Avalon Angkor Review
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We did a land/river package with Avalon starting in Ho Chi Minh City and ending in Bangkok, with 7 days aboard the Avalon Angkor. We went northbound along the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers, and then across Tonle Sap Lake -- from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap. Our cruise director was Mark, a New Zealander who clearly and dearly loves this part of the world. His lectures and choice of movies was spot on and riveting. He's read a lot of books about the region, as well as spends months at a time in the area, so was very informed about the geo-political situation and presented information in a non-judgy and very interesting way. We had separate local guides -- one for Vietnam, one for Cambodia and then a third in Cambodia who specialized in the Angkor temples we visited after disembarking the ship in Siem Reap.
My husband loves large ocean liner cruising and this was our first river cruise. It is quite different than ocean cruising, but I picked this trip because I loved the sound of the itinerary. There are larger ships that claim to cruise the Mekong, but I liked the Angkor because it's small size saved us a long motorcoach ride. And, its small size did afford the opportunity to sidle up to banks, throw a rope out and tie to a tree. We stopped at amazing little villages along the way, both in Vietnam and Cambodia. We were exposed to locals and their crafts, including -- in Vietnam -- making rice paper, popped rice and noodles, coconut candy, snake wine and bricks, as well as visiting a local "fish farm" which was not at all what I expected. In Cambodia, we went to a village where silk weaving is a craft handed down through generations, and another where making intricate silver products with ancient designs is the local norm. Thus, the itinerary is very enriching as you do become immersed in local crafts, culture and traditions.
Our guides were all spectacular and caring. You could tell that for each of them, it was important to share the culture and make us all fall a bit in love with the places we visited. The Mekong and Tonle Sap were surprising and lovely.
Cabin Review
Our cabin felt small but was adequate. We were on the top deck and had the bed configured as one bed and there were side tables with lamps on each side. The bed was a bit on the firm side. There was a small desk in the corner by the door. There is no balcony and we tended to leave our shutters and drapes closed as other passengers would walk past our cabin to get to the front passenger deck. Each cabin has its own AC. The first cabin we were assigned to, the AC wasn't working properly. They do have spares on board but because the ship wasn't fully booked, we moved into a different cabin. The bathroom was surprisingly spacious, including a very large shower with plenty of hot water (though truthfully, it is so warm in this area of the world that most of the time, I just wanted a cold or luke warm shower). The water pressure was great. Bottles of water were plentifully supplied for cabin use as the water in the bathrooms was not potable or suitable for brushing teeth. My husband is a bit of a room snob so he felt we were barely above camping, but again, there's a big big difference between this ship and an ocean liner.