All Things Avalon

[small wonder]

Adara, Thanks so much!! I have been searching for tours in Paris for our 2 days precruise. Some of the ones I found were so expensive! I think we are going for a 2 day hop on hop off bus, & decide where to go on the second day, & book the optional tour, which I assume is on the last day.

[texkan]

Sailed Avalon Spring 2016 on the Danube. Enjoyed and have booked Rhine for Fall 2017.

 

Would like to read comments on Rhine River and if anyone is booked for Fall 2017.

[Cobbie48]

Sailed Avalon Spring 2016 on the Danube. Enjoyed and have booked Rhine for Fall 2017.

 

Would like to read comments on Rhine River and if anyone is booked for Fall 2017.

 

Just back from Avalon's Moselle and Rhine cruise. Fall is beautiful but can be cold and rainy. See my review. We sailed on the Visionary.

[texkan]

Just back from Avalon's Moselle and Rhine cruise. Fall is beautiful but can be cold and rainy. See my review. We sailed on the Visionary.

 

Looking forward to the Fall beauty. We are sailing on Tranquility II.

[Gene-Jockey]

Hi all. My wife and I are contemplating our very first river cruise, although we have done many sea cruises (all with Holland America). On HAL, when they say twin beds convertible to a "queen", they really mean two full size twins so that it is truly the equivalent of a KING.

 

I am trying to ascertain what Avalon really means when they say "queen beds" i.e. the twins that can be converted to a Queen. In some stateroom photos they really do look like what I consider a (North American QUEEN) but in other photos they clearly look like what I would consider a full KING. I know that the Royal Suites say King, but I am not talking about that! In the Panorama staterooms, is it possible to get the "King" equivalent or are they really queen size? If they are truly queens (i.e. 60" wide) that could be a deal breaker for us I'm embarrassed to say....

[JVilleGal]

 

 

This is our bed last Fall on the Avalon Illumination. We sleep on a King at home and these seemed just fine... but I believe this to be a Queen, split into two twins. Very comfortable by the way and our cabin was very spacious by river cruise standards. The bathroom was fabulous!

 

 

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Edited December 6, 2016 by JVilleGal

[janegraybc]

How do I get on a Roll Call fir the June 23 sailing Amsterdam to Budapest

On the Expression?

 

 

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[JVilleGal]

How do I get on a Roll Call fir the June 23 sailing Amsterdam to Budapest

On the Expression?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

River cruising is very different, not enough cruisers for any particular sailing. You are actually unlikely to find anyone on your sailing though I did have a Cruise Critic member pass me on the river going in the other direction .

 

We loved the A to B cruise you are doing. I believe you will find a big thread for All cruisers sailing this route or the reverse.... all the info is great, port info good and it doesn't matter as much which company you are sailing with.

 

 

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Edited December 7, 2016 by JVilleGal

[Daisi]

Not sure if one has started yet, but if you look at the forum board(the main one) in the "river cruise" box there is a link for river cruising roll calls. You could try searching there.

[vada_9]

We have just returned from "Christmas in the Heart of Germany" on the Tranquility II, and these are a few impressions.

We were in "Aquarium class" and it was ok, sunrise around 8am and sunset 4pm - but would not do this during summer, when docked we often could see the canal wall. We never met our room steward (5 nights) - I only knew he was a male as I saw his name badge one night returning to our room. We had twin beds and were never offered option to have them joined ( though I think there was more room with them separate). He did a good job of keeping room clean and tidy.

 

Re bottled water in room - it is complimentary - had to ask, as no indication in room.

 

On returning home and reading brochure, I see beer was an included beverage at dinner - it was never offered and my husband who is not fond of wine went without and made this comment on his survey form.

 

We enjoyed our cruise as it met our time and financial constaints, there were a few timing issues that could have been better organised - ie we arrived Miltenberg around 8 am for a walking tour at 9 - very good , and free time from 10.30? most places opened 10 or 11 and we departed at 11.45.

[JohnoClark]

While I give high points for the Cabins, I found the quality of the excursions varied with 2 of the 5 paid excursions being very disappointing. Since on our Cruise you need to take the excursions to see most of the major attractions that is a major flaw

 

Our excursion to Salzburg left us on our own to find the main attractions and most disappointing of all was the abbreviated tour of the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. The tour includes the Palace itself and then the Gardens. If you go on on your own, you can choose an abbreviated tour of the Palace or a range of more complete ones. Avalon choose the abbreviated (and lowest cost to them) Palace tour and then expected we would spend half our time in the Gardens. The Gardens were impressive, but worth no more than 30 minutes. Unfortunately, we were there when it was pouring rain so most of us just huddled in the cold for around an hour waiting to return. Some flexibility would have avoided that. And having seen Versailles and the Russian Winter Palaces either the Schnonbrunn palace was overrated by the Cruise Director as one of the top three - equal to the other two. It may have been the case if we have seen more of the Palace.

 

Food varied from good to mediocre. A personal preference for our next River Cruise will be open dining as offered on Crystal. The one serving, a little later than we liked, and a 2 hour experience was not our preferred choice.

 

The substitution of a DJ for the Piano Bar was a big negative for us as we, as most of the passenger were, are way past the DJ Age.

[QueenofEverything]

We have just returned from "Christmas in the Heart of Germany" on the Tranquility II, and these are a few impressions.

We were in "Aquarium class" and it was ok, sunrise around 8am and sunset 4pm - but would not do this during summer, when docked we often could see the canal wall. We never met our room steward (5 nights) - I only knew he was a male as I saw his name badge one night returning to our room. We had twin beds and were never offered option to have them joined ( though I think there was more room with them separate). He did a good job of keeping room clean and tidy.

 

Re bottled water in room - it is complimentary - had to ask, as no indication in room.

 

On returning home and reading brochure, I see beer was an included beverage at dinner - it was never offered and my husband who is not fond of wine went without and made this comment on his survey form.

 

We enjoyed our cruise as it met our time and financial constaints, there were a few timing issues that could have been better organised - ie we arrived Miltenberg around 8 am for a walking tour at 9 - very good , and free time from 10.30? most places opened 10 or 11 and we departed at 11.45.

 

Free beer and wine is widely advertised on just about anything you receive from Avalon as well as clearly spelled out on their website. It is a big marketing plug for just about all the rive cruiselines

[FuelScience]

I just noticed that Avalon is extending its free wine, beer, and soft drinks to lunch and dinner in 2017 as opposed to just dinner in 2016.

[texkan]

I just noticed that Avalon is extending its free wine, beer, and soft drinks to lunch and dinner in 2017 as opposed to just dinner in 2016.

 

That is great. Dinner the wine flows....

[FuelScience]

Has anyone taken Avalon's tour of the Pont du Gard? We'll be sailing the Rhone/Saone in April and this it one of the optional tours we're considering. Do you just view the aqueduct from a distance, or do you get to take a closer look?

[Shebely]

Pont du Gard was a morning optional excursion on our south to north cruise. The bus ride to the site was about one hour. It is a beautiful setting and we walked from the Visitors Center area along a trail that led to a section of the Aqueduct that crossed the river. We then walked across the Aqueduct and our local guide pointed out the best locations for photography. It was so serene there and we had enough time to enjoy the site. I just looked at the Pont du Gard site and it states that it is handicap accessible. When I booked the Rhone/Salone Avalon cruise, this was one of the reasons and for me, I really enjoyed thus excursion.

[FuelScience]

Pont du Gard was a morning optional excursion on our south to north cruise. The bus ride to the site was about one hour. It is a beautiful setting and we walked from the Visitors Center area along a trail that led to a section of the Aqueduct that crossed the river. We then walked across the Aqueduct and our local guide pointed out the best locations for photography. It was so serene there and we had enough time to enjoy the site. I just looked at the Pont du Gard site and it states that it is handicap accessible. When I booked the Rhone/Salone Avalon cruise, this was one of the reasons and for me, I really enjoyed thus excursion.

Thanks Shebely! That's exactly what I was wanting to know.

[Reesaroo]

I have booked my first River Cruise with Avalon for May 2017. Everything is paid for and I have booked our optional excursions. Will we receive any kind of final paperwork before the cruise or do we just show up on the first day of the cruise? Also, we are doing the cruise only portion of the itinerary. For this particular itinerary Avalon does not have the option of purchasing transfers so we are taking the train from the Munich airport to Passau to start the cruise. Will Avalon be able to tell me which dock the ship will be at? We will most likely take a taxi from the train station to the dock in Passau and I will need to give a destination to the taxi driver. Sorry for the questions. My TA has taken many river cruises but none with Avalon so she has not been super helpful.Thanks,

Lisa

[texkan]

I have booked my first River Cruise with Avalon for May 2017. Everything is paid for and I have booked our optional excursions. Will we receive any kind of final paperwork before the cruise or do we just show up on the first day of the cruise? Also, we are doing the cruise only portion of the itinerary. For this particular itinerary Avalon does not have the option of purchasing transfers so we are taking the train from the Munich airport to Passau to start the cruise. Will Avalon be able to tell me which dock the ship will be at? We will most likely take a taxi from the train station to the dock in Passau and I will need to give a destination to the taxi driver. Sorry for the questions. My TA has taken many river cruises but none with Avalon so she has not been super helpful.Thanks,

Lisa

 

 

Our 2016 Avalon cruise was booked with TA and we did receive paperwork to take. Your TA should provide papers. We received a book that had all excursions booked plus papers needed for boarding ship.

I hope all goes well for your Avalon cruise and you have great weather.

Edited February 16, 2017 by texkan
add info

[webfoot]

You can walk under the aqueduct. Very amazing!

 

 

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[Cobbie48]

I have booked my first River Cruise with Avalon for May 2017. Everything is paid for and I have booked our optional excursions. Will we receive any kind of final paperwork before the cruise or do we just show up on the first day of the cruise? Also, we are doing the cruise only portion of the itinerary. For this particular itinerary Avalon does not have the option of purchasing transfers so we are taking the train from the Munich airport to Passau to start the cruise. Will Avalon be able to tell me which dock the ship will be at? We will most likely take a taxi from the train station to the dock in Passau and I will need to give a destination to the taxi driver. Sorry for the questions. My TA has taken many river cruises but none with Avalon so she has not been super helpful.Thanks,

Lisa

 

We have done two river cruises with Avalon. They Fed Ex you a wonderful packet several weeks before departure with all the necessary paperwork. You are able to call Avalon directly and ask them any questions you have.

 

 

Enjoy your cruise. Avalon is a first class company.

[JVilleGal]

Ditto

 

 

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[FuelScience]

I have booked my first River Cruise with Avalon for May 2017. Everything is paid for and I have booked our optional excursions. Will we receive any kind of final paperwork before the cruise or do we just show up on the first day of the cruise?

 

Documents can be sent directly to you or to your travel agent. If you log on to My Avalon and click on "My eMaterials," you can click on "View Travel Packet," and download the PDF of your travel packet. Under "My Vacation," you will see "Travel Documents Shipping Address." For me it's my home address. If it's to your travel agent, you can ask the agent to change it so that the documents are sent directly to you.

[Daisi]

I have a question for those who have recently taken the Romantic Rhine cruise. When you stop in Strasboug, there is an optional tour to the Alsace wine country. Do you miss seeing Strasbourg if you take the optional tour, and if you do, would you recommend the scenery on the tour or the walk in Strasbourg? Same with the stop in Briesach, would the optional tour to Colmar take the whole day, or do you get to see some of the Black Forest as well?

 

So excited, the 2018 pricing is up, we meet with our TA beginning of March to book! Countdown is on!

[FuelScience]

I don't know about anyone else, but we're really looking forward to the new "Avalon Fresh" menus from the Wrenkh brothers. Avalon has said a little about in their blog and in the video at the links below, but I guess we'll have to wait until Avalon starts sailing in March in Europe to get first hand opinions!

 

http://blog.avalonwaterways.com/2016/09/15/a-fresh-persperiver-cruising/

http://players.brightcove.net/1530993051001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5083915709001