Avalon River Cruise Reviews

Really well organised, great food, excellent accommodation. The tour guides were particularly good - real enthusiasts and great personalities!

Ship was extremely comfortable, (beautiful cabins) and great variety of food. The only downside of our cruise was the cruise director, and in my opinion they are there to 'set the tone' of a cruise. The cruise director was no doubt very organised, but lacked personality and did not provide passengers with enough information for each port. (eg in Heidelberg ...read more the passengers were advised of 3 types of tours determined by difficulty. It was indicated that to go to the castle was quite a climb .....which I may not have managed. As it was the bus took the tour right to the castle, with only about 8 steps to walk, very manageable for myself, but I missed this due to lack of communication by a very unapproachable director). The excursions were too regimented, especially in Germany. The French guides were far more relaxed and delivered their tours with enthusiasm.

The tour was great, everything went smoothly except a transfer, but these things happen. The only criticism was there was simply too much food on the Avalon River Cruise, especially the dinners. We only went to one dinner, it was not worth sitting through all the courses of food you couldn't eat. The staff and crew were all helpful and friendly and ...read more most of the guides informative and easy to understand.

I would not book a river cruise with included fixed gratuities again because it gave me no flexibility in my reward for good service. I would have preferred to direct the tour directors gratuity to others on the crew, as he was found to be very shallow and wanting when it came to interpersonal skills. Otherwise, we enjoyed the experience and would have ...read more no hesitation in booking with Global Journeys in the future - Georgie was very helpful and informative throughout our transactions.

The cruise was with 'Avalon Waterways' from Budapest to Amsterdam. Global Journeys gave us valuable advice on many different aspects of this holiday, and provided a very friendly and professional service. We have just booked another holiday through them, and have no hesitation in recommending them to our friends.

Our 7-day cruise on the Rhine offered more than we expected.

Sue and I thought our tour organised through Global Journeys was wonderful. The crew on Avalon Felicity were very welcoming and the service was first class. Our cabin was very comfortable with plenty of space for luggage. Dinner and drinks was a highlight to end every day. The itinerary and the shore excursions were well arranged to show us the various ...read more cities and surrounds. The local tour guides were well suited with a nice mix of information, stories and a bit of humour. All in all, the tour was a treat. Thank you Yvonne very much for your most efficient and helpful arranging of our tour.

Thought it was very expensive. Had impression we had a balcony but really it was a door which opened! There was not even two comfortable chairs to sit in and look out you had to sit on the bed! Food was good and plentiful. Little time to just relax.

Whilst we could not complain about the standard of service or food or land tours on this cruise we found that unfortunately there we would have preferred more time at some stops and less at others. We also found the formality of dressing and multi-course meals at dinnertime too much. The food was touted as being representative of the local dishes. In ...read more general we could not agree. Also their beer selection was very poor. We probably would not consider another Avalon tour.

Our river cruise fulfilled all our expectations and more; from the excellent accommodation and facilities to the efficient and courteous staff, not to forget the excellent excursions. We could not have wished for more.

Overall we were very happy with the River Boat Cruise, however we would have preferred a light dinner option, and a room service option for nights where we wanted to spend in our cabin after a long day touring. Overall we have rated this cruise as very good.

Thank you so much for organising this tour, we had a great time throughout. My husband and I were particularly impressed when we were sought out by the Cruise Director to meet with herself and a crew member for champagne, we felt even more special. The guests were terrific, everyone mingled in exceptionally well, we would most definitely love to do ...read more another cruise, so will watch your emails coming through with any specials you may have. Thanks to Georgie who kept me informed before the trip and answered all my queries very promptly. I had no concerns at all by the time I left home.

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.

Of Global Journeys - wonderful, helpful, pleasant and always obliging. One thing I think could be added that we noticed we weren't offered until we asked - Avalon discount on airfare, we were unaware of this until we chased for quotes on fares. On Avalon - the tour was all and more than I expected - full on with sight seeing, food and wines, care by ...read more staff and comfort. One thing we noticed when pricing our trip late last year was that in Australia it seems we pay a higher basic cruise price than the English and often Americans. If Avalon could explain the difference in basic costs it would be appreciated - especially as we have to pay higher airfares than those from UK etc. I realise the gratuities are prepaid here but that doesn't absorb the difference - and this is an excellent idea. Of the cruise ship itself - admittedly beds are narrow to fit into room, but the were doonas too narrow for the bed and kept slipping off during the night. Also the dining room is very noisy. The house staff were unbelievably consistent in their attention to our room. Regardless of all this, we had a marvellous and at times a tiring tour - our choice of course to take extra tours. The organisation of such cruises was mind boggling, everything went so smoothly to our eyes and we offer congratulations to all. We would recommend anyone contemplating such a holiday to go for it.

Tony the guide was just wonderful, the riverboat, meals, cabins and services were excellent with Avalon. 30% Australians the rest were from US and Canada which was a good mix. Scenery was not as stunning as the Amsterdam to Budapest river cruising, but very relaxing and great weather.

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.

We thoroughly enjoyed our travel from North Sea to Black Sea but were amazed how low the waters were - sending lots of rain and snows during the coming european winter!! Our wonderfull singer Janos (tour guide) was a very informative part of our trip and his port talks were amusing and interesting. The food was plentiful and varied, and the catering ...read more staff and the housekeepers were very efficient - even when it came down to the Imagery Cruise show!! All in all we would definitely recommend an Avalon River Cruise with Global Journeys. Many Thanks.

A really friendly crew and cruise director helped make it a very enjoyable experience. The ship was modern and in immaculate condition. The meals were very varied and of a very high standard. We had a plentiful choice for onshore excursions each day. We enjoyed all of these, especially the bike ride along the river bank and the wine tasting in town. ...read more We will definitely travel with Global Journeys in the future!