Which company is the most upscale?

It is very confusing between AMA, Viking and Avalon, and Uniworld. My understanding is that Avalon is geared to upscale Americans with young ships and large rooms. But, I dont see anyone discussing this line . Can anyone tell me the point of difference in these lines?

I have been on one Avalon cruise and am just about to leave for my second cruise.

Avalon is marketed to those in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK, and US (well, at least that was the mix on our ship last year). The price of a cruise on Avalon is comparable to others. I don't consider myself to be an upscale person ... more like middle of the road. We live well but not lavishly.

Avalon has large rooms nicely setup. I don't consider Avalon to be anything like the big cruise ships. The newest Avalon ships being launched this year handle 138 and 140 passengers and the two being launched next year handle 138 passengers each. Their older ships handle up to 180 people.

The food is not gourmet but I found it to be good and always have plenty to eat. The wine that is served with dinner is from the local area.

The tours are conducted with headsets so that everyone can hear the tour leader.

You will find that most folks on this forum have a 'favorite' cruise line ... they all have their good points and bad points.

Whichever you choose, I'm sure you will enjoy your trip.

Please feel free to ask more questions.

sjoantwe,

All of the four companies you´ve mentioned are pretty much playing in the same league. The differences are pretty small. On a scale up to 5 all four of them are 3+ - 4. They all do have English speaking guests only (Viking usually is using different ships for English and German speaking guests). All of them include wine/beer for dinner/lunch. Most of them are using headsets for the excursion.

If you´re looking for a more upscale company than the average:

www.premiconqueen.de (the most luxury river cruise ship available)

www.deilmann-cruises.com

www.seacloud.de

All three companies are German companies which are having a mixed group of passengers (English and German speaking).

steamboats

hi steamboat

I have booked a cruise with lueftner,do you know something about this company,is it as good as avalon,ama...

Any feedback about their new ship the amadeus diamond?

thanks and best regards.

If you want the most upscale American line it would be Tauck. It's in a league by itself!:)

hi steamboat

I have booked a cruise with lueftner,do you know something about this company,is it as good as avalon,ama...

Any feedback about their new ship the amadeus diamond?

thanks and best regards.

Lüftner is an Austrian company which is in business for a long time. They are playing in the same league as the four mentioned companies. It depends on where you´ve booked. Gate 1 Travel has charters on Lüftner ships. A full charter can be different than a directly booked cruise. Lüftner is selling in Germany and Austria. So when you book directly you´ll have a mixed crowd of passengers. With a full charter it will be Americans only. Also the amenities can sort of vary. For German/Austrian passengers shore tours are usually not included but booked individually on the ship. There´s also no company on the German market which is offering free wine for dinner (except for one company which has an all inclusive concept). For a US charter you will find all shore tours included (and you might have different tours than those offered to German passengers, like Salzburg: Germans hardly know the movie "Sound of Music" and therefore they are not interested in seeing any places connected with the movie).

steamboats

Lüftner is an Austrian company which is in business for a long time. the ship.... There´s also no company on the German market which is offering free wine for dinner (except for one company which has an all inclusive concept).

 

steamboats

steamboats, thanks for all your knowledgeable posts on this board, we have learned a lot. We are leaving May 17 with Lüftner / Gate 1 Budapest to Prague. According to both companies web sites, free wine is offered with dinner http://www.lueftner-cruises.at/xxl/en/kreuzfahrten/_id/1034217/_show/leistungen/index.html

We just received our travel documents today!

akai,

I´ve checked the German version of the Lüftner website and it says free wine for dinner too.:D

As your trip is listed on the Lüftner website too it´s obviously no full charter by Gate 1. So you can trust the Lüftner website.

It´s simply that included amenities can differ when a ship is fully chartered by a third party (it depends on the charter contract). With a full charter I´d look up the charter´s website for more information. With a partial charter the website of the operator (here Lüftner) is more reliable. Partial charter can mean that there´s a mixed crowd of passengers aboard.

Have a great cruise!

steamboats