My wife's grandparents were from Amsterdam and it was a trip she thought would be enjoyable. As it turned out it was way better than that. The cruise was perfect from the basic(fabulous) food service to trips off the boat all was well orchestrated too perfection. I can't say enough about the wonderful and helpful staff from the cruise director to the Captain and especially the dining staff and ...
This cruise was magical on the Avalon Panorama, thanks to the wonderful, attentive crew, especially our tour director, István. Passengers were mostly Americans and Australians/New Zealanders in their 60s or later. The daily included tours were usually morning gentle walking tours of the cities within a small radius of where the ship was docked. Optional included hikes up hill to local castles were ...
I had never been on a river cruise, and had never been to eastern Europe, so this cruise ticked all the boxes for a new adventure. Avalon did not disappoint. The boat was meticulous, I loved that my bed faced the river and I could open my sliding glass door fully, the bathroom was surprisingly big and the marble tile was an unexpected nice feature, the staff were exceptionally friendly, ...
This was a Danube cruise, Budapest to Nuremburg. Due to low water on the river, the ship discharged passengers just beyond Regensburg, busing those who were departing from Nuremburg and to Prague for those who had signed up for it.
At this, we considered ourselves fortunate, because we heard that some other cruise captains refused to go on past Vienna. Ours did go on, although it was ...
We had friends that had taken the same cruise on Avalon and another cruise line. We heard so many great things about it that we thought we would try it. We were not disappointed. 3 days in Budapest, 7 days on the ship with all the stops along the way and 3 days in Prague led to a fantastic experience. Tour director, Tony, was outstanding as well as the entire crew. Friendly, helpful and extremely ...
I had traveled with two other couples who have cruised on other riverboat lines and hands down said that Avalon was a cut above the others. I have to say that the staff/crew of the Panama were so great and fun to be around. Service, attention and the food was what we had expected. The guides were upbeat and so knowledgable it was a pleasure. The bed the first night was too soft and within a ...
Having arrived in Budapest from NZ, over 32 hrs in transit, we were informed that due to low water levels Avalon Panorama could not sail from Budapest to Vienna. However we saw Viking, Uniworld, Tauck and many European River Cruise lines sailing to Vienna. We were rather disconcerted by this!
We had our first night Tuesday in hotel( lovely Hilton) then bus to Vienna. Ordinary bus not coach! We ...
After 40 trips and cruises over seas, this 15 day Budapest to Amsterdam was our first river cruise. The record low water levels throughout Europe required us to take 3 bus trips to get around low water sections. The biggest problem is that we missed most of the Rhine River cruise up to Cologne and then on to Amsterdam. We each got compensated $200 and 50% off the daily cruise rate for each of ...
I traveled with Globus to South America in 2000 and was impressed with the experience. Also I had many recommendations from friends and associates on the Avalon experience. The airfare was a bargain. Accommodations before and after the cruise were excellent as were the transfers to and from the ship. Being a diabetic, I was used to eating earlier than the 7 pm sitting but managed to adjust ...
The Danube cruise is going to be pretty much the same, whichever line you choose. We chose Avalon, and generally, the ship’s appointments and food were quite fine. But perhaps you have a few misconceptions as you make your decision on which river to choose, and this can help you. In our case, we chose the Danube because we had already been to some of the Rhine stops on past land tours. But we were ...