AmaWaterways has announced it has resumed operations in Europe. The first U.S.-based river cruise operator to begin cruising Europe's rivers, it's trialed the effort on AmaKristina in Germany with German, Dutch and Swiss passengers, offering custom-designed five night Rhine River itineraries roundtrip from Cologne.
AmaWaterways has its sights set on a second ship and itinerary to operate on the Danube, in the moderately immediate future.
“Although many countries continue to have travel restrictions in place," says Kristin Karst, executive vice president and co-founder of AmaWaterways, "we have begun operating a series of sailings for European guests, in collaboration with an established German tour operator, e-hoi. With these sailings, we have been able to put into practice and perfect our enhanced health and safety protocols while demonstrating that travelers can enjoy our unforgettable river cruise vacations with peace of mind.”
Europe's new normal?
New protocol developed to resume sailing was created to reflect in-depth recommendations from the EU Healthy Gateways guidelines, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), IG RiverCruise and other official authorities. River vessels, such as the 150-passenger AmaKristina, are limited to a maximum of 100 travelers. Crew members are required to wear face masks at all time. Passengers must wear face coverings when moving around the ship's public areas.
The new capacity controls mean that AmaKristina's restaurants -- The Main and the Chef's Table -- easily can accommodate healthy spacing. New room service options, typically somewhat limited on river cruise vessels, have been added. AmaWaterways’ ships have been designed with fan coil individual air cooling and heating units, which eliminate any recirculation of air in staterooms or in public areas and nearly all staterooms include balconies, letting guests relax there or on the ships’ spacious Sun Decks.
On land, several innovations introduced by AmaWaterways years before the pandemic include Quietvox systems that allow travelers to spread out and still hear guides' commentary and its well-established series of tours that offer outdoor activities such as hiking and cycling.
Steady effort in Europe
AmaWaterways may be the first U.S.-based river line to operate in Europe but the region is still off-limits for Americans. However, other European-based companies, such as Nicko Cruises, A'Rosa and CroisiEurope are all taking similarly cautious approaches as they have also restarted operations in a limited capacity.
Additional detail on the river line's health protocols can be found here: https://www.amawaterways.com/protocols. AmaWaterways plans to provide a further update on the status of its operations and of the future of river cruising on Tuesday, August 4.
We'll keep you posted.
