We have traveled extensively and a lot on a private yacht charter with just 10 of us and 7 crew. This was our first river cruise and recommended by friends who did this trip once and then a second time with us. They have been on over 40 cruises and swear by Avalon. We loved this cruise. The river cruise ships are restricted in width because of the locks so every river cruise ship has to be the same width but Avalon cabins are just as described -roomy.

You open your sliding door all the way and you have a small couch, table and chair and can set there and enjoy the view or ride and fresh air. You actually get extra space because your room is a built in balcony. We managed just fine as there was space for everything and very large bathrooms for a ship. The crew were extremely professional, friendly and courteous. Always wanting to make your trip more enjoyable. They couldn't have been nicer. I had special dietary issues and the Maitre D met with me and then everyday he would meet with the chef and then visited with me about what they thought I could eat. Chef even made a special dessert for me one night as I don't really eat sweets. I truly appreciate their thoughtfulness. They went out of their way to make sure I had enough right food to eat.

The entertainment on the ship was great as well as the crew show. We loved the size, 130 people, and ease of getting off and on the boat. You very quickly meet everyone and start to get to know people and talk to one another on the bus and excursions. Day trips were very well organized. The one thing I would do different for us on this trip was to not go to Salzburg and stay on the boat and enjoy it. To me, Salzburg was another Linz where we had just stopped. The other option that day was to Cesky Krumlov which is well worth it and would do that over Salzburg it but we had arranged for a private driver from Passua to Prague who made that stop for is and we spent a couple of hours there. I would have loved a little more relaxation time on the boat but then you don't feel like you want to miss anything. The highlight of our trip was the special concert in Vienna at the concert hall. It was classical music, ballet and opera and just for us. Well worth the money.