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Avalon River Cruises vs Scenic River Cruises
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Avalon River Cruises and Scenic River Cruises.The Low Down
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. 
Scenic's 5 star luxury river cruises are well known and popular in Australia. Scenic were the first river cruise line to introduce balconies on their Scenic Space-Ships, which many clients love, but this does come at a cost to interior cabin space. Like many of the other luxury river cruise operators, look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. Every itinerary is all inclusive, with Freechoice activities that allow you to choose what you want to do in each port. Scenic also offer a range of luxury additions (like your own butler) depending on the cabin type selected. Stats
No. of Trips
185
No. of Departures
1,877
Avg. Trip Length
12 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$675
Fleet Size
16 Ships
Known For
Panorama Suites
Ship Styles
River Cruises
No. of Trips
282
No. of Departures
1,624
Avg. Trip Length
16 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$705
Fleet Size
14 Ships
Known For
Luxury Cruising
Ship Styles
River Cruises
In Their Own Words
We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
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.
With Scenic, it’s more than a 5-star river cruise...it’s a seamless journey from start to finish that places you, our guest, at the heart of everything we do. It’s taking you to extraordinary regions and immersing you in meaningful and enriching experiences. It’s exquisite cuisine, indulgent wellness, and a world-class team who will anticipate your every need. You'll find the difference is in the details with Scenic: the innovative ship design, expertly trained crew, immersive journey, and an unrivalled focus on health and safety protocols.
Recent Reviews
4.7
Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to do this trip due to severe drought and Danube water levels dropping so low no cruise ships could sail anywhere. I was afraid that Avalon would claim force majeure and not offer any compensation at all. To give them their due they offered refund for the cruise portion of the trip if I chose to do the trip and read more just use ships at three different locations as hotels and coach everywhere to maintain our on land itinerary. This wasn’t appealing at all given that I’ve just finished a coach tour with Trafalgar, so I’ve opted for a full refund instead. Tracey was great to deal with from initial booking to the very end handling cancellation and refund. I would be delighted to book another tour with both Avalon and Global Journeys in the future. Thank you Tracey!
River Cruise through South of France 0
Burgundy & Provence (Southbound)
Norman and Gloria, ON, Canada, Oct 2025
We greatly enjoyed our river cruise. The staff on Poetry II were top-notch. We thank those who were especially helpful, like Matheus in reception, Marya in the dining room, and Carmen in housekeeping. Some really went out of their way to help me when I got sick during the cruise, such as Adrian who was super-accommodating in adjusting local tour arrangements, read more and Margarida who diligently served me a special medicinal drink using a very effective Portuguese recipe. This was a very positive experience and we look forward to joining another Avalon river cruise in the not too distant future.
The river of gold 0
Vida Portugal: Vineyards & Villages Along the Douro
Susan, New Zealand, Oct 2025
Absolutely loved the cruise. Lovely new ship with great room and bathroom. Staff were fantastic - without fail friendly and helpful. Food was really good with plenty of variety, choice and local dishes. Really appreciated "compulsory happiness hour" with generous free drinks. This in contrast to another cruise line who I found over advertised and read more underdelivered. Ditto the included excursions - not just one ("not another dreary war memorial!") but a choice of three. Great dilemma to have. Good crowd - and never heard a complaint!
Avalon River Cruise 1
Active & Discovery on the Rhône (Southbound)
Bert and Annie, Australia, Sep 2025
The ship, the crew, the food, the Cruise Director were fantastic. Interaction with the Global team was also first class and happy to recommend you to our friends. xox
Best Vacation EVER 1
Active & Discovery on the Danube with Budapest (Westbound)
Karen and Patrick, IL, United States, Aug 2025
Perfect from start to finish. Globus covered all the details needed to start this fantastic journey. Avalon picked up right with Globus finished up. Our trip was perfect from the moment we met our transfer ride at the airport, to meeting our cruise director Carlos at the hotel, to getting on the boat and all the excursions. Everything was planned read more so well - even when our schedule had to be changed due to water levels on the Danube River. The excursions were fantastic, but the best part of the trip were the friendships we made. It was a sad to say good bye to our new friends the last evening aboard. Looking forward to working with Global Journeys on our next adventure.
4.6
Lovely trip through the shallow waters of the danube 0
Danube in Depth
Tony and Lesley, WA, Australia, Jul 2026
Sadly the Danube is not at its best. Interuptions to the itinery meant more coach travel than usual. I think people on board called it a river cruise on wheels. However Avalon cannot be falted for there efforts. We saw 90% of what was originally offered. The service on the boat was magnificent. Food plentyful and well presented. As was the bar service read more especially happy hour. Cabins were always well prepared and clean along with the bathroom facilities. We missed out on Bulgaria but having been before it really didnt bother us. Kayla kept us up to date with changes which we thank her for. Avalon sent me 6 emails with changes but a couple were a mystery to us. We had booked flights out of Bucharest for the 15th August but there email was for the 14th. Good job we had Stefano as our ship manager to correct things. Thanks again to Global Journeys for the bookings. Our 15th river cruise and i think our 10th with Avalon.
Wonderful double Scenic River Cruises in France 0
Normandy & Gems of the Seine & Spectacular South of France
Elizabeth and Neil, NSW, Australia, Jul 2026
We loved both cruises with Scenic: Normandy & Gems of the Seine plus Spectacular South of France. Tracey Standing from Global Joirneys was very helpful and efficient in organising this Scenic package and always ready to answer any questions we had or information we needed to know. There was a great collection of people on each cruise from the U.K., read more USA, Canadians, New Zealanders and Australians. The food was magnificent, the wine and other drinks flowed, the Excursions all enjoyable and the entertainment on board was wonderful. I would highly recommend both these cruises, especially together, to anyone considering river cruising in France.
The trip was everything the advertised and more. Staff was excellent, room as advertised and food and beverage service was excellent. Rita is Celiac and they took great care of her. Absolutely no complaints.
The highlight of the tour was Viviers where our tour guide took us to her hour which wad used as a Resistance house during WW2.
Scenic provided excellent service and made you feel like a big family. This itinerary was excellent beautiful views along the Moselle River and the best of the Rhine. Included excursions were top notch.
Popular Trips
15 Days Budapest to Amsterdam
Operator: Avalon
From
8,651pp
Save
4,230pp
