Gary Paquin and his wife Marie are loyal guests who have truly made the most of their river cruise journeys. Meticulous planners, they have scoured our river cruise itineraries with their outstanding travel advisor Cindy, matching up embarkation and disembarkation ports on river cruises, so they can sail three river cruises in a row – and extend their vacations with our optional land packages before and after their sailings on top of that! So, why would anyone want to do this?
River Cruising Style
Our philosophy: once in Europe, maximize the time. Our first AmaWaterways river cruise was the 14-night Magnificent Europe, where we experienced 68 locks, 20 cities, 22 excursions, 5 countries and 5 rivers. When folks ask us which cruise they should do, we always recommend this one as their first. But when we disembarked in Amsterdam and our ship was sailing on to Basel, we realized we would much rather have explored Basel as part of our journey and maximized our time in Europe. That’s why we now do three sailings in one.
Repeat Ports of Call
We have experienced a few overlaps in some of the towns visited on our combination cruises, so we just pick a different AmaWaterways excursion. For example, during our first visit to Vienna, Austria, we took advantage of the walking tour and cathedral visit. On the second visit, we took the optional evening excursion to the Mozart and Strauss Concert at the Konzerthaus. What a beautiful performance, and AmaWaterways had arranged for exclusive front area seating, which made it much more dynamic and rewarding.
Variety is the Spice of Life
AmaWaterways offers plenty of variety in onboard entertainment, with some exceptional performers and guest speakers. On our Paris & Normandy river cruise, the night before we were going to the Normandy Beaches, a guest speaker talked about the events leading up to World War II. It added tremendous historical insight and enriched our experience. Also, on this river cruise, there was an outstanding performer who did the life of Édith Piaf, the famous French singer known for “La Vie en Rose.”