument for yourself on our Gems of Southeast Europe itinerary.
Set in Stone
The sculpture itself, with its bold features, almost looks like it’s been embedded into the rock formation for centuries. But it’s a recent addition to the natural wonder of the Iron Gates -- a stunning gorge on the Danube River that forms part of the natural boundary between Romania and Serbia and is located between the Carpathian and Balkan Mountains.
Significantly, it is also located across from the Tabula Traiana plaque on the Serbian side of the Danube. This monument commemorates both the Roman Emperor Trajan’s march towards Dacia and a long-since destroyed bridge that was specifically erected to deploy Trajan’s troops. Along with leading the Roman troops to victory, this bridge takes another historical footnote as the first over the lower Danube. Trajan emerged victorious and the Roman Empire took control of Dacia – and its golden treasures. King Decebalus was defeated, after many years of fighting.
Larger than Life
But now, two millennium later, King Decebalus heroically rises again. Over 130 feet tall and 82 feet wide, the sculpture took 10 years, 12 sculptors and over one million US dollars to bring this massive vision to reality upon its 2004 completion. It is over 26 feet taller than Rio’s Christ the Redeemer and less than 20 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty.
Collaborating for Romanian Nationalism
The rock sculpture of King Decebalus was the brainchild of Romanian billionaire and businessman Iosif Constantin Drăgan. A controversial figure for admiring fascist ideals and Nazi war criminals, the businessman was exiled for 30 years, not even allowed to step foot in his native homeland. Still through it all, he was a staunch supporter of the protochronism movement promoting Romanian nationalism and the idea that Romania was the ‘flame’ of civilization. He was quoted as saying, “Anyone travelling towards ‘Decebal Rex Dragan Fecit’ is also travelling towards the origins of European civilization and will discover that a United Europe also represents the natural course of history.”
Drăgan invited the Serbians to carve a rock sculpture of Trajan across the way so the two warriors could meet again, face-to-face, on opposing sides. The Serbians were not interested, giving the King the chance to reign supreme, at least metaphorically.
See the rock sculpture of King Decebalus as you cruise through the Iron Gates on one of our Gems of Southeast Europe sailings.