Kenster

Absolute minimum of two hours. Three would be better.

The train is part of the itinerary.

Typically, you’ll be in the same cabin on both ships. The staff will handle your luggage for you.

Book the longest cruise you can afford. Airfare is no cheaper on a short cruise. If you book 14 days, after Day 4 you’ll be thinking “Wow! We have ten more days!” If you book a short cruise, when you get to Day 4 you’ll be thinking “Damn! This is half over already!”

Rhine/Moselle was our first river cruise (2014). and sold us on Avalon. 5th one coming up in early Sept. Grand France remains my big target. It’s just never met our schedule. Hopefully, next year.

I sincerely hope they have a good time. Many people just can’t get past the “Downton Abbey Snow job” where DA fans were blitzed by frequent Viking ads. I never heard of Viking before getting hooked on Downton Abbey, but I’ll give them credit for piquing my interest in river cruises. Fortunately, though, my research led us to choose Avalon. Five times so far.

Avalon has much larger cabins. 200 square feet for their standard Panorama Suite with French Balcony. Viking French balcony cabins are only 135 square feet. Viking does have “real balconies” but they’re pretty tiny. These “Veranda” cabins are listed at 205 square feet but that includes the outside balcony. Deduct that and the cabin is about 175 square feet. Even Avalon’s Deck one “Aquarium Class” cabins are quite large at about 180 square feet vs Vikings 145 square feet. The vast majority of Avalon’s cabins are the Panorama Suites. The entire glass wall opens up to create the French balcony and the beds all face the river! A rarity in the industry. And… Viking crams 190 passengers on the same size ship that Avalon maxes at 160, reflecting the larger cabins and much less crowded conditions on Avalon. Consumables are subjective but the food and wines on Avalon are extraordinary, both reflecting the regions through which you travel.

Try contacting Avalon via Messenger through their Facebook page. I’ve had responses from them that way. Also, there is a Facebook group called “I Love Avalon Waterways.” It is not run by Avalon but the president of Avalon, Pam Hoffee, monitors it and chimes in everyone once in a while. I would post your issue in that forum and specifically mention her name. That should trigger a notification to her. Maybe she can make something happen for you.

First of all, stop giving your credit card info to these crooks! Secondly, cancel that card and dispute any charges with the card issuer. It’s likely they made a very small deposit with Avalon and have pocketed the rest. if people want to use a TA, fine. But the point of using a TA is to have a real person working in your behalf. If you’re going to use an anonymous online TA, where’s the advantage over calling Avalon yourself? I hope you can resolve this with minimum loss but your decision to go with a cyber agent and then fail to follow up with them, can, in no way, be blamed on Avalon.

Even if the magnetic force was strong enough to reach through the wall, they would repel each other. (Yes, I know you jest!) My guess is that if the walls really are metal, the plaster and sound proofing would require a much stronger tool than a refrigerator type magnet. Maybe someone has a solution that worked for them? How about duct taping a thin sheet of metal to the wall and sticking the magnet on to that? 🙂

We thoroughly enjoy the relaxed pace of dinner. Lots of great conversation. Lots of great wine. All part of the experience. But on evenings where we want to be alone or want to “eat and run,” we enjoy the Bistro dinner in the lounge.

You can order a two or three pack on Amazon. They’re pretty inexpensive. Take an extension cord with you, too.

Must be Aussie with that long holiday time. (Not a criticism. I envy you!) Most Americans, if they’re still working, would get two weeks max. Even retired Americans rarely go for more than a couple of weeks. Before I retired, I was getting six weeks a year but preferred to break it into several shorter holidays. Cheers!

Please note that the mandatory prepaid tips (AKA “included”) only applies to certain markets. (UK). The rest of the world freely tips and does not have to be forced to prepay them. For the US market, for example, prepaid tips are OPTIONAL.

Why not remove your “paper stuff” from the walls and save the steward the extra work?

What do you use the magnets for? I can’t imagine a ship being framed with any material other than metal for structural integrity, as well as fire concerns.

Interesting. Building gratuities into the cost of the cruise may be targeted to certain markets. That makes it convenient for the passenger and ensures that the staff actually gets the gratuities they deserve. Sounds like a win/win.

No, that is not correct. Tips for ships crew and Cruise Director are NOT included. The only tips that are included are for the local guides (and drivers) for the daily excursions.

Rhine and Moselle was our first Avalon eight years ago last month. It was wonderful. Wifi is great. Plenty fast, though there may be some remote spots where a signal is not available. Gratuities: I have not seen what the current suggested tips are. You will have one amount (per passenger, per day) that is shared by the crew, and one amount for the Cruise Director. The Cruise Director is the only Avalon employee on board. Everyone else is an employee of the shipping line which is contracted by Avalon. You can visit the reception desk on the last full day or two of the cruise and pay the tips with your credit card. Or you can put cash in a provided envelope (one for crew and one for Cruise Director) and drop it on the box in the reception lobby. We also give a little extra cash, in person, to outstanding wait staff, lounge attendants, etc. We tend to settle into the same table every night for dinner, with the same waiter/waitress. They quickly learn, then anticipate our preferences. They make the cruise extra special so we give them a little extra. It can be daunting to shell out all that money in one chunk at the end of a long cruise! We just consider it part of the cost of the tour. If you want to avoid sticker shock, you can prepay the tips. Just call Avalon.

Absolutely. We did it about three weeks out a few years ago. My schedule opened up and we wanted to cruise. We chose a cruise that fit my schedule and flights we could find at late notice. It can be done. Go for it!

Perhaps you can find an afternoon near the end of your land based holiday to do laundry before arriving at the ship? We have always done our cruises with a 20 inch carry on each, plus a small tote for odds and ends. Our upcoming cruise is 16 days, however, so keeping it to one case each becomes more of a challenge. Even if succeed in cramming everything in there, you have to watch the weight. European carriers, especially, restrict carry on to 40 pounds (I believe) and that’s been enforced on us a couple of times. We may resort to having laundry done on board ship this time. The expense and convenience may well be worth it. But that brings up another question. Has anyone ever done laundry in town while your ship is in port for several hours? Particularly about halfway between Budapest and Amsterdam? We’ve done this entire stretch at least once and some sections three times previously, so we won’t be missing anything if we skip a local tour and do laundry. Any suggestions? We have seen crew members take their laundry into town while we are in port. I just can’t remember where.

Yes. That’s the spot. I verified it a few days ago.

The above post got me to wondering. We had already booked transfers on both ends before I remembered that the AMS CENTRAAL train station was basically across the street from the docks (based on two previous cruises.) Have any of you taken the train to the Amsterdam airport? How was it? I just suggested to another member that they do this but I have no experience with the train. It would be a lot cheaper IF it’s not too much hassle schlepping bags. We normally do our cruises with a carry on suitcase and a small tote each. Not sure if that’ll be possible this time with a sixteen day cruise. (At least winter gear won’t be necessary in early September.) I wonder what the chances are of getting a refund on our transfers?

We’ve always had VERY early departures to catch our flight but it seems that everyone had to be off ship by 10:00 at the latest. Don’t know about special arrangements. I would stash your bags at the station, go for a walk, then take the train to the airport. It’ll be a lot cheaper than Avalon’s $45 per person transfer, though the car may be less hassle.

We will be ending our cruise in Amsterdam and taking the train to Paris. Does anyone have an idea which station would be closest to the docks? Centraal Station or Schiphol airport? Seems like there’s a big station very near the docks we used on two previous cruises. If that’s Centraal, I’ll try to cancel our end of cruise airport transfer. thank you.