YoungDubFan

Made it to Amsterdam. I was lucky to be one of the 1st off the plane. There was no line at Customs so that was easy. Once I had my luggage, I decided to take a cab to the Hotel Jakarta. Of course rooms aren’t ready yet but I can leave my bags and go explore. I’m doing the Vermeer exhibit at 12:30 and will just walk around until then. We have a 5 pm welcome reception tonight.

The app has been great so far. It had a nice video showing how to use the whisper device as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

I’m getting ready to head to the airport for my Avalon Tulip Time cruise on the Tranquility II. I booked the cruise with 1 day in Amsterdam, since I always fly in a day early anyways. I have the Avalon Go app and was able to view the first of the newsletters. We have a welcome reception tomorrow night at 5 pm to meet our cruise director and have a drink. Than on Sun. Morning, we have a behind the scenes walking tour that leaves the hotel at 8:45 am. Our bags will be picked up and taken to the ship. We are supposed to get to the ship around 11:45 for lunch, then we can explore some that afternoon on our own. Some people may have signed up for the Zanse Schans (sp?) optional excursion but I’ve already done that one my 1st Avalon cruise back in 2012. I will try to post daily but no promises. I also won’t post pictures until I get home because I don’t want to be bothered trying to figure out how to do that. I’ll try to answer questions that anyone has.

I have never cruised Ponant before. I’ve done a few large ship cruises and 1 Crystal - Baltic Capitals back in 2014. I’ve also done 2 river cruises with Avalon and have a 3rd (Tulip Time / Netherlands & Belgium) in less than 4 weeks. After a few large cruises, I definitely like the feel of a smaller ship. I understand that Ponant is significantly smaller than Crystal Symphony but is larger that the river cruises. I’m in my mid 50s and travel with my mom who is in her early 80s. She’s in pretty good shape. We’re looking at this particular cruise because visiting Mont St. Michael is on her bucket list. The fact that this cruise departs from St. Malo would give us a few days in France at the beginning to possibly tour Normandy / Bayeux & MSM before we board. I’ve been reading some of the posts on this board trying to get a feel for Ponant. We loved our Crystal cruise and had a few booked with them that were cancelled due to COVID. We were lucky to have travel insurance and got all of our money back when they declared bankruptcy. Our favorite part of Crystal was the service. On the other extreme, my Paris to Normandy cruise on Avalon only had 50 passengers on a ship with a total capacity of 136. We’re used to quiet evenings from river cruising and would be okay with maybe a piano player in the evening. I also like that this cruise is only 7 nights, so if we don’t like it, we’re not on for an extended period of time. The itinerary is really the main draw for us. I’d love to hear from anyone who has done this itinerary to see how it went. I’ll continue to search the forum to see if I can find any reviews or posts but I’d love to hear thoughts as to how Ponant may compare to my experiences. Thanks in advance for any replies.

PeaceOut- the only real restrictions are those for your airline.

I leave in the Tranquility II at the end of April. Thanks for sharing. This is helping build my excitement.

I haven’t done the Christmas markets in Vienna but when I did Vienna, we stayed at Pension Nossek. It is a cute family run hotel, right on the Graben - the pedestrian street in the heart of Vienna. It was less than 10 min walk to both St. Stephen’s cathedral and the Hofburg palace. It doesn’t have a lot of frills but the breakfast was good and the staff were wonderful.

cccult - Sorry to hear about your negative experience on your cruise. I don’t understand why some people are so negative. If I was on that cruise, I probably would have said something to the passenger. I signed up for the Castle and am looking forward to it.

Globus, Cosmos & Avalon are all part of the same family. They used to have Monograms as well but consolidated that into Globus & Cosmos. i have taken 2 river cruises w/ Avalon and my 3rd is in April - Tulip Time. I have done land trips with all of the other entities. Cosmos is a bit more economical than Globus but all are great. I have had great experiences with all. They deliver a very good product and have great customer service. I did a Trafalgar trip to Morocco and I liked my Globus / Cosmos trips better. They had more included activities.

I’ve made the final payment for my Avalon Tulip Time starting 4/29 on the Tranquility II. I signed up for the extra day in Amsterdam at the beginning so I don’t actually board the ship until Apr 30. I was able to log into the MyAvalon page and look at the included and optional excursions. I signed up for the Aalsmeer Flower auction. I have already been to Zaanse Schans so I don’t need to do that. The only optional I am considering is the tour to Muiderslot castle. Has anyone done this and do you recommend it? I think this is in the afternoon on the same day as the flower auction, so I may not be up to it, but I’m thinking about it. Any thoughts?

Some of the companies run specials where they waive the single supplement on some cabins. This would make it more affordable to get 2 cabins.

I’m taking my 2nd solo Avalon at the end of April (Tulip Time on the Tranquility). My 1st trip turned into a solo when my mom couldn’t come at the last minute due to illness. The cruise only had 50 total passengers and there was at least 1-2 other singles on it. There were some nights that I sat with others at dinner and some nights that I sat by myself. I always took my book with me to dinner so that if I sat by myself, I could just read and was content to dine solo. It was nice to have the option.

I just checked with Avalon. For European rivers, suggested amount is 3-5 Euros / day for the Cruise director and 12 Euros /day for the rest of the staff. I’m not sure why this is no longer easy to find on their webpage.

Moonriver - there are tipping guideline in your info packet. With Avalon you have the option to prepay tips, which I normally do. If you do not prepay, you will be given envelopes towards the end of the cruise. You tip the Cruise director separately and then there is a pool for all housekeeping, wait staff, etc. You can always give some extra to anyone who you feel has provided you with extra service. I looked through their online brochure to see if they still have a suggestion and I found a section that says that gratuities are included for wait staff at included meals and porterage at hotels for 1 suitcase per person during the land portion of any trips. Tips for the Tour / Cruise Director, Local Hosts, Local Guides & ships crews are not included unless otherwise noted in pricing details and are discretionary. They used to have suggested daily amounts and I am still looking for that. Perhaps someone who cruised last year can chime in. I’m booked for the Tulip Time at the end of April so am interested as well, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already prepaid my tips.

I did this with Avalon back in 2016. The ship sailed to Caudebec and we had a full day at Pont du Hoc, lunch in Arromanches with enough time to do the museum if you wanted, and excursions to Omaha beach for Americans. The Canadians went to Juno beach. There was a 3rd option to go to see the Bayeux tapestry and maybe some other food options. We were able to do Honfleur as an optional excursion from Rouen. Granted this was in 2016 when the Seine & France had record flooding but none of our excursions were altered in this area. We were impacted more on the trip back to Paris and the ship couldn’t sail any further than Rouen. We were then bused to Paris and put up at a 5 star hotel.

I’m taking my 2nd solo river cruise in April 2023 - Tulip time with Avalon. Just for future reference, Avalon waives the single supplement on quite a few of their itineraries throughout the year. You may want to check them out.

When I took my Paris to Normandy trip a few years ago, about 15 people were continuing and the Cruise Director was continuing as well. Avalon handled the luggage transfers and the passengers took a TGV train. I should mention, this was when France and the Seine were flooded, so I’m not sure if the TGV train transfer is a normal part or was to help get around flooding.

Host Jazzbeau - thank you for the correction. I knew Viking had significantly more passengers per cruise. It’s even worse if the ships are the same size.

These are the maps we were able to purchase from Avalon for our Rhine cruise all the way back in 2012. They were great to use when cruising and for afterwards to look at pics of the castles to try to remember which pic when with which castle. The shorter map had maps of the various city centers on the back side. It’s too bad if you are not being offered a map or a chance to purchase on board.

As has been shared, most of the cruise lines offer very similar itineraries. Viking tends to have the biggest ships, so more passenger. In addition to the other suggestions, I would recommend reading some of the posts on this board about how companies handle things when there are issues. I was on an Avalon Seine cruise in France a few years ago when it was the wettest May EVER. Our ship sailed while many others did not due to flooding. These were turned into bus tours. You need to know that this is always a possibility. When we couldn’t get past Rouen on the way back to Paris, Avalon put us up at a hotel in Paris and Viking kept their guests on the ship, docked in Rouen and bused them into Paris & back - I think this was about 5 hours on the buses. Viking has the most ships on the rivers so when there is a flooding issue or water is too low, they often can do a ship swap so that you can continue cruising. Other lines do this as well. There are not as many on this board who have travelled with multiple lines to compare. Often, if the first River Cruise you take works for you, many people tend to stick with that company. I have done 2 cruises with Avalon and both were wonderful. The first was the Rhine - Basel to Amsterdam and had no issues. The 2nd was Paris to Normandy and as mentioned, we had lots of issues due to the flooding. Avalon was great about adjusting the itinerary, keeping us informed of changes, etc. I have a 3rd scheduled in April 2023. Good luck with your research. That is the part that I enjoy.

When I did this itinerary on Avalon years ago, we were able to purchase wonderful colorful maps with the castles & km marked on it from Avalon on board. Don’t know if they still sell but I’ve used it often since.

I just booked a Tulip Time cruise with Avalon for end of April next year. Keukenhof is an option on the day we dock in Rotterdam. There are half day and full day options for Keukenhof. I'm going in 1 day early so will have extra time in Amsterdam and may go to Keukenhof independently as well. The main reason for this cruise is to see tulips.

Before booking, I would contact AMA directly or work with an experienced travel agent who has booked numerous river cruises. By discussing your MIL's abilities, AMA can let you know if they are able to accommodate her. In my opinion, it is not fair to expect the ships crew to have to carry your MIL up or down stairs. The other consideration, although exceeding rare, is what does she do in the case of an emergency. Is she able to get out of her cabin and up to the deck if an evacuation is required? Another thought, as mentioned in the article, is that most of Europe is not mobility challenged friendly. There are many cobblestone streets, uneven surfaces, no wheelchair ramps, etc. I have seen people pushing wheelchairs on cobblestones and it is a chore. Please do plenty of research before you book. There may be ports that you MIL is not able to get off the ship at all and she needs to be content with possibly having to just watch from the lounge.

QueenOfEverything - yes I received both discounts. This will be May 3rd trip w/ Avalon. I’ve previously done Basel to Amsterdam (2012) and Paris to Normandy (2016). Since I’m going as a single this time, I booked an Aquarium class room. I don’t spend much time in the cabin so it should be fine. I’m booked on the Tranquility II.

I just put my deposit down on a Tulip Time cruise for late April 2023. Avalon had a promotion with the single supplement waived and $399 air. It also includes 1 pre-night in Amsterdam. I like to go in early to make sure I don’t have any flight issues. This cruise is to replace my ocean cruise that i had scheduled in June that I had to cancel. I’m really looking forward to this.