Impression of the Avalon Impression

[gentlemancruiser]

I wanted to give a quick review of the Avalon Impression, I'll post something more detailed in the reviews section. This was our first European River cruise, we've done one other river cruise on the Nile several years earlier. We choose to cruise with Avalon because of what I had been reading on these boards and also because of their 'new suite ships'. The cabin layout with the bed facing the floor to ceiling windows really appealed to us and once we were on board we fell in love with the cabins. You could lay in bed and stare out the window or sit in the chairs beside the open windows. The cabin and the rest of the ship are decorated in a very modern, sleek but comfortable style with dark wood cabinetary and white walls with bold accent colours used in the chairs and sofa's. The bathroom in the cabin was a very good size and tiled from floor to ceiling in a beige marble.

The ships staff were among some of the best we've ever encountered, they were very friendly and always smiling. The captain was excellent at interacting with guests and very approachable. Our fellow guests were primarily a mixture of American, Canadian, Australians, New Zealanders and British.

We were on the Blue Danube from Budapest to Prague. On the first evening onboard during the daily briefing we were informed the ship wouldn't be able to make it to Vienna because of a broken lock. What a great disappointment, appearntly no one knew when the lock would be opened. The cruse director and Avalon had already arranged an unscheduled stop in Estragom, Hungary with tours arranged for the next day. We found out after our day in Estragom that we would have to leave the ship the next morning the ship would be docked at 8am in Kormano, Slovakia and we would be bussed at 9am into Vienna, which was 3 hours. For the next 3 days we were bussed from Vienna to Melk and Durnstien and then to Salzburg for one night. After several days a long bus rides and busy 8 hour days of touring you could see that everyone was getting very tired. On the 4th we were bussed in the afternoon from Salzburg to Vilshofen, Germany where we would meet up with the ship again for the last 2 days of the cruise towards Nuremberg. When the busses arrived at Vilshofen the Captain and crew worked like mad getting everyone's luggage on board, then we were off sailing and you could feel yourself relaxing for the first time. We missed many of the stops along the Danube and Avalon did give us several optional excursions such as the evening concert in Vienna and Wine Tasting in Durnstein for free.

 

It's now been two weeks since the end of our cruise tour and on Friday I was contact by Avalon confirming they had refunded back part of the cruise onto my credit card already. I was very pleased by this because I've been dreading the arguments that I'd expected to have to make to get some sort of refund (not that I was entitled to it). Given the frustrations of not getting a relaxing cruise we'd booked and also the exhaustion that comes for long and intense bus trip around Europe we were expecting something stupid like a future cruise credit. We were very pleased that Avalon had done all this without any hassle to us or making us fill confidentiality agreements or signing forms, etc.

Well done Avalon! You truly understand customer service. You looked at the situation from your customers perspective and dealt with it without questions being asked. If I take another river cruise I'm sure it will be with you!!!!

Edited August 24, 2014 by gentlemancruiser

[Cobbie48]

So sorry about the bus part of your cruise. Kudos to Avalon for refunding you. We are booked on our second Avalon European cruise next year.

[Got2Cruise]

Kudos to Avalon for refunding without a big drama.:)

[gentlemancruiser]

Yes. That is partly why I felt I needed to post something here. It is easy to complain when things go wrong, but seldom is it done when things are done right.

[YoungDubFan]

I'm sorry to hear that you had issues on your trip, but major kudos to Avalon for making the best out of a bad situation, that was completely out of their control. Also, major pluses for them refunding part of your fare directly to you, without making you jump through hoops. I've always thought that Avalon was a class operation and this confirms it. Avalon's actions shows it is possible to refund passengers versus Viking only wanting to give future cruise credits.

[rudeman]

Glad they did good by you. I really felt bad for you all, especially since I know you had been watching our earlier trip. Hope the next one works out better.

 

BTW - after seeing some of the complaints recently on this board where they at least got to stay on A ship the whole way, (that is, didn't have to stay in hotels multiple nights like you) kudos to you for your positive postings. You clearly are a GENTLEMANcruiser!

 

 

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[stretchcruz]

Gentlemancruiser, how many different hotels did you stay in and where? We are on Avalon April 10 from Budapest to Passau (also on the Impression) and have read on the boards that lock maintenance on the Main-Danube starts April 13. I contacted Avalon via Facebook and they said that we have had no itinerary changes. This will be our 3rd Avalon cruise and we are bringing 2 other couples (first timers) with us. Avalon is a class act. I forwarded rudeman's review to my friends but think I'll keep yours to myself until we know something may happen.

How did they handle your meals and wine?

Edited August 25, 2014 by stretchcruz

[gentlemancruiser]

Gentlemancruiser, how many different hotels did you stay in and where? We are on Avalon April 10 from Budapest to Passau (also on the Impression) and have read on the boards that lock maintenance on the Main-Danube starts April 13. I contacted Avalon via Facebook and they said that we have had no itinerary changes. This will be our 3rd Avalon cruise and we are bringing 2 other couples (first timers) with us. Avalon is a class act. I forwarded rudeman's review to my friends but think I'll keep yours to myself until we know something may happen.

How did they handle your meals and wine?

 

We started our trip in Budapest(Monday) at the Intercontinental(best location by far, try and get a room facing the Danube) for 2 nights then we started our cruise portion (Wednesday), on Friday we were at the Intercontinental Vienna for 2 nights and on Sunday we moved to the Sheraton Salzburg for 1 night then on Monday late afternoon we were back on board the ship and sailed towards Nuremberg and then we were bussed as planned to Prague at the Hilton for final 3 nights.

 

For our lunches we ended up with a mixture of buffet and served lunches and dinner were all buffet. Wine, beer and soft drinks were included with our dinners while at the hotels. We also had free wifi included at the hotels.

 

Avalon told us via our cruise director that if we wanted to leave at any time they would refund the unused portion of the trip. Our various tour guides who did our transfers and sightseeing were well aware of our situation and were mindful of it.

 

The captain was excellent and all of the crew did a great job of welcoming us back onboard. We've done a lot of ocean cruising, but these were by far some of the nicest crew I've met on a cruise.

[stretchcruz]

Thanks gentlemancruiser. This time we are renting apartments in Budapest and Prague with the other 2 couples. We're actually renting one in London prior to Budapest as well. We are all using FF miles and we couldn't get to Budapest or out of Prague so we modified. I'm glad they took such good care of you, but boy, do I hope it doesn't happen. Spending hours on buses would kill me I think. I'm very tall and also impatient on long car rides!!! If we ended up in a hotel we may just stay in that city and make the best of it. It's nice to hear that they put you up in such nice hotels. Our first Avalon cruise we did the whole inclusive thing and stayed at the Intercontinental in Budapest and the Hilton in Prague. Very nice and fancy!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Avalon told us via our cruise director that if we wanted to leave at any time they would refund the unused portion of the trip.

 

This is the first I've heard of ANY cruise line making this offer during a "problem" cruise. That is wonderful for Avalon!

[stretchcruz]

Avalon is a class act. When I had emergency surgery and had to cancel our cruise 6 days prior they sent me flowers! ! Brought tears to my eyes but certainly made me loyal. They deliver a great product.

[gentlemancruiser]

Here are a couple pics of the cabin and bathroom

[Avalon Waterways]

Gentlemancruiser-

Thank you for your great attitude during a difficult situation. And thank you for sharing your positive feedback. It is greatly appreciated.

 

We hope you try river cruising again and would welcome the opportunity to sail with you. In the meantime, we are wishing you the best!