All Things Avalon

[JVilleGal]

PS if you can afford an Avalon River Cruise you can afford laundry. We sent ours out and Avalon did a beautiful job. Don’t remember the prices because frankly it was what it was and there was no other choice. Doing panties in my sink and leaving them all over to dry is not anything I’m willing to doing on vacation. Enjoy our Amsterdam to Budapest Cruise was fabulous!

[mannster]

On ‎12‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 4:51 PM, JVilleGal said:

PS if you can afford an Avalon River Cruise you can afford laundry. We sent ours out and Avalon did a beautiful job. Don’t remember the prices because frankly it was what it was and there was no other choice. Doing panties in my sink and leaving them all over to dry is not anything I’m willing to doing on vacation. Enjoy our Amsterdam to Budapest Cruise was fabulous!

JVilleGal....

Had to chuckle at your P.S.:)  We are doing the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise in August....anything we shouldn't miss?

[Kenster]

On 9/20/2018 at 8:01 PM, KathyK13 said:

Avalon currently is offering free air on some cruises we are considering taking in 2019. I've read some posts that had bad experiences with Avalon air including inconvenient flight times, terrible connections, and not being able to choose seats ahead of time. Others have said that they got their preferred flights and were able to choose seats ahead of time. The free air is very attractive, but I don't like having no say about the flight connections and would hate to be stuck in the back of a plane. I've read the 'free air' small print but it's confusing. I'd appreciate others sharing their experiences. Thanks!

Most tour companies block bulks of seats on plane but no seats are assigned.  Basically, if the company books 40 seats, the 40 seats they end up with are what are left over from the "retail" passengers.  Also, it's unlikely that you'll get the award miles for seats at super discounted prices.  IF, you can get your confirmation number far enough in advance, you MIGHT be able to change your seat.  BUT with the coming of the "Basic Economy" fares, seats at that price aren't assigned until boarding time anyway.   It might be possible to pay a a premium to be able to reserve a seat.  Talk to your travel agent or Avalon.   Then decide if it's worth it to save several thousand dollars by sitting in a middle seat for a twelve hour flight.

[Kenster]

We are doing Bucharest to Budapest in the late Fall.  With all the low water posts, I have never seen any comments on this stretch of the river.  Are there ever any low water issues from Budapest to the Black Sea?

[newcruiser1956]

On 7/17/2018 at 7:11 PM, waldorf said:

Just returned from an Avalon cruise, Prague to Bucharest. Never again will I let Avalon book the flights. We flew from Manchester to Prague via Frankfurt, only had an hour to catch the connecting flight, whilst we just made it our cases did not so we had a delay in getting our luggage.

 

The trip didn’t start well, we had to leave for the airport at 2am so no sleep and a very, very tied start to our trip.

 

Next time I’ll book my own flights, and hotels and fly direct.

1

I agree with you,  Viking Air did that to me too,  I will book my trip myself next time.

[franski]

54 minutes ago, Kenster said:

We are doing Bucharest to Budapest in the late Fall.  With all the low water posts, I have never seen any comments on this stretch of the river.  Are there ever any low water issues from Budapest to the Black Sea?

I don't think they are as impacted on that end of the Danube as they are further up.  I understand that just below Budapest can be an issue...  Our cruise was cancelled because they couldn't get a boat down to get us!!  

Our TA kept checking with Avalon when the water levels became an issue - and they kept saying that part of the river was OK.  In the end, they cancelled our cruise 72 hours before our flight.  Thank heavens we booked air with them - if not, we would have had tickets into Bucharest & out of Budapest with no vacation booked in between!!!

Enjoy!!  Would love to cruise that part of the world again...

 

Fran

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, Kenster said:

We are doing Bucharest to Budapest in the late Fall.  With all the low water posts, I have never seen any comments on this stretch of the river.  Are there ever any low water issues from Budapest to the Black Sea?

Budapest was closed to all traffic at times last year. 

[Kenster]

On 2/18/2019 at 5:17 PM, gnome12 said:

Budapest was closed to all traffic at times last year. 

From both directions??

[notamermaid]

Kenster, there were reports in the German news last year of problems East of Budapest. From Hungary to the Iron Gate the Danube is free-flowing for almost 900km. From what I have read the problems in most years are worse in drought sailing towards the Black Sea rather than from Budapest upstream into Austria. Last year the situation was "in reverse" for some time in autumn. Traffic was affected but how much the river cruise ships were affected in particular I do not know.

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

9 hours ago, Kenster said:

From both directions??

I believe so. The problem was docking in Budapest itself. If you find last year's water level problems on the Danube thread (sorry, I can't remember the name) and search for Budapest within the thread you will find at least a few discussions.

[notamermaid]

5 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I believe so. The problem was docking in Budapest itself. If you find last year's water level problems on the Danube thread (sorry, I can't remember the name) and search for Budapest within the thread you will find at least a few discussions.

I recall the photos of people walking on the sandbanks.

 

This is the thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2508573-danube-water-levels-2018-and-similar-topics-plus-tips-and-info/

The relevant posts should be after 10 July.

 

notamermaid

 

[KathyK13]

On 2/18/2019 at 4:08 PM, Kenster said:

Most tour companies block bulks of seats on plane but no seats are assigned.  Basically, if the company books 40 seats, the 40 seats they end up with are what are left over from the "retail" passengers.  Also, it's unlikely that you'll get the award miles for seats at super discounted prices.  IF, you can get your confirmation number far enough in advance, you MIGHT be able to change your seat.  BUT with the coming of the "Basic Economy" fares, seats at that price aren't assigned until boarding time anyway.   It might be possible to pay a a premium to be able to reserve a seat.  Talk to your travel agent or Avalon.   Then decide if it's worth it to save several thousand dollars by sitting in a middle seat for a twelve hour flight.

We are taking Avalon's Canals, Vineyards, and Castles in June and have booked our own flights out of Toronto.  We live in western NY and with the favorable exchange rate, we were able to get premium economy seats on direct flights for $500 less than it would cost us to fly out of Rochester in basic economy.  It's worth it for us to have the peace of mind knowing we will be comfortable for the 8 hour flights  rather than take a chance on having Avalon assign us flights.  Looking forward to our cruise!

[gnome12]

Just now, KathyK13 said:

We are taking Avalon's Canals, Vineyards, and Castles in June and have booked our own flights out of Toronto.  We live in western NY and with the favorable exchange rate, we were able to get premium economy seats on direct flights for $500 less than it would cost us to fly out of Rochester in basic economy.  It's worth it for us to have the peace of mind knowing we will be comfortable for the 8 hour flights  rather than take a chance on having Avalon assign us flights.  Looking forward to our cruise!

The only hassle of course is driving across the border! I’ve driven that route often (I live in Toronto and my sister in Fairport) and sometimes it is really terrible. 

[FuelScience]

51 minutes ago, KathyK13 said:

We are taking Avalon's Canals, Vineyards, and Castles in June and have booked our own flights out of Toronto.  We live in western NY and with the favorable exchange rate, we were able to get premium economy seats on direct flights for $500 less than it would cost us to fly out of Rochester in basic economy.  It's worth it for us to have the peace of mind knowing we will be comfortable for the 8 hour flights  rather than take a chance on having Avalon assign us flights.  Looking forward to our cruise!

That's a great cruise. If you're interested, the link below will take you to the dailies from our Paris to Amsterdam cruise back in 2016. This cruise had a slight diversion from the normal itinerary. We had to leave Bernkastel early due to a wine festival, so we had an afternoon in Zell. 

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0nz16ahW1fiNWxTRklRY0pTVU0

Edited February 20, 2019 by FuelScience
Addition

[Kenster]

On 2/18/2019 at 4:13 PM, franski said:

I don't think they are as impacted on that end of the Danube as they are further up.  I understand that just below Budapest can be an issue...  Our cruise was cancelled because they couldn't get a boat down to get us!!  

Our TA kept checking with Avalon when the water levels became an issue - and they kept saying that part of the river was OK.  In the end, they cancelled our cruise 72 hours before our flight.  Thank heavens we booked air with them - if not, we would have had tickets into Bucharest & out of Budapest with no vacation booked in between!!!

Enjoy!!  Would love to cruise that part of the world again...

 

Fran

Fran, what time of year was that?

[KathyK13]

1 hour ago, FuelScience said:

That's a great cruise. If you're interested, the link below will take you to the dailies from our Paris to Amsterdam cruise back in 2016. This cruise had a slight diversion from the normal itinerary. We had to leave Bernkastel early due to a wine festival, so we had an afternoon in Zell. 

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0nz16ahW1fiNWxTRklRY0pTVU0

Thanks, FuelScience!

I remember reading your review of the cruise; it's one reason we decided to take it.  Thanks for posting the dailies, they will help us plan for the trip.  We are not doing the Paris portion of the trip as we will be traveling in Germany before the cruise.  This is our third cruise with Avalon, the first time on a Panorama ship. Very excited! 

[franski]

57 minutes ago, Kenster said:

Fran, what time of year was that?

We were scheduled to board in mid-October - the 14th, if memory serves.

 

Fran

[KathyK13]

4 hours ago, gnome12 said:

The only hassle of course is driving across the border! I’ve driven that route often (I live in Toronto and my sister in Fairport) and sometimes it is really terrible. 

We live in Pittsford, right next to Fairport!  Yes, the border crossing can be a hassle.  We  were lucky on our last trip, breezed right through with no traffic.  We usually leave home in the morning and drive to Niagara on the Lake for lunch and a stroll before heading to the airport. Much more pleasant than making connecting flights from Rochester or Buffalo. Of course we wouldn't attempt driving to Toronto in the winter!

[TMLAalum]

7 hours ago, KathyK13 said:

We are taking Avalon's Canals, Vineyards, and Castles in June and have booked our own flights out of Toronto.  We live in western NY and with the favorable exchange rate, we were able to get premium economy seats on direct flights for $500 less than it would cost us to fly out of Rochester in basic economy.  It's worth it for us to have the peace of mind knowing we will be comfortable for the 8 hour flights  rather than take a chance on having Avalon assign us flights.  Looking forward to our cruise!

 

Before Icelandair flew out of CLE, we drove from there to YYZ. We flew out on a Sunday and returned on a Sunday so didn't have traffic issues. Parked our car via a hotel stay & fly package. However, last August we did need to travel through Toronto to head to a fishing resort in northern Ontario. Even though we departed our hotel south of Hamilton close to 9:30, we encountered horrendous traffic so time of day is a definite consideration!

 

We are on Avalon's Legendary Danube in November and booked our own flights w/ ff miles and adding on our own pre & post river cruise travels.

[Playtennis]

FuelScience,

Thanks for starting this blog, “All Things Avalon”.

We are taking our first river cruise trip and chose Avalon because of the good reviews of the line and because the Grand France itinerary (June 2-16, 2020) fits our schedule perfectly. We’ve been wanting to roam around France and the ability to enjoy a number of places throughout the country without having to pack and unpack every day or two is ideal.

Our plan is to fly into Paris about two weeks before embarkation, celebrate DW’s #0 birthday, enjoy a day at the French Open (I’m a tennis fanatic!) and then spend some time in either Loire Valley or Dordogne River Valley area (or both) then hustle back to Paris for the boat.

I have learned some important things by gleaning through this 33 page blog (ok, ok, I did the first 3 pages and then skipped over to posts staring in 2018) which have answered some of my questions but also have created others.

Here are some points that I could use amplification on, clarification, an answer or a rousing “What is that!”.  Here goes:

(BTW – we are ocean cruisers having done quite a few on Oceania)

a.    Embarkation: it appears that we can’t get onboard until 3PM.  There is usually a hotel (near the Eiffel Tower which is near the two river cruise docks).  We will gather there and be bused to the boat.  Is this correct?  Or - Could we go directly to the boat and leave our luggage there before embarking?

b.    Disembarking: If we haven’t purchased the transfer from Avalon, we can ask for them to arrange a taxi to take us to our transportation (with final port being Port Saint Louis we are not sure if we are going to Nice for a few days afterwards or simply staying overnight in Marseille). Is that true?

c.    Optional excursions: if we book an optional excursion online before the cruise can we cancel with either a refund or the cost being applied as an OBC?

d.    Changes in itinerary: (This one concerns me the most) I fully understand that we need to be prepared for changes due to the river conditions.  It was discussed OFTEN in the thread.  How often has this happened over the past few years? is it getting worse? And for the really silly question – we are assuming that it requires us to pack and unpack and be bused to the next available stop.  If that happens does Avalon have ‘spare’ boats that we will continue on?

e.    Sudden change in cast off time: On one of the threads that I read, a blogger stated that “they were DIYing in a town and thought they’d have a dinner at a quaint little restaurant.  The boat was scheduled to depart at 9.  They decided to head back to the boat for dinner instead and were ‘lucky’ because the boat was going to sail earlier than 9. They were never notified of that change.” (of course, that was all paraphrased).  Does this really happen? Could one be stranded because the captain decided they needed to set sail? How does one avaoid this possibility?

f.     Cost of laundry: This is not a question just a personal opinion. This question is asked on almost every cruise that we’ve taken and I don’t understand why. Taking a trip, like the Grand France cruise, costs $20,000-$30,000.  Why would one want to spend time and effort doing laundry when it is only going to dent your budget by somewhere in the vicinity of $100???

In advance, I will thank you for easing our furrowed brows and Diane and I are looking forward to a Bon Voyageand Neuveaux Amis.

Keith

 

[franski]

19 hours ago, Playtennis said:

Here are some points that I could use amplification on, clarification, an answer or a rousing “What is that!”.  Here goes:

(BTW – we are ocean cruisers having done quite a few on Oceania)

a.    Embarkation: it appears that we can’t get onboard until 3PM.  There is usually a hotel (near the Eiffel Tower which is near the two river cruise docks).  We will gather there and be bused to the boat.  Is this correct?  Or - Could we go directly to the boat and leave our luggage there before embarking?

b.    Disembarking: If we haven’t purchased the transfer from Avalon, we can ask for them to arrange a taxi to take us to our transportation (with final port being Port Saint Louis we are not sure if we are going to Nice for a few days afterwards or simply staying overnight in Marseille). Is that true?

c.    Optional excursions: if we book an optional excursion online before the cruise can we cancel with either a refund or the cost being applied as an OBC?

d.    Changes in itinerary: (This one concerns me the most) I fully understand that we need to be prepared for changes due to the river conditions.  It was discussed OFTEN in the thread.  How often has this happened over the past few years? is it getting worse? And for the really silly question – we are assuming that it requires us to pack and unpack and be bused to the next available stop.  If that happens does Avalon have ‘spare’ boats that we will continue on?

e.    Sudden change in cast off time: On one of the threads that I read, a blogger stated that “they were DIYing in a town and thought they’d have a dinner at a quaint little restaurant.  The boat was scheduled to depart at 9.  They decided to head back to the boat for dinner instead and were ‘lucky’ because the boat was going to sail earlier than 9. They were never notified of that change.” (of course, that was all paraphrased).  Does this really happen? Could one be stranded because the captain decided they needed to set sail? How does one avaoid this possibility?

Keith

 

Let's see if I can help with some of these....  

a) Embarkation - yes, there is a hotel where you will gather and be bused to the boat.  You can arrive early and leave your luggage, but the crew prefers that this isn't done as they are working hard to get the boat cleaned/turned over from the prior cruise.  I doubt they would turn you away if you arrived early.  But - an option is to leave your luggage at the hotel you are staying at (check out & store your luggage) and make your way to the boat after 3.  Avalon will be able to tell you when you have to be on board.

b) Yes, they will assist you in transportation at the end of the cruise.

c) Unsure...  If they book a guide =/- transportation - and you cancel - they may not refund your money.  You may need to find someone to "buy" your spot.

d) No way of knowing when/if this will happen.  It is less likely in France, I believe, that along the Danube.

e)  I doubt they would leave you stranded.  If they posted a 9 pm cast off - and decided they had to leave early - they would most likely leave a crew member behind to wait for you and have plans for you to catch up with the boat if they were unable to contact you and ask you to return.   Trying to remember if they ask for an emergency contact number when you board.  They will know you are off the boat (you always pick up your room "chit" when you leave the boat... that way, they know who is on & off the boat at any given time) - and I am sure they would do everything in their power to *not* leave anyone behind if the decision to move early was theirs.

Hope this helps.

Fran

 

[Playtennis]

Thank you Fran.  It does help. We do look forward to the cruise.

Keith

[franski]

Hi everyone.... I just want to share a bit of frustration we are having with Avalon related to our trip to Peru.   This will be our 4th Avalon cruise (although our 14th river cruise...).  We usually pre-pay our gratuities as it is one less thing to worry about once we are there.We were offered the chance to pre-pay on this trip as well.  When we enquired about the amount, we were told $84 pp...  Seemed a bit low, so I questioned this amount - twice - and was told this was all that was required.   I assumed - based on this amount - and the fact that the documents said we would be met by a local guide in Lima - that our group would be managed by a local guide in each area - and that the gratuities would be for the boat.  Our final documents arrived last week.  In them, it said we had pre-paid the tour director (that we didn't know we were getting) and that the gratuities for the 3 nights on the Amazon could be paid prior to disembarkation.  I have questioned the amount for the "surprise" tour director - as this is high compared to the daily gratuity in Europe.  But, it just keeps getting worse.  Requests for further detail indicate monies for local guides while touring the Nazca lines, for the hotel in Paracas, for the bus driver etc.  Our documents gave a suggested amount per night on the boat - but the communication from the main office suggests an amount/day....  And - that we continue to pay the tour director while we are on the boat - even though we are expected to also pay the on board naturalist and crew.   All in all, the gratuities went from $84 CDN to $175 USD - and that is paying at the low end of the suggested scale.  Very frustrating.  I am still trying to sort the details out - but, I want people to be aware that a cost you are looking at may not be the actual cost you end up with.  I *think* the issue arises because we are dealing with the Exotics department.  But, whatever the reason, I am spending a great deal of time (and, by the look of it - more money) for something that should be easy to manage. 

In spite of the numerous e-mails, and +++ time on the phone with my TA, I *still* don't know how to pay the tour director.  I can pay the gratuities on the boat with a credit card... but, am I expected to bring USD with me to pay the tour director in cash? Still waiting for an answer on that, and we leave in less than 2 weeks. 

Just thought I would post to give people a head's up on this - in case anyone is looking at Avalon outside of Europe.

Fran

[franski]

On ‎3‎/‎5‎/‎2019 at 2:35 PM, franski said:

 I just want to share a bit of frustration we are having with Avalon related to our trip to Peru...      and we leave in less than 2 weeks. 

Hi everyone - Wanted to update you on the above posting.   We heard today that Avalon is going to pay our gratuities for the tour director on our upcoming trip.  We still have to pay the gratuities for the time on the boat - and, for some reason, gratuities for the Nazca Lines portion of the trip as it is considered an  "extension" - although this was never mentioned as an "extension" when we booked.  The gratuity amount we were quoted originally will cover our time on the river - and a few dollars for the tour in Paracas (including the Nazca Lines) isn't a big deal.  So, we are reasonably satisfied with the outcome.  

We have learned a few things from this experience - and want to share them with you.

1)  The Exotics division is separate from the division that handles river cruises in Europe - and all queries about cruises considered "exotic" are routed through them.  Be prepared for conflicting responses, and don't be afraid to question something that you don't feel is correct.  

2)  Read *all* documents carefully.  And, compare them.  The e-documents on the MyAvalon site don't always have the same information as the printed documents you receive pre-cruise.  See point#1 re: discrepancies. 

3) Avalon reads Cruise Critic.  In the midst of this whole situation, I did say to both our TA and to Avalon that I would be posting about the  situation on CC - as people should be aware of the challenges we are having.  My original post was Tuesday afternoon.... Avalon was on the phone to my TA early Wednesday morning.  I would like to think that Avalon would have come to the same decision about the gratuities even if I didn't post here (my previous experiences with Avalon have all been positive) but the visibility on CC probably helped us.

 

In the end, it was the language regarding gratuities, and what they covered, that was the issue.  We have asked that Avalon review their current documents, and amend anything that could be ambiguous.  When people spend this amount of money on a vacation package (and this is *not* a cheap tour....) they need to know up front what the bottom line will be.  This has taken quite a bit of our time - but even *MORE* of our TA's time....  Which supports my position that a good TA is worth their weight in gold.

 

I will be posting this response on the thread about the Galapagos with Avalon --> I know it is a duplicate, but feel that the update (in the spirit of fairness to Avalon) should be in both places as the original post was.

 

Fran 

 

[mhb1757]

We are booked on the Tulips of Northern Holland cruise in late April. We had free air via a promotion offered back when we booked. We have used Avalon air on a previous cruise and weren’t that thrilled with the arrangements but we fared much better this time. We are on Delta both directions nonstop out of Minneapolis (and as a FYI there has been some erroneous info posted above about Avalon air. We were able to select our seats as soon as we were notified of our flights, we do get frequent flier miles, they are Y fares NOT the basic economy fares and we are upgrade eligible since we have medallion status on delta).  

 

Anyway, our flight arrives at 8:15 am and since we are using their air, transfers to the ship are included. The ship apparently will be docked in Haarlem so my question is: Will they take us directly to the ship in Haarlem that early or take us to a hotel in Amsterdam to await an afternoon transport to the ship?  There is an optional tour to Zans Shanse that leaves at 1:00 but there is no mention in any of the documents whether we will go straight to Haarlem or remain in Amsterdam. 

We want to get to Haarlem ASAP because we have a couple of places we want to visit there prior to the all aboard at 5pm. With Viking they always take you straight to the ship from the airport regardless of what time you arrive but I know Avalon usually buses everyone to the ship together later in the day from a central meeting point. 

 

If if they do take us to an Amsterdam hotel from the airport would it be possible For them to take our luggage to the ship so we can hop on the train to Haarlem from the airport and then get to the ship on our own?