I was invited by a friend who wanted to try river cruising. This had never been on my radar but it was worth every penny and more. At first glance, the ship is not an eye catcher. Someone on our bus likened it to a 1970s Holiday Inn. But, that being said, stepping onboard, revealed our home for the next 10 days. Oh boy. The rooms were roomier than I expected. Two twins with end tables so you could walk around the beds. Closet for hanging but not much drawer space. We used our luggage under the beds for incidentals and worked out great. The room was sparklingly clean and kept that way every day. The meals were diverse and yummy. Local fare as we cruised downriver.

We had a 'port talk' every evening where our cruise director, Bart, explained what the next day would bring us.

I must toot the horn of Bart. I asked him if he knew where a Harley Davidson dealer was in Regensberg. Perfect souvenir for the hubby! He not only knew where it was but offered to go there and buy a shirt for me as it was not near where out tour for the day was. I asked him the next day if he had a chance to go there and he immediately handed me a perfect shirt. I paid him and thought about how lucky that he was our cruise director. He stopped me when we got to Budapest and handed me a map with the route highlighted to another HD dealer in Budapest. I thought that was above and beyond and really appreciate that Avalon employs such great guys. Read more