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.
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.
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.
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 2025
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 you to join our incredible cruise on the Douro with a Latin Touch, featuring bilingual cruise managers, daily tours with Spanish-speaking guides, Latin-inspired music nights and other distinctive elements.
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 Danube with the opportunity to indulge your passion and play golf? We have created the perfect package to enable you to do just that! Our exclusive Concierge Golf Programme includes 7 nights onboard one of the highest rated ships in Europe, complete with award winning cuisine, a choice of excursions in every port and our unique Twin Balconies, as well as up to 5 rounds of golf at some of the leading championship courses on the continent. Our Programme takes you straight from your ship to the course and back making your golfing experience seamless – Golf and River Cruise truly is a marriage made in heaven.
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!"
The Gift of a Chocolate Kiss
It may not be Hershey’s, but Heidelberg, Germany’s famous chocolate “kiss” has a sweet history. The year was 1863. If you were young and female, you were probably socializing after school – accompanied by a chaperone, of course – at the town’s popular Café Knösel, where its namesake chocolatier, Fridolin Knösel, was busy concocting his decadent confections.
If you were a male student at the nearby university, you were most likely also frequenting the café to check out the fairer sex, longing to steal a glance. The clever chocolatier, picking up on the innocent ritual of subtle flirtation, decided to create a tempting chocolate delight he fittingly dubbed “The Student’s Kiss.” Made with praline-nougat-chocolate filling atop a crispy wafer and coated in rich dark chocolate, the Student’s Kiss was presented in a small box where a handwritten letter could be tucked away, sending sweet messages between hopeful courters without the watchful eyes of chaperones.
Knösel’s descendants have carried on the family tradition and still handmake the chocolates using the original recipe, selling them in the heart of Heidelberg’s Old Town, which you can visit during our Captivating Rhine, Enchanting Rhine, Rhine & Moselle Splendors, Rhine & Moselle Delights, Rhine & Moselle Fairytales, Rhine Castles & Swiss Alps and Christmas Markets on the Rhine sailings.
Many of the above sailings also include the German port city of Cologne, renowned for its impressive Chocolate Museum, where, during your free time, you can learn about the history and production of chocolate, plus get an insider’s look at its famed chocolate factory – and get a taste for yourself!
When in Belgium
During the 17th century, Belgium was under Spanish rule and the country’s greatest explorers brought back treasures from their world travels – among them, cocoa beans from South America. Viewed as a luxurious delicacy, the beans were originally brewed into hot chocolate and poured from beautifully designed pots for nobility. Later, Belgium colonized the Congo and used the vast supply of cocoa beans they found there to become the leading trader of cocoa and chocolate.
Believe it or not, it was an apothecary shop that sold squares of simple dark chocolate on the side that created Belgium’s more modern-day chocolate frenzy. In fact, the popularity of the morsel inspired the apothecary’s metamorphosis into a candy shop which sold its very first praline in 1912.
What makes Belgian chocolates unique? An 1884 law, still upheld today, mandates that Belgian chocolates be produced with 35% cocoa. Of course, every chocolate maker has their own special recipe. During our included special interest tour in Ghent, those inclined to learn about the art of Belgian chocolate will have the opportunity to meet with a master chocolatier, taste a variety of pralines and try their hand at making some during our Tulip Time itinerary. If that’s not enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, enjoy a Belgian chocolate tasting in Brussels on our Best of Holland and Belgium.
Additional Included Experiences for Chocolate Lovers
Ask your Cruise Manager about additional chocolate tasting experiences, including where to buy the best souvenir chocolates in every port – and enjoy the special gift left on your pillow each night!