Cruises.com.au Blog

Words by David McGonigal.

Despite what has often been months of preparation, there’s nothing like the moment you step aboard a new vessel. In this case, APT’s AMABella is a very new ship –it has just completed its inaugural voyage and the garland of leaves is still around the bow.

The location is Budapest and I’m impressed to find the boat tied up almost under Fishermans Bastion and within a couple of minutes of the Chain Bridge. Next door, a ferry offers free shuttles across the Danube to the city centre and near the bridge a funicular transport you to the castle ramparts with views across to the houses of parliament that look like Westminster on steroids.

Like all Australians we’ve come the long way around. A few days in London – thank you The Milestone Hotel for some great hospitality, good views across the park to Kensington Palace, and for the welcome surprise of the best fresh orange juice in the world. In London! The Eurostar to Paris revealed how much more relaxing a train can be compared to any flight. And Le Hotel Maurice, opposite the Louvre gave us a taste for palace hotel living. Parisian food and wine battled it out with Parisian shopping to see what would result in excess first – us or our luggage?

From Paris, the TGV whisked us across Europe to Germany, in time to deposit us in Munich on a Saturday night after Bayern Munchen had just lost a soccer match. The Rathaus was as impressive as I remember, the Hofbrauhaus as scary (and not only for the size of the beer glasses) and the Hauptbahnhaus as cavernous. But at midnight we piled into our sleeper carriage for the overnight journey to Budapest. Were railway sleepers always so narrow? Have railways stations always been so plentiful – and brightly lit?

By 9am the taxi had deposited us on the banks of the Danube River and eager officers and crew risked the traffic to get our overflowing bags safely on board. Despite the fact that passengers from the last voyage were still leaving, everyone was welcoming and helpful. After a cup of tea and a walk around the spacious top deck we headed into town, with a few hours to kill before our cabin was available.

First impressions of the Amabella. It really does seem much more modern than the many other river cruise vessels tied up in Budapest. Tastefully decorated, spacious and very much catering to Australians with all the European staff showing friendliness and good humour. We were given passwords to access the internet before we even got our first cup of tea. The lounge is large and has enough nooks and crannies that it certainly doesn’t feel like a barn. The gym has enough equipment to be useful and the shop has maps and products I haven’t been able to find anywhere else.

In town it’s Sunday on a holiday weekend so it’s hard to find a café not geared specifically for tourists. We have a look inside the Four Season Hotel just opposite our dock. It was once the Gresham Insurance Company offices and has been restored to rococo luxury. It would be hard to go past if we needed a hotel in Budapest.

But now we’ve finished our schnitzels and beer and it’s time to get the ferry back to our boat. The voyage from Budapest all the way across Europe to Amsterdam awaits.