AmaWaterways Hasn’t Changed 2022 Itineraries Yet, But Will ‘If Necessary’

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine creating an active war zone in the Baltic, Viking River Cruises, Atlas Ocean Voyages, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Oceania Cruises told TMR that they were altering itineraries in Europe. 

At the moment, river cruise company AmaWaterways is maintaining its 2022 schedule in Europe, despite the uncertainty at the moment.

In a statement, AmaWaterways said is not making any changes yet to its 2022 itineraries but says that its operations team “is closely following the situation in Ukraine, and if necessary, we will make adjustments to our Eastern European itinerary and advise our travel partners and guests,” a spokesperson told TMR.

“We have a 20 year proven track record of safely adapting our cruises to ensure that unexpected events have a minimal impact on the guest experience so that those wishing to still cruise can do so, safely. Travel during these times remains a personal choice, and we have kept our flexible policies in place to best accommodate the evolving conditions,” the spokesperson added.

AmaWaterways is a couple of weeks away from the start of its 2022 season. Earlier in February, the AmaWaterways team, speaking to TMR, said that demand was coming back strong for the second half of 2022, though trends from the pandemic remain, including the absence of a typical booking window.

The river line team also told TMR that it would continue to employ some changes made in the pandemic era. 

That includes cleaning protocols, temperature checks when the guests come on board, and face mask requirements in public areas. Masks will still be optional outside on the sundeck and crew members will continue to wear masks at all times, at least for the foreseeable future. 

Vaccination will still be expected and Karst told TMR that she doesn’t expect that requirement to go away until countries along the European rivers officially wind down their travel requirements. 

Changes in the dining room (no buffets, all sit-down dining) will most likely be a permanent one for AmaWaterways, too, a change that co-founder Rudi Schreiner had long wanted to make.