Which room?

[hmcrn]

We are thinking of going on Avalon Basel to Amsterdam in May.  We have been on Avalon before, down the Seine, and had an "aquarium" class room.  It was fine, as we did not spend much time in our room.  (although small).

We were thinking of upgrading on this trip to a regular room on the second floor with the french balcony.  Is it worth the extra money ($1000 - 1500 per person)?  We are pretty active, and go on all of the excursions, as well as walk around a lot on our own.  However, it is nice to sit with a book occasionally (a rainy day).

I would love everyone's opinion!

[Fletch1]

Interesting conundrum! We have also traveled in the "aquarium class", twice in fact (on Viking), and did not mind it. Like you, we did not spend that much time in our room. We traveled in the cooler months, so even if we had a french balcony, we would not have used it I think. We spent all our (little) spare time sitting in the lounge, usually by the window but with much more room than we would have in our cabin. If it was warmer, we would up on the top deck and enjoy the panoramic view, or went to the outdoor lounge at the front of the ship. 

 

With the Viking ships we were on, all the cabins were the same size and had the same amenities (that I was ware of anyway), except the two suites at the back which were much larger. So the only difference was the view out the window. Personally, the small amount of time we spent in our cabin easily justified saving the $1000-$1500 that we would have paid for the french balcony. 

 

One thing we did find though, particularly on the busy Rhine, we noticed some of the bigger ships/barges created a very loud "swooshing" noise as they went past. Wasn't a problem for us, but it was something that the cabins above the water line would not hear.  

[Got2Cruise]

I don’t think it’s worth the extra $1500 if you were fine in a aquarium class cabin previously. Reasons: Most of the cruising time is done at night, so the laying on the bed as the world goes by won’t happen very often. Also the Danube is very popular so rafting is common. But, you might just want to try a balcony cabin to find out yourself. After 2 aquarium class cabins which we were fine with, especially because we saved enough to pay for the post cruise extension, we tried a balcony just to find out for ourselves if it was worth it. Cruise #4 back to aquarium class. The square footage of the cabins the same, that’s the most important to us. Each ship different so always compare cabin sizes before deciding. 

[foodpolice]

I concur that the aquarium rooms are more than adequate.  We'd tried both types of rooms, the french balcony on our 1st & the aquarium cabin on our 2nd, European river cruises (both with Avalon).  The french balcony was nice, but we didn't spend much time in our room, as such we went with the aquarium class & was very happy with it.

We subsequently went on a Mekong river cruise on the M/V Mekong Navigator with Emerald & booked an aquarium class cabin.  Again, our room was more than suffice & it was larger than that of the french balcony rooms.

Unless you get the french balcony at a smoking hot price or on an upgrade, book the aquarium class.

In any event, hope this helps & enjoy.

[cruiselvr04]

Good to know....we have booked a lower cabin for our first river cruise.  I'm guessing most of our time will be spent on the top deck or lounge while actually cruising.   And of course alot will be at night.  I will bring my sound machine and hope I sleep well. We just couldn't justify the cost of almost 2k more.

 

And fun to know you all call them aquarium rooms.

[franski]

We always try to book aquarium class... and save the money for "the next trip".  We did book a French balcony on cruise #2 (as we got a "sale" on the upgrade...) - and while it was nice, it wasn't worth the extra cost IMHO.   We got a free  upgrade from Aquarium to French Balcony on a cruise a while ago, and while it was an enjoyable surprise, we were way back on the middle deck - so longer to walk to the lounge, dining room etc.  It confirmed our decision not to spend extra dollars on an upgrade.   If I want to sit and read, or watch the scenery, I will always go to the lounge.

 

I always love the "swoosh" of the water lapping against the window.  I find that quite soothing - and always sleep well on a river boat.

 

Fran

[hmcrn]

Thanks so much everyone!  You have all confirmed my suspicions.  😊 Aquarium room it is!  As it turns out there will be several people sailing with us now, so we will all be together downstairs.  We got 10 people, so one room free!  And great price on airfare.  If we get a free upgrade, we may try it, but other than that we will stay down with the group.  Thanks again!

[Kenster]

On 1/29/2019 at 8:58 AM, Got2Cruise said:

The square footage of the cabins the same, that’s the most important to us. Each ship different so always compare cabin sizes before deciding. 

 

On Avalon ships, the Aquarium cabins are considerably smaller: 170 square feet vs 200 in the French Balcony cabins.  But the price is considerably less, too.   Might be hard to justify an extra $250 to $300 per night (per couple) for that view that you can get just as easily on one of the many decks.