Kenster

Absolute minimum of two hours. Three would be better.

The train is part of the itinerary.

Typically, you’ll be in the same cabin on both ships. The staff will handle your luggage for you.

Book the longest cruise you can afford. Airfare is no cheaper on a short cruise. If you book 14 days, after Day 4 you’ll be thinking “Wow! We have ten more days!” If you book a short cruise, when you get to Day 4 you’ll be thinking “Damn! This is half over already!”

Rhine/Moselle was our first river cruise (2014). and sold us on Avalon. 5th one coming up in early Sept. Grand France remains my big target. It’s just never met our schedule. Hopefully, next year.

I sincerely hope they have a good time. Many people just can’t get past the “Downton Abbey Snow job” where DA fans were blitzed by frequent Viking ads. I never heard of Viking before getting hooked on Downton Abbey, but I’ll give them credit for piquing my interest in river cruises. Fortunately, though, my research led us to choose Avalon. Five times so far.

Avalon has much larger cabins. 200 square feet for their standard Panorama Suite with French Balcony. Viking French balcony cabins are only 135 square feet. Viking does have “real balconies” but they’re pretty tiny. These “Veranda” cabins are listed at 205 square feet but that includes the outside balcony. Deduct that and the cabin is about 175 square feet. Even Avalon’s Deck one “Aquarium Class” cabins are quite large at about 180 square feet vs Vikings 145 square feet. The vast majority of Avalon’s cabins are the Panorama Suites. The entire glass wall opens up to create the French balcony and the beds all face the river! A rarity in the industry. And… Viking crams 190 passengers on the same size ship that Avalon maxes at 160, reflecting the larger cabins and much less crowded conditions on Avalon. Consumables are subjective but the food and wines on Avalon are extraordinary, both reflecting the regions through which you travel.

Try contacting Avalon via Messenger through their Facebook page. I’ve had responses from them that way. Also, there is a Facebook group called “I Love Avalon Waterways.” It is not run by Avalon but the president of Avalon, Pam Hoffee, monitors it and chimes in everyone once in a while. I would post your issue in that forum and specifically mention her name. That should trigger a notification to her. Maybe she can make something happen for you.

First of all, stop giving your credit card info to these crooks! Secondly, cancel that card and dispute any charges with the card issuer. It’s likely they made a very small deposit with Avalon and have pocketed the rest. if people want to use a TA, fine. But the point of using a TA is to have a real person working in your behalf. If you’re going to use an anonymous online TA, where’s the advantage over calling Avalon yourself? I hope you can resolve this with minimum loss but your decision to go with a cyber agent and then fail to follow up with them, can, in no way, be blamed on Avalon.

Even if the magnetic force was strong enough to reach through the wall, they would repel each other. (Yes, I know you jest!) My guess is that if the walls really are metal, the plaster and sound proofing would require a much stronger tool than a refrigerator type magnet. Maybe someone has a solution that worked for them? How about duct taping a thin sheet of metal to the wall and sticking the magnet on to that? 🙂

We thoroughly enjoy the relaxed pace of dinner. Lots of great conversation. Lots of great wine. All part of the experience. But on evenings where we want to be alone or want to “eat and run,” we enjoy the Bistro dinner in the lounge.

You can order a two or three pack on Amazon. They’re pretty inexpensive. Take an extension cord with you, too.

Must be Aussie with that long holiday time. (Not a criticism. I envy you!) Most Americans, if they’re still working, would get two weeks max. Even retired Americans rarely go for more than a couple of weeks. Before I retired, I was getting six weeks a year but preferred to break it into several shorter holidays. Cheers!

Please note that the mandatory prepaid tips (AKA “included”) only applies to certain markets. (UK). The rest of the world freely tips and does not have to be forced to prepay them. For the US market, for example, prepaid tips are OPTIONAL.

Why not remove your “paper stuff” from the walls and save the steward the extra work?

What do you use the magnets for? I can’t imagine a ship being framed with any material other than metal for structural integrity, as well as fire concerns.