Rhine & Moselle Fairytales from AMA Waterway River Cruise

Mimi, Helen, Alice and Fei took Rhine & Moselle Fairytales River Cruise (11 night cruise) from Amsterdam on April 27, 2025 as our annual vacation and getting together.  It was an AMA Waterway cruise with stops in Netherland, Germany, France and Switzerland. 

This cruise gave us the feeling of that the pages from fairytales come to life and we found inspiration along the fabled, castle-laden Rhine and its breathtaking tributary, the Moselle, with fascinating scenery of Europe’s steepest vineyards lining its shores.

We visited some of the prettiest towns of the Alsace-Strasbourg and Riquewihr-that blend their Germany and France heritage into one enchanting masterpiece, Cochem and Bernkastel, towns that grew up below a castle. We also visited Trier, once known as the second Rome as no other city in Germany has so many monuments from Roman times.

AMA Waterway is an all inclusive river cruise with award-winning dinning and daily excursions.  Most of the excursions were in the afternoon, therefore it was an extremely relaxing cruising experience.  

April 26, 2025 - Traveled from US to Amsterdam

Alice and Fei traveled from Houston.  They have air service from United Airlines and flew directly from IAH to Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Mimi and Helen traveled from San Fransisco on 5/26/2025. 

At Houston airport, Alice used her United Club passes to access the Lounge. They had a very nice lunch and comfortably seating there waiting for their flights. The flight was very smooth.

April 27, 2025 - Arrived Amsterdam

Alice and Fei arrived at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport in the morning. Found AMA transfer staffs, rode the bus (approximate 45 minute ride) to a little town called Huizen, which is southwest to Amsterdam where our ship AmaLucia was docked. 

It was a beautiful day in Amsterdam and warmer than they expected. Alice and Fei arrived earlier and relaxing in the Lounge of the ship. Mimi and Helen joined them later for lunch. We ordered food from a menu and also got fruits, sandwiches, cookies by ourselves. 

AmaLucia is a beautiful ship. As is basically standard on river ships, the top deck, is dedicated to lounging and scenic observation. The ship's Main Lounge, located on Deck Two, is another place for relaxing and socializing. Breakfast, lunch and dinner can be enjoyed in the main restaurant. 

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and one of Europe’s most magnificent cities. AMA Waterway provided shuttle services and took us to the center of the city and bring us back to the ship later. Amsterdam features over 70 museums but one of its most enduring sights is the iconic canals. We got an opportunity to explore the city a little bit.

April 28, 2025 - Excursion to Keukenhof garden

Today's highlight was to visit the spectacular Keukenhof Gardens, which has millions of tulips and other bulb flowers planted across a 70-acre park. Began our tour with a 50-munite bus ride, followed by a guided orientation walk and free time to explore the gardens and the indoor pavilion at our leisure. 

We took many photos and bought souvenirs at the gift shop.

Dinner was served in the Main Restaurant. We got a chance to take photo with our Cruise Manager, Marcia.

After dinner, 4 of us finally had the opportunity to chat, eat snacks, and share what's going on in our life recently with each other.

April 29, 2025 - Cologne, Germany

Today, we went up to Sun Deck to check on walking track and heated pool.  When we passed by the Navigate Bridge, our ship's second command Frank waved and invited us to join him and his wife (a guest on the ship) inside the Navigate Bridge. The room contains various instruments to aid the bridge officers during sailing. We also saw many interesting rubber ducks collected by the captain.

In the afternoon, we joined Cologne Walking Tour & Kolsch. We began with a walking tour through the city center and got a chance to admire the magnificent Cologne Cathedral and Cologne's old town. 

After the walking tour through the heart of the city, we visited a local tavern called Fruh where we got a chance to taste the typical Kolsch beer.

Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany, a major center of culture with over thirty museums and hundreds of galleries.

April 30, 2025 - Lahnstein, Germany

We arrived at Lajnstein this afternoon.  Lahnstein castle is a few miles south of Koblenz and sits at the confluence of the Lahn River and the Rhine. We decided to take the excursion of Ehrenbreitstein Fortress & Cable Car Ride to Koblenz. After a short walk, we took the cable car from the fortress into Koblenz and started our walking tour.

We saw a three-story cladded row-house built in 1903 for the chemist/pharmacist Fritz Oetelshofen. The top of the building is adorned with a woman’s head with flowing blonde hair. This is “Hygiea” (or Hygeia), the ancient Greek goddess of clean living and preventative health, and daughter to the god of medicine, Asklepios. Given her disposition to good “hygiene”, Hygiea is also the patron for apothecaries (pharmacists). The cultural monuments are also part of the 2002 UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for the surrounding Upper Middle Rhine Valley.

We reserved 'The Chef's Table' for dinner tonight. What a treat! We had white wine of Achkarren Silver and red wine Lois Eschenauer Bordeaux. We had dishes below:

   Chef's Welcome

Heirloom Tomato - Ricotta Lime Mousse - Olive Crumble - Basil Eapuma

   Get The Taste

King Prawn Ceviche - Lime-Ginger - Red  Cabbage Crisp - Chili - Mango Salsa 

   Tease The Senses

Coconut & Curry Soup - Lemon Grass - Spinach - Mushroom - Roasted Nuts - Tomato Essence

   From The Rivers

Pan-Fried Fillet - Quinoa - Garden Greens - Spinach - Saffron Sauce

   Sobet

Cassis Sorbet - Sparkling Wine

   Country Spirit

Argentinian Beef Sirloin - Porcini Jus - Baby Carrot Herb-Gnocchi - Oyster Mushroom - Broccolini - Celery Puree

   From Heaven

Salty Caramel Chocolate Tart - Lime Macaron - Mango Sorbet - Fresh Berries

It was an exciting experience.

May 1, 2025 - Moselle Valley Cochem, Germany

In the morning, the ship sailed along the Moselle river taking in the fascinating scenery of Europe's steepest vineyards.

For lunch, a German brunch was served and we enjoyed this Old German, brunch-like tradition.

After our lunch, we arrived in Cochem with its half-timbered houses and Reichsburg Castle. We chose the excursion of Cochem Walking Tour & Reichsburg Castle. Like many of the towns along the Moselle, Cochem grew up under its castle. Proudly perched over the town, the Reichsburg Castle silhouettes the sky with its cone roof and spired tower. The castle was built in 1051 and had a fascinating history until it was completely destroyed along with most of the town in 1689 by France’s Louis XIV army. It wasn’t until the wealthy Berlin businessman, Louis Ravené, purchased the ruins in 1868 then the castle was rebuilt. 

May 2, 2025 - Moselle Valley Trier, Germany

This morning we sailed past the wonderful vineyards that the Moselle is famous for. In the afternoon, we arrived at Trier. Trier is Germany’s oldest city founded in 15 BC and  was once known as the capital of the Western Roman Empire, and as such, has been called the “Rome of the North” or “Second Rome” with its legacy of impressive Roman relics.

Trier's most famous sight is the 'Port Nigra' built by the Romans in 180 AD. 

We shopped at Hochstetter department store and bought, shoes, tops and pants. Most of them are made in Germany. 

Again, we reserved 'The Chef's Table' for dinner tonight. The food still tastes great.

May 3, 2025 - Bernkastel, Germany

This morning we sailed past beautiful houses, majestic churches, and wonderful vineyards along Moselle river.

We chose the Bernkastel Walking Tour and Wine Tasting. During our guided walking tour of Bernkastel, a picturesque town located in the Moselle River Valley, we saw abundance of the half-timbered houses surrounding the Market Square and important landmarks. 

We also went to Bergweiler Winery where we tasted their wines.