ikesyd

Thought that may be the case Julia, will do.

Just checked cabin availability again and there are balcony cabins to select. However would still prefer to board in Rotterdam and disembark in Dover if this is possible. 

Looking at the 14 Day Arctic Circle Crossing: Edinburgh Evening Stay that departs Rotterdam and returns to Rotterdam in May 2025. Realise that the cruise also departs/returns from Dover a day before. Is it possible to join the ship in Rotterdam and disembark in Dover rather than returning to Rotterdam?

Balcony cabins are only guaranteed for the Dover departure, but can be selected for the Rotterdam departure. Also the Dover disembarkation date works better for our onward travel plans. 

We are due to join Avalon Envision in Budapest on the 17th, have our fingers crossed that this will be our boarding point. 

1 hour ago, MisterBill99 said:

Currently on the Avalon Envision. The Danube water level is very high and it's still raining. We were supposed to disembark tomorrow in Vilshofen but we had to turn around and now we're heading to Engelhartszell. We were there in Passau today and they are preparing for flooding when we sailed past. 

We will be on the Envision starting in Budapest on 17 October. How things change so quickly - low water now high water. Hopefully things will settle by the time our cruise departs. Hope you have enjoyed the cruise despite the changes to the ending.

29 minutes ago, Daisi said:

On Sunday, I was in contact with someone on the Envision. Their cruise was to end in Regensburg. They were stopped at Passau, and were taking busses to Regensburg for the tours on Monday. Those who were going to be leaving from Nuremburg were to be bussed there after the tours. The remaining passengers going on to Prague were to be bussed from Passau.  They were given monies for lunch (and dinner for those going to Nuremburg) and also, to make up, everyone was given the tour to Saltzburg. Those who had paid for the tour were being re-imbursed. He didn't say, but I would assume that Avalon was also putting passengers up in a hotel in Nuremburg as they would be flying out probably on the Tuesday. He sounded very happy with how things were handled. 

 

Maybe now the waters have risen enough that they managed to get the ship to Nuremburg for picking up the next tour.  Glad to hear that Avalon is still stepping up to the ball when things go wrong, especially since I have my tour with them on the Danube in Sept!

Great update! As usual it appears that Avalon have looked after their passengers despite the challenges. We are going to be travelling from Budapest to Vilshofen. From there we plan on taking a long train journey to Rostock to continue our adventure. 

3 hours ago, jmm said:

I’ll be sailing the SS Beatrice (Uniworld) from Budapest on June 28th.  I’ve been tracking the ship and it looks like it never made it to Nuremberg on the June 14th Budapest - Nuremberg sailing (It’s been stuck in Passau for the last day or so according to Vessel Finder - the schedule showed that it should be in Nuremberg now and changing over passengers tomorrow (for the 6/21 sailing back to Budapest)).  Anyone on the 6/14 or 6/21 sailings that can further comment?  Thanks!!

I’ve bee tracking Avalon Envision and it too appears not to have made it to Nuremberg as scheduled on the 20th. Looks like it stopped at Vilshofen for the turn around itinerary back to Budapest. We are scheduled to sail on 17 October - fingers crossed. 

Thanks Jazzbeau, I think I’ll use cruisemapper instead of marine traffic. Wanted to see where it docks in Vienna and Budapest. Hope to walk to ship in Budapest from our hotel. As this will be our 2nd visit to Vienna hope to catch the metro and do our own thing for the day(hopefully Spanish Riding school training or tour). Watching to see how far walk will be from ship to metro.

Have been following the progress of the Avalon Envision on marine traffic as we will be travelling on board in October. The ship appears to have been moored in Vienna for a few days - has it mechanical problems? When it first docked there were about 9 other river boats moored , they have all left.

58 minutes ago, Daisi said:

I always sign up as soon as I can, for 2 reasons. 1) I pay in Cdn. $$$, not Euro's as you do onboard, and the CC gets paid well before the trip, and 2) I want to be sure that I don't miss out on ones that I really wish to do.

 

I believe you can sign up for most onboard, possibly not if you wish to do a bike tour (there are a few bikes onboard, but they will bring in extras to accommodate those who are touring.) or a really popular tour if bussing is limited. Yes, some of the tours do include a bus trip - Colmar (which is well worth it), Alsace wine region, and Heidelberg.  

Agree with Daisi about signing up before the cruise for optional excursions, we can pay in AUD instead of Euro. Also we signed up for a walking food tour in Amsterdam and it ended up just being hubby & I. I believe that if we had waited till on board they wouldn’t have gone ahead with the tour for only 2. 
I will be prebooking the day trip to Salzburg for our October cruise as soon as it becomes available for booking.

Checkout Hanoikids for tours. These are conducted by students who want to improve their English, are free - you just pay their travel costs, entrance fees and we also bought them lunch and coffees. There is a similar group in Ho Chi Minh City. You can change their suggested tours to suit you. We had a wonderful day with our guides - visited the Temple of Literature, had egg coffee, visited the Ethnology museum and a very nice lunch. Walked around the streets and red bridge over lake. We stayed at the Hanoi Opera Hotel as this was the hotel for our tour. Was a good location not sure if it is in your price range but if there is a hotel nearby I would consider staying in the area. Loved Vietnam and would like to go back.

Great review, just what I was looking for as we plan to visit Honfleur in November while docked at Le Havre. 

Beware of Insure & Go if you need to make a claim! We did last year due to catching Covid on a land tour. Took well over 2 months after lodging claim and initially declined the majority of our claim. However when I escalated to complaints was paid on the spot - very frustrating!!! 
Have used Qantas Nib(no claims) and found if you split the policies instead of a couple policy this can sometimes work out cheaper.

Using Allianz for our international trip (that includes a cruise)later in the year as their Covid cover is up to the amount you choose for cancellation limit. The majority of other companies set a Covid limit of around $2500 for cancellation. Considering our air fares are way above that this was a good option.

You really need to do your homework and read the PDS statements to see the finer points of what is and isn’t covered which narrows down the list as well as the cost involved!!!

21 hours ago, chaub said:

We booked a transfer with a local company.  We too have been to Budapest and love the city, so we will spend a few days beforehand.  We did this itinerary but want to try the active tours this time around.  Thanks for your reply!    

We are also doing the Danube Dream 8 day cruise from Budapest to Vilshofen in October this year. Will be flying into Munich and travelling by train to Innsbruck for a 2 night stay. Then train to Budapest for a 2 night stay before the start of the cruise. 
After the cruise we will take a long train ride from Vilshofen to Rostock in northern Germany for a 5 night stay. Next stop will be Hamburg for an 8 day Northern Europe cruise with MSC.

Looking forward to our 3rd Avalon cruise!

10 hours ago, rsverdier said:

Small amendment: if you want to do both Delft and The Hague, it’s probably better to take a tram (instead of a train) from Delft to The Hague. In Delft, the tram stop is right in front of the station, and the tram will drop you off directly in the center of The Hague.

Is there a day pass that we could purchase for the travel in both cities or should we just purchase single use tickets? Presume we just purchase at ticket machines?

Any recommendations for nice cafes for lunch/and or coffee in either places?

Many thanks for the info I can start some planning.

We will be on MSC Northern Europe cruise in late October early November. Would like to visit Ghent on the day we are docked at Zeebrugge(have spent time in Bruges previously). Also the day we are docked in Rotterdam would like to visit Delft and The Hague. Any suggestions of the best way to do this. Happy to catch trains. 

22 hours ago, Kenster said:

Probably that starting in 2023, all drinks are free during Happy Hour. 

That would be great!!!

On 8/24/2022 at 2:56 AM, Daisi said:

Sorry Jazz, I thought just the initials would be ok.  Just wanted to share the news with fellow Avalon cruisers, as I don't' think it's known yet, there is nothing on the website.

 

What is the news? 

On 6/20/2022 at 7:53 AM, Scottishclover said:

Wismar is quite similar to Rostock, only smaller. The molli is fun. There is a  lovely castle/palace in Schwerin, if that’s your thing. Ahrenshoop  is a pretty artist’s colony on Fischland- Darss- Zingst peninsula but might be difficult on public transport. I love the island of Ruegen and you can get a train to the main town of Binz. There are some stunning beaches in the area for windswept walks or sunbathing. It’s worth looking into M-V ticket from Deutsche Bahn if you are using the train. 
 

A tip for Rostock: you can get a leaflet from the tourist info on University Square and walk round the old town walls ( only some parts remain). I worked as a language assistant 25 years ago and have been back a few times to visit friends, most recently in 2018. Each time there’s more to discover and experience and it’s very easy to get around.

Sounds great! Will look into doing a day trip to Rügen Island and the steam ride to Gohren.

On 6/7/2022 at 3:20 AM, Scottishclover said:

Agree with the above. We travel in Germany a lot and you can often get a good savings fare on long distance travel if you book far enough in advance. You cannot miss the train station, you will be getting on at the very first stop, with the trains only going in one direction ( other direction is the sea😂). When we visited Berlin we did an excellent free walking tour, starting from the Brandenburg Gate as an alternative to HOHO.  I used to live in Rostock and have friends in Warnemunde so can help if you have any more questions.

We are planning on staying in Rostock for 4 nights before travelling to Hamburg to join an MSC Northern Europe cruise next October. Can you suggest some day trips(not Berlin as we have spent time there before). Planning on spending a day looking around Rostock, another in Warnemunde. Would like to do the Molli Railway. Should we visit Wismar and Schwerin? We will be relying on train and buses to get around. 

23 hours ago, Kenster said:

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! 

We take longer holidays when travelling in Europe or America as it is so far to travel by plane we like to make the best use of the time and cost of airfares! Closer to home trips are shorter. 😊

We have just booked a Danube Dreams cruise for October 2023 from Budapest to Deggendorf. We originally had planned to take this trip in May 2021 but the pandemic changed things! This will be our 3rd Avalon cruise and looking forward to travelling overseas again. After the cruise we will head to Rostock for a couple of days before heading to Hamburg to join an MSC 8 day return Northern Europe cruise. This holiday will be a short trip for us - about 3/12-4weeks, we used to do 5-6 weeks but don’t want to be away too long now. Can’t wait!

18 hours ago, Loreto said:

I am very glad I found this thread about "All Things Avalon! " I have skimmed through the many pages and the consensus seems to indicate Avalon runs a great river cruise.  After having 3 major ocean cruises cancelled this year due to Covid 19, we decided to try a river cruise.  My husband and I  are booked on the Artistry II 13 day Rhine/Moselle itinerary Sept.22-Oct.4  2021.  We lived in the region in from '76-'79 with our young children and it will be interesting to return to the places we used to drive to for picnics.

 

I realize that things will be very different onboard for health reasons, and hope that the cruise will go. Reading your concerns about spring 2021 bookings, I worry.  I plan to book air with Delta miles to put out as little cash as possible, avoiding another airline "voucher."

 

I appreciate all the information!

We did this cruise in October 2017 with Avalon and loved it! The scenery on the Moselle and smaller towns(loved Cochem) were beautiful. I still remember exiting the lock after Koblenz and seeing the stunning hills lined with vineyards! The weather was unseasonably warm so we were able to have an outdoor BBQ lunch on the top deck. Some mornings there was fog that restricted our views but that all added to the adventure.

Unfortunately we have decided to cancel our May 2021 Avalon cruise as travel from Australia doesn't look like being back to normal by then. Hopefully we may be able to do late 2021 or 2022 - one last river cruise is on our agenda.

Loretta I hope this cruise goes ahead for you and you will have a great trip.

6 hours ago, voljeep said:

I, for one, can do without "a town" for 2 glorious days just hanging out and enjoying life

Agree! we did a 5 day Connoisseur Tour last August (1 night Anchorage, 2 nights McKinley, 2 nights Denali, then direct train to Whittier). Being in the "middle of nowhere" wasn't an issue for us. We arrived around lunch time, there were presentations on in the afternoon (rescued bird presentation, base camp manager talk & photos), walked to the tree house and listened to a talk and sampling of Birch syrups. Next day we had booked an excursion on the Hurricane Turn train, so caught an earlier shuttle into Talkeetna to look around. This excursion was great! Small group and well worth the cost! Rode the train, saw Denali in all its splendour(stopped the train and allowed the passengers to go to baggage compartment, where they opened the doors so we could take our photos). Off the train at Curry, short walk and talk about the history of the area then a snack and on board a boat to travel along the river. Next day on the way to next hotel Denali was visible again! We did the Tundra Wilderness tour - don't do the History tour. You can upgrade to the longer tour to Kantisha.

We liked the conn. tour as after nearly 4 weeks of travelling on our own it was time to have everything done for us! Appeared that the conn. rooms are closer to the main section of the hotels, luggage is taken and picked up from the room(yes sometimes the bags had to be outside earlier), coach dropped us off and picked up near our rooms. We could choose any meals from menus and were happy.

We always try to book 2 nights, just as someone else mentioned - you may not arrive till the afternoon and have to leave the next morning - not much time to look around or just chill!