AmaWaterways 'Colors of Provence' Rhone river cruise
Built in 2017 and carrying just 156 passengers AmaKristina has the honour of having Kristin Karst, AmaWaterway’s co-founder as it prestigious Godmother. Situated on the Rhone river in southeastern France, we joined her in Lyon for a week-long voyage to Avignon. We were staying in suite 211 on Cello deck, which like the majority of the suites on board boast both a French balcony and a proper outside balcony. We started our voyage with an overnight stay in Lyon giving us the opportunity to explore a little of this, the second largest city in France, before leaving early the next day.
Despite our voyage ending in Avignon, south of Lyon, we started our journey with a little stopover at the little town of Trevoux, about 20 miles north of Lyon. Leaving Lyon early in the morning so that we could navigate the low bridges out of Lyon we had a morning of sailing to get to Trevoux, including our first lock of the journey which we enjoyed from the comfort of the main restaurant as we ate our breakfast. During the morning we had a cruise overview and excursion talk from Helene our cruise manager to sign up for our preferred excursions and sign the bike waiver so that we could go out on the many bikes that the ship carries with her.
During our early lunch we arrived at Trevoux ready for our afternoon excursions to the Beaujolais valley, starting with a visit to the quaint medieval village of Oignt. We had a little time there to wander the ancient steep streets before heading off for our next stop at a local family vineyard where we sampled three of their delicious wines, one white and two red, accompanied by some delicious aged hams and cheeses. Whilst we had been on our excursion the ship had sailed back down the river and was waiting for our return back in Lyon.
After another little stroll around Lyon we headed back to the AmaKristina in time for sip and sail cocktail hour. Although AMA is not quite all inclusive basic drinks are available at lunchtime and dinner time and a sip and sail cocktail hour every day one hour before dinner where a range of complimentary cocktails are served. Though most meals are taken in the main restaurant all guest are able to make at least one reservation at The Chefs Table which is the included specialty restaurant located at the aft of the ship on deck three with lovely full length panoramic windows. The restaurant can accommodate a maximum of 30 covers so the service is very attentive and guests are all served together as the food is prepared by the Chef in the open kitchen. The menu is a 7 course tasting menu paired with wonderful wines and a very special way to spend an evening. Being keen to try this we had booked in for the second evening, enjoying this delicious, decadent meal while we watched the sun set over Lyon.
Entertainment on the AmaKristina is similar to other river cruises with a resident pianist who plays every evening in the lounge bar before and after dinner, unless, like this evening, local musicians are bought on board to entertain the guests, which tonight was a classical trio playing the cello, violin and accordion.
With another overnight stop in Lyon and nigh on another full day to explore before heading out of the city for the last time we thought the best way to see as much of the city as we could would be to book on a cycling excursion which took us along the river bank to the Parc de la Tete d’Or for a quick stop before heading across the river to Old Lyon where we dismounted our bikes for a quick walking tour of these ancient streets. Heading back to the ship via the Place Bellecour main square and through the modern shopping district we had covered over 14km of this beautiful city.
After another delicious lunch in the main dining room I joined Erni, the wellness coach on a power walk around Lyon. Since I was the only one to turn up for the walk I had a private session with Erni, stopping every so often on our 3km walk to do some stretches and exercises. Arriving back just before sail away we enjoyed our sail away from Lyon on the top decks as we navigated the very low bridges surrounding Lyon. Sailing down the Rhone we started our evening with cocktails in the lounge before heading down to tonight’s special dinner in the main restaurant, featuring a Chaine des Rotisseurs French gastronomic society menu. During dinner we arrived into Vienne where we would be docked overnight with a local duo coming on board not long after docking to entertain us with some french singing.
Waking up the next morning in Vienne, the sun was shining and it was my birthday so we treated ourselves to a mimosa to accompany our breakfast in the restaurant. From the excursions on offer that day we had chosen a hiking tour up to the little mountain that overlooks Vienne. Joining our guide Geraldine we were a very small group of just five passengers making this a very personalised tour of the city. Five kilometres and over two hours later we felt like we had covered most of the sights of Vienne before our midday sailaway to our next stop, Tournon. We decided to have lunch in the lounge today where they serve a small but delicious menu. After lunch we headed up to the open decks to enjoy the weather and the amazing scenery as we sailed passed the riverside Rhone vineyards. Mid afternoon we had a wine tasting in the lounge from a local wine maker who kept us entertained for over an hour with an interactive quiz, including a blind taste test (which I’m happy to report we both got right) and four wine tastings.
Arriving into Tournon early evening we were spoilt to a delicious chocolate cake and a lovely rendition of Happy Birthday from the restaurant team to celebrate my birthday at the end of our dinner that evening- so much for letting it pass quietly. After such a huge dinner, including two desserts, we decided to head off if the ship for an hour to have a wander around the town as the sun set over the mountains in the background. By the time we returned it was almost dark and a local pianist/singer was playing in the lounge.
Making the most of the variety of excursions on offer we had decided that today we would join the old steam train ride through the nearby gorge. A short coach ride and we were at the station where we boarded the steam train along with our guide who spent the journey telling us about the region. Parts of the journey took us to place only accessible by train, with no roads to them, so it was a very scenic and peaceful ride. At our destination we all disembarked while the engine section de-coupled and using an old hand operated turntable turned around to attach to the front of the train for the return journey. Back to the station the ten minute coach ride got us back to the ship with a couple of hours to spare before departure so we asked to have a couple of bikes bought down so we could explore a bit more of Tournon. Although we only had just over an hour before departing we managed to cover quite a lot of ground in that time, visiting the part of the town on the other side of the river and the old part of town.
That afternoon was another afternoon of scenic sailing as we headed to Tarascan, the most southerly point of our journey, about 90 miles south of Tournon, meaning that we wont dock again until the early hours of tomorrow morning giving us a whole afternoon and evening relaxing on board, with very little planned except for eating, drinking and enjoying the gorgeous scenery with the hillsides scattered with vine yards. With the temperature increasing as we head south we decided to take our pre-dinner cocktails out to the front terrace, enjoying the views as we sailed down the river.
We eventually arrived into Tarascon at about 6am ready for our day touring the ancient Roman city of Arles, a twenty minute coach ride away. Our guide took us all around this gorgeous little city taking us around the ancient Roman sites and the places made famous by Van Gogh paintings from this area. That afternoon we again set sail heading back north for our final destination, Avignon, where those who had chosen to go on an afternoon excursion would meet us. With this being our final destination and our penultimate evening on board we had the Captains farewell cocktails and Gala dinner followed by local entertainment of music, singing and flamenco style dancing until late into the night with many of the guests joining in with the dancing.
Having been docked in Avignon overnight we got up early the next day for our first excursion of the day, a walking/tasting tour of Avignon. We were a small group of six guests and we met our guide Elisabeth who led us from the ship, through the ancient city walls and into the heart of the city. Our first stop was a traditional sweet store where we tried some local sweet treats, including traditional nougat and fudge. From here we wandered the gorgeous marble stoned streets through the city to the modern food market at the end of the main shopping street. The market was full of delicious fresh food stalls and though not massive had plenty of choice and little cafes to stop at. After a quick wander round we stopped for our first tasting at the wonderful olive stall where the enthusiastic vendors plied us with fresh olives, pickled garlic and some lovely little bread rounds topped with tapenades and homemade pastes. From there we wandered to the oyster stall where the vendor welcomed us as we checked out his fayres. Along the way we picked up a delicious plate of goats cheeses with four different varieties ranging from mild to strong. We took these with us to the wine stall where the friendly lady owner gave us a glass of red wine from her families vineyard which we savoured along with the cheeses and some leftover olives form the olive stall.
Our time up in the market we headed back through this pretty little city to the ship in time for an early lunch before that afternoons long excursion which started with an hours coach ride to a local truffle farm where we were greeted by the flamboyant owner, Serge and his truffle hunting side kick, Amy, the 11 year old dog. Serge spent some time explaining to us how they grow and harvest the truffles before we walked through his farm with Amy demonstrating how she sniffs out and finds the truffles growing under the white and green oak trees. Before leaving we met Serge’s family and sampled some of their truffley products, accompanied by local wine, delicious. From the truffle farm we drove the short distance to the local hilltop village of Grignan, a quaint little quiet village with a chateau sitting atop the hill. Hiking up through the village we enjoyed the magnificent view from the castle over the Provence countryside and the lovely lavender fields which, though not yet in complete bloom, were starting to turn that lovely purple.
We made the most of the long coach ride back to the ship by having a little nap. No sooner had we got back than the Captain unmoored us for a little cruise up the river to the Pont Avignon bridge, famed for its mention in the famous children’s song. The captain took us as close to it as he could while we enjoyed a cocktail on the top deck as the song was played over the ships tannoys. A fabulous way to end an extraordinary cruise through the gorgeous French countryside.
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Thank you to our preferred travel partners Panache cruises and AmaWaterways who hosted us on their ‘Colors of Provence’ Rhone river cruise on AmaKristina. Many thanks to AmaWaterways who paid our cruise fare, transfers and all of the excursions which are included whilst on the ship. The cost of the flights to get to and from the cruise were covered by ourselves. Neither AmaWaterways or Panache had any editorial control over any of our content, either before, during our after our voyage.
If you enjoyed this blog why not take a look at our Uniworld Bordeaux blog or our American Queen Mississippi cruise.
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