Magnificent Europe Reviews

Exceeded our expectations by far! Highly recommend, even other travellers from other river cruise companies travelling our route were envious of our river boat! Experienced and accommodating staff, new boat, great choice of food, comfy beds, amazing views, entertaining & fun group of travellers - what more can we ask for?

We had an amazing trip we loved the cruise. The ship was luxurious and beautiful can not complain about a thing, the staff were delightful and friendly and the food was fantastic. Very happy with the service we received from Global Journeys, Yvonne you responded promptly to my email requests and explained everything to me thoroughly I would not hesitate ...read more to use your services again.

Our first cruise with Avalon and it did not disappoint! Great cabin, amazing staff, delicious food and selection of drinks. We plan to have many more!

Everything on our river cruise was perfect. The ship with good-sized cabins and no wasted space. The crew were happy and always helpful, the service was exceptional, the food was unreal, Arkos the Tour Director handled everything with apparent ease, the on-shore excursions allowed for all levels of participation. The on-board entertainment was varied ...read more and top quality. Even the hairdresser Ildika was an unexpected delight. I would recommend Avalon Waterways to anyone thinking of doing a cruise. Happy holidays.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Excellent service and hospitality. All staff and crew were welcoming and customer focused. We have nothing to complain about. Our cabin and bathroom were kept spotless. The food and wines amazing. Optional tours entertaining and interesting. Thank you, it was a pleasure cruising with Avalon cruises.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this, our first cruise. Everything about it was impressive. The staff were all very courteous, friendly and efficient and made us feel very special. The meals were of superb quality and there were many options to choose from for each meal. The tour Director, Arkos, was outstanding in his vast knowledge of history and ...read more geography of everywhere we went. His organisation was superb, ensuring that everything ran like clockwork. He is a great asset to Avalon. The tours were all good, but some of the optional tours seemed a little expensive and a few of them perhaps should have been included in the tour price. Overall it was a wonderful experience and we have no hesitation in recommending it to others.

Exceptional organisation, superb accommodation, wonderful staff and crew, and Sabine was our delightful, extremely knowledgeable and friendly cruise director. The food was fantastic and life on board was marvellous. Also all the local guides for the shore tours were brilliant - the tours were very well paced and most of the guides made them especially ...read more memorable by mixing loads of local knowledge with good humour. Unfortunately no-one could control the weather - very little sunshine. All in all, a fantastic experience that we would highly recommend to anyone.

Our river cruise was better than we could have imagined and we will highly recommend Avalon River cruises. Great food and excellent waiter staff. Our Tour Director was excellent and could not be faulted. All the crew were courteous and polite. All our tour guides were exceptional and made our excursions so informative and interesting. Just an amazing ...read more experience - a dream come true!

Our first experience on a river cruise - certainly enjoyed it. Cruise Director kept us well informed and was excellent. Would certainly recommend Avalon. Georgie was very helpful with our booking and answering our questions.

We loved every minute of our Avalon cruise. There were only 145 passengers on board and even though we were amongst the youngest on board, we made some great friends. The quality and layout of the cabins was very high and we particularly enjoyed being able to open the huge glass doors and watch the world go by from our bed. The level of service from ...read more all of the staff was also faultless. The meals were varied and represented local cuisine. The additional activities, entertainment and included tours were all very well organized and good fun. We followed our European river cruise with a 7 day sea cruise to the Greek Islands. There was no comparison. The Avalon cruise was superior in every way. Thank you Frances and Hannah at Global Journeys. Your advice and assistance was very much appreciated.

Cruising is my preferred form of travel and this was certainly up to expectations. Ocean cruising probably offers better value for money, but this is a somewhat different experience with the emphasis on what happens off the ship. In relation to the ship, accommodation was cosy but comfortable, meals were varied and of a high standard and staff/crew ...read more were friendly and helpful. Sailing from Amsterdam to Budapest worked well for us. The second half of the cruise had more highlights and was certainly a busier time. After leaving Amsterdam, a definite highlight of the trip, the next couple of cruising days were more 'low key' and gave us a chance for a bit of a rest. (Could be worthwhile depending on what you do before or after the cruise.) As with any tour you only ever get a glimpse of what's available but it was a good balance at a reasonable pace. This cruise provided access to a range of sights and experiences (large cities, small villages, history, culture) and I would certainly recommend it.

This was our first organised tour in Europe, having previously travelled independently, and our first cruise of any type. We wondered whether we would feel a little constrained or overly organised but, on the contrary, we thoroughly enjoyed everything about our Magnificent Europe River cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. The itinerary was fast enough ...read more paced for us to not get bored and relaxed enough for us to wonder why we hadn't travelled this way before! The best thing about the cruise was probably the service and friendliness of the entire crew - they were all wonderful and definitely an asset to Avalon. Our cruise director was superb: professional, knowledgeable, highly efficient as well as entertaining. We also enjoyed all of the on board entertainment and of course, the food was amazing. The only slight criticism I would have is that our room was a bit small but as we weren't in the room much at all, (we had superb sunny weather) this wasn't a problem really. All in all we had a wonderful holiday.

Well appointed ship with larger than expected cabins. Entire staff we helpful and very friendly. Our Cruise Director Sylvia Foxx was excellent. Food and wine were five star. A holiday that encompasses comfort, five star food and wine, fantastic touring at a relaxed pace. Highly recommended. Our Global Journeys consultant Georgie Walpole was excellent ...read more and extremely helpful and never too busy to answer questions. Thank you.

We had a wonderful and enjoyable time. Everything is well-organised. food is excellent. We felt like we were in a floating 5-star hotel with tasteful decor and first-class amenities. Crew were great and very accommodating, and the cruise company takes the time to make provisions for the elderly especially for the walking tours where they made provisions ...read more for the 'gentle walkers'. I will definitely recommend Avalon/Global Journeys to anyone. Yvonne, our consultant is very efficient and accommodating.

I had the most amazing time. The choice of optional tours on land were of high standard and very interesting. We were unfortunately caught up in the loch masters strike in Germany which resulted and disappointingly meant leaving the cruise for 4 nights boarding again at Melk. Avalon arranged our coaches, accommodation and daily tours during this period ...read more and other than the first 2 dinners not being of the standard we were accustomed to on board, all went well. I could not fault the crew, they were all very helpful and professional. Thank you Georgie for your advice and helpfulness and making the organising of my trip so pleasant. I would like to give you 5 stars for service and friendliness.

Could not find fault with anything on the cruise. The Tour Director (Janos), Captain, Operations Manager and other Crew members made sure that we arrived in Amsterdam on schedule even though they all had to contend with the German Lock Keepers strike. All the crew from the Cabin Stewardess to the Captain made us very welcome. The meals were varied ...read more and well presented, and the Waiters were always on hand to assist in any way possible. Kristina (Restaurant Manager) managed to find me a bottle of sweet wine (only sort I drink) to tide me over for a few evenings. Perhaps there should always be at least a couple of bottles of sweet wine on board for those who don't like the reds and white offered. Our only complaint was that Peter, the pianist, had no variation in the music he played each evening, and after a while this got to be boring. This was our first river cruise in Europe and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you Georgie for booking my trip with my friends and we had no problems with arrival but we did not spend our whole time on the MV Avalon Panorama which is beautiful throughout because of a Lock Strike (could be ongoing). It would of been nice to know that an optional tour in Amsterdam on the day of arrival for those who have not been before ...read more should not be missed. So arrive early morning & go see the windmills, clogs & cheese and then be taken directly to the ship where your luggage is already in your room awaiting you to unpack. I had to change my arrival time so I could go & it was an extra cost I had to bear.

Once onboard the ship I was escorted to my room which was on the lower level and was beautifully fitted out and was as quiet to sleep in at any time. No noise at all. I only had to walk up one flight to the dinning room which served excellent meals for dinner (all 3 courses including wine) and the buffet lunch served in the same room or a light lunch served upstairs in the lounge area near the bar. The bar also had happy hour each evening before dinner if you wished to have a drink before going to dinner. You put it on tab & fixed up account at end of the tour. The tour director Hendrik was very professional & wonderful, and when we were involved with the lock going on strike, he gave us the option of staying onboard or going by by coach for the 4 days.

I bussed it & spent 1 night in Linz & 2 nights right in the center of Vienna at the Inter Continental walking just down the street to see the Royal Waltz Concert which was great. I was disappointed having to repack & take all my belongings with me on the coach as we rejoined the ship before getting into Budapest in Hungary. I took this cruise as I needed a much deserved rest after a most stressful year. I would recommend Global Journeys to all.

An extraordinarily well planned and organised trip.

We think the fact that the cabin is 200 sq ft without extra verandah is a good idea, because during sunny weather we can open the floor to ceiling glass windows, thus making the whole cabin into a super verandah, while during not so good weather we have a large cabin! Food is excellent and also the dining seating is variable, so you can sit alone just ...read more to be romantically inclined or you can join new friends and have dinner together. Unfortunately we got infected by cough virus after we arrived at the end point: Budapest. Also the tour guide Andre is fantastically helpful! Although we did not book any flight from Budapest with Avalon, he arranged to keep our suitcases in the Budapest hotel until our flight is ready, so that we can roam Budapest on the last day without having to cart suitcases with us as our flight is not until 4 pm in the afternoon. Thank you for the wonderful service you provide us, even setting aside our anxiety about whether the tour will be cancelled because of the European floods. We would not hesitate to recommend your company to our friends.

Magnificent Europe river cruise with Avalon in June 2013 was all that I hoped for and more. The good things started with Global Journey's Tour Consultant Georgie and everything ran like clockwork. Very impressed with Avalon. Their wonderful Tour Guide Barbara must be the best tour guide in the business. The challenges they faced due to the worst flooding ...read more of the Danube since the middle ages were overcome without any disruption to passenger comfort or activity. My only regret was that I didn't hand over all my other travel arrangements to Georgie. I certainly will in future.