Award winning luxury river cruise company APT, along with partner AmaWaterways, is the only European river cruise operator based in Australia to receive a 4-Star Plus rating for its riverships – the highest level awarded – in the first edition of the Berlitz: River Cruising In Europe travel guide. APT and AmaWaterways’ impressive fleet holds the top eleven spots in the guide’s ranking of more than 280 riverships. Riverships operated by APT sister company, premium cruise operator Travelmarvel, were awarded four stars.
Authored by Douglas Ward, one of the worlds leading authorities on cruise ships, the guide aims to equip readers with everything they need to know about taking a river cruise in Europe, promising to ‘cut through the brochures’ hype’ to deliver an honest and impartial insight into vessels, their facilities and the destinations.
The guide evaluates over 280 river vessels, which are described in detail and impartially rated. Using the Berlitz independent rating system, ships are evaluated in five principal categories – hardware, accommodation, cuisine, service and miscellaneous – scoring a maximum 100 points for each. The total number of points is then converted to a star rating, with five stars being the highest. Riverships with a plus sign alongside their rating are a little higher than the number of stars rated.
In total, only twelve riverships were awarded ratings over 400 points, achieving a 4-Star Plus rating – the top eleven of these were from APT and AmaWaterways’ fleet of European vessels. The AmaPrima reined as overall queen of all vessels, closely followed by the AmaVerde (422/500 and 420/500 respectively). Setting APT and AmaWaterways’ riverships apart from the competition, according to the guide’s author, is the ‘well appointed and very comfortable’ cabins, ‘warm interior decor’, ‘fine furnishings and plenty of space’ and ‘impressive tasty food and good wines’.
According to Douglas Ward, the AmaPrima’s ‘outstanding cuisine and high standards characterise this comfortable rivership’; the AmaVerde is ‘a winner for anyone seeing a high-quality cruise experience’; and the AmaDante stands out because, ‘it’s the food and service that most passengers remember after a cruise aboard this rivership because the company spends more on food and wine than most of its competitors’.
Performing at the four star level, and proudly joining the ranks of other operators billing themselves at the luxury end of the market, is APT sister company, the premium river cruise operator Travelmarvel, which received particular praise for its ‘quiet cabins’.
Commenting on the news, Debra Fox, General Manager of Marketing and Sales for APT and Travelmarvel, said, “We are delighted that an esteemed expert such as Douglas Ward has recognised APT’s riverships and cruises as being the best in Europe. We work hard to ensure we deliver an unforgettable experience for our river cruise guests and this important and independent guide book recognises our success in achieving this – we’ve always held a strong belief that we are the best Australian-based European river cruise operator, this accolade supports this belief.
“We were also delighted to see Travelmarvel perform so well alongside other high-end operators. We received some helpful feedback and hopefully we’ll be able to increase Travelmarvel’s scores to even higher levels in the next guide.”
The Berlitz: River Cruising In Europe travel guide is available from online booksellers.
To find out more about APT and Travelmarvel’s Europe River Cruising programs for 2015 call 1300 196 420, visit aptouring.com.au or www.travelmarvel.com.au or see your local business development manager.
Source: APT
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