Avalon River Cruises

Magnificent Rivers of Europe Reviews

61 Magnificent Rivers of Europe reviews from past travellers that booked with Global Journeys.
4.67
AVG. RATING 4.67 / 5
61 Reviews
5 Star
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4 Star
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Best river cruise 2 , NSW, Australia, Aug 2019
Best cruise I have been on. The staff were excellent, friendly and always helpful.The ship was great - rooms were much better than a large ocean cruise ship room. We all enjoyed the whole cruise and would have no hesitation in doing another trip with them.
Our ship was a joy to be on   4 , NSW, Australia, Jun 2019
We had high expectations as several of our friends had done this and similar cruises and to our delight it lived up to the expectations. Our ship the Avalon Tranquility II was a joy to be on, staterooms were great as was the crew, food and entertainment. The days were filled with exciting new places to see and explore. We would happily return to do ...read more another cruise on a different waterway with Avalon. People at Global Journeys were great to deal with, very professional and kept us informed throughout the whole experience will definitely use them again.
River cruise delight 7 , VIC, Australia, May 2019
We are extremely happy to leave some feedback about our recent Avalon River Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. The program was first class as was every aspect of the service. Great, knowledgeable and very friendly staff. They went well beyond what we'd expect to make the journey so special. Our cruise director was brilliant and so entertaining.

Avalon ...read more made sure every little detail was addressed and this was confirmed when we discussed issues with travellers who were cruising with other companies. It was relaxing yet very special and the overwhelming feel was of that of pure satisfaction. I only wish I had the will power to resist the food!

This is not our first cruise but I would certainly recommend Avalon to anyone considering cruising.
Fabulous holiday 12 , New Zealand, Sep 2018
My travelling companion looked forward so much to this trip, as we had heard so many positive things about it. And I have to say for the period we were on the Avalon Expression it lived up to every comment we had heard. The Avalon service and organisation was second to none. We always looked forward to meal times.... sublime! What a great team of waiters ...read more & chefs, always obliging and happy to make your experience special.

I honestly can't say what was my highlight, but I did love the Bavarian region, with its magical castles and well preserved historic villages. Looked forward every morning to another new destination with excellent local guides showing us around our port of call. Of course this is inclusive in your trip costs. We had a good mix of travellers, but it would of been nice to have known where everyone had travelled from. Not sure if this is Avalon's policy not to introduce everyone. I never did find out.

Our room although compact was excellent, it seemed to be serviced twice a day. We were on the 2nd level, with its lovely wall to wall windows including sliding doors. However on reflection I would not hesitate next time to take a lower level cabin. Reason being, one is hardly ever in their cabin as the itinerary is full and a high percentage of the time when berthed you have another boat tied up along beside you blocking any view.

Sadly our trip was short lived as six days into our 15 day cruise we had to leave the boat and travel the remainder of the journey by coach, staying in different hotels mostly every night. The reason being that the Danube river was too low for the boat to pass through. This affected all boat companies travelling this route. As very sad as it was Avalon did an amazing job to move and accommodate 130 people every night. They still maintained our original itinerary along the way. Hats off to Avalon for their slick and seamless organisational skills. Also for their generous refund to make up for our disappointment. At no time along the coach route were were we out of pocket.

I am hoping to book another trip with Avalon through Global Journeys, they were great organisations to deal with. Would highly recommend a river cruise as the passenger list is about 145, such a complete contrast to most ocean cruising.
Big Disappointment 19 , NSW, Australia, Jul 2018
Only spent 7 nights on cruise ship, then was told that the cruise could not continue due to low water levels on the Danube and the drought in Europe. I believe that Avalon Waterways would have been aware of this prior to our departure therefore giving us the option to opt out. We were given the option to leave the cruise after 7 days but that would ...read more have been costly for a lot of people and a great inconvenience as we had other airfares and accommodation booked for after the cruise.

We did enjoy the 7 nights of cruising but not happy with the long bus trips used to fulfil the rest of the programme. Avalon did do a wonderful job to put plan B into action but not the holiday we were after. River cruises need to be thoroughly invested before booking as we believe this has happened on a number of occasions, although no mention of this from agents etc. Had no problem booking with Global Journeys, thank you Hannah.
Avalon boat cruise up the Rhine 7 , QLD, Australia, Jun 2018
We had a great time, even though there was trouble in the channel with it being blocked by another ship. Avalon overcame the problem by changing us to another one of their ships on the other side of the blockage, so we could continue our trip, if we had gone with a smaller company this would not have been possible. Staff were very good and food was ...read more great, the site seeing was good but I would have preferred to stop longer in some ports.
Wonderful trip from Budapest to Amsterdam 7 , New Zealand, Jun 2018
We had a wonderful experience on board the Illumination. Maria was an amazing cruise director. The staff were all very pleasant and went out of their way to please. One of our group had food allergies and they always met her requirements and in fact always remembered. We would recommend this way to travel to all our friends. We really enjoyed the small ...read more town experiences but the big cities had their points of interest as well. Included sightseeing was always led by excellent guides.
Fantastic European River Cruise 6 , QLD, Australia, May 2018
Loved every minute of my river cruise, cabin was great, food & wine were excellent. Enjoyed the variety of excursions and the towns visited. Cruise Director Isabel was wonderful. I am a solo traveller and was made to feel very welcome onboard. Met other solo travellers who hopefully will keep in contact. Would definitely recommend a river cruise ...read more and in particular Avalon. Best holiday of my life!!!!!
Family holiday 1 , NSW, Australia, Mar 2018
It was an excellent holiday for the family. The food and services on the boat were superb. We all put on weight, of course. The excursions were mostly well organised. The Avalon crew was very professional and friendly. Would recommend this trip without reservation.
Budapest to Amsterdam Cruise 4 , VIC, Australia, Sep 2017
The cruise boat was very clean, staff were very pleasant & helpful, food was excellent. I was surprised that almost all of the food & drink one needed was covered in the price - there was little need to spend anything extra except for drinks other than at meals & when I went on shore guided walks or excursions. I was also surprised I was able to see ...read more so much on the walks or excursions.

The downside was having a cabin on the lowest deck without any access to fresh air. Air conditioning was adequate but very drying & caused me to have to drink a lot of water throughout the nights. Global Journeys did an efficient job with bookings.
Amazing Avalon 1 , QLD, Australia, Aug 2017
We had a fantastic river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. It is a great way to travel - so relaxing and somewhere different to see everyday. The staff on board Illumination were just terrific - always smiling and always so helpful. The food and wines were sooo good. We'll definitely be looking at doing other cruises with Avalon.
Fantastic trip through Europe 6 , New Zealand, Aug 2017
This was our first River Cruise and we had a really great time. From when we boarded in Budapest until we got off in Amsterdam the time seemed to fly. Every day was eventful and fun with some great included tours and also some alternative ones for which we paid extra. The Cruise director Andrejzs was extremely experienced, professional and well organised ...read more and was always available for advice and gave some great running commentaries as we travelled.

All the guides we had on our excursions were extremely knowledgeable and professional and several were also quite funny and entertaining. We had a couple of lectures onboard about Locks and the EU which were very informative and filled up some spare time while transiting. All the crew from Captain Peter down were courteous and accommodating and went out of their way to be of service. Some of the young crew members even joined us on excursions.

The food and wine was high quality and plentiful! We all put on weight! Service was excellent! The onboard entertainment was very good with several small groups coming on between stops as well as the resident pianist/singer Albert who was extremely good. Our cabin was as expected with a very nice bathroom and the housekeeping was excellent! I think that although the trip seemed relatively expensive , we jammed the maximum adventure into the time available and I am already recommending this trip to friends as a great way to travel. Some of the sights like the Wachau valley probably couldn't be seen as well any other way!
Wonderful journey through central Europe   3 , New Zealand, Jul 2017
We loved visiting the little medieval towns along the Danube and Rhine Rivers and learning more of their histories and modern lives.
Magnificent Europe with Avalon 2 , VIC, Australia, Apr 2017
I took an Avalon cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam with my 90 yr old mother and found the Avalon service to be impecable. Everything was 5 star, the rooms, service, staff, food and excursions were all better than expected and catered very well for slower walkers. Would highly recommend.
Hard to Beat 1 , VIC, Australia, Aug 2016
Avalon were exceptional. Every member of staff was obliging and incredibly helpful. The ship was faultless as was the food. Excursions were well organised and punctual and our tour director was a real asset. I actually couldn't imagine another tour company surpassing this package.
Very enjoyable cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam 7 , New Zealand, Jul 2016
As first time river cruisers we weren't sure what to expect but this was an excellent cruise experience. Easily arranged with Global Journeys and well put together by Avalon. Every day was a new adventure. Hard to pick a single highlight but medieval Rothenberg was a standout. Every meal gave variety & was excellent quality, with afternoon tea & supper ...read more just in case you were still hungry! Wine at dinner was more than enough and half price drinks at daily happy hour was good value. The staff were friendly and helpful. Kiwis were the majority on our cruise (Yeh), with others from Australia, USA, Canada & UK. We easily made friends and had a great time. Oh, I must mention the panorama suites with wide opening windows. A much more flexible alternative to a balcony and it gave more space in the room. On reflection I'm happy we cruised from Budapest to Amsterdam, although no doubt we would have enjoyed it the other way around as well. This is a cruise well worth considering.
Felt pampered and spoilt the whole way 0 , WA, Australia, Aug 2015
Robert really made the trip with his dry humour and knowledge. The crew where very pleasant and helpful. Water level problems were handled without us missing out on anything, and Robert even under stress was unflappable. Felt pampered and spoilt the whole way.
Would certainly cruise with Avalon again 0 , WA, Australia, Jun 2015
This cruise exceeded expectations. We enjoyed the freedom of doing our own thing whilst appreciating the optional extras available. It suited our needs perfectly and represented excellent value for money. Everything was well organised yet casual. No timetables to observe and whilst there were plenty of included activities there were also many more ...read more optional available. We would certainly cruise with Avalon again and use Global Journeys as our booking agent.
Definitely recommend this tour 3 , Australia, Oct 2014
The new Avalon ship (Impression) was a wonderful design and the staterooms were large - turned out to be bigger than our hotel rooms in Amsterdam and a number of other places. Overall the shore excursions were good - plenty of free time so you did not feel like, 'off the boat, on the bus, quick walk then back on bus to go back to the ship'. The extra ...read more excursions were also good and it was a bonus these did not have to be booked prior to travel - we could decide a couple of days prior. Food - with 4 courses it was a bit too much but awfully hard to say no when it was so good and the variety was great. All the staff on the boat were great and could not do enough for you. Overall the length of the boat cruise was good, enough time to relax, enjoy the scenery and the offshore trips, get to know others with out being too long. The booking through Global Journeys was trouble free, all questions and queries were answered promptly and clear directions for payment, extra tours etc was great. Prepaying the Gratuities was good too. Would definitely recommend this tour and Global Journeys to others and would look at doing other river cruises in the future.
A tremendous holiday 1 , Australia, Aug 2014
Our whole experience was wonderful. The organisation and execution of it went flawlessly and professionally. A tremendous holiday. Thank you Hannah.
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