AMA Danube River Cruise Voyage to the Black Sea

We boarded our river cruise ship Amadagio on April 9th for a 7 night voyage from Budapest, Hungary to Rousse, Bulgaria. Our voyage will travel southeast down the Danube River through the former Yugoslavian Republic countries of Croatia and Serbia and the former Soviet Block countries of Bulgaria and Romania. While we don’t actually sail into the Black Sea, we will get fairly close to the juncture.

We were warmly greeted by several staff members in the airy lobby and escorted to our cabins. We were assigned to a 170 square foot Category B cabin 225 on the Cello Deck with French Balcony. The cabins are compact, but make efficient use of the space. The floor to ceiling glass doors made the room feel open and airy. There is a small wardrobe closet with digital safe and a small shelf closet on either side of the vanity area that contained an infotainment system consisting of a 17 inch plasma screen satellite TV, internet keyboard, music, movies and alarm clock system. The bedding was high quality thread count white on white linens with a pillow top covering that padded the gap between the two twin beds put together. The mattress was quite comfortable in this arrangement. There were two small end tables on either side of the bed and a sofa chair and ottoman next to the balcony door. There is also a large drawer underneath the bed for additional storage. The bathroom was quite large for a river cruise ship. The shower was a delight with a glass door enclosure and a massaging Swiss type shower. Shelf space in the bathroom would be a bit tight however, if two women were traveling together. After checking out our room, we were summoned to the Main Lounge where we would meet our Cruise Manager Maddy Caldaruse, from Bucharest, Romania. She provided a brief explanation of how the river cruise would operate during the next week. The main phrase used over and over was “Be flexible”. This was in regards to the immigration officers at each port along the way, because we would be passing through several countries that each operated with their own set of rules. This is different from river cruising in other parts of Europe, where immigration is not necessary because they all operate under the Schengen Rule. Meals would be open seating at designated times with a la carte at dinner and buffet and a la carte at breakfast and dinner. Light breakfast and lunch would also be served everyday in the main lounge as an alternative to the main dining room. All tours in each port will be conducted with the use of a “magic box”, which is a personal portable speaker with earphone. The earphones were given to us in our cabins and each morning we would pick up a color designated box that would correspond to the same color tour bus and group. Normally, these color codes are representative of the activity level of the tour, but on this itinerary all tours would be the same level due to the limited choice and infrastructure in all ports except Vidin, Bulgaria. We returned to the Main Lounge at 6:30 PM for our welcome aboard cocktail party where we got to meet the Captain and crew. Most of the crew were from Bulgaria and Romania. We enjoyed a lovely dinner in the dining room and were entertained by roving musicians playing gypsy music. Dinner would be a nightly 5 course feast featuring appetizers, soups, salads, main courses including fresh (not frozen) fish or meats, and sumptuous desserts. There were also delectable cheeses available at every meal. The dinners each night reflected the area we were visiting that day. The best part was the free flowing local wines (choice of red or white) and beer with dinner every night. I really enjoyed each of the wines they served. After dinner, we went up to the Sun Deck to enjoy our scenic cruise at 9:00 PM up river past the chain bridge to see the Budapest sights lit up at night. It was a lovely way to begin our journey. We had a nightcap at the Main Lounge Bar where we met the bar staff Stefan, Marcel and Alina. They were all from Romania and we got to know them pretty well by the end of our cruise. The nightly entertainment was provided by a very talented pianist named Kalin, with a flair for dressing. After a great night’s sleep, we headed down to a delicious champagne buffet breakfast. Free flowing champagne is served every morning at the buffet table. My other favorite part was the daily bread spread, filled with fresh made breads, rolls and pastries, sure to make my hips spread by the end of the voyage.