Daisi

I used the data to make sure I could rebook our hotel and train, but would have needed to cell to call my parents as they were picking us up, and it would have saved them a couple of hours travel into the city and back. As it was, our train was late but at least then I was back on my own cell plan. The joys of living a couple of hours away from airports. :)

Our cell service is expensive for roaming - $15.00/day. I buy an Orange Sim card and they work great. I learned last trip to never go to Europe again without cell service as we almost missed our connecting flight home, which would mean missing the hotel & train that were booked to get us home in Canada. Orange gives calling ability if you need it, but if you don't (you can use other apps for calling if those you are calling use them), but there are also data only sims you can get if you wish. Holafly and Airalo for example.

The jokes about being rafted to Amamagna were because it's 2x the width of the other ships....thus the extra long walk. We had to go over the sky deck, but unfortunately, they had crew up there, so we didn't get to do more than glance at the stuff on top.

We arrived on the ship for both cruises early, around lunch time. If you are worried about cross contamination I would ask someone at the reception if the chef could prepare a salad or soup for you. The food is laid out buffet style, so tongs & spoons could be used for other things. You may have to wait a bit, but I'm sure they will do their best to help.

I've been watching weather for our upcoming Moselle cruise for next year (I like to plan ahead!). I'm in the eastern part of Ontario, and temps in Amsterdam have been warmer than us by a couple of degrees or so, so pack for what you are getting at home (unless you are from T Bay...then temps will be warmer!). Make sure you have good shoes, wet cobblestones can be just as slippery as icy ones. If you are used to our cold, I'd say a 3 season jacket, long pants, tops that can layer would probably work.

If you booked with Avalon, you can request if there is better timed flights. They are very good at meeting clients needs. My TA and I look at what flights / layovers / routes I want, and then she calls Avalon to see if they will match. So far, no problem and they have done so. Never hurts to try to get better flights....

We are also 2x Avalon cruisers, and are doing the Moselle May 2025. I hope you can report back how your cruise went. We chose Avalon because of the connection to Globus. My Grandparents and good friends of the family had done several tours with Globus and loved them. At the time of our first cruise, Avalon had a slogan that they would "rather see smiles on the guests faces than white gloves on their staff", and boy, did they live up to that. What really impressed me was the number of family members that were staff - we had twin brothers as cabin attendants for our deck, a sister and brother as server/sommelier, an pair of cousins as ship crew (we had great laughs with them while they were throwing ropes at each other during docking and talking about the practice they got growing up 🙂), as well as a newly engaged couple. If you could get that many on one ship, they had to be good with their staff! On the other hand, our Sister & Brother-in-Law love Viking...but they are ones who travel different from us, and once they have been to one place, they've seen it. We like to have more chances to explore, which Avalon gives us. Our upcoming cruise will duplicate some places, but there are different tours we can do and see more things.

We had a recommendation for our Avalon group for the Café Kör. It's quite close to St. Stephen's Basilica and was quite tasty. Just a small place, we ate outside because it was quite warm, but very good.

We returned from one of our tours on the Danube only to find we were rafted with the AmaMagna. I had a good laugh, as most were commenting about having to do that much extra walking and were now worn out. It was later, so most went directly to cocktail hour to recuperate! @TheaterVB don't assume that all gentle walker groups avoid stairs or rough ground. I do them because the guides usually walk & talk, so I get a great chance to grab pictures as they more stroll than walk. On Avalon, the groups are generally a lot smaller, about 5-8 people, not the 10-12 on the more "regular" groups. I have never seen on our 2 Avalon cruises (and we do tours morning and afternoon) any change in the routes we take over the other cruisers - no elevators, and only ever heard one guide ask a gentleman if he would be OK on the stairs as the Palace we were touring did have an elevator to use if needed. Also, as a side warning, the steps on the bus are quite high...I have short legs, and usually end up grabbing the handrail and pulling myself up them. Think walking up 2 steps instead of one, and I think the steps on the last few we were on were higher than that! I hope you find some way for your Mom to join you. The problem with staying onboard while others are touring is you are just sitting in one spot usually, and could be rafted between 2 ships so no view either.

That was part of our research for Avalon.... my Grandparents had taken several trips with Globus, as well as very close friends of my parents. We figured if they enjoyed them, then it was a decent company...and we were very happy with Avalon.

Some T/A's may have some discounts for you, like you get with Ocean cruises, or some extra perks. If you already are comfortable with a TA, ask them if they know anything about River cruising. We aren't allowed to recommend ones on here. I find my TA great for looking after everything, and making sure I have everything I need. She is also a 2nd pair of eyes, checking that all paperwork (even though I get it from both her and Avalon) is in order - including a mix-up that happened on our last cruise over booking with our name. She had it fixed before I got the incorrect info as she received it first. Another thing to appreciate, if anything happens and cruises get cancelled due to broken locks and or water levels, she will be the one sitting on hold waiting to get through to the company to deal with everything!

@Host Jazzbeau, yes, one of the things I have learned in my research. May be a bit more $$ but to me, well worth it.

We love Avalon. I chose them because they are nice and casual, but you still get the 5* experience. We aren't big drinkers, so don't mind not having alcohol all the time and found that the 5:00 Happy Hour (which stretched till dinner time), wind & beer for lunch and dinner (with the ability to "grab one to go") was more than enough. We've never done any bus tours yet, however once we finish the rivers, it will probably be our next thing. We are used to driving for our holidays, so it will be nice to sit back and relax. The Avalon cruise excursions where you have a bus (Český Krumlov, Prague, Heidelberg) have given us an idea of bus tours, so hopefully we will be ready for them when we start doing them.

I think you may wish to post this request on the main board for ocean sailing that pertains to your cruise line. River ships have gangways to shore, no ladder.

Viking does both Ocean and River Ships, but no land tours that I know of. Tauck does both land & river, as well as small ships. Grand Circle is connected to OAT, but the two websites don't "link" so not sure if credits would apply. I don't know if any of the above do transfer credits, as we only sail with Avalon. There may be others, but those are the ones I can think of at the moment.

@Ladyshopper23, there will be some set up (usually a meeting with the chef prior to the first meal and you will see on the app that all meals are put up daily. There is a good selection of vegetarian meals, and coping with celiac is no problem. I am not celiac, however my sister & Mother both are, so I understand the importance of no cross-contamination. We met someone on our last cruise who was celiac, and they were great with her. She even said that the croissants tasted very close to the real thing! I would suggest trying to get the same server for your meals, so they will remember your requirements. There are some tables that are 2 seaters, usually in the middle section of the dining room, attached photo will give you an idea, but I would try to get down closer to 7:00 than 7:30 so you would be able to get one. Here is a menu from our Danube cruise to give you an idea of the vegetarian meals. Of course, you will have to make adjustments for GF, but it will give you an idea.

These were taken off the sun deck on our cruise. The Dom was almost straight ahead of where we were docked, Great St. Martin was just to the left.

It would depend on the cruising schedule. Most sailings are done at night during the spring / summer & fall, however the Christmas Market cruises may be a bit different because the markets come alive at night. You may have some nights where you stay in port later, and if you do, then yes, you can go to the markets at night. Just make sure to keep an eye on the time, as you won't wish to take a taxi to meet the ship at the next port.

@bjay3, love that you are on the same ship & cabin, we are doing the Moselle next year, same ship and cabin as our first cruise! We did the Rhine A-B in 2018, and we were in Cologne until after 10:00, so hopefully you will be as well. Seeing the Dom all light up was quite something. Enjoy your cruise.

@Ladyshopper23, yes, the dining room will be open for "set" times. On Avalon, it's usually 7-9 pm. Most will head down around 7:00, leaving the lounge area to be set up for a lighter dinner there. While you can turn up anytime between, you may be tying up your fellow table mates, as some servers will delay serving until everyone at the table is caught up. There are a few tables set up for 2, however they usually get grabbed up quickly by those who aren't up to an evening of socialising. Most nights, people will head to the lounge for cocktail hour, then the CD will go over the next day's activities. Most will head down after to the main dining lounge. The lounge is then turned into a "bistro", where they have a smaller selection of the dining menu. The nicest thing is, with the app, you can see both menu's, and see which area you wish to go to. We did this for the BBQ lunch, as they had more in the bistro than upstairs that was to our liking. Avalon also has room service for lunch and dinner, but we've never tried it as we like to meet up with our fellow travelers and compare excursions.

I agree. As someone who has an allergy to scents, I would be getting up and leaving the table if someone sat down near me with cologne or perfume. I don't carry an Eppipen, because normally I can leave the area, and I avoid stores that have the perfume counters at the entrance. I notice most around here (and even when we go up to the city) don't wear scents anymore, probably because most doctors/dentists and several other places have strong warnings not to wear them anymore.

Nice... those of us in "the great white North" are looking at green (well, it's starting to go green again) grass, and watching the ducks playing in the creek. Very unusual to see the grass so early, it's going to be hard for the Sugar Bushes to have taffy on the snow with no snow!

We usually introduce ourselves, saying we are Canadian, and asking our table mates about where they are from. It's interesting finding out about places and being able to talk about areas we have been or know of. How many cruises or where others have been comes much later. Last cruise, we had some that we had seen in the airports waiting for Passport Control, so that gave us all a good opener.

Avalon still has specials on it's 2024 & 2025, but even if I look at the "non-reduced" price, the 2025 are actually lower than those in 2024 for my Moselle cruise. Not complaining, we booked early because we wanted a certain cabin and they had a special that was supposed to be over by November 2024. It was worth it, as the discount we got combined with our welcome back credit will pay for our airfare. 🙂

As @CDNPolar states, the cancellation policy is under the "legal" section on the website. Stated just as clearly as above. I'm sorry you are losing your deposit, however like any contract you enter into, you have to read the fine print to be sure to understand what is involved. I do see that final payment now states it depends on the offer at time of booking, but must be no later than 180 days prior to cruising...it's getting better. ****Edited to add, went back to double check, and see that the 180 days only applies to Viking World and Grand cruises. Oh well. 😞