ASTA river cruise EXPO and riverside luxury cruise

by tabitha regoli

I had the opportunity to attend ASTA’s River Cruise Expo in Amsterdam last month. This event was amazing with 1200 travel agents, nine river cruise suppliers and many more suppliers at the trade show portion of the event.  My time at the expo was spent in educational sessions with Avalon and Riviera, inspecting 12 river cruise ships and enjoying meals on several different ships!  Lots of eating!  I met some wonderful travel agents throughout the US. It was a pleasure to share experiences with these people.

My first night in Amsterdam I stayed at the Movenpick Hotel which is located at the Passenger Cruise Terminal. It is within walking distance of the Central rail station along the waterfront. My room was spacious like US hotels and overlooked the Amstel River. This is a great option for clients cruising (ocean or river) from Amsterdam.

My accommodations during the expo were on AmaWaterways AmaMora in a French Balcony stateroom (category CA). The AmaMora offers a cozy atmosphere with lively entertainment after dinner!

It even has a small swim up bar on the top deck. It was a little on the cold side to try it out! There was also cornhole and the walking track on the top deck as well. The staff on board were welcoming and accommodating to our questions and needs. Breakfast was buffet style with some al a carte menu options.  Lunch is buffet style with lots of choices. Dinner is a 5-course meal with several options to select from the menu. You can pick and choose your preferences but don’t feel you have to order every course. There were some nights I only picked salad and dessert.

 

After the expo, Chris met me in Amsterdam, and we embarked on a 6-night river cruise with Riverside Luxury Cruises on the newly christened Riverside Debussy. This was the inaugural sailing for the Debussy! Riverside Luxury Cruises is a new supplier with 2024 being their second season on the rivers in Europe. It was an amazing opportunity to meet Jennifer Halboth, CEO and our Sales Rep, Kelly Browne. They were a fun group to spend time with and listened to everyone’s suggestions.

Riverside Luxury Cruises - Riverside Debussy

Chris and I had a Symphony Suite which is a French Balcony stateroom. The Debussy is an elegant ship but is not pretentious. There is an outdoor bar on the top deck with lounge areas (covered and uncovered) to enjoy the scenery. There is a hot tub as well, which was not open during our cruise. The ship does have a small indoor pool at the back of the ship on deck three. The ship also offers a small gym, salon, and spa as well! The staff on board were accommodating and welcoming everyone with smiles daily.

The food with Riverside Luxury Cruises was wonderful! Breakfast and lunch are served buffet style with many choices. Dinner was a 5-course meal with different menu selections each night. They also had some standard choices (chicken, steak, salmon, pasta) that were available every night. Chris thought the plating of the meals were “over the top,” but the overall taste was spot on! I think I gained some weight on this cruise! One afternoon we enjoyed a BBQ lunch on the top deck too.

Our cruise itinerary was changed at the last minute to include Cologne, Germany. I was very excited as I have always wanted to visit the Cathedral in Cologne! My high school German teacher, Mr. Lopp always talked about this Cathedral. The other ports visited were Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Nijmegen, Maastricht, Antwerp and ending in Brussels.

Cathedral - Cologne

City walking tours were offered at each port along with some other different types of excursions/activities.  For example:

  • Duisburg – Industrial Culture of Duisburg’s Landscape Park

  • Dusseldorf – Altbier Safari (beer tour)

  • Cologne – City tour for Time Travelers (VR tour showing the old town before, during and after WWII)

  • Nijmegen – Heeswijk Dinther Castle or Kroller Muller Museum

  • Maastrict – Wine Experience

  • Antwerp – Chocolate Tasting or Culinary Walk

Riverside offered mixology and champagne tasting activities during sailing time. In the evenings there was live entertainment in the lounge with Sharon and Angel. It was a great time meeting new people, listening to music and a little dancing was done too!

Our cruise came to an end sadly in Brussels. Chris and I took the train from Brussels to Amsterdam and spent our last 2 nights at the Hotel Mercier. The Hotel Mercier is in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam. It’s a small boutique hotel just off the main roads in a quieter area. You are still within walking distance to restaurants, shopping, and canals.

Our last day in Amsterdam was spent visiting the Anne Frank House and Van Gough Museum. It was a 10-minute walk from the hotel to the Anne Frank House Museum and about a 30-minute walk to the Van Gough Museum. I highly recommend visiting the Anne Frank House and buy the tickets that include the introduction program. The introduction program is about 20 minutes which provides a great history timeline of Anne Frank’s life and the Nazi regime during that time frame.

My biggest takeaway from this adventure was the WWII history of the areas we visited. It was amazing how these cities survived and rebuilt their homes, businesses, and cathedrals.