A-ROSA Flussschiff GmbH Reviews 

A-ROSA does not a value its guests anymore; they are mere figures in account statements!

The new strategy of A-ROSA: treat a returning consumer as a hedge against future costs until someone pays more - then customers and their contracts become nothing more than liability risk.

An investestment policy tale by Fidura from Brexit Island.
In November 2024, we booked two journeys as returning customers in order to recover from long lasting, deep struggles. They were meant to be our kind of a light post in the dark.
Since 2018 we have travelled many times with A-ROSA on the Rhine and the Danube.
Both journeys were discounted under A-ROSA's returning customer program.
The booking for Xmas 2024 went well though we learnt on the journey that many passengers were dissatisfied with A-ROSA's headless expansion strategy and rebookings, i.e. passengers were bored by unimaginative routine or foreigners felt alienated by hostile German passengers (being triggered by the attacks on Halle Xmas market in 2024).
The second booking for Xmas 2025 was confirmed in Nov 2024 for a specific ship A (with a name!) and a dedicated cabin X (with a number!).
Having settled the down payment for the Xmas 2025 iteniary in Nov 2024, we received a booking confirmation for that exact Xmas 2025 iteniary on the specifically named(!) ship A and a cabin by number! Along the confirmation, we received the certificate of insurance and an invoice reminding us on the outstanding amount to be paid on a later date.
12 months later we receive an "account statement", which is quite odd for a German shipping company that boasts its German customer base and its values being founded in German rules - no one sends an "account statement" to a common German, they simply do not understand such document.
In that "account statement" of October 2025 A-ROSA without explicit notice in respect to German law covertly changed the previously confirmed booking of ship A to another, alternate ship B!
German law requires customer consent to such change!
Weeks later A-ROSA then cancelled the booking for the alternate ship B for the reason of minimum bookings and offered a rebooking to the very same ship A, they already confirmed in the booking of November 2025!
What is up with you, A-ROSA?
Do you think that with Fidura you may now treat your returning customers as planning insurance in the first place until you can sell your cabin and services to another higher bidding buyer, which makes your prior customer a random legal liability?
If that is you new business attitude, then thank you A-ROSA and thank your against-the-law Brexit fantasies of financial dominance.
Thank you Fidura, never again!
You showed us where the money and not your value is, thank you Brexiteers.

Review of the trip on the Rhone from September 28 to October 5, 2025:
Overall, we had a pleasant travel week with many beautiful impressions. We enjoyed the relatively quiet cabin with a french balcony, the varied and diverse range of food, and a nice evening entertainment program. The room service was always considerate, and the convenient drinking water dispenser in the cabin corridor was an advantage. Unfortunately, there were a number of shortcomings that we had not experienced with other companies. Our arrival and departure were organized by Stewa. So, after a pleasant overnight journey, we arrived in the morning at the docking place, were allowed to board the ship, but could only check in from 3 PM. Until then, there was no service on board. Our suitcases remained at the shore until then. Table reservations for meals were possible for 5 Euros per day, per cabin. Wi-Fi was available for a fee of over 20 Euros per week, per device. The friendliness of the reception staff varied. With actually legitimate inquiries, the lady was at times visibly annoyed. The service and attentiveness of the waiters and kitchen staff also varied. Sometimes it was practical to get the desired drink yourself at the bar. Occasionally, meals were missing items such as bread, tea bags, tea or dessert spoons, sugar, or the complete set of open jams. Margarine was not offered at all. The booked excursions were partly shortened and once moved up by half a day (resulting in a wine tasting in the morning). The shore excursions and trips were regularly explained, including visually. A printout of city maps was not offered. You should photograph the daily program. We will not book another trip with Arosa.

We loved our suite aboard A-Rosa Silva over Easter 2025. Excellent dining, willing staff and wonderful safe and stable cruising up and down the Mosel River.
We would certainly recommend A-Rosa in a heartbeat.

Fantastic !

The booking @ Arosa is very poor, do not know it that is the case as we do not live in Europe.
Prices shown to book are never the prices you get when click book always higher - is that the entire service the same?
Than could not finish booking... tried again an price went up even further and we are talking booking in 7 month ahead....
Contacted them via mail, only half the questions answered
this is horribel!!!!
Price shown must be price to book or you think is that a rip off policy???
not sure if we should book

The cruise never happened. We were supposed to depart from Köln. Instead, they bussed us 2.5 hours away to meet the boat in Nijmegen. We were told by the captain that we'd be underway early the next morning. We made it maybe a mile before the engine died again. By this time we should've been approaching our first port. Instead, we sat in the middle of the river for half the day until the police told us we had to get out of the middle of the river. We moved on to Tiel and stayed there the rest of the day, missing our first port call. We were supposed to go to Amsterdam the next day. Instead, we went BACKWARDS to Nijmegen where we were informed that the cruise was cancelled and they would be bussing everyone back to Köln the next morning. We flew from the US to visit Europe, not sit on a floating hotel. The crew did not communicate well with us at all as to what the plans were and so we spent almost 3 days on the ship to nowhere before disembarking and taking a train to Amsterdam from Nijmegen. We also had to scramble to book a hotel for the nights we should've been on the boat and incurred extra costs for meals that should have been provided aboard the ship. Very disappointed in the experience entirely.

STAFF/CREW VERY HELPFULL AND FREINDLY, HAD A GREAT TIME, WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND.

The cynical attitude of the A-Rosa company left a bad aftertaste from what should have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience of a Danube river cruise. We booked this cruise, as we (89 and 63 years old) were excited to travel all the way from Bavaria to Hungary on Sept 19 - 26, with the opportunity to experience Hungary and Slovakia. We followed the news coverage of the rising river levels in Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary in the week before our scheduled departure. It was clear the cruise couldn't take place as planned, so we tried contacting the company. Their phone number rang out, our emails went unanswered, and when we finally received a response, it was to point out that their terms and conditions meant we needed to be prepared for itinerary changes, but that the cruise would go ahead. We were free to cancel from our end, and receive a 10 % refund! We decided to travel to our embarkation as planned and were prepared to continue by bus, as we knew from news reports that our boat was stuck in Vienna. We were put on a bus at Passau railway station, without any briefing. The bus was from Slovakia, and the drivers did not speak German or English - apart from being able to communicate that the toilet of our "comfort bus" was locked and out of order. One of our fellow passengers had boarded the bus expecting a 20-minute trip to the embarkation port and after an hour started asking us what was going on. When we told her we were on a 4.5 hour trip to Vienna, she was shocked - she must have felt like she had been kidnapped. Once on the boat, it was clear the company was not prepared to make any special effort to compensate its customers for the itinerary changes. For example, since we were moored in Vienna for 4 nights, they could have offered some free excursions or offered some of their existing program for free or at a reduced price, to help out passengers who were unprepared for 3 days of exploring Vienna on foot. Nothing like that was offered at all, the staff just had to keep telling us that they were not authorised to offer anything. The company could also have offered to take us to Budapest by bus (it could have been offered as a day trip) - again, not an option that was offered. The compensation that was offered was a 50 % discount on another river cruise booking of at least 7 days duration, to be completed in the coming 12 months. When this offer was communicated to a meeting of the cruise passengers on day 4 of being moored in Vienna, the response was disbelief, laughter and cries of "never again!". In the end we did travel to Bratislava, about 2 km from the Austrian border. We spent 36 hours there, half a day would have been plenty! The whole experience makes me think the company must be on the brink of financial disaster - the inability to offer any kind of compensation or incentive, having to insist on going ahead with the cruise (would the cash refunds have bankrupted them?) and the lack of communication bordering on deception all add up to a company in trouble. The evidence of cost-cutting was everywhere on the cruise: the quality of the food and wine, the staffing levels, the tired nineties decor... Not an experience I am keen to repeat.

I just finished a Danube river cruise on the A-Rosa Bella that was supposed to go from Engelhartszell to Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, and back to Engelhartszell.
Due to flooding of the Danube river we weren't sure if this cruise could be done. A cancellation with a reasonable refund would have been totally understandable.
So we contacted A-Rosa 3 days before the start of the cruise and asked. We were assured that the cruise will go on as planned. Turned out that was a blatant lie.
When we arrived at the train station for a shuttle bus pick-up, we were told that our ship was anchored in Vienna, a 4.5 hours bus ride away. What? It felt like a push into a hostage hostage situation.
So instead of cruising on a comfortable ship we were taken to Vienna by bus. We stayed anchored in Vienna for 4 days. Then we took a short cruise trip to Bratislava (Budapest was completely cancelled), and then back to Engelhartszell. We actually spent only 3 days sailing, the remaining days of our 7 days cruise we were anchored at port.
And by anchored I mean we were docked parallel in less than a foot distance to the sister ship A-Rosa Riva, which meant that our window view was directly into a passenger cabin of the other ship. I'm not kidding.
Unfortunately A-Rosa didn't offer a reasonable and manageable compensation for these drastic changes. They did offer a 50% discount for a new booking within the current season, which I'm sure is almost impossible to the vast majority of passengers to take advantage of. Who has the vacation time or the financial means to go on another cruise in the same season?
Anyway, it looks like we'll need to seek legal council to make this right.
But these were only the organizational problems.
There were a few service related issues as well.
- no drinking water or any refreshments in the sauna area (weird wellness concept)
- no elevator on the ship, this should clearly be pointed out during the booking process, because it is very important for people who have problems climbing stairs
- no coffee before 7:30am, early risers will have to wait until then
- the bar lounge area did not have the capacity to host enough guest (we couldn't get a table on 3 out of 7 nights)
- service in the bar lounge and on the sun deck was very slow (not because the waiters were slow, but because they were under staffed)
- no food or drinks available outside of the announced and limited meal or bar times

What was good?
The service personell were engaged and friendly, the food quality was good, tasty, and a decent variety was available.

Highly recommend cruises, very welcoming staff on all levels, diverse and amazing food selection. Ideal size for families with children, with a very good kids club.

This was the first time my husband and I were on a river cruise and we loved it!
We were on the A-Rosa Mia cruising the Danube river.
The whole experience went beyond our expectations!
Firstly, the organisation from day one was really good, in our case we left the car in Passau, as previously booked, and took the bus to A-Rosa Mia, together with other passengers.
When inside the cruise ship, the check-in was done smoothly and our bags were waiting for us by our room.
During the cruise, the atmosphere was relaxed and the crew was fantastic!
Regarding the food and drinks, our chef was amazing, every buffet new dishes were served, no repetition, a good variety and all very tasty! The crew supporting the restaurant service were also very efficient and friendly! The bars had plenty of choice all day long and there was also the possibility of room service.
At night there was music on the lounge, where the DJ creates a cosy atmosphere, perfect to share drinks, chat or simply relax.
We loved to be able to see the landscape passing by day and night both from our room and from the decks, plus the stops in Wien, Budapest and Bratislava were very nice.
We did participate on the organised excursions in Budapest, Bratislava and Melk/Krems, it was interesting and we always got all the required excursion information the day before, but it is also possible to visit the cities at one's own pace (except Melk/Krems as it is a short stop), especially when the ship stays overnight.
We are grateful we shared these days with everyone on A-Rosa Mia, plus that we were able to take part of an unexpected surprise: being docked in Budapest, facing the Parlament, on the 20th of August, the State Foundation Day of Hungary, and watching the breathtaking fireworks, audio and laser show on the Danube!
A special thank you to ALL the crew that make these cruises possible and we already look forward to seeing you again very soon on another river journey!

Very friendly crew members, good quality food (unfortunately buffet only), lots of entertainment options on board, so overall a very good experience.

I felt like an Alien because I could not speak German, and this cascaded through the majority of staff with exception of Gusti and Emma who looked after us. Otherwise enjpyable trip, but would think carefully whether going on another cruise because of the language barrier. At least make us Foreigners feel like customers.

This trip was very disappointing; the offerings in the restaurant compared to our first trip with A-Rosa had gone downhill dramatically. The menu on the app and the actual menu displayed on the ship never matched, and mostly the food served didn't match what was displayed on the ship's menu. Breakfast didn't change in the 18 days, ham was rarely replaced but the cheap cold cuts were, bacon was only prepared on request, no smoked salmon. The salad sauces were watered down. Food items served at lunch and dinner all of low quality. Mostly the food was either overcooked or undercooked. Items from the app menu like Schnitzel Viennese Style or Roasted Goose Liver never made it to the buffet. There was no attention to detail, sauces like avjar were sometimes not put out at all or put out late on request, when they replaced empty trays on the buffet the replacement had for example no remoulade topping. The Cream Soup of Lobster with Cognac was a joke, it was so thin, watery and without taste. More like a thin tomato soup, you couldn't taste the lobster nor the cream nor the cognac. The 'pork fillet' they served one evening was never ever pork fillet, never seen such a big pork fillet with a big crust of fat on it. The green curry was a yellow curry at best and tasted horribly sour. At the Bayrische Fruehschoppen they had not enough Weisswuerste and Brezeln for everyone. During the cruise they run out of red wine, Coke Zero, Beer and gas for soda water, never experienced that on our other 9 cruises. Most excursions had a 45 minute 'free time' or they put you in a restaurant for the same time and you got a free drink that was always served without a glass, you had to drink it out of the bottle. When I book a 2- or 3-hour excursion, I want a guided tour with running commentary and not sit in a restaurant for 45 minutes. This was our second and last river cruise with A-Rosa. I rather pay a bit more and get some decent food. Some of the wait staff and on reception didn't speak neither German nor English, not sure why they got put on. My husband ordered a Gin Tonic with lime in a short glass and got a glass of plum brandy, a plate with 4 pieces of lime and a large glass of tonic water. That one lady on reception no matter what you asked her it was always: I don't know. Franky the entertainer was ok when he actually performed his own songs but as DJ oh my god. We were never sure, was he dead or just asleep in his DJ box, sometimes we felt we should go and poke him to see if he's still alive. The music he played was soooo boring, he couldn't or wouldn't play most of the songs requested. Our cabin was ok, so was the housekeeping.

We truly enjoyed our stay on the Sena boat and our time in the Netherlands.
The food was super delicious 😋, and I couldnt stop eating (many tasty dish choices ) . It was a big surprise, as my gourmet expectations are very high.
The All Inclusive Drinks gave me the chance to try new Cocktails , which were tasty.
The Interior of the boat and rooms exceeded my expectations!!!
All in one , I would give 7⭐️🌟⭐️

I had major problems trying to book more than one cabin online. When I got to the page where you list the persons in each cabin there was no "Next" or "Continue" button at the bottom so I was stuck. I tried several times using different browsers - Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. I finally tried again using Chrome on my Android phone and I was able to complete the booking but it was difficult filling out all the required information on my phone. User testing on a PC is necessary to make sure the online booking system works when trying to book 2 or more cabins.

We chose the cruise to visit the Xmas markets. On boarding the boat we were informed of a complete itinerary change due to low water levels, however they obviously put no effort into choosing an alternative itinerary as it was a vastly inferior itinerary with most places closed in 2 of the 3 stops we went to and the markets a far cry from the ones we were supposed to visit (except dusseldorf.)
If the change of itinerary was not bad enough, unfortunately that was only the tip of the iceberg of problems.

The cruise was sold as an international trip , a complete mis-sell , you were not able to book any excursions if you did not speak German and all the entertainment was ONLY in German, we were made to feel like complete outcasts. Whilst the 'Hotel Manager' originally appeared sympathetic his attitude soon changed and brushed us off and told us it wasn't an international cruise and to just wrote an emai of complaint - despite every piece of paper I had received telling me it was , and being stated on their website.
Their complaints department is a complete waste of time, and insulting , offering a 25% discount of a further cruise with them when there is no way I would ever step foot on their boats again to be made to feel so upset.

It was a real shame as we were so looking forward to the trip and had paid a lot of money for it. The boat itself was nice, and the restaurant, bar and cleaning staff were very nice, unfortunately not the same of the management

Edit

In reply to your response , as I have ready pointed out, I found the offer of a discount insulting, I would never go on your boats again after the problems , it was completely missold and didn't offer the international trip it was supposed to so why would I ever want to go back on , but of course you all ingnore that point

Simple procedure and quick answers. Excellent e mail service and quick answere to all my quetions