Magnificent Europe Reviews

Given the difficulties with the flooding in southern Germany at the time, Avalon did an excellent job of keeping us on the rivers for the whole trip and well informed with daily status updates. While we changed boats twice (an average of 5 days on all 3 boats) any inconvenience was minimised in the way it was organised. Global Journeys also did a very ...read more good job of following on all requests prior to our departure. Overall we were very happy with our trip and have returned with some great memories.

Unprecedented floods throughout Europe forced our boat trip to become a bus trip. The cruise director and his associates did an excellent job of providing most of the highlights of the tour under very difficult circumstances. The time that we spent on the boat was superb. The staff were excellent and the meals were first class. The bus tour was not ...read more up to the same standard but it was organised at the last minute under very difficult circumstances. My main complaint, and of a lot of passengers I spoke to, was the very poor quality of internet access even when the boat was stationary. The quality of tours was top notch and the wireless headsets to hear the guides an excellent idea. The staterooms were better appointed than most of the hotels we stayed in.

The whole trip went so smoothly, the ship was a pleasure to be on, and the staff you could not fault. I would recommend the trip to anyone who wants to be pampered, and have great scenery, we loved the whole thing from start to finish.

Dealing with Georgie was a pleasure, she could not do enough to make everything run smoothly for us. She arranged an Avalon river cruise Amsterdam to Budapest then six days later a 16 Day Italy and Sicily coach tour. This was our third Europe river cruise and our first with Avalon and found it the most enjoyable of the three, everything was great, we ...read more could not fault it. It was our fourth coach tour with Insight and the organising by Georgie was spot on, many thanks and any future tours we may do will be definitely be booked through Global Journeys.

Fantastic cruise, very well organised, great staff. Food was superb with a great variety of choice for all tastes.

We had expectations that the cruise would be good having read the Avalon reviews. We certainly were not disappointed with anything that was provided or was organised for us first rate. The food was alway a choice and was first rate all the time. Nothing was too much trouble for anyone at any time. The boat was cleaned with an inch of its like all the ...read more time. The crew, we could not speak highly enough of for their service and standards. The nautic crew could and did drive with skill, nighttime crusing was bumpfree and very quite. The cruise director arranged some medical tests for us and contacted Avalon to ensure the hospitals we were to attend were the correct ones. There was always follow up. Only on negative I will say is Avalon needs to address is the very very poor wifi and boat internet access, even in port this was very slow and really not satisfactory.

After booking this trip well in advance, we were counting down the days. Georgie was extremely helpful when arranging the two cabins for us & our friends. We extended our holiday to see other parts of Europe before relaxing on the 15 day European Cruise to complete a wonderful holiday. It was absolutely fantastic & the scenery was breathtaking. The ...read more ship & the crew were great & very helpful throughout the cruise. The cruise director was extremely knowledgeable regarding the on-shore tours. Occasionally, we had to stand back to let the pensioners get their midday meals first, as they thought it might be their last, but overall, it was a very good trip & we would definitely do it again.

Overall a very good river cruise, you people at Global Journeys are excellent. Avalon and the crew on the Panorama exceeded our expectations and were 'Topflight'. We went on all the optional excursions. A couple of these I wouldn't have bothered with in hindsight, but hey you don't know unless you go. Overall we would recommend this river cruise with ...read more confidence.

Thanks to Frances (our Tour consultant) for making the booking so easy. Thanks to Andrzej (Cruise Director) for making the tour so smooth, fun and interesting. Thanks to all the staff on the Tranquillity for looking after us so well and making the experience so memorable.

This experience was fantastic from booking inquiries through to tour delivery. My wife and I had such a good time we cannot stop talking about it. All bookings were great - airlines, hotels & cruise itself. The actual cruise was just amazing. You could take it at any pace, so we went hard at it. Food/Service on board 5 star. Cabin (even if it was down ...read more in the crew area/bottom deck) 5 star - very comfortable. Entertainment on board - simply wonderful, my Boss had me dancing most nights until VERY late. The sights and often sounds along the way were awesome, you could not get these from a coach or car. A very big thank you to Frances for helping us along the way with bookings and sound advice. We are now looking at what we can do next year through Global Journeys.

Colin and I had a great time. The people we met and staff were great. The rooms were good and the food was good. The organised tours and the optional tours were good. The scenery was amazing and we took plenty of photos. I could have stayed longer. All in all we a great time and I would like to thank you for you for organising and all your work in making ...read more it a memorable trip.

Really enjoyable, staff efficient and friendly, good mix of nationalities.

A truly wonderful trip which more than fulfilled my 30+ year dream. The ship was so well appointed, but without the magnificent staff at all levels, it would be just that, a wonderful ship. So thank you again to that more than wonderful staff for all their efforts, kindness and caring!

The tour was fantastic, we had such a great time my wife did not want to get off the boat. Five star accommodation and service, great food (and too much of it) and most attentive staff. We met some lovely people on board and really enjoyed the whole experience and would not hesitate to recommend this tour to our friends.

Our Magnificent Europe cruise on the Avalon 'Vista' was indeed magnificent in every way and met all our high expectations which were based on the comments of friends who had told us of their own wonderful experiences. From the friendly and professional expertise of our tour consultant (Yvonne Brooks) to the happy nature and attention to detail of our ...read more cabin crew everyone went out of their way to enhance our enjoyment. The new cruise ship was beautifully appointed and the meals and service on board were excellent. The cruise director was very personable and very well informed on all the places we visited. (There was a mechanical teething problem with the ship which was a concern to the captain and some passengers but was only of minor concern to us.) We were blessed with good weather throughout and the scenery and sight-seeing were wonderful. We made good friendships with other passengers which made shared experiences all the more enjoyable. This was the experience of a lifetime and we are so glad that we took it.

The river cruise was excellent and was a contrast to previous ocean cruises that we have done in the past, as there was just continuous breathtaking scenery all along our journey. The Avalon Luminary ship was very well appointed and even though we had a lower deck cabin, as you only slept there it was not a negative in our overall enjoyment. The pricing ...read more of the Avalon was below its competitors due to only one included tour and availability of free alcohol at dinner only. The included tours were all very good and it would have been difficult to decide whether you wanted to take an alternative tour for the price paid. The policy of only alcohol at dinner is an excellent one and the resultant saving on this and the extra tour options meant extra cash in our pockets. We believe Avalon should use this as a marketing option where people are looking at the tour cost of all the river cruise companies and the savings they can make by going with Avalon.

Avalon's river cruise on the 'Panorama' was absolutely wonderful. All included tours were great and there was a good selection of 'optionals' of which we took three rippers. Our extended waistlines are testimony to the delicious cuisine and wine onboard! Though we were on 'snorkel deck', our room provided everything we needed, including a ledge on which ...read more to dry our 'smalls'. The tour director was extraordinary - she delivered her extensive knowledge with a sense of humour, which was a joy to listen to. The Captain is a lovely man, who runs a happy ship. The crew were all terrific and a credit to him. We could not fault this cruise and would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who wants to relax, experience magnificent Europe and be spoilt at the same time.

The tour was excellent & we could find no fault with what was organised, the service on the ship & all of the organising. The only thing we would have liked was maybe the option of seeing the Spanish Riding School in Vienna. As for Georgie at Global Journeys her service was impeccable.