Avalon Waterways- MS Amadeus Symphony

[travelling fools]

We have booked a river cruise with Globus on Avalon Waterways MS Amadeus Symphony for June 29th that does 3 days in Paris and then a river cruise from Trier to Budapest.

Has anyone done this trip?If so how did you enjoy the trip and the ship?

Is there is anyone else out there going on this trip at the end of June?

[unberwoob]

Travelling Fools,

We took the Nurenburg to Budapest portion of this tour (Avalon incorporates several tours into each cruise the boat does) and it was wonderful. You can read about Avalon on previous posts on this website. Avalon provides a great trip and the boat was excellent.

Dennis

[Makeithappen]

We returned last Wednesday from the Prague to Paris 13 day trip with Amadeus Waterways. We spent two days in Prague, seven cruising from Nuremberg to Trier and finishing with three days in Paris. Our cruise director was an excellent lad named Wade. The hotels they chose for us were well located with decent amenities, especially the Prague hotel.

 

Mike and I are in our 40's and we found the river cruising to be a little tedious, four days would have been plenty. There wasn't much to do in the evenings, so we got to relax more than we usually do which was a good thing. It would be nice if the ship offered full internet useage, organized some evening activities such as group trivia games, etc.

 

The staff was professional and accomodating, the ship is beautiful, the food is so-so.

 

Any questions I will try and answer.

 

Ciao,

Jill

[p010ne]

:D We board the Symphony in Trier on Halloween and have to disembark on Sunday, November 7th in Nuremberg!

We plan to take along our portable dvd player and numerous dvd's! Also, we are packing some snack goodies for munching in the evenings!:cool:

Apparantly the water levels were more than adequate for your voyage?:eek:

[travelling fools]

Hope you have a wonderful trip.Please tell us all about it when you return.

We still have over 8 months to go.

[p010ne]

:D We were both able to get our flu shot yesterday, so now all we have to do is start packing! (The Euro/$ certainly is not doing too well!):eek:

[juliedawg]

Returned from the Prague-Nuremberg-Budapest trip on Sunday. Not quite what I expected. Still have jetlag but will post some random thoughts....

1. THe Crew was wonderful--I really liked that they not only spoke excellent Eng. but that they were from Eastern Europe.

 

2. The pastries were wonderful. There were a few good meals. Breakfast was the normal buffet but with wonderful breads and pastries. The eggs were quite good if you wanted to stand in line. Lunch was assorted cold cuts, salad, a warm entree and two soups. They had a problem with "hot" on all foods but the lunches were adequate...wonderful cheeses. Dinner was a choice of soup, (I have had worse)., we did have good beef tenderloin, duck breast, and schnitzel. The pork neck stew and creme of garlic soup just did not play

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

well. The pastries were to die for. Wonderful mousses.the real thing. So one did not go hungry. (The executive chef was skinny. and that just about says it all)

 

3. The cabins were great. I was on the bottom level. Plenty of storage the shower door was hard--ie I could not flood the cabin. Shampoo was the only amenity offered. IT was a bit noisy going through the locks at night but I had my little pink pill.

 

4. The trip was very port intensive. THe ship was full and we were divided up into 3 groups and herded onto large Globus Buses for typical tour bus fare. It rained much of the trip and I do think they might have had a "rainy day" plan. For instance, in Budapest it was pouring....and we did a walking tour. I really think they could have shown us the National Museum. Tis is just an example. We arrived in Slovia so late that our sightseeing was done at night in the rain. I think it would have been interesting if we had docked on time and had seen the country. Yes, the guides were good...Globus hires good guides but I also think that our groups were too large.

 

5. I thought the local entertainment that they brought on board was "cute". Really preferred that to the large ocean liners.

 

6. Ice was a rare commodity. If you wanted it, you went to the bar and they gave you a glass of ice. ie no chilled colas or beer in the room. Since this is an American Clientele, I do think that they could have provided small ice buckets.

 

7. I loved the pillows they were unique and there were complaints. The bedding was a one piece comforter.

 

8. I personally did not pack enough warm clothes but used what I had to layer...We had frost on the top deck. This was not in the computer forecast that I viewed before I left.

 

9. All in all, it was a good trip. I do think that if they want to separate themselves from Viking and the other less expensive trips that they need to include some amenities. For example, a bonbon on the pillow at night, something other than vodka and juice and pretzels at the captain's cocktail party, hair conditioner and lotions in the room, fruit juices or maybe something stronger while waiting in the lounge for late excursions. I also think that their excursions need to be improved..maybe a choice so there would not be somany on any one trip? I would lhave liked to hav visited a WInery, or Brewery but that was not possible.

 

10. On departure day, we did not have to be out of our rooms until we were ready to leave. (THIS WAS NICE)/ My group was supposed to leave at 10am. My luggage went out after breakfast...This is good. It was pouring rain and our shuttle was late. The shuttle left all of us with our luggage between the deparature gates. That was it, no porters, no trolleys, just "out you go". IT would have been nice to have had a member of the ship personnel to see that we all found our gates and had trolleys, etc. There were no instructions on the VAT refund policy and I did not find the booth until it was too late to retrieve my $100 refund. Once you have cleared customs, you cannot go back!!!!!

 

 

11. One more thing....I had my 55th birthday on board. I think I was about the youngest person on the ship...mainly lovely older couples. I am a walker. There was lots of walking and many hurting knees and hips. SO be prepared.

[p010ne]

:mad: The euro/$ is NOW @ 0.791954, too!:mad: Maybe we won't find very much to buy?:eek:

[juliedawg]

:mad: The euro/$ is NOW @ 0.791954, too!:mad: Maybe we won't find very much to buy?:eek:

You are right--it is not a major shopping situation now. It is still more reasonable than London. The most expensive meal I did was $50.00... and that was the hotel restaurant. My garnet ring was bargained down to $390.00 and was large and 18 kt. My private guide was $16.00 hour. so it really was not that expensive. Vienna was a bit over the top but we were not there that long and most people only went to the places recommended by the guides. ....The guide recommended place had the Sacher Tortes at $23.00 the same torte at the coffee shop I went to was around $8.00. You might want to bring your own bottled cokes and water. They are not convenient to purchase at any price and that is one of my suggestions that the ship provide bottled water on board the large buses on tour.

[p010ne]

:rolleyes:

• :eek:

  The pastries were wonderful. There were a few good meals. Breakfast was the normal buffet but with wonderful breads and pastries. The eggs were quite good if you wanted to stand in line. Lunch was assorted cold cuts, salad, a warm entree and two soups. They had a problem with "hot" on all foods but the lunches were adequate...wonderful cheeses. Dinner was a choice of soup, (I have had worse)., we did have good beef tenderloin, duck breast, and schnitzel. The pork neck stew and creme of garlic soup just did not play well. The pastries were to die for. Wonderful mousses.the real thing. So one did not go hungry. (The executive chef was skinny. and that just about says it all)
  

  :eek: Yes, the pastry chef was quite stocky so we agreed that the pastries were great! Kay LOVED the chocolate muffin at breakfast and usually took at least one back to our cabin! We noticed no problem with hot foods and all the lunches were sumptious and excellent! We were never offered those hot soups you did not like, and the cold soups were as good as we get on Princess! The pina colada soup was BETTER than on Princess!! All the dinners were excellent and usually a choice of a meat, fish or vegetarian! Breakfast always featured something new (french toast, sausages, poached eggs, etc..!
  
• :D

  The cabins were great. I was on the bottom level. Plenty of storage the shower door was hard--ie I could not flood the cabin. Shampoo was the only amenity offered. IT was a bit noisy going through the locks at night but I had my little pink pill.

  :cool: The door to the toilet had a strange knob that had to be pressed to enter but the door always seemed to stay open in place as needed for access at night! We were also on the bottom level and there was some gurgling noises at night when going through the locks, but did not bother us at all!:rolleyes:
  
• :cool:

  The trip was very port intensive. THe ship was full and we were divided up into 3 groups and herded onto large Globus Buses for typical tour bus fare. It rained much of the trip and I do think they might have had a "rainy day" plan. For instance, in Budapest it was pouring....and we did a walking tour. I really think they could have shown us the National Museum. Tis is just an example. We arrived in Slovia so late that our sightseeing was done at night in the rain. I think it would have been interesting if we had docked on time and had seen the country. Yes, the guides were good...Globus hires good guides but I also think that our groups were too large.
  

  :p We had reasonable weather for this last cruise segment of the season (very little sun, some sprinkles and a bit cool but not really cold)! There were usually four groups for the tours (red for brisk, blue and yellow for normal, and green for slow which was the choice for Kay because of her knee replacement!)
  
• :p

  I loved the pillows they were unique and there were complaints. The bedding was a one piece comforter

  :eek: Kay did not appreciate the pillows! She rolled the bedspread into something that could be placed under the flimsy pillows and even used my pillow (I don't use a pillow!)! The comforter instead of a cover sheet and blanket seemed to be a European favorite as it was also the mode at the hotels! Kay did not like that, but it was OK for me!:D
  
• :p

  I personally did not pack enough warm clothes but used what I had to layer...We had frost on the top deck. This was not in the computer forecast that I viewed before I left.
  

  :cool: I had been watching the weather forecasts and expected lots of rain and chill, but it was not that bad! There were brouillard warnings on the road from Paris to Luxembourg. We had snow in Prague when we left by air (the plane had to be de-iced before we left, but no problem in Zurich!)
  
• :eek:

  All in all, it was a good trip. I do think that if they want to separate themselves from Viking and the other less expensive trips that they need to include some amenities. For example, a bonbon on the pillow at night, something other than vodka and juice and pretzels at the captain's cocktail party, hair conditioner and lotions in the room, fruit juices or maybe something stronger while waiting in the lounge for late excursions. I also think that their excursions need to be improved..maybe a choice so there would not be somany on any one trip? I would lhave liked to hav visited a WInery, or Brewery but that was not possible.

  :rolleyes: Rudy Schreiner, the former president of Viking and the current president of Avalon, was on our cruise at the start and was verifying the product quality!:D We had some hard candy on our pillow at night (I really appreciated the licorice as I had brought along my package of allsorts licorice! Of course, I also loved the anchovies available at the lunches!:eek: ) A great champage (much better than on pricess!) was served at the welcome party! Hot tea and some beverages were available in the lounge when we returned from tours!:cool: We visited a bar in Trier and were treated with samples of the weiserwader (or however you spell that wine cider that they served?)!
  
• :rolleyes:

  One more thing....I had my 55th birthday on board. I think I was about the youngest person on the ship...mainly lovely older couples. I am a walker. There was lots of walking and many hurting knees and hips. SO be prepared.

  :cool: There were mostly passengers like us in the "Senior Citizen" category; however, there were several who were much younger (there were several couples in their early 30's and at least one young lady in her 20's!:p Also, there was always a "green" group for the easy level of walking! (Note: there is NO elevator on the ship, and no accomodation for disabled!:o )
  

[p010ne]

:cool: We had visited Paris in April and found that Notre Dame cathedral was draped in scaffolding; however, during our current visit the last of October, we noticed that most had been removed and the beautiful stained glass windows were very beautiful! We were surprised to see a large wooden cross in the courtyard and asked our tour guide about it! We were told this was in commemoration of Holy Week, as we were visiting just prior to Halloween or all hallow eve? (we were very surprised as we think of this around Easter!)! This is VERY interesting to observe such cultural differences!

We observed many doorways throught our visit in Germany that also had the C + M + B markings to observe the visit of Casper, Melchior and Balthasar (or the Christus Mansionem Benedictat )!

[unberwoob]

Suggestions for future cruisers:

Both reviews of the above cruise were somewhat different. We all have our own opinions of the same thing. We took this cruise in June and our expierence was much like that of p010ne, and I think he clarified several things.

Don't trust computer weather forecasts. For our cruise, it was supposed to rain the first five days-we had sunshine!

Be prepared(like Boy Scouts). It can be cold anytime of the year, especially in the fall, so bring clothes for the worst possible conditions.

Be informed. All cruise companies have experts who will answer your questions about the cruise prior to your trip. Avalon even gave us the email of our cruise director prior to our trip.

Research. Read all you can about the destinations. The excursions have to be interesting to a large group. Many times we explored away from the group to see something a large group could not see, such as inside churches, etc., then would rejoin the group.

Keep an open mind. You will not like all the food, places you visit, things you see, etc.

You can't please all the people all the time. A bon bon on the pillow may be important to some, but it does not make or break a trip.

Some things are beyond the control of the tour company. Scheduals may change, weather may be bad, things happen.

A trip is an expierence, good, bad, indifferent. Relax and enjoy!

[p010ne]

:cool: Check out some of our photos on flickr:cool:

[bethaniesmom]

help...i am so confused.....trying to find a german river cruise for christmas 2005...my son just got an assignment with US Air Force at Ramstein so we thought this would be a perfect excuse to skip our annual caribbean cruise and try something new....however, I look at Avalon waterways, Amazon waterways, and Globus Tours....are these all the same people with different names?

 

Beverly

[p010ne]

:cool: Globus books for Avalon/amadeus; however, did you not see the review?:eek:

[bethaniesmom]

read the review after I posted....still a little confused, but that's okay.....have about decided to do the avalon waterways christmas cruise...will probably book it as soon as we get back from our January Conquest trip.... My other consideration is the Uniworld Christmas markets cruise...

I have seen questions about water levels, surely that isn't a winter problem! Which brings me to another winter question...just how cold is it in Prague and Germany in mid December....my son is going to Ramstein on thursday so I guess he can tell me soon enough...I guess this is one of those trips where you pack clothes that you can layer!

 

Beverly

[goeurope]

>>just how cold is it in Prague and Germany in mid December<<

 

I can't answer your question about Prague, but when I was in Erfurt and Regensburg last December, I never wore anything heavier than a sweater under a cotton jacket (the kind of jacket people wear on golf courses). Having gloves and a hat on the colder days was useful, though.

 

I do remember walking past a couple of river vessels in Regensburg early one morning when it was pretty chilly--there was frost on the cobblestones, and the locals were definitely bundled up. But it wasn't really cold by Midwestern standards, and my hat and gloves came off once the sun was fully up.

[Dolphintime]

Globus people, don't forget to shop aroung the internet as there are 14% discounts out there with a number o good internet agencies.

 

 

Dolphintime

[lobsterlover]

I did a river cruise thru Germany in late Nov. this year, and the weather was COLD. I used ear muffs, hat, warm socks, and 3 layers and a warm coat, so was always ok. Many people did not bring warm clothes and were very cold. We had snow two different mornings when we got up. (Did not spoil the trip, as I consider it one of my best vacations.) One never knows what the weather will be, so always be prepared is my advice also.

[tban]

Globus people, don't forget to shop aroung the internet as there are 14% discounts out there with a number o good internet agencies.

 

 

Dolphintime

The Globus discount is only available for Land+Air packages.

UET.com offers up to 15% discounts and it does not matter whether one books land only.

tban:)

[Smooth Sailing]

We were stationed in Frankfurt for 3 years - one Christmas we went to the Nuremberg Christmas Market a few days before Christmas - it was snowing and the temperature was below 0 degrees F. It was absolutely frigid.