Extend Your Journey into France's Champagne Region
There’s more to the story behind the drink of celebration.
Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk, once said, “Come quickly, I am tasting the stars.” Sparkling wine never tasted better than in the vineyards of France’s renowned Champagne’s wine country. While there are many variations to the history behind the creation of champagne, some say that Dom Pérignon, in the 17th century, founded the champagne we know and drink today.
Birthplace of Champagne: Epernay and Reims
With rolling green hills and roughly 34,000 hectares of fragrant vineyards, the Champagne wine region invites wine connoisseurs a taste into its world of wine and magical winemaking history. Northeast of Paris, the hillsides and vineyards on Avenue de Champagne lead to what some may call the “capital of champagne” – the small town of Epernay. Right in the heart of Epernay, you will discover extravagant mansions and middle-class homes lined along the Avenue de Champagne, inviting visitors to explore the work of passionate winemakers.
You may even spot the Hautvillers where Dom Pérignon supposedly perfected his unique champagne method. Nearly fifteen miles north of Epernay, the vibrant city of Reims is also known as the unofficial capital of champagne with impressive underground wine cellars and rich history behind the Champagne wine industry. It’s known to be the largest city in the Champagne region with many historical sites to admire. Both Reims and Epernay pave way to well-known Champagne houses such as Möet & Chandon.
A Toast to Treasures in Reims
Reims boasts two of its treasured UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are key to retelling the city’s winemaking history. Its first UNESCO-designated site encompasses the Cathedral, the Palace of Tau and the Saint-Remi Basilica. The 13th-century Gothic cathedral of Reims, or Notre-Dame de Reims, showcases approximately 2,303 statues, bringing a grand presence to the city. The Palace of Tau holds a great significance for the town as this was the residence of the French monarchs during their coronation ceremonies. Following these coronations, the monarchs often would continue their royal celebration with banquets in the palace’s Great Hall and with plenty of sparkling wine to go around. This began the growing popularity of sparkling wine – a drink enjoyed by royals for celebrations. Adorned with stained glass windows from the 12th century, the old Saint-Remi Basilica gives a radiating charm to the town with its Romanesque and Gothic style.
The city’s second UNESCO-designated site honors Champagne’s landscape, including the hillsides, houses and cellars. Right beneath the city of Reims, historic wine cellar caves, or crayères, store endless amounts of champagne bottles where they are aged to perfection. From its vaulted ceilings to its cool, dark atmosphere, these underground limestone caves provide the absolute best conditions for exquisite sparkling wines with distinct tastes from the Pinot Noir, Pinot Meurier and Chardonnay grapes.
Taste the Finesse and Elegance
A variety of champagne styles, made with different methods and philosophies, is only made possible by the creative minds of the passionate winemakers in this region. Winemakers each have their own unique philosophy to achieve the harmonious blend of flavors. In the early 19th century, Madame Barbe-Nicole Cliquot introduced her riddling technique to clarify champagne, leading to the creation of her rosé champagne recipe. When her husband passed away, she took over his business in the wine industry and established her own legacy – a true stance for women at the time. Thus, the champagne house flourished into a thriving success under the name Veuve Cliquot, where veuve in French translates to widow.
Extravaganzas of delightful food pairings await in Champagne to please the palate. The iconic pink biscuits of Champagne offer a light yet crunchy texture, flavored with vanilla and topped with pink icing. Locals suggest dipping these crisp biscuits into a glass of champagne to enhance their flavor. Another local favorite are Bouchons de Champagne – rich, dark chocolates filled with Marc de Champagne liqueur and fit into molds shaped as champagne corks. Of course, all things bubbly open up versatile pairings ranging from sweet to savory to complement its elegant and airy taste.
Why Reserve Our Optional Champagne Land Package
Add a bonus region to your Europe’s Rivers & Castles, Rhine & Moselle Splendors or Vineyards of the Rhine & Moselle river cruise: Champagne, France! Make the most of your international airfare and indulge your wanderlust by spending more time in Europe and exploring this intriguing destination. Whether you’re a connoisseur of the world’s finest bubbly or are fascinated by WWI history, you will be inspired by your experiences during this 3-night land package, which includes 1 night in Paris and two nights in Reims, with visits to Champagne houses.
New for 2026!
The first or last night of this package moves to the picturesque town of Chantilly, renowned for its magnificent Château, which you will explore on a guided tour. Marvel at this castle’s stunning architecture, extensive art collection and beautiful gardens. You will also be treated to a multi-course dinner the evening of your stay at your luxury hotel in Chantilly.
What’s Included in Your Optional Land Package
- 3 nights at 4- and 5-star hotels conveniently located near the major sites
- Daily breakfast at the hotel
- Convenient transfers and portage service between your hotel and ship
- Guided tours
- The services of one of our wonderful Cruise Managers – unique in the industry
For a limited time, enjoy this wonderful land package courtesy of AmaWaterways on select river cruises.
Contact your preferred travel advisor to extend your Europe’s Rivers & Castles, Rhine & Moselle Splendors or Vineyards of the Rhine & Moselle journey into Champagne today!
- Hot Deals!
Why River Cruise with AmaWaterways
THE HEART OF THE RIVER™
With over two decades of experience on the world’s rivers, our family-owned and operated company has remained focused on what we do best: providing our guests with innovative and unforgettable travel experiences. When you step aboard AmaWaterways, each day brings a genuine smile that warms the heart, every river a new culture that inspires, and each course a moment to savor and share.
UNPACK ONCE: A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE
Step aboard and unpack once aboard one of our luxury ships that transport you from one destination to the next. With AmaWaterways, every day is a “see” day as we cruise through grand capitals and charming towns. Our ships dock near city centers, meaning you can step right off the ship and explore.
ALL EXCURSIONS INCLUDED – CHOOSE FROM UP TO EIGHT EACH DAY
AmaWaterways has curated a diverse menu of shore excursions included as part of your cruise fare. Our roster of options caters to a range of interest and activity levels, including tours for gentle and active walkers as well as late risers. Enjoy city tours, guided hikes, exhilarating bike rides, and tastings of local specialties—all on one itinerary!
AWARD-WINNING INCLUDED DINING EXPERIENCES
With membership in the internationally recognized La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, and Tables et Auberges de France, AmaWaterways takes pride in preparing exquisite, regionally inspired cuisine using locally sourced ingredients. You can also enjoy complimentary hand-selected wines and local beers during every lunch and dinner on board.
THE LUXURY OF SPACE - FEWER GUESTS ON BOARD
Spacious and uncrowded, our award-winning fleet offers elegantly appointed staterooms and suites and welcomes fewer guests than many traditional river cruise ships. Our innovative AmaMagna offers enhanced personal space with more than 50% luxury suite accommodations as well as four unique dining venues, a chic onboard cinema and an expansive Zen Wellness Studio.
ENHANCE YOUR BEST SELF
Join our dedicated Wellness Hosts for complimentary small-group fitness classes on board your ship. For a gentler approach to wellness, we invite you to take a dip in the sun-deck pool or indulge in a spa treatment. Healthy cuisine prepared with seasonal ingredients is always available, as are vegetarian, gluten-free and low-sodium choices.
UNPARALLELED PERSONALIZED SERVICE
Our extraordinary Cruise Managers and crew continuously go above and beyond to enhance the onboard experience, surprising and delighting our guests with thoughtful details, getting to know you personally and anticipating your needs before you ever have to ask. Our people are the main reason more guests return to cruise with us than with any other river cruise line - a testament to their passion and unrivaled service.
EXTRAORDINARY CRUISE MANAGERS
AmaWaterways’ extraordinary Cruise Managers are the best in the industry: destination experts with extensive experience in providing exceptional levels of personalized service. Warm-hearted, genuine and knowledgeable, they are there for you every step of your journey, including during our optional land packages before and after your river cruise.
LEADERS IN INNOVATION
Continuously innovating the river cruise experience, we were the first to offer twin-balcony staterooms, complimentary bikes, a full-sized pickleball court, and a complimentary multi-course specialty restaurant, The Chef's Table. As industry leaders, we work to minimize our impact on the world’s rivers, reducing single-use plastics across our fleet and installing solar panels on AmaMagna.
STAY CONNECTED
Stay in touch with our high-quality complimentary Wi-Fi, available on board throughout our fleet. In addition, our easy-to-use myAmaCruise app allows you view and share an interactive map that follows your river cruise itinerary, share photos with friends and family, learn about each port of call, find available excursions and even access your electronic travel documents.
Sustainability & Global Impact
With AmaWaterways
As we cruise along storied waterways and immerse ourselves in culture throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, it is of utmost importance to us that we not only support the local communities, but that we also minimize our impact on the environment and the precious natural ecosystems we sail through. Here are a few of the ways we are accomplishing our mission of making a positive impact on the world.
At AmaWaterways, we celebrate Earth Day every day and are delighted to walk you through some of the sustainable features on board our award-winning AmaMagna as well as the environmentally measures we are taking fleetwide to reduce our carbon footprint.
Green Award Certification
In early 2020, our award-winning AmaKristina became the first river cruise ship in the industry to be honored with the prestigious Green Award* certification for industry-leading safety, quality and environmental performance. Soon after, 19 additional ships in our European fleet were also recognized. To earn this award, our river cruise ships were evaluated on the environmental impact of such things as our engines, fuel consumption, waste and maintenance, pollution prevention.
Environmentally-Friendly Ship Design
Our river cruise fleet has been thoughtfully designed with eco-friendly elements. These include energy-saving LED lights, special insulated windows that reduce energy needs for heating and cooling, power locks to plug into a port’s power supply instead of running generators, solar heating systems, water treatment plants that provide microfiltration and recycling of all water used on board. AmaMagna also has an innovative 10-engine configuration designed to reduce fuel consumption and solar panels have been installed on all stateroom balconies. In addition, the Zambezi Queen uses a water jet propulsion system that protects the Chobe riverbed, water-saving taps and showers, biodegradable detergents and soaps, and a five-stage water purification plant.
A Greener Onboard Experience
To reduce overall plastic consumption, we use paper straws (upon request), refillable glass water bottles in all staterooms, and hand out recyclable tetra-pak water containers for excursions across the fleet (where available). We have lessened unnecessary food waste from large-scale buffets by serving a la carte lunches on board our European fleet. For our personal audio devices used on excursions, we are proud to partner with Quietvox, which utilizes biodegradable rice paper bags and rechargeable batteries. In addition, our luggage tags and handy travel wallets are both made from recycled plastic bottle material and are now delivered to guest staterooms on board our ships in Europe, reducing our carbon footprint. The usage of our innovative myAmaCruise app and electronic travel documents has also significantly reduced paper consumption both pre-cruise and on board.
The Greenest Cities in the World
We are proud to partner with and visit many cities on our river cruise and land journeys that share our commitment to protecting the natural ecosystems we cruise through.
AmaWaterways’ Wellness Program
Enhance Your Best Self
AmaWaterways strives to ensure every guest is able to enhance their best self on board. We are proud to offer a variety of guided hikes, biking excursions, engaging fitness classes led by professionally trained Wellness Hosts* as well as heated sun-deck pools, whirlpools, fitness rooms and massage services**. Overseen fleetwide by our Corporate Wellness Host and Ironman event participant, Selina Wank, our wellness activities are an enriching way to nourish your mind, body and spirit during your river cruise.
*Wellness Hosts available on all ships except AmaVida, AmaDouro, AmaSintra, AmaDahlia, AmaLilia and Zambezi Queen.
**Massage services available for a nominal fee.
Complimentary Fitness Classes
A variety of daily activities are available for guests, with group classes such as pilates, resistance band stretching, cardio, active wellness walks and dance, based on each individual Wellness Host’s expertise. Guests of all ages and activity levels are encouraged to participate and simple modifications are offered for guests with mobility limitations.
Mekong Wellness Activities
While cruising through Vietnam and Cambodia, guests may participate in morning stretching, core strengthening, resistance band classes and active wellness walks as well as some of the regionally-inspired wellness activities below.
Tea Ceremony: Let our Wellness Host introduce you to the traditional way of making 100% organic teas for the purposes of detoxifying, healing and reenergizing.
Meditation: A 30-minute focus on breathing techniques, centering one’s thoughts and the use of a healing bowl.
Tai Chi: An art that embraces the mind, body and spirit.
Yoga: An easy 30 to 45-minute introduction to yoga.
More Ways to Relax
With fewer guests on board, we are able to offer an array of amenities on our award-winning ships. When you’re not off exploring another stunning destination, take some time to unwind, relax and rejuvenate with our pools, massage services and more.
Sun Deck Pool
Soak up some rays or take a dip in our refreshing pool with a swim-up bar as we pass by centuries-old castles, charming villages and other breathtaking scenery.
Fitness Room
Are you looking for a way to stay fit on vacation? Hit the treadmill or lift some weights while cruising from one destination to the next.
Massage Services
After a marvelous day of immersive shore excursions, return to the ship and treat yourself to a bit of pampering with a soothing massage.
Hair Salon
Whether you’d like to dress up for the captain’s special dinner or a night out on the town, you can complete your look by getting your hair styled in our salon.
Why River Cruise with AmaWaterways
THE HEART OF THE RIVER™
With over two decades of experience on the world’s rivers, our family-owned and operated company has remained focused on what we do best: providing our guests with innovative and unforgettable travel experiences. When you step aboard AmaWaterways, each day brings a genuine smile that warms the heart, every river a new culture that inspires, and each course a moment to savor and share.
UNPACK ONCE: A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE
Step aboard and unpack once aboard one of our luxury ships that transport you from one destination to the next. With AmaWaterways, every day is a “see” day as we cruise through grand capitals and charming towns. Our ships dock near city centers, meaning you can step right off the ship and explore.
ALL EXCURSIONS INCLUDED – CHOOSE FROM UP TO EIGHT EACH DAY
AmaWaterways has curated a diverse menu of shore excursions included as part of your cruise fare. Our roster of options caters to a range of interest and activity levels, including tours for gentle and active walkers as well as late risers. Enjoy city tours, guided hikes, exhilarating bike rides, and tastings of local specialties—all on one itinerary!
AWARD-WINNING INCLUDED DINING EXPERIENCES
With membership in the internationally recognized La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, and Tables et Auberges de France, AmaWaterways takes pride in preparing exquisite, regionally inspired cuisine using locally sourced ingredients. You can also enjoy complimentary hand-selected wines and local beers during every lunch and dinner on board.
THE LUXURY OF SPACE - FEWER GUESTS ON BOARD
Spacious and uncrowded, our award-winning fleet offers elegantly appointed staterooms and suites and welcomes fewer guests than many traditional river cruise ships. Our innovative AmaMagna offers enhanced personal space with more than 50% luxury suite accommodations as well as four unique dining venues, a chic onboard cinema and an expansive Zen Wellness Studio.
ENHANCE YOUR BEST SELF
Join our dedicated Wellness Hosts for complimentary small-group fitness classes on board your ship. For a gentler approach to wellness, we invite you to take a dip in the sun-deck pool or indulge in a spa treatment. Healthy cuisine prepared with seasonal ingredients is always available, as are vegetarian, gluten-free and low-sodium choices.
UNPARALLELED PERSONALIZED SERVICE
Our extraordinary Cruise Managers and crew continuously go above and beyond to enhance the onboard experience, surprising and delighting our guests with thoughtful details, getting to know you personally and anticipating your needs before you ever have to ask. Our people are the main reason more guests return to cruise with us than with any other river cruise line - a testament to their passion and unrivaled service.
EXTRAORDINARY CRUISE MANAGERS
AmaWaterways’ extraordinary Cruise Managers are the best in the industry: destination experts with extensive experience in providing exceptional levels of personalized service. Warm-hearted, genuine and knowledgeable, they are there for you every step of your journey, including during our optional land packages before and after your river cruise.
LEADERS IN INNOVATION
Continuously innovating the river cruise experience, we were the first to offer twin-balcony staterooms, complimentary bikes, a full-sized pickleball court, and a complimentary multi-course specialty restaurant, The Chef's Table. As industry leaders, we work to minimize our impact on the world’s rivers, reducing single-use plastics across our fleet and installing solar panels on AmaMagna.
STAY CONNECTED
Stay in touch with our high-quality complimentary Wi-Fi, available on board throughout our fleet. In addition, our easy-to-use myAmaCruise app allows you view and share an interactive map that follows your river cruise itinerary, share photos with friends and family, learn about each port of call, find available excursions and even access your electronic travel documents.
Sustainability & Global Impact
With AmaWaterways
As we cruise along storied waterways and immerse ourselves in culture throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, it is of utmost importance to us that we not only support the local communities, but that we also minimize our impact on the environment and the precious natural ecosystems we sail through. Here are a few of the ways we are accomplishing our mission of making a positive impact on the world.
At AmaWaterways, we celebrate Earth Day every day and are delighted to walk you through some of the sustainable features on board our award-winning AmaMagna as well as the environmentally measures we are taking fleetwide to reduce our carbon footprint.
Green Award Certification
In early 2020, our award-winning AmaKristina became the first river cruise ship in the industry to be honored with the prestigious Green Award* certification for industry-leading safety, quality and environmental performance. Soon after, 19 additional ships in our European fleet were also recognized. To earn this award, our river cruise ships were evaluated on the environmental impact of such things as our engines, fuel consumption, waste and maintenance, pollution prevention.
Environmentally-Friendly Ship Design
Our river cruise fleet has been thoughtfully designed with eco-friendly elements. These include energy-saving LED lights, special insulated windows that reduce energy needs for heating and cooling, power locks to plug into a port’s power supply instead of running generators, solar heating systems, water treatment plants that provide microfiltration and recycling of all water used on board. AmaMagna also has an innovative 10-engine configuration designed to reduce fuel consumption and solar panels have been installed on all stateroom balconies. In addition, the Zambezi Queen uses a water jet propulsion system that protects the Chobe riverbed, water-saving taps and showers, biodegradable detergents and soaps, and a five-stage water purification plant.
A Greener Onboard Experience
To reduce overall plastic consumption, we use paper straws (upon request), refillable glass water bottles in all staterooms, and hand out recyclable tetra-pak water containers for excursions across the fleet (where available). We have lessened unnecessary food waste from large-scale buffets by serving a la carte lunches on board our European fleet. For our personal audio devices used on excursions, we are proud to partner with Quietvox, which utilizes biodegradable rice paper bags and rechargeable batteries. In addition, our luggage tags and handy travel wallets are both made from recycled plastic bottle material and are now delivered to guest staterooms on board our ships in Europe, reducing our carbon footprint. The usage of our innovative myAmaCruise app and electronic travel documents has also significantly reduced paper consumption both pre-cruise and on board.
The Greenest Cities in the World
We are proud to partner with and visit many cities on our river cruise and land journeys that share our commitment to protecting the natural ecosystems we cruise through.
AmaWaterways’ Wellness Program
Enhance Your Best Self
AmaWaterways strives to ensure every guest is able to enhance their best self on board. We are proud to offer a variety of guided hikes, biking excursions, engaging fitness classes led by professionally trained Wellness Hosts* as well as heated sun-deck pools, whirlpools, fitness rooms and massage services**. Overseen fleetwide by our Corporate Wellness Host and Ironman event participant, Selina Wank, our wellness activities are an enriching way to nourish your mind, body and spirit during your river cruise.
*Wellness Hosts available on all ships except AmaVida, AmaDouro, AmaSintra, AmaDahlia, AmaLilia and Zambezi Queen.
**Massage services available for a nominal fee.
Complimentary Fitness Classes
A variety of daily activities are available for guests, with group classes such as pilates, resistance band stretching, cardio, active wellness walks and dance, based on each individual Wellness Host’s expertise. Guests of all ages and activity levels are encouraged to participate and simple modifications are offered for guests with mobility limitations.
Mekong Wellness Activities
While cruising through Vietnam and Cambodia, guests may participate in morning stretching, core strengthening, resistance band classes and active wellness walks as well as some of the regionally-inspired wellness activities below.
Tea Ceremony: Let our Wellness Host introduce you to the traditional way of making 100% organic teas for the purposes of detoxifying, healing and reenergizing.
Meditation: A 30-minute focus on breathing techniques, centering one’s thoughts and the use of a healing bowl.
Tai Chi: An art that embraces the mind, body and spirit.
Yoga: An easy 30 to 45-minute introduction to yoga.
More Ways to Relax
With fewer guests on board, we are able to offer an array of amenities on our award-winning ships. When you’re not off exploring another stunning destination, take some time to unwind, relax and rejuvenate with our pools, massage services and more.
Sun Deck Pool
Soak up some rays or take a dip in our refreshing pool with a swim-up bar as we pass by centuries-old castles, charming villages and other breathtaking scenery.
Fitness Room
Are you looking for a way to stay fit on vacation? Hit the treadmill or lift some weights while cruising from one destination to the next.
Massage Services
After a marvelous day of immersive shore excursions, return to the ship and treat yourself to a bit of pampering with a soothing massage.
Hair Salon
Whether you’d like to dress up for the captain’s special dinner or a night out on the town, you can complete your look by getting your hair styled in our salon.
About AmaWaterways
Family-owned and operated for 22 years, AmaWaterways offers unparalleled river cruise experiences with 29 custom-designed ships sailing Europe’s major rivers; Southeast Asia’s Mekong River; Africa’s Chobe River; Egypt’s Nile River and Colombia’s Magdalena River (2025). Co-founded by pioneering river cruise executives Rudi Schreiner, Kristin Karst and Jimmy Murphy, the company is renowned for its warm and welcoming crew; innovative and sustainable?ship design; wellness activities (including a wide choice of included small group shore excursions featuring biking and hiking options); and award-winning, locally sourced cuisine paired with complimentary fine wine. Modern, spacious and tastefully decorated, most AmaWaterways ships welcome an average of just 150 guests and feature onboard amenities such as a stunning Main Lounge, specialty Chef’s Table restaurant, hair and massage salons, Sun Deck walking track and heated outdoor swimming pools with swim-up bars. AmaWaterways leads the river cruise industry in innovation, highlighted by the launch of the revolutionary AmaMagna. The company also offers a variety of themed sailings and brand relationships, with sailings geared towards active travelers and families, as well as group and charter options.
About AmaWaterways
Family-owned and operated for 22 years, AmaWaterways offers unparalleled river cruise experiences with 29 custom-designed ships sailing Europe’s major rivers; Southeast Asia’s Mekong River; Africa’s Chobe River; Egypt’s Nile River and Colombia’s Magdalena River (2025). Co-founded by pioneering river cruise executives Rudi Schreiner, Kristin Karst and Jimmy Murphy, the company is renowned for its warm and welcoming crew; innovative and sustainable?ship design; wellness activities (including a wide choice of included small group shore excursions featuring biking and hiking options); and award-winning, locally sourced cuisine paired with complimentary fine wine. Modern, spacious and tastefully decorated, most AmaWaterways ships welcome an average of just 150 guests and feature onboard amenities such as a stunning Main Lounge, specialty Chef’s Table restaurant, hair and massage salons, Sun Deck walking track and heated outdoor swimming pools with swim-up bars. AmaWaterways leads the river cruise industry in innovation, highlighted by the launch of the revolutionary AmaMagna. The company also offers a variety of themed sailings and brand relationships, with sailings geared towards active travelers and families, as well as group and charter options.
