On the whole a great trip. The one let-down was the food, which would not pass muster in a Melbourne bistro. Restaurant staff were largely under-trained, which may be a hang-over from COVID.

After a year of stress our trip with APT from Budapest to Amsterdam was just what we needed. All the arrangements were worry free thanks to Yvonne of Global Journeys, and once on board relaxation was the order of the day. Autumn was in full colour enhancing the already beautiful landscapes. Nothing was too much trouble for the hard working crew on AmaBella ...read more and cruise director Korana especially, made our trip one to remember forever. A fantastic trip, one I absolutely recommend.

Promoted as "5 Star" with 5 star price. The overall service was good & reasonably well organised. The food was lacking in variety & flavour. RSL Buffet quality at best (all you can eat ice cream does not make it 5 star).

Many times we were docked alongside other ships. This is when you realise how dated and lacking in quality our vessel was. At ...read more one stage, our cruise director had to lay on the lounge floor with the Microphone to his laptop (also on the floor) just to get the sound for the info sessions.

We travelled over the Easter Period where many towns had closed for holidays. This is totally understandable...what was disappointing was the total lack of any planned alternatives considering these holidays happen every year and would not come as a surprise.

From the first day to the last day, much of the information in the brochure was misleading at best or just untrue. If you are expecting "5 Star" you will be disappointed. If you accept it will be a nice cruise with average facilities & food.....that's the best you can hope for regardless of the huge amount of money out laid.

From day one we enjoyed the welcoming and pleasurable hospitality on board the MS AmaVenita. Every aspect of this trip was executed with perfection and we honestly cannot fault it. The itinerary was well planned with options for guests at each port during the journey. As it turned out every guest's preferences for the on-shore excursions were met.

The ...read more Cruise Director Emma, kept us all informed and aware of events at every point during the trip. We were also blessed with great weather for the full fifteen April spring days. There was plenty of variety in the choice of excursions and through visiting small towns such as Melk and Miltenberg and big cities like Budapest Vienna and Cologne, guests were given a taste of many different worlds. We did everything from learning how to make Apple Strudel to Beer Drinking to listening to fabulous concerts In the Liechtenstein Palace in Vienna and Schloss Burg Namedy in Germany.

The journey by river in itself is so interesting as the ship travelled through 68 locks. The engineering involved is amazing and to explain it, a university lecturer and Historian specialising in Engineering History gave the most interesting account of the waterway system we were travelling on.

The food was excellent and varied with the menu reflecting the different regions we passed through. The journey was made pleasant through the sheer friendliness of all staff. I fully recommend this trip to anyone looking for a relaxing and yet stimulating journey. Thank you to the team from APT and Global Journeys for making it a seamless experience which now has become a set of the most beautiful memories.

We have travelled extensively each year by air, on land and with many ocean cruises but this was the first river cruise for us. Last year on a tour to Scandinavia almost the entire bus had done an APT European river cruise and were full of praise and this in part motivated us to experience it ourselves.

The transfers at each end of the trip were ...read more efficient and seamless. The ship and the crew were first rate and the service unparalleled. We give a special commendation for the cruise director Emma Leslie for both friendliness and she demonstrated the greatest attention to detail with backup plans when because of the river height, when they needed a Plan B. She also gave an excellent on-board commentary while travelling through the castle reaches of the Rhine Valley.

We are active tourists but we appreciated that the company provided more gentle excursions for those who are not up for rigorous activity. The food was of a high standard served by friendly and courteous waiting staff, but with the greatest respect lacked the WOW factor of say a Seabourn cruise which is approximately in the same price range.

It’s hard to compete with Budapest, the wonderful 800-year-old Franconian Bavarian villages, and the elegance of Vienna. The itinerary with the peak experiences at the Lichtenstein private Palace concert in Vienna and the dinner recital at Schloss Burg Namedy were memorable. The latter with a live Princess soldering-on, reminded us of the Alan Bennett play "People" about another lady dedicated to the upkeep of a stately old home in the country.

Fellow travellers were mainly Australian and we still not cannot get our head around why gentlemen in their 70s with legs way past their prime and looking like the legs of a queen chair, insist on wearing shorts even when the temperature was hovering around 15 Celsius. It quite put us off our Martinis which were perfect once we had taught Stan the barman how to make a 007 Bond Vesper Martini.

Look forward to travelling with the company again.

We booked with Yvonne of Global Journeys. Everything was worry free and Yvonne promptly dealt with any questions and was so easy to deal with. When, 10 days out, we were notified that APT needed to change the itinerary because of low water levels in the Danube and Rhine rivers Yvonne was immediately in contact.
We decided to go on the revised itinerary ...read more and we were not disappointed!

APT went to great lengths to ensure we enjoyed a holiday like no other. The Majestic Imperator was an absolute highlight, four hours of regal luxury from Budapest to Vienna was just bliss. The private charter flight to Rotterdam was another highlight and the unique voyage through The Netherlands and Belgium was full of delightful stops at places like Kinderdyke and Willemstad.

Apparently this itinerary was a first for APT, maybe one they should repeat. We both returned home relaxed, maybe a kilo or two heavier. We thoroughly recommend Global Journeys and APT.