Just Back.. Our Bloomingly Beautiful Tulip Time Cruise Aboard Avalon's Imagery II. Full trip report with tons of pix!

[Sleep7]

 

🌷Hellooooo to everyone on the River Cruise boards!

We are just back.. literally just back yesterday.. from an absolutely Tip Top seven day "Tulip Time" cruise aboard Avalon's Imagery II.

A little about us.. we both just recently hit the big 6-0 and this is our fourth European river cruise.  Might I venture to say we are now seasoned veterans of river cruising; first sailing the Rhine on Avalon back in 2016, followed by a Viking cruise on the Seine in 2017, and then an AMA cruise on the Danube right after International travel started up again in 2021. 

It's super exciting now to have circled back to the beginning and we were thrilled to sail with Avalon again.

Our week (March 19, 2023 to March 26, 2023) on the Imagery II was truly delightful in every way.

It was a journey filled with historic ports, delicious food, plentiful wine, smooth waters and lovely new friends.

Although we didn't actually didn't see any tulips (except in the flower market in Amsterdam) we did have the best tulip-less time ever!

Our cruise was the first of the season and the tulips, being weather dependent, weren't blooming just yet.  Keukenhof Gardens opened on March 23rd this year and we left Amsterdam on March 19th so we ended up being two blooms that passed in the night.

The only thing that could have been improved upon was the weather.  I would say it was about 60% rain.. 20% drizzle..10% mist and only about 10% sun.

However.. even though nonstop (or even just a little) sunshine would have been nice..  the less than ideal weather didn't put a damper on things at all.

I can't wait to share all of our wonderful experiences during this magical week as we sailed from Amsterdam to Brussels.

So now that the suitcases are unpacked and the last load of laundry is done.. I'm ready to write.

Come sail along with us on our truly TUL-rific, TUL-ightful and TUL-icious yet TUL-ipless journey!🌷

 

 

[Sleep7]

Checked the weather before we left and it certainly looked drippy from point A to point B so I packed some extra hats, a tiny travel umbrella, boots and 2 hooded jackets.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Downloaded the Avalon app which was incredibly easy to use and really came in handy.

 

 

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Checked in and ready to GO on Saturday afternoon for our nonstop flight from JFK to Amsterdam!

 

[Sleep7]

Went lounge hopping as usual.. first to the American Express Lounge where there was no line as of yet.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

And then onto the Delta Skyclub which had a big line brewing.. it moved pretty quickly though.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

A feast to be had there!

 

 

 

Even a Nathan's hot dog cart!

 

 

[Sleep7]

The sun was just setting when we boarded our flight.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Three years into the pandemic.. to mask or not to mask aboard a flight.. that is the question.

We chose not to.😷

 

 

Checked the Delta app to double check our bags made it to the plane and they did. 👏

 

 

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Goodbye New York.. see you in a week!!

 

 

 Quick flying time of 6 hours and 20 minutes.😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Landing in "pea soupy" weather in Amsterdam pretty much set the tone for the week.

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

Meeting the always cheerful and friendly Avalon representative was a treat for weary travelers.

 

 

We pretty quickly boarded the bus for a short ride to the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Aaaaah.. as I always say.. the BEST time of a cruise is when you are walking up the gangway for the first time.  You have the whole week ahead of you to enjoy!!😊

 

🤗

[Sleep7]

Cabin 313.. spacious and beautiful.  We had sailed on the Imagery II seven years ago already and she hadn't aged a day.  Wish I could say that about us! lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Plenty of room in the closet for a compulsive over packer!

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Our whispers for the week and some paperwork.

 

 

 

 

Met Tri our WONDERFUL room attendant for the week.  What a sweetheart.

 

 

[*Miss G*]

Loving your review and pictures.  Thanks for doing this trip report!  We were on the Avalon Imagery II in October.  It was our first river cruise and we had a blast!  It’s a beautiful ship with a wonderful staff.

[Sleep7]

The ship was being readied and stocked for the first cruise of the season!

 

 

Avalon reps in the lounge to sign you up for an optional afternoon tour if you so chose.

 

 

Today's newsletter.. easily accessible on the Avalon Go app.

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

1 minute ago, *Miss G* said:

Loving your review and pictures.  Thanks for doing this trip report!  We were on the Avalon Imagery II in October.  It was our first river cruise and we had a blast!  It’s a beautiful ship with a wonderful staff.

😍Oh thank you so much Miss G!!  I'm so glad you are along for the "sail."  I'm sure it will bring back all the lovely memories of your cruise last October.

[Sleep7]

It was lucky for us that we were the first cruise of the season because we were able to get into our cabin as soon as we boarded the ship.

After a fast shower and a quick lunch and we headed out to spend our first afternoon walking all around Amsterdam.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Some scenes of the day..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Some well dressed dogs and well dressed ducks too!

 

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

🌷At the floating Bloemenmarkt.. alas these would be the only tulips we would see this week.

But as I said in my first post it didn't detract at all from our fantastic cruise.🌷

 

 

[Sleep7]

Mmm... french fries, ketchup and mayonnaise.. what a combo.😋

 

[Sleep7]

The light lunch menu and dinner menu for embarkation day.