Viking Rhine Getaway or Avalon Romantic Rhine-First Time Cruisers

I am trying to plan a trip for my family (there will be 6 of us) and had planned on the Viking Rhine Getaway however I have read a lot of ROUGH reviews about Viking...I am wondering has anyone had a good recent experience? What did you like about it? What didn't you like? Why do you think it would be better than an Avalon cruise?

Or why do you love Avalon cruising? We would be on the Tranquility II which is pretty much brand new. It would be going from Zurich to Amsterdam. Why do you love cruising with Avalon? What makes it special?

Things I like about what I have read about Avalon...

1. The beds facing the view.

2. The wide open windows.

3. Different times for breakfast

4. The after dinner snacks at 10:30

5. The hot tub

6. The casual wear to dinner.

7. Seems like they have better customer service when issues come up?

Are there things I should know that I don't know?

Tips/tricks/advice? Pre travel/booking/on the ship/with excursions/departure?

Sorry to be such a nub.

Welcome to Cruise Critic and to the River Cruising forum!

You have picked an excellent itinerary for a first river cruise, and since you have narrowed it down to two cruise lines I assume you have done some research (but can't tell how much from your post). There are many cruise lines and just about all of them do this itinerary. So I will start with my usual suggestions:

Start by reading the sticky New to RIVER CRUISING??? at the top of this forum, especially the downloadable pdf:

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-guide/UltimateGuidetoRiverCruising.pdf?et_cid=1262487&et_rid=99616845

which discusses each cruise line and compares them to ocean cruise lines and hotels [this will give you a frame of reference]. I also recommend the book Berlitz guide to River Cruising in Europe by Douglas Ward, which may be found at your public library.

You will find that most passengers on ALL the river cruise lines have a great cruise. The differences are in the details (what's included, how luxe are the furnishings, quality of cuisine and included wine) -- and in customer service, especially when things go wrong. That latter is probably the biggest difference among lines, and something that you have already picked up. Finally, the cost of a river cruise is always going to be comparatively high because of the small size of the boats -- but if you pay attention to what you get, you may find that the more "expensive" lines don't really cost more because they include things that cost extra on the "cheaper" lines. And sometimes there are sales [real sales, not the fake constant 2-for-1 offer] that really transform the value equation.

So there's a lot of work before you can make a really informed choice -- but the good news, to go back to my earlier statement, is that almost all passengers have a great cruise. Happy river cruising!

Thank you for your advice and information on the differences between companies.

I think we have decided on Avalon as our cruise line based on the date/location and information we have researched. Still new to cruising though and would love any advice or info about river cruising in general in this region and any specific Avalon Romantic Rhine cruise advice/suggestions/tips/info. :) Thanks all!

I haven't sailed Avalon so I can't comment on the points you raise, although all of them have been mentioned as features that make Avalon attractive. I will note that #6 is not that uncommon -- river cruising is basically an informal vibe.

One other point: since your cruise starts in Zurich, I hope that you will be able to spend a day or two in Lucerne, which is between Zurich and Basel and is incredibly lovely (with several convenient mountains with cog railways or cable cars for great views).

We are planning an extra day in Switzerland...is that enough time to go check out Lucerne? I have read great things about the lake tour and the area. :)

Just completed Avalon Amsterdam to Budapest and it was wonderful! Our boat made it all the way through when Viking was stuck and passengers bussed for days.

Currently with issues in Paris Avalon is allowing any passenger due to sail thru the end of the year on a cruise involving Paris, to cancel and rebook (no fees) no other company offering that.

Looking at your list # 3??? Breakfast runs from 6 - 9 not sure what you mean?

# 4 snacks at or after 10:30 I don't believe that was available. Days are really grueling and while there are die hard folks still in the lounge bar area most everyone is exhausted knowing they need to do it again tomorrow . I do not recall late nite snacks, sorry!

Everything was first class, my hubby for medical reasons needs at least 2 firm pillows and inquired at reception. No other pillows available. Apparently the Hotel Manager heard about our request and the very next morning we saw him getting out of a taxi with big bags full of pillows! Unbelievable he wanted us to see if any he bought in town would work..... Yes Avalon Hotel Mgr went right out and got different pillows! That won us over right then.

Avalon carries less passengers than Viking, so less crowded. The Panorama ships are lovely, food great and staff wonderful.

Hope this helps!

Of those two lines, I would choose Avalon for cabin size and design and customer service alone over Viking. I agree with JVilleGal that river cruises in general are casual and that is not a differentiation for any line. Even itineraries are quite similar from line to line. The devil is in the details.

The Rhine is a great choice for a first river cruise, with a very nice mix of countries and cultures.

We are on the Rhine with AMA in a few days, our 6th cruise with them and 11th overall. Of the three lines we have experienced, AMA is our preference, with Uniworld coming in 2nd. The overall quality of the AMA experience made us fans from our first cruise with them (which was river cruise #5).

As JB posted, most enjoy their first river cruise experience and many stay with that line for future cruises. We enjoyed branching out and experiencing other options, and are very glad we did.

Have fun planning your first river cruise!

Hi. We did this itinerary in 2014 with Avalon. Yes, they do offer snacks every night at 10:30 [emoji3]. But since dinner is so delicious and offers so many courses and glasses of wine, not many folks could imagine partaking. Plus you have to get up early the next morning.

Yes, there is a hot tub.

Hi. We did this itinerary in 2014 with Avalon. Yes, they do offer snacks every night at 10:30 [emoji3]. But since dinner is so delicious and offers so many courses and glasses of wine, not many folks could imagine partaking. Plus you have to get up early the next morning.

 

Yes, there is a hot tub.

Maybe we just were never up that late :)

I used Avalon for my first river cruise. We did the Rhine, from Zurich to Amsterdam but were on the Felicity, one of the older ships, although she was fairly new when we sailed on her. Here is the link to my trip report that I posted after our trip: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1646466&highlight=avalon+felicity+trip+report

I really enjoyed my cruise on Avalon. I am booked with them for May 2016 - Paris to Normandy Beaches. I am really looking forward to this trip, in spite of the issues in Paris currently.

Please feel free to ask any questions about the trip.

Kelly

We are planning an extra day in Switzerland...is that enough time to go check out Lucerne? I have read great things about the lake tour and the area. :)

We have previously sailed with Avalon and loved it and have the Romantic Rhine booked for April. We are hoping to book the Avalon transfer from Zurich to the ship the day we sail and the transfer also includes a trip up the mountain (have forgot the name) and a tour of Lucerne. Movenpick at the airport in Zurich seems to be the pick up location. I believe they open their excursion options after the first of the year.

Cole

YoungDubFan I can't tell you how much I appreciated the detail of your trip!! It was so very helpful in deciding on Avalon and makes us excited for the trip and the details.

Thank you everyone for sharing their experiences!! :)

Cole when are you going in April? We are looking at the 16th.

We were on the Avalon Creativity Paris to Normandy cruise in September, our second Avalon cruise. I haven't been on a Viking cruise so can't make a comparison. But, we seemed to be on the same schedule as a Viking ship since we often encountered their tour groups on our tours. I noticed that their groups seemed much larger. Our groups were generally 15-20 people and theirs seemed to be twice that. It's so much easier to navigate and hear the guide in a smaller group, especially when in a crowded museum! I don't know if Viking usually has large groups, but the ones we saw were. Just another thing to consider!

We are planning an extra day in Switzerland...is that enough time to go check out Lucerne? I have read great things about the lake tour and the area. :)

Have visited Lucerne proper one time (for half a day), and we did go back earlier this year to go up Mt. Pilatus (at that time we didn't go into town). Though we did a Rhine cruise in 2013 with Uniworld (it was great), we didn't visit Lucerne as part of this cruise. We spent a day pre-cruise in Zurich, and returned to Lucerne on separate occasions. Zurich is nice, but I think Lucerne is nicer.

We also did not go up Mt. Pilatus from the town of Lucerne proper; instead, we drove to a cable car station at the outskirts of town and went up that way (I think many people go from the train station, and that connection involves a boat/train combo). You can find more information about the Pilatus options on the Swiss Railways site (http://www.sbb.ch); they have English pages.

So our experience visiting independently may differ somewhat from yours, visiting pre-cruise. But my guess based on my experience is that one day (especially if you're arriving by train from Zurich that morning) would be enough to EITHER tour the city in some detail, or do a combination lake/railway trip up Mt. Pilatus. I think if you want to do both, you'd have an easier time if you stay overnight.

We were able to wander the town and see most of the sights in 2-3 hours. That required a decent pace... So if you want to rush, you might be able to get an early train from Zurich, step off that train and catch the Pilatus tour, then return to town in time to catch some sights late afternoon / early evening. It would likely be a very full day!

Might be nicer and more relaxing to come in later in the morning from Zurich, take a relaxing trip up Mt. Pilatus, stay over at a hotel in Lucerne, then sightsee the next morning before leaving for Basel to catch your boat. But it's all dependent on how you like to travel...we aren't happy unless we're trying to cram 3 days worth of activity into one...:rolleyes:

I posted a few pictures of Lucerne at the end of my Rhine River cruise review. The link is in my signature. Any other questions feel free to ask.

I am trying to plan a trip for my family (there will be 6 of us) and had planned on the Viking Rhine Getaway however I have read a lot of ROUGH reviews about Viking...I am wondering has anyone had a good recent experience? What did you like about it? What didn't you like? Why do you think it would be better than an Avalon cruise?

 

Or why do you love Avalon cruising? We would be on the Tranquility II which is pretty much brand new. It would be going from Zurich to Amsterdam. Why do you love cruising with Avalon? What makes it special?

 

Things I like about what I have read about Avalon...

1. The beds facing the view.

2. The wide open windows.

3. Different times for breakfast

4. The after dinner snacks at 10:30

5. The hot tub

6. The casual wear to dinner.

7. Seems like they have better customer service when issues come up?

 

Are there things I should know that I don't know?

 

Tips/tricks/advice? Pre travel/booking/on the ship/with excursions/departure?

 

Sorry to be such a nub.

I considered all the different cruise lines before booking our Rhine cruise with Viking. I read the reviews and there seemed to be as many people with good experiences to counter the ones who had bad experiences. I have found over time that those with something to complain about, make more noise than those who are pleased, so I weigh accordingly. We haven't done our cruise yet, so I can't comment on that, but I can give some insight into my decision-making process.

While I liked the idea of the beds on Avalon facing out, I didn't think we'd be in bed much during the day to appreciate it. :)

Viking stops at Kinderdijk - something Avalon and I think only 1 other line does.

Viking rooms have big windows unless you go with the less expensive lower floor rooms. We were going with a French balcony, but decided to make this our splurge vacation, and we got a Veranda room.

Viking has an early risers breakfast - I think before 6am, then regular breakfast is from 6-9am. This works for us, we're not big breakfast eaters. I just need my coffee :)

We don't snack much after dinner, so this wasn't even on my list. Nor was the hot tub. I plan to be busy doing other things :)

Viking dinner dress is casual from everything I've seen. My husband is delighted with this :)

I also chose Viking because I like their ships. I can't really explain it - I just liked them better than some of the other lines.

I read a very detailed review and that kind of sealed the deal for me

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2085470

Hope whichever line you go with - you have a great trip! I will probably write a review of ours when we return. We've upgraded to business/first, booked The Toren for our first 2 nights in Amsterdam (on our own) and we're doing Lucerne through Viking for 2 days. I am soooo looking forward to this cruise!

After all this time I just wanted to say this board was super helpful for all the planning of our cruise and adventure with Avalon (the Rhine Basel to Amsterdam). We had the most amazing time! Everyone was happy, the views were amazing (loved sleeping with the door a little open facing the water), the weather warmish, even the most motion sick prone people in the group were a OK!, the food incredible both on and off the boat (make sure to try the aged balsamic vinegar they have on the boat), the staff were super attentive, the tours interesting and well timed, with just enough time for a few naps and relaxing along the way, plus we had awesome adventures before getting on the boat and after getting off the boat. If we could afford to go all the time we would. I sure hope to make a point to go again in a few years.

The one extra stand out thing beyond the avalon experience and our time together as family was the start of our journey. I had made a point to give us a day in Lucerne/Luzern where we boated over to immediately to Weggis to the Seehotel Gottard and it was magical! It was all of a sudden warm (roughly 70 degrees) and so much beauty to take in. We only had a day but it was a magical day (though a few in the group ended up having to sleep due to the time change). We all wish we had more time in Switzerland but specifically in Weggis. Some day we hope to go back. If you have the choice...I would include this in your travels...and give yourself at least 2 days (maybe more if you want to see other stops around the lake or take the gondolas). Just the boat ride to Weggis was wonderful let alone our time there. Seehotel Gotthard also provided us with an incredible breakfast! We departed in a rainstorm but even that didn't tamper our love of this amazing little place.

Also if you have enough time in Heidelberg make a point to go eat some white veal sausage and pretzels with amazing mustard from Scheffler's. Everyone on the trip wished we could have spent a little more time eating and lounging here.

https://mnplease.shutterfly.com/rhine2016daysitinerary is the website I created for my planning... I have to say that I did include some notes when we started the trip as it was happening but by the 3rd day I was just in the moment so much I didn't make time!