ABOARD THE AMAMAGNA -- Ask AmaWaterways co-founder and president Rudi Schreiner to name his favorite part of this megaship he spent some 10 years thinking about and designing, and he'll just laugh.
After a week of sailing on it for the first time, he said last week during the ship's christening cruise, all he can focus on is what needs to be tweaked.
"When you work on it for such a long period, what happens when you come onboard, for me, it's like, 'What's wrong? What can I change? What do I need to do this winter to change things?'" he said with a chuckle. "Anytime somebody says, 'Are you proud of it?' I'm like, 'Hmm, it never comes into my mind. I'm looking for what's wrong.'"
One of those wrongs? Not enough public restrooms.
"This is something I completely missed," he acknowledged, although he has already identified a solution.
There are some other tweaks he wants to make, including additional seating in the main lounge and in what has turned out to be one of the most popular dining venues, Al Fresco, a glass-walled, casual restaurant at the front of the ship.
Still, whether he admits it or not, Schreiner is clearly proud of his brainchild, which brings a new and luxurious twist to both river cruising and the term "doublewide."
At twice the width of a traditional river ship, the AmaMagna is the largest passenger vessel on European waterways -- but only in size, not in the number of passengers it can carry. Its guest capacity of 196 is just 20% more than that of AmaWaterways' narrower ships, a key element of Schreiner's underlying strategy to attract a new generation of river cruisers by combining the additional space and amenities of an ocean ship with the intimacy of a riverboat.
The ship’s Zen Wellness Studio. Photo Credit: TW photo by Jeri Clausing
Whether this ship succeeds in attracting a new clientele remains to be seen, although the larger cabins and new level of luxury were clearly positives for many of the passengers on this sailing.
The consensus among the travel industry writers and officials onboard was that the AmaMagna had more than exceeded the expectations that had been building since Schreiner unveiled the project two years ago on a surprise side trip from the christening of the AmaKristina to a Rotterdam shipyard, where mock-ups of the cabins were on display.
Of the 98 staterooms, more than half are suites, and not suites in the typical river cruise sense of the term but more like something you'd find in a hotel, with king beds, desks, full couches, double closets, flat-screen televisions -- even an entry hall and toilet area separate from the large bath area, with its oversize shower and double vanities.
Most of the suites are 355 square feet. But there is also a 710-square-foot owner's suite and six 474-square-foot grand suites, all seven of which have full bathtubs.
All cabins except the few located on the lower deck have balconies.
The massive ship docked in Budapest. Photo Credit: TW photo by Jeri Clausing
The additional space was apparent the moment we came aboard. But it really struck me when I saw the hallways, which in width resembled hotel corridors more than even the passages on ocean cruise ships. Then came the cabin, which was more than twice the size of the hotel room I had just left in Paris, with closet space rivaling or beating that of bedrooms in two 1880s homes I have owned in Baltimore and Denver.
As a fellow writer said, this is a ship you could actually get lost on. And that wasn't an exaggeration, I discovered, in looking for a restroom my first morning aboard.
Not everyone prefers the larger size and space. One traveler said she missed being able to see the river from any seat in any room of the ship.
However, the river is never that far away, and the trade-off is that passengers get a full-size gym and spa area with a glass-walled room large enough for group fitness classes, a juice bar, massage and manicure rooms and a deck lined with stationary bikes for outdoor spinning classes.
The wide sun deck, which can be accessed via elevator, features a heated pool, hot tub and a bar.
Double the fun on the AmaMagna
There are four dining options:
- The family-style Jimmy's Wine Bar, with long communal wooden tables, perfect for groups. The venue is named for AmaWaterways co-founder Jimmy Murphy.
- A gourmet tasting menu at AmaWaterway's signature Chef's Table.
- A traditional dining room.
- Al Fresco, the farm-to-table venue with windows and skylights that can be opened in the right weather.
While the AmaMagna is truly in a class of its own, it still has the familiar, warm AmaWaterways vibe along with all its special touches, including a computer and iPad in every cabin. Its decor is also reminiscent of its smaller stable mates, although, as with every vessel in the company's fleet, its color schemes and furnishings are unique.
Building the AmaMagna was no small feat. Schreiner said the ship was five years in his head, then five more years under design and construction.
Because of the size of many locks in Europe, the ship's width will limit it to sailing the Danube. Just getting the ship from the hull maker in Serbia to the finishing yard in the Netherlands required shuttling it on a Korean freighter from the Black Sea through Turkey's Bosporus and up through the English Channel to the Netherlands, at a cost of about $1 million.
So far, Schreiner said, the feedback has been good, but it's too soon to say if the company will build another megaship: AmaWaterways has two ships on order and shipyard slots reserved for two more.
Like any perfectionist, Schreiner has a growing list of things to add, subtract and tweak for this next generation of vessels, whatever their size might be.
"We're always pushing the envelope, seeing what else we can do," Schreiner said. "And that's exciting."