There has been a flood of questions from readers of The Cruisington Times about whether Americans and Canadians are welcome to sail aboard river cruises in Europe again.
Who better to answer than Kristin Karst, owner and executive vice-president of AmaWaterways, which now has 20 of its 25 ships sailing again in Europe, as well as AmaDahlia on the Nile and the Zambezi Queen in Botswana.
The answer most assuredly is yes, she affirmed in a wide-ranging exclusive interview and she believes there has never been a better time to do a river cruise, as you can see places before the rebound of tourism that’s certain to be coming soon.
“This year, we are pretty much alone with the locals. It is so charming to be in the Louvre and be able to see the Mona Lisa with no crowds, or to stand in front of the Pyramids with no other tourists. It’s Heaven on Earth to travel right now,” Karst rhapsodized. “But when it comes to 2022 and 2023 there will be a boom in tourism, because everyone wants to travel again. And you should book now, because the best cabins are being taken quickly and the cruise you want might ever be sold out.”
That’s a particular message for Canadian travelers, she said. “We want to welcome more Canadians. The U.S market is waking up and they want to travel now, but we have found Canadians, so far, are a little more conservative and cautious.”
While AmaWaterways officially restarted cruising in July, it was actually the result of a year of learning and innovation designed to make cruises on AmaWaterways ships the safest way to travel, Karst explained.
“We chartered two of our ships to German companies in 2020 because the demand for river cruising in the German market was very strong and that allowed us to perfect our health and safety protocols. It was from July to November, 2020, and we had no COVID cases. And one year later as we started again, our crew was trained in the protocols and enhanced cleaning and mask wearing,” and again since the re-start there have been no issues.
The precautions have changed ship-board routines, at least temporarily. “We carefully adjusted all our interior experiences with respect to local requirements. The guests, crew, all cruise managers and even our entertainers who come on board have to be vaccinated. And nobody can come on board from the outside. When in the past visitors could come on board to see the ship and have a cocktail, that is currently not possible,” Karst explained.
“Every morning before breakfast everyone on board has a quick temperature check. You have to wear a mask outside your stateroom in the hallways. the lounge or in the dining room. Once you sit down you can take off your mask. You can also remove the mask in the fresh air on the sun deck. This is especially nice because we do our wellness and exercise classes outside on the sun deck and it is easier to do activity without a mask.”
Off the ship, AmaWaterways has always operated shore excursions in small groups, and with local restrictions on independent exploration, there are more choices than ever of city tours, culinary tours and active tours like hiking and biking.
Now, let’s talk about the dining. “We have we have assigned seating. The reason is if people were moving around and if the worst happened, we would have to shut it all down to see with whom the client was in contact. If you are seated, it is much easier to know who the client was sitting next to.”
Buffets are a thing of the past. Kristin and Rudi Schreiner, AmaWaterways president and co-owner, have wanted to do away with buffets for a long time. “We never felt that the concept of self-serve buffet was in line with the luxury experience, so we have enhanced our menus and moved to full table service.”
An artistic breakfast bowl on AmaWaterways–Photo by Kristin Karst
At breakfast, all the choices are on display when you come into the dining room, so you can decide what you might like to order “Once you sit down, the dining room crew comes right away with your choice of coffee, tea and juices and then they bring a plate of fresh fruit and also a basket of rolls and croissants, jam and butter. There are beautiful, healthy breakfast bowls presented like bouquets of fresh berries, mixed nuts, and fresh flowers. You can then order from the menu including eggs Benedict or eggs cooked to order or lox and bagels, smoked salmon, smoked trout and fresh pumpernickel bread, French and Dutch pastries.”
At lunch time, when you sit down “the waiter brings water and choice of wines and beer and then a choice of six different appetizers specific to the itinerary and destination, which may include calamari, duck confit or mushroom salad. You order your soup and main courses and the desserts, which are brought to you step by step.”
“It is all so fresh and beautifully presented. We have not only enhanced the quality this way and it also reduces waste because with a buffet we have to constantly keep filling up because the buffet must always look appealing, even when the last guest is in the dining room. Yes, of course our crew got to eat afterward, but how much can they eat? So, a lot became waste.”
“The food was always great, but guests are commenting that our food now is better than they can find on ocean cruises that are famous for their food. That is a big compliment that says people really, really enjoy this approach.”
Another change on a cruise is the testing protocol. Some countries require no COVID tests while others require antigen or PCR test results, and some want a test within 96 hours and others within 72 hours. “We recommend that you need to have the test within 72 hours of departure because it is just peace of mind that you have results that will be valid no matter what the rule,” Karst said.
“To make it really easy for everyone, we have partnered with labs in our ports to come on board our ships and do the testing. The fee is around 60 Euro for a PCR test, which is less than you pay in Canada or Florida. It is not just the ease of getting the test, there is also a guarantee that a test result comes back on time. It comes privately on an app or it can also be printed out and delivered to your cabin before you check out to go to the airport.
Another advantage of booking a river cruise is the ease of moving between countries which have different rules and protocols for COVID testing, Karst noted. “We have everything on our website: all the entry requirements and rules for each country. If you were on your own, it might be tricky to cope with, but our cruise managers take care of doing all the QR codes and paperwork required from all the different countries and that puts everyone at ease.”
And if you’re cruising now, the ships are sailing at less than full capacity. “We are not running any ship at more than 75 per cent capacity, However now on average we are running at 50 per cent, because some people are changing plans or moving from this year to 2022,” Karst noted.
“So right now is the best time to go. Our guests say they feel like they have a private yacht right now.”
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