Avalon Tapestry

[gourmetgirls]

We are looking at a Basel to Amsterdam cruise on Avalon Tapestry in May of 2008. We will probably opt for a cabin with the sliding French door on the Sapphire deck. Is there a better location: bow, mid-ship or aft, left side versus right. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[letsgo39]

It has been said on here several times that it is best to be midship for the quietest experience.I really don't know which is the best side.We are sailing Budapest to Amsterdam and will have a starboard cabin,royal deck,midship on the Avalon Tranquility,I plan to spend most of my time on the sun deck so I am not terribly concerned if I have the best side. I do know that the Lorelei was on the left(port) side when I sailed from Cologne to Heidelberg on a short trip a few years ago.Probably still is.:D

[cal101]

We are leaving in 17 days to sail on the Avalon Tapestry, Basel to Amsterdam route. Have a cabin on the Sapphire Deck, halfway between midship and the stern on the port (left) side. I will post a report when I return, so perhaps I will be able to answer your questions then.

[gourmetgirls]

Thanks for your help!

[VAGuy]

A few points to consider about cabin location. Which side of the boat should not be a concern. This is a river boat. As such, there is scenery on both sides of the boat so no matter which side you are on, you will not be able to see the other side. The best place to sightsee is from the lounge or sun deck where you can see 360 degrees. Further, since this is a river boat, there is little, if any, pitching or rolling to affect your choice of cabin location. Some people recommend the center of the boat to try to avoid noise from the ship's thrusters, but on the Tapestry there is a new "silent drive" system which makes thruster noise negligible. Finally, which deck? Well, you will get sliding glass door on the upper decks which gives you a bit better view than the lowest deck. But this comes with a rather hefty price of about $600/room. The rooms are identical otherwise - same layouts, same size. Since we do out sightseeing from the lounge or the sun deck while on the boat, we opt for the cheapest cabin and have a few extra glasses of wine in the lounge. Have fun no matter what you choose.;)

[arlenez]

We are looking at a Basel to Amsterdam cruise on Avalon Tapestry in May of 2008. We will probably opt for a cabin with the sliding French door on the Sapphire deck. Is there a better location: bow, mid-ship or aft, left side versus right. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

HI:

 

DH and I were just looking at the same cruise for 2008. We have a brochure for 2007 that shows April, June, August, Sept and Oct. Do you know if they actually sail in May of 2008 with this itinerary? Have you ever been on a river cruise before? This will be our first river cruise and we want to try it and then book one to China if we like it.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[winegirl]

I just returned from an Amadeus Waterways tulip time river cruise on the Amadagio, from Amsterdam to Amsterdam. Our room was on the port side. I would try for a room on the starboard side. When the boat is docked, the rooms on the port side were often exposed to foot traffic on the dock, which required that we have our drapes closed for privacy. On the starboard side, we would have had the benefit of a nice river view when in port, without the need to keep the drapes closed.

[JGR01]

Closed draperies? AWWW that is half the fun of dock-side walking!

 

I am on AMS-Basel later this summer and in reading here the boats use two different docks in AMS and as such you may (repeat may) face the other direction....depending on the dock.

[mac321]

We were on the top deck, port side about half way along the ship on our Amsterdam/Basel trip on Tapestry. Generally the ship was docked on the port side. This was not a problem unless we were parked in an industrial area.

 

Being at a higher level has its advantages but you won't be spending too much time in your cabin so its not a great issue. I don't think there are any bad cabins on Tapestry.

[gourmetgirls]

Arlene,

We are booked on the Tapestry leaving Basel around May 18, 2008. We are a group of twelve friends in our late 40's and early 50's that enjoy traveling together. My DH and I have cruised on HAL before but this is our first river cruise. Other couples in our group have done river cruises before and thought that this would be a good experience for our group. One member of our group is a travel agent and she is the one that suggested Avalon and the itinerary. We are really looking forward to next May!

 

BTW, are entire group ended booking the less expensive cabins in the "basement". We decided that we would not be spending much time in our cabin and would do our sightseeing on the top deck as others have posted.

[arlenez]

Arlene,

We are booked on the Tapestry leaving Basel around May 18, 2008. We are a group of twelve friends in our late 40's and early 50's that enjoy traveling together. My DH and I have cruised on HAL before but this is our first river cruise. Other couples in our group have done river cruises before and thought that this would be a good experience for our group. One member of our group is a travel agent and she is the one that suggested Avalon and the itinerary. We are really looking forward to next May!

 

BTW, are entire group ended booking the less expensive cabins in the "basement". We decided that we would not be spending much time in our cabin and would do our sightseeing on the top deck as others have posted.

 

Did you book your trip through your friend, the travel agent? I went on Avalon's website and they do not show the 2008 schedule. I would love to get some prices and dates, although May 18th sounds just about right. Is this the 9 day cruise?

 

Thanks for your help,

Arlene

[gourmetgirls]

Our traveling companion, the travel agent, did book this cruise. It is a 7 day cruise from Sunday to Sunday. We are going to stay a couple of days in Amsterdam post-cruise. Can't wait!

[bgret53]

Just returned from April trip on the Viking Europe. We usually faced the dock side and were never bothered by foot traffic. Also, there are times when even when you are on the river side another ship docks right up close to you and their passengers pass through your ship to get to shore! There are no sure sides, lounges and sun decks are great!

[H2Otstr]

We just returned from a Uniworld cruise and we had a coal barge docked outside our window and next to him a gravel barge. What a sight !!! :eek: