Viking or Avalon??

[sharden]

My wife and I along with 3 other couples are planning our first river cruise for May 2012. We are looking to sail the 8 day Rhine cruise from Amsterdam to Basel and are trying to decide between Viking and Avalon.

 

We will appreciate any comments on these two lines which will help us decide soon.

 

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

[YoungDubFan]

You might want to check to make sure there are enough cabins for your entire group on specific sailings before you get too involved in your planning. River ships hold much less passengers (~168) then big ocean vessels and they tend to fill up rather quickly. This could have an impact on which cruise you are able to take. I'm sailing on Avalon in May and we put our deposit down this past April.

[BPCruiser]

My wife and I along with 3 other couples are planning our first river cruise for May 2012. We are looking to sail the 8 day Rhine cruise from Amsterdam to Basel and are trying to decide between Viking and Avalon.

 

We will appreciate any comments on these two lines which will help us decide soon.

 

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

 

Have not cruised on Viking previously but have reviewed their river cruise catalog. We have had 1 great river cruise with Avalon in 2010 on the Affinity and will be sailing with them again in November on their new riverboat for 2011, the Panorama as we cruise the Danube River Budapest to Prague. The Avalon boats are some of the newest in the riverboat industry and they have 2 more new boats due out next year in 2012. We were very pleased with the food and service on our 1st trip hence we scheduled our 2nd for this year. Do as many others on this board have suggested and make a spread sheet of the things that are most important to you and compare. Check out the age of the boat, size of cabins, cruise itinerary, price, what's included ( transfers, excursions, overnight port stops etc.) and decide what works for you. They pretty much all now include unlimited wine or beer with Dinner and many here have their favorites based on who they 1st got started cruising with. Also, some of the older ships with various lines were not built with French Balconies and are being refurbished to include them so if that is something you would like, pay attention to that. Most of the info you want can be obtained from their river cruise books that each cruise line will gladly mail to you if you inquire. When shopping prices, sign up for their e-mail specials and work with a good travel agent for the best discounted deals on the specific trip you are interested in. Avalon, Uniworld, Tauck and AMA past passangers all seem very happy with most of their experiences, you will get a multitude of opinions on these boards. For me, I will probably stick with the newer boats with spacious cabins on Avalon or maybe try a river cruise on the new Tauck boat as we were very pleased with another Tauck trip we took with them this Summer, they are also more "all-inclusive".Good Luck!!:)

[Paulinda]

sharden - we did an Avalon cruise and liked it a lot! At the time we were considering Viking or Avalon. I think we chose Avalon because we didn't have to pay it all up front. I think we actually paid it over a course of 5 or 6 months. I liked that option because you never know what might transpire over a course of 8 or 9 months and didn't want to be stuck making insurance claims. Also, the Avalon ship was only a month old...brand new in fact. I remeber seeing the Viking ship docked near our ship and it looked a bit worn.

 

If I remember correctly the prices weren't that much different. But we may have enjoyed a $400 or $500 discount on air too thru Avalon but I don't remember exactly.

 

As youngdubfan suggested, whichever you chose you better do so soon. These cruises book quickly and there are only so many spots on a ship.

 

May is a great time to go. Although it can be a bit chilly in Amsterdam.

[stretchcruz]

We loved Avalon. I wrote a review of our trip on the Tranquility last fall. Our cabin was big, service impeccable, food was great. I did do a spreadsheet and had it narrowed down to Avalon, AMA, and Uniworld. Avalon came out on top because of the price, mainly. Do be sure that you book with a TA, not the cruise line. My TA offers 15% off over and above the discounts that Avalon offers. We loved Avalon so much that we cancelled our next 2 ocean cruises and booked an Avalon cruise for next April/May, Amsterdam to Paris!! I did look at other lines but since we were so comfortable with Avalon we stuck with them.

[BPCruiser]

We loved Avalon. I wrote a review of our trip on the Tranquility last fall. Our cabin was big, service impeccable, food was great. I did do a spreadsheet and had it narrowed down to Avalon, AMA, and Uniworld. Avalon came out on top because of the price, mainly. Do be sure that you book with a TA, not the cruise line. My TA offers 15% off over and above the discounts that Avalon offers. We loved Avalon so much that we cancelled our next 2 ocean cruises and booked an Avalon cruise for next April/May, Amsterdam to Paris!! I did look at other lines but since we were so comfortable with Avalon we stuck with them.

 

Stretchcruz,

 

I too, like you was so very pleased with our Avalon cruise...hence we booked again for this November. We tend to stick with the same cruise lines also once we get comfortable with them if it was a good first experience! I know we have e-mailed back and forth previously. I think we might be using the same travel agent now from NM. that offers good discounts. Learned about them from another friend, sure wished we would have had their info prior to booking our upcoming Avalon cruise but will know better now for the future. I will email you later. I know you will enjoy your Amsterdam to Paris cruise!!:)