Avalon vs Viking

I need help with picking Viking Paris & the Heart of Normandy or Avalon Paris to Normandy's landing beaches.

Seems like Viking is cheaper but Avalon rooms with a view is something I like.

Please any and all information is needed

I need help with picking Viking Paris & the Heart of Normandy or Avalon Paris to Normandy's landing beaches.

Seems like Viking is cheaper but Avalon rooms with a view is something I like.

Please any and all information is needed

You will get many different opinions of both companies, but just be sure and read comments on the board regarding customer service issues. We have done two Avalon cruises and highly recommend them. The rooms are spectacular and service is great. Don't think you would regret sailing with them.

Cole

You will get many different opinions of both companies, but just be sure and read comments on the board regarding customer service issues. We have done two Avalon cruises and highly recommend them. The rooms are spectacular and service is great. Don't think you would regret sailing with them.

Cole

Thanks. I never sailed with either one but we are going on a honeymoon so I want to make the best decision possible

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Welcome to the River Cruising forum!

While you are waiting for feedback, you might want to check out the sticky New to RIVER CRUISING??? at the top of this forum, especially the downloadable pdf:

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-g...t_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 highly recommend Avalon. If there are water-level issues or any other issues you can be sure Avalon will stay on top of it and communicate with their customers.

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We did our 1st river cruise in May on Avalon and were very pleased. We loved our cabin with the floor to ceiling sliders. We spent several afternoons cruising on our bed that faced the window-it was great to be able to rest and watch the scenery at the same time. Our boat had a couple of issues that could have ruined our trip but Avalon handled them really well. They kept us informed and always compensated us very well for the inconvenience. We found the food very good. We will definitely be using Avalon again.

Based on cabin sizes and number of passengers alone, Avalon is the clear winner.

Add to that their reputation for customer service when rivers are causing issues and it is - IMO - a no brainer.

And their Panorama cabins are very nice.

Add to that their reputation for customer service when rivers are causing issues and it is - IMO - a no brainer.

I have never sailed Avalon but I can vouch firsthand for their customer service when things get ugly. We were signed up to sail the Danube in June 2013, and that happened to be when the major flooding hit.

Avalon canceled our cruise proactively, several days beforehand, so we had time to make other plans. They contacted my TA and had alternative offers on the table very quickly. We chose a full refund and it was credited to our card within 72 hours.

They also offered to cover change fees if we canceled or changed our independent air tickets. We kept our tickets and went to Germany anyway, but we had to change train tickets and they covered those change fees for us. I have to agree that their customer service was everything we could have expected and then some.

But, that's not what you want to think about...just wanted to comment as an example, to say that their reputation for excellent customer service is well-deserved. Hope you have a great cruise no matter which line you choose, with perfect water levels!

Congratulations to you and your bride to be on your upcoming wedding.

I want to point out that there are differences in the itinerary between Viking and Avalon.

If you look at the maps for the two trips, Viking turns around at Rouen while Avalon goes closer to Normandy (Caudebec).

We did this itinerary in 2013 with a French cruiseline and I can tell you that you would want to go closer to Normandy for two reasons at least. First of all, the bus tour to the Normandy beaches will be shorter and you should have more time there. Also, in our opinion, the most picturesque portion of the Seine was beyond Rouen.

Of course, comparing prices is a part of the decision process. Also look at included excursions, size of cabin choices, etc.

On our 2013 cruise, we docked very close to the Eiffel Tower. That is where you want to be so you can enjoy Paris. It has been reported that the Viking longship, Rinda is docking outside of Paris in Le Pecq.

This results in bus rides to and from the ship. Next year Viking lists the ships on this itinerary as two longships. Will both longships dock outside Paris?

In the interest of full disclosure, we have sailed on 4 Avalon cruises. We love the ship design, cabins, food, crew, local guides, etc.

I have never sailed Avalon but I can vouch firsthand for their customer service when things get ugly. We were signed up to sail the Danube in June 2013, and that happened to be when the major flooding hit.

 

I was on one Avalon cruise where water levels were an issue and one where there was an accident when going through a lock. Both were handled very well with minimal disruption to the passengers.

I can only speak for Avalon as we did our 1st ever cruise with them in May this year. The ship itself (Vista) more than met our expectations, staff were wonderful and food was good BUT we found management/head-office appalling to deal with when things went wrong after 3 days of our 13 day cruise up the Danube.

I have only been on Avalon and it suits us, however talking to people on a recent cruise, their view was that Viking was similar in quality once on a cruise, however they did comment that they stopped using Viking after issues with a cruise that Viking cancelled and they said that Viking was not supportive in arranging alternatives and Avalon were.

I do like the layout in the new Avalon boats as the bathroom is a wedge shape which maximises room in both the bathroom and bedroom, I do enjoy sailing along with the window open watching the world go by (and the TV tuned to the front camera).

However, one issue to consider is what you are looking for on a cruise. The Normandy ones do not go far on the boat due to the snake like nature of the Seine and you spend long times on a coach to get to the key sights, my personal view is that itinerary is best done by road. Boat trips work better on straight rivers where you cover a reasonable mileage and you are able to stop off in a town and do a tour without a coach - however that is just my view !!

I can only speak for Avalon as we did our 1st ever cruise with them in May this year. The ship itself (Vista) more than met our expectations, staff were wonderful and food was good BUT we found management/head-office appalling to deal with when things went wrong after 3 days of our 13 day cruise up the Danube.

I am so sorry about your cruise. We were on the Vista right after your cruise and were a day delayed getting on the boat due to the repairs. We also had to spend our last 2 nights in a hotel due to a damaged rudder. Although disappointed that we had to leave the Vista early we felt Avalon handled things really well with us, keeping us informed and offering more than fair compensation for the issues. We are looking at another Avalon cruise for next year since we loved our cruise and felt Avalon did things well under trying circumstances.

All great information. Look like a easy decision.

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Welcome to the River Cruising forum!

 

While you are waiting for feedback, you might want to check out the sticky New to RIVER CRUISING??? at the top of this forum, especially the downloadable pdf:

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-g...t_rid=99616845

which discusses each cruise line and compares them to ocean cruise lines and hotels [this will give you a frame of reference].

Can't get to this pdf. Please advise.

Can't get to this pdf. Please advise.

It was suggested by another poster that your browser may consider this link to have too many redirects. I don't know how to tell you how to change that. I can't navigate to the pdf from the main website any more, so all I can do is suggest you try a different browser:

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

This one works!

All great information. Look like a easy decision.

 

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We did the Paris Seine with Avalon as our first ever River Cruise. We loved it! My next suggestion would be to read the threads about Paris here on Cruise Critic. Since its your honeymoon you might want to find a lovely hotel with an Eiffel Tower view. The hotel used by Avalon is a large business hotel, not in the middle of romance. Ask for suggestions on the Paris board and also check out Rick Steves maybe for ideas.

Another vote for Avalon, have had 3 great cruises with them and looking forward to our 4th in December. Excellent customer service, love the Panorama style cabins, good food and great communication.

Customer Service when there are water level issues is more important then many first timers realize. IMO, they excel and I don't think you would be disappointed if you booked with Avalon.[emoji106]

Love Avalon, been on 3 cruises with them, a few problems with river levels that were handled very well. Look forward to saving for our 4th cruise with them...we put down a future cruise deposit. Love their ships, the staterooms, the service, and communication.

I'll be the odd one out... but what the heck.

Hi 83tonio;

Like you, I was looking at Avalon vs Viking. We've never have done a river cruise before (nor a true ocean cruise either). Both have their strong points but I chose Viking.

Why Viking? Of the 3 main contenders, Viking had the most of the optional tours we wanted to go on. No cruise line had it all, and Viking seemed to be a good choice. We'll, of course, see. No bias as we've not been on any other lines. Viking will be our "gold standard" for any other cruises.

I had read the reviews and seen the various comments and researched the options. But what it comes down to is really what do they offer (or don't) that you two wish to partake? The smaller Viking ships (Pride Class) do dock closer in Paris rather than the longships. Longships are more modern... Le Peq is also closer to Versaille so you might be able to do an unescorted tour there during some of the "free afternoons".

I might have chosen "the path less taken" and we've yet to go....

I've started a mini blog about our trip (Viking Spirit Paris to Normandy) to let others know how it goes.

Anyway have a happy honeymoon, and may you find much enjoyment and a happy life together (we'll be celebrating our 10th on the cruise)

Take care

MM

We took the Avalon cruise down the Rhine river and were very happy. However, we booked a cruise via Viking and this is what happened?

We were notified by email the afternoon before we were to leave for our Viking cruise and pre and post stay that the boat was in dry dock and the entire trip canceled. We had purchased everything from Viking - air, hotels, transfers, insurance. They canceled everything! No option to not cancel the airfare and hotels, no call - just one email notification that arrived the afternoon before we were to leave the next morning. That was bad enough but the lack of customer service was stunning. The wait time to call in was long, the answers were simply you will receive a refund in the next 7 to 10 days. We wanted to take the trip without the cruise portion - planning a 2 week vacation is really tough when you work. The would not let us keep the airfare for which we had already paid or the room reservations. We went to France any way and had a marvelous time, but will never ever do business with Viking again. There was a post on Viking's Facebook page that the trip before ours had issues with the boat and they got bussed to a nearby town and boarded at a less than desirable hotel. There is a review on this site that the same cruise trip was tremendously impacted by the heat wave and the air conditioning was woefully inadequate and condition were less than acceptable. I can't verify their stories, but I can assure you Viking was terrible with us and not at all helpful. Watch out for their cancellation polices. We will NEVER use Viking again and suggest that everyone else avoids them!!

Dear memmtb,

We are sorry to hear your cruise was impacted by an unforeseen cancellation. It is our intention to handle cancelled sailings with care and we truly regret to hear the customer service fell short. While we are happy to hear you did make it to France and enjoyed your trip, we would encourage you to contact us at tellus@vikingcruises.com so that we may discuss your experience further. We look forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

We took the Avalon cruise down the Rhine river and were very happy. However, we booked a cruise via Viking and this is what happened?

 

We were notified by email the afternoon before we were to leave for our Viking cruise and pre and post stay that the boat was in dry dock and the entire trip canceled. We had purchased everything from Viking - air, hotels, transfers, insurance. They canceled everything! No option to not cancel the airfare and hotels, no call - just one email notification that arrived the afternoon before we were to leave the next morning. That was bad enough but the lack of customer service was stunning. The wait time to call in was long, the answers were simply you will receive a refund in the next 7 to 10 days. We wanted to take the trip without the cruise portion - planning a 2 week vacation is really tough when you work. The would not let us keep the airfare for which we had already paid or the room reservations. We went to France any way and had a marvelous time, but will never ever do business with Viking again. There was a post on Viking's Facebook page that the trip before ours had issues with the boat and they got bussed to a nearby town and boarded at a less than desirable hotel. There is a review on this site that the same cruise trip was tremendously impacted by the heat wave and the air conditioning was woefully inadequate and condition were less than acceptable. I can't verify their stories, but I can assure you Viking was terrible with us and not at all helpful. Watch out for their cancellation polices. We will NEVER use Viking again and suggest that everyone else avoids them!!

 

It is interesting that Viking has managed to respond to my public forum post but has never answered the emails I sent them asking for options, explanations, when and how the refund would be made, etc.

All of us made calls to Viking immediately, were put on hold for 15 - 30 minutes each, and then told everything was canceled. Period. No choice given to even just transfer the reservations to us in our name so we would have rooms. No concern that if we wanted to vacation during those times that we needed travel insurance, because you can't buy any when you are leaving in 24 hours, no concern that paid almost double for our airfare due to the last minute change.

Our travel agent made 30 calls that afternoon, into the night and the next morning to Viking and was put on hold a total of 3.5 hours trying to save some part of our planned trip, but to no avail. She has been referring people to Viking for years, but no more.

I will certainly respond to your email provided below and see if we ever receive a response. Thank you for your public concern.

Everyone knows Viking because they are seen on "Downton Abbey." But for actual cruisers who do their research, Avalon will win, hands down, in most cases.

We're about to do our second Avalon in less than a year and a half.