All Things Avalon

[Canal archive]

Lock that credit card!

[Kenster]

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. 

[TMLAalum]

Major Red Flag about your TA, Sanger! 

We got screwed by a TA found via that compare website when booking our first Celebrity cruise. It was a nightmare due to an error on my part in paying in full at the time of booking and the fact that this TA used all the $ save for the deposit to float their business. Agency went belly-up before our cruise. Long story but both our cruise and our monies were salvaged.

[sanger727]

The problem with this advice is that avalon still has them registered as our TA. Doesn’t pick up the phone, and won’t return an email. We finally got a response to an email I sent them that said ‘sorry we didn’t call you back, hopefully this has worked itself out’

 

so not continuing to pursue this agency and try to work with them doesn’t seem to get an option. I would love for avalon to take the booking back. These people don’t deserve a dime. Cant figure out how to do that.

[Kenster]

16 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

The problem with this advice is that avalon still has them registered as our TA. Doesn’t pick up the phone, and won’t return an email. We finally got a response to an email I sent them that said ‘sorry we didn’t call you back, hopefully this has worked itself out’

 

so not continuing to pursue this agency and try to work with them doesn’t seem to get an option. I would love for avalon to take the booking back. These people don’t deserve a dime. Cant figure out how to do that.

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. 

[sanger727]

Just now, Kenster said:

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. 

Great. Thank you for the suggestion!

[Daisi]

I'll second @Kenster's comment about messaging Avalon direct through Facebook. They do respond, it may take a bit, but you have something in writing to keep track of. Usually only a 24 hr max response. If you have any record of your sent e-mails to the TA, then you can possibly use that to show you aren't getting any solution. 

 

I wish you luck, circumstances can really mess things up.  

[TMLAalum]

Would Avalon be willing to contact your TA and insist they contact you? 

 

In our case, same thing in that Celebrity wouldn't touch our booking with that dishonest TA- except that Celebrity referenced the agency that had our booking and it was not the same one we booked with! It was an actual brick/mortar agency that the online fraudulent agency had channeled our booking through!

 

Hope you get things unraveled Sanger727!

Edited July 6, 2022 by TMLAalum

[jsn55]

20 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

What I've been told is that the current TA 'owns' the booking and has to release it before it can be transferred anywhere.  However, I have seen one recent report where someone was able to convince the cruise line that the TA was seriously AWOL and that allowed them to make it a direct booking.  So maybe there is hope for @sanger727

I will ask my TA, she does nothing but cruises.

 

It just can't be valid that the customer is tied to a bad travel agency ... you should be able to submit written instructions to Avalon to transfer the booking from the existing agent (I can't bear to call them travel agents, they're just order takers) to whomever you wish.  Avalon may hesitate to just transfer the booking back to you, the pax ... I'm sure there's a commission issue somewhere.   What a mess!

[jsn55]

7 hours ago, sanger727 said:

The problem with this advice is that avalon still has them registered as our TA. Doesn’t pick up the phone, and won’t return an email. We finally got a response to an email I sent them that said ‘sorry we didn’t call you back, hopefully this has worked itself out’

 

so not continuing to pursue this agency and try to work with them doesn’t seem to get an option. I would love for avalon to take the booking back. These people don’t deserve a dime. Cant figure out how to do that.

I'm posting this separately because I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you about a new consumer advocate website just started by my friend Michelle Couch-Friedman.  It's called 'Consumer Rescue' and I wonder if she could help you.  Her site went live today.  You might check it out. 

[JVilleGal]

6 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I'm posting this separately because I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you about a new consumer advocate website just started by my friend Michelle Couch-Friedman.  It's called 'Consumer Rescue' and I wonder if she could help you.  Her site went live today.  You might check it out. 

Hey did Michelle leave CE???? Wow

[Canal archive]

Is there a similar organisation in the USA to the UK’s ABTA? If so is it worth taking that route. 
I agree that attempting to point out to Avalon that there is an online company taking their name in vain could be a route but be careful of your implied language.

Good luck I really hope you get this sorted.

[jsn55]

7 hours ago, JVilleGal said:

Hey did Michelle leave CE???? Wow

Yeah!  I'll send you an email.

[rsewell2]

After many ocean cruises we are just planning our first river cruise for next June.  Choosing a destination and more importantly a cruise line is a bit challenging.  Can someone share how Avalon compares to Viking? 

[Kenster]

2 hours ago, rsewell2 said:

After many ocean cruises we are just planning our first river cruise for next June.  Choosing a destination and more importantly a cruise line is a bit challenging.  Can someone share how Avalon compares to Viking? 

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.  

 

 

 

[Daisi]

One big thing is Avalon and most other lines are a standard 90 day final payment, whereas Viking will require payment at least 180 days prior to sailing. Most seem to say 1 year in advance. I'm not sure exactly how long after booking you need to do final payment, but it's well in advance of most other lines.

 

[TMLAalum]

Despite my pointing out the drawbacks of Viking vs. Avalon, friends booked Viking Rhone. I hope they have a wonderful cruise, but worry that they are what I consider "frail" elderly. They are also spending time in Paris as well as Scotland and will be gone 3 weeks.

[Kenster]

26 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

Despite my pointing out the drawbacks of Viking vs. Avalon, friends booked Viking Rhone. I hope they have a wonderful cruise, but worry that they are what I consider "frail" elderly. They are also spending time in Paris as well as Scotland and will be gone 3 weeks.

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. 

[jsn55]

Other than the Yangtze, a total disaster because of an incompetent Tour Leader, I haven't done a Viking river cruise.  Avalon was recommended to me by a friend several years ago and we found them to be just what we wanted ... we came home with so many positive things from a Rhine/Mosel cruise and I can't think of a negative.  The most outstanding thing was our Cruise Director who took care of every little thing every minute without any fuss.  I felt that we could ask her help with anything, but rarely needed to.  We've booked several Avalon cruises since, all cancelled of course.  In the middle of the pandemic, Avalon refunded all our money from a cancelled Grand France with first-class air ... a considerable sum.  We hadn't asked for a refund.  Avalon just seems to take good care of its pax. We're rebooked for Grand France next spring and I can hardly wait. 

[Kenster]

11 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Other than the Yangtze, a total disaster because of an incompetent Tour Leader, I haven't done a Viking river cruise.  Avalon was recommended to me by a friend several years ago and we found them to be just what we wanted ... we came home with so many positive things from a Rhine/Mosel cruise and I can't think of a negative.  The most outstanding thing was our Cruise Director who took care of every little thing every minute without any fuss.  I felt that we could ask her help with anything, but rarely needed to.  We've booked several Avalon cruises since, all cancelled of course.  In the middle of the pandemic, Avalon refunded all our money from a cancelled Grand France with first-class air ... a considerable sum.  We hadn't asked for a refund.  Avalon just seems to take good care of its pax. We're rebooked for Grand France next spring and I can hardly wait. 

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. 

[rsewell2]

Thank you all for the feedback on Avalon vs Viking.  Really appreciate the comments which confirms where we were leaning.   Now we need to narrow down which crusie/destination.  Leaning toward at least 14 days in June.  We are planning this trip to celebbrate our 50th (got married VERY young so still very mobile and active 😉)

[Kenster]

15 minutes ago, rsewell2 said:

Thank you all for the feedback on Avalon vs Viking.  Really appreciate the comments which confirms where we were leaning.   Now we need to narrow down which crusie/destination.  Leaning toward at least 14 days in June.  We are planning this trip to celebbrate our 50th (got married VERY young so still very mobile and active 😉)

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!” 

[Host Jazzbeau]

@TMLAalum one thing in your friends' favor is that Viking tends to raft to other Viking ships and all the lobbies line up so they don't need to climb up to the sun deck, walk across a makeshift plank, and then climb down to the next ship's lobby.

[jsn55]

12 hours ago, rsewell2 said:

Thank you all for the feedback on Avalon vs Viking.  Really appreciate the comments which confirms where we were leaning.   Now we need to narrow down which crusie/destination.  Leaning toward at least 14 days in June.  We are planning this trip to celebbrate our 50th (got married VERY young so still very mobile and active 😉)

I don't think you could do better than the Rhine/Mosel cruise.  It was just magic.  Sitting up at the bow one evening floating down a mirror-calm Rhine river was an experience I'll never forget.   Happy Anniversary!  We will celebrate ours at Christmastime ... kinda hard to believe, huh?

[Fouremco]

12 hours ago, rsewell2 said:

Thank you all for the feedback on Avalon vs Viking.  Really appreciate the comments which confirms where we were leaning.   Now we need to narrow down which crusie/destination.  Leaning toward at least 14 days in June.  We are planning this trip to celebbrate our 50th (got married VERY young so still very mobile and active 😉)

Our 50th was last month, but we booked our celebratory cruise for next year. We opted for the 15 Day Romantic Rhine & Moselle cruise with Scenic.