webfoot

You will have wonderful entertainment on board. Aphrodite is great. I've seen them twice and enjoyed their concerts very much!

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I am taking the Basel to Amsterdam cruise on Avalon in August. The cruise includes the Moselle River. I'll post here after I get back.

Pat

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The letters identify the cruise. There will also be a date associated with the cruise identifiers.

Pat

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No, you do not have to take heels. I have a pair of wedge sandals that I wear to the 'fancy' dinners. Beware if you do wear heels and dance after dinner. Last year I had wedge sandals that were slip-on, fell and broke my foot. This year any shoes that I take will have straps.

Last year I wore knee-length shorts and didn't stand out. This year I am taking these 'shorts'.

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Hi Ray,

We used Globus for several land trips and found that their service was outstanding. Since Avalon is part of the Globus family we decided to try their cruises and have been exceptionally pleased with them. I am even doing several itineraries for a second time.

I know that in the past it has been offered. The price is a tad high and both of the people in a cabin must purchase it. Unless you are a very big drinker you should not need it. There is champagne at breakfast that is complimentary. Also there is free-flowing wine at dinner. Happy hour is 2 drinks for the price of 1. If you want to bring along your own wine at dinner there is a small corkage fee.

I am taking my 7th Avalon cruise in August and never thought that I needed a package.

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I am going on my 7th Avalon Cruise this year and getting ready to book France for next year. I get seasick on larger ships but sailing on the rivers is different. There is always land to view on each side of the ship. I love the smaller ships as you get to meet just about everyone. No, there are no casinos or large shows but the river cruises bring on local talent for evening enjoyment.

I could go on and on about river cruising but will stop for now.

Pat

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I'm excited, too!

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I must admit that I have only traveled with Avalon but have enjoyed every trip and look forward to my next Avalon cruise.

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Hi Pat! Congratulations on #20. I have booked #7 for August 2014 and can't wait. I'm now a widow and look for 'no single supplement' cruises and have been glad to find one that I wanted to take this year and now next year. I hope you have many more wonderful cruises!

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My experience with Avalon has been great! Booked trip #7 for next August!

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I have only cruised with Avalon. My 6th cruise is this summer. Avalon does a great job!

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We just got back from Eastern Europe. Our ATM does not have the chip and we were able to get cash when we needed it. Our credit cards also do not have a chip and we only needed our 4-digit pin once.

Just be sure that your bank and credit card companies know in advance that you are traveling ... And take with you a phone number to contact the bank or credit card company in case you have problems using your card.

Purchasing currency from your local bank before departing will most likely give you a lesser rate than you can get from the ATM. We usually use the ATM even before leaving the airport. My husband likes to collect currency from all over so what we don't spend often comes home with us and is put into his collection. It was handy when we headed to Vienna as he 'parted' with the 20 Euro note that he brought back 2 years ago ... :)

We just got back from our cruise where we were in Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania, who do not use the Euro. We didn't need any currency in most of the places but did get some local currency in Croatia from an ATM, which was enough to pay for a coffee and pastry. Once we got to Bucharest, we did use the ATM for their local currency.

Our ATM card has a 4-digit pin. We were also warned that in Romania that when a credit card is accepted, you may need to have a 4-digit pin. We set these up with our credit card companies prior to leaving the US. We had just one time that we needed the pin with our credit card.

On our last trip we had some folks string laundry throughout their room. It was funny to see their room. Each time I have taken a cruise I take along those laundry packets but will leave them home this time.

At the end of each cruise there is a survey to fill out and on there you can add this suggestions, which is a really good one. On our last trip our laundry bill was less than 25Euros. I needed pants washed, my husband had his 'good' pants and 'good' shirt washed along with a few other things.

There are ways for Avalon to improve their offerings and this is one that they should take into consideration.

We will be gone for 3-1/2 weeks. I know that we will use the laundry facilities on the ship once or twice and once in Romania we may also try to find a laundromat. At the laundromat that we used in Paris, it was fun to sit and chat with others there.

River cruises are different than ocean cruises. Avalon only offers drink packaged and since my husband doesn't drink we won't use that.

Yes Avalon does laundry but as far as I know they do. It have a package. Two years ago we traveled for a week prior to the cruise and we found a self-service laundry so once we got on the ship all of our clothes were clean. We then had the laundry service do a few pieces during the cruise.

Well, Pat, I feel the same way you do about the Roll Calls. I would like to add one to the River Cruises board but am sure that I will be told that it doesn't belong here. Most newcomers don't know about the roll calls and come to use this forum as there are so many of us willing to share our knowledge of cruising.

I am just glad that we were able to get the River Cruise forum back the way it was before.

Robert was our CD on our first cruise and we loved him. I'm sure he still addresses most of his comments with 'Ladies and Gentlemen'.

We have been on 4 Avalon cruises and most folks do not dress up except for the last night and then some men wear a sports jacket (mine never did) and women may have dresses. I took 1 or 2 black skirts and on pair of dressy slacks and then wore nice tops with them. My husband wore nice slacks and a shirt. Some days when we got in late from touring, people just went in to the drining room in what they wore for touring.

Avalon has a very relaxed atmosphere. Have a wonderful trip!

I brought along an extra pair of walking shoes ... but for the entire month that we were in France we only had two days with 'drizzle'.

I usually do the 'black' pants look ... black jeans, several black slacks, one of which is a dressy pair. I take 2 pair of walking shoes and one pair of flats which I use as my 'dress' shoes ... they are usually a mary-jane style ..

We were gone for 30 days this year so I took along non-wrinkle tops ... short-sleeve, 3/4 sleeve and long-sleeve ... plus 2 'dressy' tops. I also took some scarves to accent my tops ... I could wear the same top multiple times and just change its look with a scarf.

We each had some laundry done and we had our laundry back to us by the time we got back from our tours. They even pressed my husband's t-shirts ... he hasn't had that done since his mother used to do his laundry ..

Remember, for the most part, you will not see many of your fellow passengers again ... so, if you wear the same top for several times, who cares ... as long as you are comfortable.

And I always take two 'mini' umbrellas. They have been lifesavers.

But the biggest thing is just to relax and enjoy the trip.

We loved the Weltenberg Abbey/Danube Gorge. We had a nice day and the gorge is beautiful .. and the Abbey Chapel is wonderful. And we also like the beer and pretzel ....

We did not go to Salzburg but those who went loved it.

We had gone through the Schonbrunn Castle ourselves several years ago. It is a magnificent structure. The gardens were so beautiful.

We didn't go to the concert but those who did enjoyed it. It was one night that most of the men wore sport coats and the women dressed nicely.

The Schlosshof Castle was not offerd when we were in Bratislava .. but I would have loved to see it.