Avalon River Cruise Reviews

This was our fourth cruise with Avalon Waterways and it's hard to fault them. It was a very pleasant week cruising to Normandy and back to Paris. The Avalon ships are very comfortable and very well appointed. The lounge at the back of the ship where you can relax while cruising (with coffee and cookies / muffins all day) is a very good feature. The ...read more cruise was very well organised, the staff on board were very helpful, efficient and friendly and the stops along the way were all very interesting. The one thing to point out is that 95% of the passengers were American, probably because of the tour to the WW2 Normandy Beaches so if you don't like that mix then this is not the cruise for you. Our other cruises have not been so prominently American and have been more of an even distribution of Australians, Canadians, Americans and British. Nevertheless all the people we met were very pleasant. We would definitely recommend Avalon Waterways.

It was our first ever river cruise and we had medium expectations. Well, we simply loved the whole experience. Everything was perfect. The food was exceptional, the cabin was large with a balcony which we enjoyed and we were surprised how well the bathroom was designed. The cruise manager, Hendrick, was confident, humorous, organised and left us with ...read more no doubt that we were in good hands. We have been back home for five days and tonight we are already planning our next Avalon river cruise.

We enjoyed our holiday. The food was excellent and the activities we did were very good. We thought that some of the free excursions could be more explained in detail for particularly the two that went through the Black Forest. It was a pity the boat had to dock on the last night in the middle of a major city party as many passengers really got concerned ...read more about it and especially when 7 policemen came to guard the boat from the revellers. Waking up in the morning to a dock full of empty bottles and rubbish was not nice.

Really enjoyed the cruise. The staff were lovely everything was so well organised. Plenty of sightseeing trips available. A nice easy way to travel everything is organised for you.

We've recently returned from the 13 Day Blue Danube Discovery with Avalon Cruises. All in all the cruise was a great experience even though the waters of the Danube were very low in parts and our ship and itinerary had to be changed. We were unable to visit Nuremburg at all and stayed overnight in Linz and two nights in Passau which differed from the ...read more itinerary. Avalon were very kind in offering the Vienna concert to all passengers free of charge due to the changes.

However we still had our 7 nights on the ship which was very pleasant. Food was great; company was excellent and the wine and beer tastings were also fun. We had a singer aboard one evening who was also very good. Our tour director, Robert was very efficient and made us all laugh with his very dry wit! Global Journeys were excellent to deal with and I would certainly book through them again.

I have used Global Journeys previously for booking holidays and have found their consultants very efficient. This was my second trip with Avalon and it was excellent. Could not fault any aspect of accommodation, food, guided tours etc. We had to leave the ship just before Budapest due to low water levels but Avalon quickly sorted out alternative arrangements ...read more for those travelling on to Amsterdam. Would recommend both companies for any holiday destination. Had a great time.

Global Journeys made the booking simple and looked after all the necessary things. The cruise did not live up to expectations with only about 3 days where the scenery was spectacular. The balance was ordinary, with the locks being monotonous. The shore excursions of the smaller towns were excellent. It was more of a shame that we ran out of water and ...read more had to be bused on several occasions. When we finally got there, Budapest was the highlight and a must see city.

A great disappointment is the 24 hr notice that Avalon gave us to choose from cancelling the cruise due to the lack of water in the Rhine River. Apparently Avalon is aware of the river conditions for quite some time. More warning would be appreciated for an alternative plan to be put in place. Whilst we appreciate the problems with Avalon we have chosen ...read more the hassle free for packing and unpacking of land travels.

Because of the lack of water in the Danube, the 12 day trip was reduced to 7 days and the balance of 5 days completed by coach. I understand that the problem was out of the operators control, but was disappointed that we only got 24 hours notice to either continue or cancel the trip. The company must have known that there was a problem coming up. The ...read more idea of the boat trip is to relax without having to move your luggage every day, but of course this did not happen due to the land content.

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.

Great holiday. Good dealing with Global Journeys and Juliet was very helpful and catered to all my needs. Everything went smoothly without any problems. Would definitely use Global Journeys for future holidays.

Excellent arrangements from Hannah Campbell at Global Journeys, as usual, great to work with. First ship was excellent then changed onto second ship - not as welcoming. Tour director was excellent and all ground tours were very well arranged with great additions for those who were less mobile - which was very much appreciated. Overall a really great ...read more tour - ready to do the next one!

What a way to finish a trip of a life time! We had spent the previous 4 weeks on coach and train tours so this river cruise was the perfect way to end our holiday! The Avalon team on the ship were so good - the ship and cabins were kept spotless, the food was delicious, city tours were informative, the sights amazing not to mention the pure pleasure ...read more of being able to lay in bed and watch the beautiful countryside glide by! A big thank you to Yvonne who found and suggested this cruise that fitted in nicely with our other tours - it was the perfect end to our holiday!

The highlight of this holiday was the exceptional quality of all the staff who provided service throughout this trip. The other aspect that was excellent was the out of the way places that going on the Mekong river enabled us to go to. We certainly had many highlights on this tour and I would recommend it to anyone.

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.

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.

The river cruise with Avalon was lovely. Coming from a sea cruise with 2000 people to the small river cruise of 120 people was great. So much more intimate and the cruise director (Isobel) really looked after everyone like we were all family.

Overall the accommodation was excellent but the Hilton in Prague disappointing due to location, too busy & very noisy due to hotel alterations being done - the noise was such you could not stay in your room during the day. Also the trip to Nuremberg was very disappointing.

Every aspect of the trip was outstanding. The ship was immaculate; the crew, from the Captain down, were efficient, friendly and courteous, particularly those with whom we were in daily contact in the dining room, lounge and cabins - they made us feel as though it was a real pleasure for them to serve us. The Cruise Director, Tony, was knowledgeable, ...read more entertaining and approachable; the local guides for each excursion were well chosen and effective.

Dining room menus were varied and interesting and the food was attractively presented. Wines provided with lunch and dinner were of good quality and were usually sourced from the region through which were travelling. Included and optional shore excursions provided the opportunity to obtain as good an impression of the local area as was possible in the time available. Onboard accommodation, both cabin and public areas, was well designed and immaculately maintained. The only thing missing which would have enhanced our experience was a large wall map in, e.g, the lobby, that would have enabled us to trace the journey from start to finish.

No complaints. It was a bit isolating to be 20 years younger than most of the passengers, but that can't be helped.