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APT vs Avalon River Cruises
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of APT and Avalon River Cruises.The Low Down
Initially providing coach touring around Australia and NZ to the local market, APT have grown exponentially over the last decade to now offer trips around the world, and are well known for their European river cruises. Over the last few years APT have introduced small ship expeditions that cruise the waters through Asia, Europe, Canada and off the coast of Kimberley. Catering primarily for the retired market, their trips aren't cheap, but in APT's case - you get what you pay for. Look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. The team here at Global Journeys have travelled multiple times by coach, cruise & river with APT, and we definitely recommend them as a quality, consistent, reliable Operator, and our past client reviews back that up.
Not as well known locally as APT or Scenic, Avalon Waterways have nevertheless been cruising the rivers of Europe and Asia since 2004. Featuring modern luxury ships, with floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, our clients love Avalon, and some of their river itineraries are our biggest sellers. Avalon don't usually include Fly Offers, so you'll need to book flights separately, but consequently their cruise prices are cheaper than the other luxury Operators and they offer some great Earlybird discounts. Part of the Globus Family group of Brands, means you can secure further discounts the next time you decide to travel by coach with either Globus or Cosmos. Stats
No. of Trips
407
No. of Departures
2,907
Avg. Trip Length
15 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$740
Accommodation
4 - 5 Star
Budget
Premium & Luxury
No. of Trips
144
No. of Departures
1,606
Avg. Trip Length
10 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$506
Fleet Size
18 Ships
Known For
Panorama Suites
Ship Styles River Cruises
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
APT is an Australian family-owned company whose essence began in Melbourne in the 1920s. More than 90 years on, APT offers life-enriching trips to every continent, and through the company’s vast industry experience, meticulous planning and unquestionable passion it's earned a place among the world’s most well-regarded travel companies.
From boutique river cruising to small-group 4WD adventures; traditional coach touring with a decadent twist; epic rail journeys to small-ship expeditions; classic ocean cruising to safaris of discovery by both land and air – there’s little APT are unwilling to consider in pursuit of creating the finest holiday experience for its valued guests.
Timeless luxury, exclusive experiences, life enriching moments and true personalisation. APT offers all-inclusive holidays so everything is taken care of. We invite you to join us; you won’t be disappointed.
One of our favourite sayings that describes Avalon Waterways is ‘the possibilities are as wide open as the views’. From Europe to the Galapagos and Asia, you can cruise in relaxed luxury with Avalon Waterways, with choices as unique as you. Avalon offers you a range of choices from excursions, dining options, activities that help you tailor your experience.
Just imagine gliding away down the world’s most spectacular rivers, all while enjoying a unique vantage point from your own private oasis. Our floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows in our suites blur the line between where the world ends, and your suite begins; allowing you to experience the world less seen from the comfort of your bed. This is river cruising from a unique point of view.
Recent Reviews
4.7
We have done this trip previously, although in April. This time we went in November. Although the autumn colours were beautiful it was very cold most days (around 5 degrees during the day). As this was the last trip of the season we found many of the freedom of choice activities were limited and in many cases were only limited to a city walk. We were ...read more really looking forward to riding the e-bikes on a couple of occasions but were told once we boarded that they stop that by the end of October. Very disappointed! We did find we were sitting around a lot on the ship and once we did stop at each port we were time limited. Maybe more day-time activities whilst on board too would have been better. On the whole we enjoyed our time away and couldn't fault the food and staff and their attention to detail.
Paris was very disappointing, the river cruise & Prague were excellent and met all expectations. Very knowledgeable & well organized tour guides. Perhaps this trip isn't geared to solo travelers. Accommodation on the cruise & Prague of high quality but were disappointing in Paris.
Recommendations:- (Paris) Perhaps the APT tour guide could have attended ...read more earlier to ease the tension/frustration/anger felt by the early arrival of clients. It was noticeable, that both Avalon & Viking guides where in attendance. Hotel personnel were quite rude/short/ with clients as they where very busy! Perhaps this could be looked into by Global Journeys. (GJ Team: We'll certainly pass on your comments to APT. Thanks for your feedback.)
Recommendations:- (Paris) Perhaps the APT tour guide could have attended ...read more earlier to ease the tension/frustration/anger felt by the early arrival of clients. It was noticeable, that both Avalon & Viking guides where in attendance. Hotel personnel were quite rude/short/ with clients as they where very busy! Perhaps this could be looked into by Global Journeys. (GJ Team: We'll certainly pass on your comments to APT. Thanks for your feedback.)
On the whole a great trip. The one let-down was the food, which would not pass muster in a Melbourne bistro. Restaurant staff were largely under-trained, which may be a hang-over from COVID.
Trip was very good. Karijini was below standard (very arrogant staff and canteen like food). Tour director Shay and husband who drove the bus were outstanding and went the extra mile to assist everyone. Visited many places that we had never heard of. The weather was lovely Exmouth and Broome excellent accommodation. Smaller towns accommodation was ...read more not as good but that had to be expected as there isn’t much to choose from.
APT provided an outstanding experiences and unforgettable memories for us in Kimberley. The foods are always good and our guides always ensure everyone's safety and comforts during the trip.
Our APT tour of tropical North Queensland to the tip of Australia and to Thursday and Horn Island was fantastic. Our tour guide Natasha and driver Grant were outstanding and everything went smoothly. The walk to the tip of Australia was the highlight and should be on everyone's bucket list. The walk was not too difficult and everyone in our group of ...read more predominantly over 70 year olds all got there with a big smile on their face. Accommodation was excellent overall considering the remoteness of some of our stops. APT tours are not cheap but they do represent good value and we would travel with them again. Georgie from Global Journeys was as usual very efficient and responsive with our travel arrangements.
4.7
Our first river cruise experience was nothing but AMAZING! 0 Zyra & Ryrenn Joseph, WA, Australia, Dec 2022
We would like to thank Toni our travel advisor at Global Journeys & the rest of the Avalon Tranquility 2 crew for making our holiday cruise getaway a memorable and relaxing experience. From getting in touch with yourself to enquire at first, to sorting out our trip, I couldn’t believe how easy everything was.
Onboard the cruise, EVERY crew member ...read more made sure we are ALWAYS looked after and they even made time decorating our room & making a cake to celebrate my birthday. Every place we went throughout the cruise was remarkable and we also loved the part where we were given ample time to be able to roam around & explore each town/place on our own without having to rush. Overall the experience was delightful and we can hand on heart say it will not be our first & last as we will definitely book with you again in the future.
Onboard the cruise, EVERY crew member ...read more made sure we are ALWAYS looked after and they even made time decorating our room & making a cake to celebrate my birthday. Every place we went throughout the cruise was remarkable and we also loved the part where we were given ample time to be able to roam around & explore each town/place on our own without having to rush. Overall the experience was delightful and we can hand on heart say it will not be our first & last as we will definitely book with you again in the future.
Had snow in Heidelberg which was nice to see. Trip went well, my only issue was that it was actually 3 cruises in one which I was unaware of. First leg to Nuremberg, got to know everyone on board but then 90% of passengers and the tour director disembarked and another lot of people came on board. This meant we were docked in Nuremberg for 3 days which ...read more was really too long. Then a few days later, more people disembarked at Frankfurt and a new lot of people boarded. Did not really give you a chance to get to know everyone on board as people were coming and going, there were only about 17 of the original group who went through to Basel. Would much prefer to have the whole 16 days with the one group of people. Life on board the ship was good, staff were excellent, food & rooms were also excellent. Would have liked to have had some night excursions to see the Christmas Markets in full festive light. Felt some of the excursions were too long and others too short but that could be just a personal thing.
We had a really great time from the very beginning with excellent service from Rachael in organizing our trip at relatively short notice. The boat looked new and was very clean, the crew were all fabulous and Daniella the Cruise Director was outstanding and always available to give advice and or support the passengers. The only downside was of course ...read more the low water levels in the upper parts of the Danube which prevented us from completing the journey in Nuremburg. This impacted every cruise company. Having said this, Avalon did an outstanding job adjusting the cruise by adding a few more stops along the way and through offering free excursions to compensate for the inconvenience - which in my view was minimal.
The food was excellent and we really enjoyed just sitting on the deck or in the cabin, and taking in the beautiful sites as we sailed along the Danube. We are not cruise junkies, but this exceeded our expectations and if we do take another trip, it will certainly be with Avalon.
The food was excellent and we really enjoyed just sitting on the deck or in the cabin, and taking in the beautiful sites as we sailed along the Danube. We are not cruise junkies, but this exceeded our expectations and if we do take another trip, it will certainly be with Avalon.
We went on this river cruise last month and it was amazing. We had previously booked a shorter Basel-Amsterdam cruise with Hannah for May 2020, but alas it was cancelled along with everyone else's! She was so helpful at that time we decided to re-book this longer cruise with her as well, now that covid restrictions had eased. Although we had to have ...read more some itinerary variations and a ship change due low river levels, the whole trip didn’t disappoint.
Avalon were fantastic in the circumstances, especially due to the hard work of our awesome Cruise Director Tony Jenkins. He showed such care and concern for the guests and even danced and sang in Welsh for us! A true treasure. Seeing the castles along the Rhine Gorge and our tours of Rudesheim, Rothenburg and Regensburg were highlights for us. We have done a lot of ocean cruises, but this was our first river cruise. After this experience it won't be our last!
Avalon were fantastic in the circumstances, especially due to the hard work of our awesome Cruise Director Tony Jenkins. He showed such care and concern for the guests and even danced and sang in Welsh for us! A true treasure. Seeing the castles along the Rhine Gorge and our tours of Rudesheim, Rothenburg and Regensburg were highlights for us. We have done a lot of ocean cruises, but this was our first river cruise. After this experience it won't be our last!
Thanks Georgie. You guided me through the booking process, and we ended up with a wonderful trip. Saw lots of beautiful places and met great people on the ship. The Crew went absolutely out on their way to ensure we were satisfied all the way. Hopefully we'll soon be able to book with go with Global Journeys again. Thanks again.
We recently completed a wonderful Amsterdam to Budapest cruise with Avalon along the Rhine, Maine and Danube rivers. Like many, this trip had been deferred, with credit, for two or more years. We soon began to realise how much we were again enjoying our experience of travel. A sense of normality returned and we gained a renewed love of such scenic and ...read more historic beauty as the castles along the Rhine and later in the Wachau Valley on the Danube.
The cities in Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary were alive and well with tourists beginning to return in numbers. A bubble of joy and happiness radiated on the faces of travellers and locals from the various cultures seemed delighted to welcome us to their environs. Covid precautions were sensibly in place but did not hamper the joie-de-vivre in our hearts. It felt so good to be ‘travel-alive‘ again.
The cities in Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary were alive and well with tourists beginning to return in numbers. A bubble of joy and happiness radiated on the faces of travellers and locals from the various cultures seemed delighted to welcome us to their environs. Covid precautions were sensibly in place but did not hamper the joie-de-vivre in our hearts. It felt so good to be ‘travel-alive‘ again.
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