If you are thinking of cruising the Danube river – and with itineraries mixing big-hitter capitals such as Budapest and Vienna with beguiling scenery and fairy-tale towns, perhaps you should – then have a think about the best ship to choose before you book.
Double Up on the Good Things while Cruising the Danube River
AmaMagna lives up to its name by being double the width of virtually every other cruise ship on the river, which translates into more space on board, more restaurant choice and certainly more drama when it comes to sailing into a lock that looks only one dress size larger than the vessel itself.
Cruise the Danube – Begin in Budapest
We embarked AmaMagna at Budapest on our cruise up the Danube river, smug in the knowledge we would be staying in port overnight and so have plenty of time to explore. A number of things felt both exotic and strangely familiar here. The famous Széchenyi Chain Bridge that connects the Buda and Pest sides of the city is a dead-ringer for Hammersmith Bridge in London – they share the same original design. The exquisitely modelled Parliament building, which basks in its own reflected glory at night, was created by an admirer of Westminster. Even the Budapest Eye Ferris wheel hails from Plymouth.
A Different History
But Budapest has its own distinct character too: the historic Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias church complex is a glorious architectural confection of Hogwartian spires and staircases with panoramic views right across the city. Meanwhile, the Shoes on the Danube memorial to the 3,500 people – a quarter of them Jews – shot and toppled into the river in 1944, is still acknowledged with fresh flower and candle tributes.
An excellent guide made all the difference to our walking tour, with a ‘Quiet vox’ earpiece relaying all his commentary while we could wander at will. This was typical of the attention to detail offered by the cruise.
Why Bigger Does Mean Better When Cruising the Danube
From the moment you step aboard, the ship feels welcoming – the double-width makes for an airy and light reception area complete with sycamore trees, a main lounge with inviting mega-sofas as well as quieter zones and a top deck featuring a running track, pickle-ball court, exercise bikes, hot tub, pool and all the sun loungers you’ll need. Only 196 passengers share this space, mostly Canadian or American on our sailing, attending by 70 crew.
The staterooms are well-designed, even if slightly smaller than we might have expected for so wide a vessel, with plentiful storage, that all-important spacious balcony (all but 11 rooms have one), a fridge, huge shower and a lit magnifying mirror. Free bottled water is replenished daily and there’s an ice-machine on each deck.
More Included in Our Cruise on the Danube
And that is one of the best things about AmaMagna: virtually everything is included – drinks at lunch and dinner plus daily departure cocktails, 24-hour tea and coffee, excursions at every port (graded from easy to active, with biking and late-riser options too, plus some optional paid-for additions such as an evening concert in Vienna). Other than that, only gratuities are extra.
Dine Out Somewhere Different
Best of all, with the ship’s considerable width to play with, there’s a proper choice of four restaurants – again, all included – which are worth booking as soon as you arrive.
The Chef’s Table with its fabulous seven-course tasting menu is the stand-out option and you can make repeat reservations. Jimmy’s is an interesting innovation where you sit on shared banquet tables, which makes striking up conversation with new people particularly easy. Al Fresco is a light and airy choice for breakfast or lunch, particularly if you want swifter service, or a nice change for dinner, while the main dining room accommodated most people most of the time with beautifully presented and flavoursome dishes served at the table.
Talent Show
The ship’s unusual size offered benefits to us as passengers, but it gave the crew other things to think about. The ship fits like a glove into the locks on the Danube – watching the crew steer into the lock chamber with barely an airgap on either side, it’s clear this is strictly for those with a real talent for parking.
Freewheel from the Ship
Beyond the locks lay Vienna which was a breeze to explore on the ship’s bikes, with guides fore and aft to shepherd our group to the historic centre of the city, the Opera House and the Strauss monument in Stadtpark, where we learned that Strauss’ success led to legions of female admirers demanding locks of his dark curly hair. Fortunately, his dog could oblige where the composer could not!
Star Performers
We rounded off our day in Vienna with a tour of the famous Lipizzaner riding school. As well as meeting some of these extraordinary stallions, we toured the tack room and the chandeliered performance arena and learned that the horses are black or bay coloured at birth – their coats only turn white at the age of seven as a sort of premature ageing process. Each horse trains for just 30 minutes a day and specialises in only a single jump.
Scenic Cruising on the Danube
Beyond Vienna, it was the scenery rather than the headline cities that stole the show. The Wachau valley is a UNESCO world heritage site for good reason, one of them being its lush vineyards and apricot orchards. On board ship, a visiting Californian wine expert had us comparing various local and Napa Valley vintages, while an exclusive after-hours excursion from Grein introduced us to Clam Castle and its 1,000-acre estate of vineyards where the present-day Count himself conducted wine tastings and tours of the historic property.
Fantasy Finale
The best tour of all however was the one from Linz across the Czechia border to Česky Krumlov. The name sounds like an early Bond villain, but this was actually the most picturesque of medieval towns, almost a Bohemian version of Portmerion in Wales, complete with monastery, old town, Italian frescoes and even a 16th century bear pit where three bears still live.
Boasting the second largest castle in the Czechia, Česky Krumlov, rather like AmaMagna itself, is bigger than you might have expected, but both are equally full of wonderful and unexpected surprises.
Cruising the Danube River : How to Get There
AmaMagna operates seven-night river cruises on the Danube between Budapest and Vilshofen, Germany throughout the year. Prices start at around £2,515 for an outside room, £4,300 with a balcony, based on two sharing, flights from the UK included, in March 2025.
