Need Advice Avalon Slow Walkers tours

My DH and I reserved a Budapest to Prague Avalon River cruise more than a year ago. The cruise is in Oct. and final payment will be in the middle of Juy. We are so excited to go since both of his grandparents are from Austria or Hungary.

This week I got the news that I have severe osteo arthritis in my right knee, I received a steroid injection on Thursday which is giving me some temperary relief. I do not use a cane or a walker and can climb stairs albeit slow and ungraceful.

In the past on tours when the pace was too much for me I found a place to sit and wait for the group to return to the bus. I live vicariously through my husband as he continues on with the tour. I am a firm believer that the glass is half full rather than half empty.

My concern is would this be feasable on this itenary? We have already booked an extra night in Budapest and purchased tickets for the opera.

Does anyone have first hand experience with the slow walkers tours. How strenuous are they? Are they doable in your opinion, or do you regret going?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

We took the same tour in the other direction June 2013. I don't remember there being a slow walkers tour. I'm a slow walker and could keep up. In Prague my SO needed a bathroom and went into a hotel and I waited outside to keep an eye on where the walk was going. I could hear her in my earpiece a few blocks away. We easily caught up with them.

In Budapest be sure to take the funicular to the Palace. One hint about walking up there. The cobblestones are very uneven. Have good, sturdy walking shoes with thick soles.

It is a wonderful cruise. You will love it!

Hello: We did a 2 week river cruise at the end of May from Budapest to Amsterdam. I was always in the slow walker group. However, I found out that being a slow walker did not mean less walking. Most of the time it was walking the same as the regular walkers. Be aware that most of the walking is done on uneven surfaces because go the old towns you stop in. With all the river boats now, most of the time we were double and triple parked. This was okay for me when you could walk through the other ships to get to the dock. However, there were 3 times we had to walk over the other boats. This was a killer for me.

Jerry

Thanks for the advice. We still have several weeks until final payment. I took a cortisone shot, which helps a lot, and started PT. I found a lightweight foldable rollator with a seat and 4 8 inch wheels made in Italy which would give me a short break when needed. So right now I;m inclined to try it!

ny additional advice is greatly appreiated

After a couple days on our Avalon cruise in December, we asked our cruise director why there weren't any "slow walker" groups. He said he assigns people colored groups/hearing devices when they show up at his desk. He said that assigning a "slow" group can be counter-productive because some people who need that group don't want to be "stigmatized" by choosing it. So he did his own assignments. That did not always work out in our best interest (we are not slow) but we only had to leave one tour:rolleyes:

So be aware that while the cruise line might offer a slow group, how that's decided might be individualized based on the cruise director. But if you WANT the slow group, absolutely ask for it. Good luck!

We had the opposite issue on our Avalon cruises. None of the advertised active pace tours were offered on any of our sailings. We ended up much of the time DIY.

Avalon did accommodate slower walkers very well. My mom was one of them and they made certain they were provided with proper transport when having to walk up hill (Melk was one example) or longer distances. Another couple traveling with us had a walker (the wife) and they were very helpful with her on the excursions as well as getting on and off the boat.

Make your needs known to the CM and they will do their best for you.

That is great to know Caviargal. I don't want to miss our trip and I will hope for the best. I will post when we return to let others know how it works out.

What I meant by my post was that - as best he could - our cruise director matched walking abilities when he gave passengers their guide/ hearing equipment. The groups were never labeled as active or slow or anything, but on most of the tours, we were well matched with other active walkers. And - as I had asked about and clarified here before the cruise - it was easy to leave when we wanted to DIY - we just notified the tour guide and then met up where/when needed or made it back to the boat on our own.

On our Avalon cruise, they did have the different color groups, but you chose your own. Each morning there would be baskets of audio sets, each basket with a different color. They told us that the white group was for slow walkers, so to choose from that basket if you wanted to be in that group. The other groups were the same, just a way to divide into smaller groups. The guides would be waiting onshore with paddles matching the colors. As we gathered, they would tell us what frequency to set our headphones so we were not on the same frequency as another group. It was very well organized.