Global Journeys
Tours, Cruises & River Cruises
Tours, Cruises & River Cruises
Embarking on her maiden voyage in the latter half of 2018, the Avalon Saigon is the newest river ship to ply the Mekong. With its colonial charm and modern features, she is specifically designed to offer the best cruise experience in South East Asia. Along with her sister ship, the Avalon Siem Reap these are the only ships cruising from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap and vice versa.
The tour itself lived up to the advertising. Culturally inspiring with fabulous Avalon support staff. Special thanks though to the adept travel agent Tracey of Global Journeys as I tasked her with the impossible: Book a cruise 1 week from departure. This was no problem for her, with all tasks managed proficiently and expertly given the challenging timeline. Thanks!
This tour by Avalon was absolutely amazing. There were only twelve people in our group so a boat that has 18 cabins was only partially filled. How luxurious is that.
Our Cruise Director, Quang, is a credit to Avalon’s staffing, his infectious personality was a hit with all on the trip. Our Vietnam guide, Chang, was also an extremely cheerful and knowledgeable man. Our guide for Cambodia, Chantha, was an amazing guy who regaled us with his history knowledge and had us in fits of laughter every day especially when on the bus microphone. We cannot speak highly enough of these 3 guys.
All of the boat staff were extremely accommodating in every way, nothing was too much trouble, they were faultless.
We were very impressed that there were daily excursions, on many days more than one. The variety on offer meant you were never left wondering what to do each day. Meals on board were outstanding with numerous course choices every mealtime, given there were only 12 of us.
This was our second Avalon river cruise and would highly recommend them.
Fantastic trip starting in Ho Chi Minh staying in the opulent The Reverie Saigon which stepped straight onto the boulevard. New Year lights and interesting history, although maybe too war orientated.
Cruise on the Avalon Saigon was better than expected. Great cabin, exceptional food and terrific crew made the journey very relaxing. Our tour director, Khan, was very efficient and personable and his story reflected Vietnam’s struggles and cemented what we had been learning on the many day tours. Both Tiem and Pharott were very instructional guides in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Great seeing the river and all its agricultural and aquaculture produce. Tour culminated in Siem Reap and the best was left to last because the temples of Angkor are absolutely amazing. The variety and the intricacy of these ruins are better than any photo depicts.
Highly recommend this trip to anybody. All costs are included so there are no hidden surprises. People make any holiday memorable and the 20 people on board plus the crew and tour directors made this one supremely enjoyable. Thanks to a Hannah from Global Journeys for once again making this holiday seamless and stress free and also obtaining a late discount on initial price.
For me this tour can be divided into two different experiences. The section from Ho Chi Minh city to Siem Reap which included the river cruise was amazing. The cruise director and local guides were wonderful, the food was great and the cabin/lounge etc very comfortable. There was a great group of people on the cruise and we all seem to get on well. I really have no complaints about this part of the tour. The programme devised by Avalon was extremely varied and interesting.
However, it was not until towards the end of the cruise that I learnt that only two of those fellow passengers were moving on to Hanoi/Ha long Bay and after that I was to be completely on my own with guide and driver. The HaLong Bay Cruise was lovely (beautiful weather) and I was grateful for the company of the other couple as most of the other passengers did not have English as their first language. I chose this tour on the assumption that I would be traveling with a number of fellow passengers (except perhaps the Sapa extension). I was not told by Avalon or Global journeys that this was not the case or even that this might occur - it was certainly advertised as a 24 day tour.
If I had known this I might have considered a different tour. I did still enjoy the programme, but there were times when it was quite uncomfortable eg for the “included lunches” in Hue and Danang I sat in an empty restaurant on my own being watched by waiters and waitressers while the guide and driver had lunch elsewhere. And when taken to the silk embroidery house and silk shop being the only person with the guide, I was hounded to buy something wherever I went. My recommendation here is that I should have told I was to be on my own, and more importantly that the guide should have been allowed to dine with me for the included lunches.
On a positive note, the accommodation was most luxurious and the food great. Avalon had made a great effort to prewarn restaurants etc that as a Coeliac, I needed to avoid gluten. Everyone was very accommodating and I am most grateful for that. I would certainly love to take another Avalon river cruise some day.
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.
Accommodating up to 36 passengers, the Avalon Saigon is built as long and wide as other ships that carry twice as many guests, so the public spaces never feel congested. From the air-conditioned Panorama Lounge to the open-air observation lounge, there are plenty of places to relax, and with lounges located at the front of the ship, you’ll always have a great view.
Avalon's crew embodies the spirit of you first, no matter what. From reception staff and bartenders to wait staff and room attendants, Avalon delivers service that's comfortable and friendly, but never stuffy!
