Avalon Romantic Rhine with Mount Pilatus, 1 Night in Lucerne & 3 Nights in Lake Como

[NetworkGuy]

We are doing our first River Cruise in May. We have done other cruises, but this is the first time on a river cruise.

 

If anyone has done this tours, we would appreciate any recommendations on the excursions, which would you recommend and which to avoid. We are also staying in Amsterdam for a few days before the cruise. Any suggestions for there would also be appreciated.

 

Now for a new first time river cruise questions:

1. On most cruise ships, you need to put your cell phone in airplane mode to avoid charges. Is that also true for river boats?
2. What time will your cabin be ready? We were told that we can board at 8am, but will the cabin be ready? (It looks like the ship arrives a few days before, but the previous tour debarks that morning.)
3. Do they do laundry on the ship? Or can you even do it yourself?
4. Is the mini-bar included or extra?
5. How good (or bad) is the WiFi?

 

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Can’t answer re Avalon, but on the cell phone question:  the reason for airplane mode on ocean cruises is to avoid the high cell phone at sea charges. That doesn’t apply on a river cruise, where you are always near land cell towers. The question is what service you have from your home carrier?  If you have T-Mobile you’re good to go. Otherwise you need to calculate whether an international plan from your carrier is better than getting a European SIM card. 

[NetworkGuy]

30 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

If you have T-Mobile you’re good to go. 

Interestingly we just switch to T-Mobile. I was thinking of getting their International Pass for voice calls.

[Daisi]

59 minutes ago, NetworkGuy said:

We are doing our first River Cruise in May. We have done other cruises, but this is the first time on a river cruise.

 

If anyone has done this tours, we would appreciate any recommendations on the excursions, which would you recommend and which to avoid. We are also staying in Amsterdam for a few days before the cruise. Any suggestions for there would also be appreciated.

 

Now for a new first time river cruise questions:

1. On most cruise ships, you need to put your cell phone in airplane mode to avoid charges. Is that also true for river boats?
2. What time will your cabin be ready? We were told that we can board at 8am, but will the cabin be ready? (It looks like the ship arrives a few days before, but the previous tour debarks that morning.)
3. Do they do laundry on the ship? Or can you even do it yourself?
4. Is the mini-bar included or extra?
5. How good (or bad) is the WiFi?

 

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

We did the Rhine with Avalon May 2018. I highly recommend Keukenhof if available, as well as Colmar. The excursions have changed since we toured (we did both the Black Forest Open Air Museum and Colmar the same day) so not quite up to the newer ones. You won't go wrong if you choose ones that look good I'm sure.  As to Amsterdam, they have great art museums if you like, there is a flower auction, Anne Frank Museum (you have to order tickets online well ahead of time or you won't get in), and several other areas to see. We took the train one day up to Enkhuizen to see Zuiderzee, which we loved, and wished we had time left over to stop in at the train museum in Hoorn.

 

As to wifi, it was pretty good for most of the trip, I think the only place we had a bit of problems was Bresiach on the last night. You can either get a local SIM card (we got a Vodafone one in Amsterdam at a local convenience store.), or see if your plan has a decent roaming plan. Another thing I might recommend is getting a tram/bus pass, you can get one at a convenience store at the airport, they are handy, *but* you have to tap on and off.

 

Your cabin will probably not be ready until after 2:00, however you can drop off your luggage and wander. Most recommend that you wait until at least 10:00am to drop the luggage, as they will be trying to get the passengers from the previous cruise out. There is normally a very quick turnaround, when we got to our ship around 11;30, there were still passengers from the previous cruise onboard. We were invited to have a light lunch & drink in the lounge while we waited for our tour. 

 

Yes there is laundry on board, and I have heard others say prices are reasonable. We pack more quick drying clothes, so can rinse out in the bathroom sink and dry in our closet. Don't over pack, it's a more casual atmosphere, and most guests will be wearing the same outfits more than once. We do our cruises with a smaller backpack (for our electronics and a couple changes of clothes) and a carryon each.

 

There is a mini-bar, however you are able to bring alcohol onboard, so we always request that they take the stuff out of the fridge so we have room to put our purchases in it. Don't forget, in 2023 (and hopefully from now on), there will be a free cocktail hour and you are more than welcome to order a drink to "go" to enjoy in the lounge or sundeck after lunch or dinner. Drinks are not overly expensive, I think we had 2 beers and our bar bill was about 8 Euros. You can view the bar menu here, just scroll down to the link. https://www.avalonwaterways.ca/why-avalon/dining/

 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Daisi

[Host Jazzbeau]

43 minutes ago, NetworkGuy said:

Interestingly we just switch to T-Mobile. I was thinking of getting their International Pass for voice calls.

We are happy with their included text and data. Can always use Skype for calls. 

[worcestergal]

We, also, use TMobil overseas and find the text and data excellent. I recommend, though, using WhatsApp for calls. Just make sure that your contacts have that app on their phone. I’ve found that outside the US and Canada, everyone seems to use it.  

[AliceS]

On 3/23/2023 at 2:28 PM, NetworkGuy said:

We are doing our first River Cruise in May. We have done other cruises, but this is the first time on a river cruise.

 

If anyone has done this tours, we would appreciate any recommendations on the excursions, which would you recommend and which to avoid. We are also staying in Amsterdam for a few days before the cruise. Any suggestions for there would also be appreciated.

 

Now for a new first time river cruise questions:

1. On most cruise ships, you need to put your cell phone in airplane mode to avoid charges. Is that also true for river boats?
2. What time will your cabin be ready? We were told that we can board at 8am, but will the cabin be ready? (It looks like the ship arrives a few days before, but the previous tour debarks that morning.)
3. Do they do laundry on the ship? Or can you even do it yourself?
4. Is the mini-bar included or extra?
5. How good (or bad) is the WiFi?

 

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Where did you stay in Lake Como?   What was your overall experience on the cruise and add on?

we leave on Sunday 9/24.   Would love to hear your thoughts.   Thanks!

[NetworkGuy]

@AliceS The cruise was fantastic. I created a picture book from the photos we took and the title is "Best Vacation Ever!"

 

There were a number of people on the cruise who has cruised with Avalon before. They ALL said the our cruise director was the best they had ever had on any cruise. Having a great cruise director makes all of the difference.

 

Only 12 couples did the add-on excursion, so we had the cruise director all to ourselves. He did a fantastic job of arranging all of the transfers and tours.

 

In Como, we stayed at the Hotel Barchette Excelsior with a lake front balcony room. One of the best locations in town.

[Got2Cruise]

I use my phone on airplane mode on River Cruises. You sign onto wifi and you’re good to go. You call or message anyone back home normally. No charge as long as you are on wifi. The ship has wifi and many cafes in towns give you wifi code. 
 

If you want to message Europeans use WhatsApp. It’s widely used there. 

[NetworkGuy]

We switched to T-Mobile before we went. We had international data included for free in every country. And voice calls were only $0.25 a minute.

[AliceS]

23 hours ago, NetworkGuy said:

@AliceS The cruise was fantastic. I created a picture book from the photos we took and the title is "Best Vacation Ever!"

 

There were a number of people on the cruise who has cruised with Avalon before. They ALL said the our cruise director was the best they had ever had on any cruise. Having a great cruise director makes all of the difference.

 

Only 12 couples did the add-on excursion, so we had the cruise director all to ourselves. He did a fantastic job of arranging all of the transfers and tours.

 

In Como, we stayed at the Hotel Barchette Excelsior with a lake front balcony room. One of the best locations in town.

We are in the same hotel in Como.    I would love to have a balcony room.   I hope.      Just found out that we will not take the train from Lucerne to Basel…..coach.   Thanks for sharing.