jbeuks

Update along the way of our Avalon Expression bus/ship cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest: We're now at Hilton Hotel in Bonn, after two nights at Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam and bus today, with stop in Cologne. We had heavy rain off and on all day, but I fear we're too far down river to help the water level at critical points on the Rhine or, of course, the Danube. Tomorrow we bus to a town in the Rhine Gorge, where we'll take a three-hour tour on a local steamer to Rudesheim; after touring there, we'll bus to Frankfurt for one night at Marriott. Then bus to Passau -- and our ship! -- after a short tour in Nuremberg. (We'll be aboard the ship a day earlier than the first revised itinerary, by the way.) Avalon has added some extra stops in Upper Austria to make up for missing the entire Main River. Avalon is taking very good care of us. (See my previous post about the financial adjustment.) It's not exactly what we bargained for, but it's hard to complain, unless you either truly hate a few days on a bus or just enjoy complaining.

Update along the way of our Avalon Expression bus/ship cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest: We're now at Hilton Hotel in Bonn, after two nights at Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam and bus today, with stop in Cologne. We had heavy rain off and on all day, but I fear we're too far down river to help the water level at critical points on the Rhine. Tomorrow we bus to a town in the Rhine Gorge, where we'll take a three-hour tour on a local steamer to Rudesheim; after touring there, we'll bus to Frankfurt for one night at Marriott. Then bus to Passau -- and our ship! -- after a short tour in Nuremberg. (We'll be aboard the ship a day earlier than the first revised itinerary, by the way.) Avalon has added some extra stops in Upper Austria to make up for missing the entire Main River. Avalon is taking very good care of us. (See my previous post about the financial adjustment.) It's not exactly what we bargained for, but it's hard to complain, unless you either truly hate a few days on a bus or just enjoy complaining.

Further clarification re Avalon's "make good" offer for the extensive disruption in our AMS-Budapest itinerary, noted above. According to my TA, who talked to them this morning, the unclear sentence that I quoted means that we will be refunded for 6/14 of the cost of our cruise (proportionate to the number of days we'll be on bus rather than ship), AND they will put us up and feed us during the bus portion of the revised trip. Pretty good terms, as I see it. Apart from the disappointment, I really have no basis for complaint at this point.

If you're traveling on Avalon in the near future, you may want to look at my extended message (#412) on the Danube water levels thread, describing the fairly dramatic adjustment to the itinerary on Avalon's 9/21 scheduled cruise from AMS to Budapest. In short, rather than cruising up the Rhine and Main Rivers, we're going to be riding on a bus for 6 days, with hotel stops along the way, before finally joining our ship in Passau. My post describes the options that passengers are being offered because of this change. Although this apparently is caused primarily by water levels on the upper Danube, I infer that Avalon may also have a shortage of ships in the Rhine basin, because they're not trying a ship swap for us.

People have been asking "Have you heard from Avalon?" Well, we heard from Avalon this afternoon, and the news (at least for us) isn't good. We're booked on WAB 80921 from Amsterdam to Budapest, scheduled to leave this Friday on Avalon Expression. Well, Expression hasn't been west of Passau in six weeks, but we assumed we'd leave AMS on another ship and do a ship swap somewhere in Bavaria. NOT SO!

This afternoon (less than 24 hours before we're scheduled to fly to AMS), I received an email from Avalon telling me that, because Expression will be "stuck in Passau," the first six days of the cruise will be by bus. We will first check into a hotel in AMS (not yet identified) for two nights, then bus for several days, with hotel stops in Bonn, Frankfurt, and Nuremburg (two nights) before finally joining Expression in Passau on 9/27. This means missing a couple of scheduled stops along the Main River, so they're adding a couple of stops (Linz and Grein) in Austria. We'll do the Rhine gorge for a few hours out of St. Goar, presumably on a day-cruiser. No mention of any disruption at the eastern end of the cruise (Bratislava, Budapest), but that shoe could still drop.

Avalon offers the option of cancelling before the cruise starts, with full refund or rebooking on a future cruise but no assistance on "outside airline change fees or price changes for new vacations." OR, if we go on the trip with the new itinerary, we "will be refunded 6 days accommodated in hotel at 100% per day of the cruise only price including cabin upgrades." I'm quoting the Avalon email here, exactly as it was written, i.e., with no punctuation, and I have no idea what it means. I guess we'll find out eventually.

Obviously the water levels aren't Avalon's fault. But I suspect they have found themselves with no ship available to carry us from AMS to, say Nuremberg or Regensburg, where a ship swap might be possible, and that is their fault, at least in terms of poor planning. And whoever's "fault" it is, it certainly isn't what we thought we were buying when we booked this cruise. But that said, we and the friends with whom we're traveling have decided to go ahead with the revised plan. We'll still be seeing interesting new places that we haven't seen before, and we'll still get an 8-day cruise, rather than the original 14 days, if there are no problems below Vienna. In short, we've been handed a few lemons, but we're hopeful that the lemonade may still be reasonably tasty and refreshing.

I provide this information for the benefit of others who are also ticketed on Avalon, to give you a hint of what you may expect (including the relatively short notice)

Does anyone know whether their ships ( particularly the luminary) have any laundry service?

 

 

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I believe they don't have laundry facilities on board, but they do offer laundry service (for a price -- and I can't tell you how much, as we haven't done our cruise with them yet).

Hello CC Members.

At 4pm today we got a phone call from our Travel Agent to say that the 1st 2 days of the above cruise has to be altered due to water levels.

So a hotel has been booked in Amsterdam & passenger will be transported to another of their ships.

We have been given the option of a full refund.

This is fine but if there are any further level along the river this could end up being a great coach trip.

Are there other passengers booked on this cruise? Interested to know your thoughts.

We're on the identical cruise starting 9/21. Can you please provide more detail about the changes that you've been notified about? Thanks.

Thanks, Paul S. Whatever happens on our cruise, I hope we get more than the two days' notice you got, as we're planning to be in Amsterdam for a few days before our embarkation -- which pretty much eliminates the option of cancelling entirely.

We're booked on Avalon's Amsterdam-to-Budapest cruise aboard Avalon Expression, sailing September 21. I've been watching these boards for a month now, and so I know that Expression hasn't been farther west than Passau during that entire time (and it now appears to be stalled in Vienna). So I'm wondering and worrying about what is likely to happen on our cruise. Avalon customer service is willing to give me only the most general of assurances.

As they say in the stock market, "past performance is no guarantee of future results," but still, it's a better indication of what's likely to happen than nothing at all. So I'd be VERY interested to hear from folks who've actually sailed with Avalon during the current low-water situation and who can tell me about what they've actually done to deal with it. For example, there was an August 10 sailing of the same Amsterdam-to-Budapest itinerary that we're booked on in about a month, and it would be most helpful to know what ship was used out of Amsterdam (not the Expression, as advertised, because it is stuck on the Danube); which ports,if any, were skipped; where, if at all, buses had to be used; where the ship swap (assuming there was one) occurred; etc., etc.

Thanks in advance for any and all responses.

Friend did not mention specific bus journeys but did mention plural coaches and hotels. So apparently more than just to Cologne. From following trip on marine traffic.com I know they did not make it to Budapest on a boat. Bussed from Vienna. Also seems to have been a boat swap at one point. Good luck.

Thanks. You describe pretty much what I'm fearing will happen to us -- although I do hope we can make it to the Danube, even if we have to ride a bus to do so.

Friends returned today from Avalon Vista Amsterdam to Budapest cruise that departed July 31. I had asked if they would do it again. Texted answer: "We would. It was an adventure for us . But it was hard for some people. Avalon is giving refunds for the days we were scheduled to be on the river and weren't. They paid for lunches, hotel rooms and meals for those days too."

 

I had warned them early this summer that the cruise could become a bus tour and Avalon had let them know just before they left that they would be bussed from Amsterdam to Cologne. So they were somewhat prepared.

Did your friends mention being bused anywhere else than Amsterdam-to-Cologne? We're booked for the same itinerary starting 9/21, and I'm seeing mentions on other threads about impassable sections on the upper Danube (Regensberg-to-Passau) and the final stretch into Budapest.

We were docked the first 4 days in Passau, sailed from Passau to Vienna, and then were stuck in Komarom the last two days. It was quite disappointing, to say the least.

What is Komarom? What did you do from there?

I've also traveled with a C-PAP for almost 10 years. I learned very early to carry my own extension cord and a three-way plug, so I won't be caught out if there isn't an outlet immediately at bedside or there are too many devices competing for too few outlets. Before first taking the machine abroad, I checked the owner's manual carefully and determined that it's dual voltage, so I no longer worry about a power transformer for the C-PAP. But of course a plug converter is still needed almost anywhere outside the U.S. Re distilled water, I simply use tap water when I'm in a hotel, whether in the U.S. or abroad, or on a cruise, and I've never had any problem doing so. I figure the water doesn't pass through any moving part of the machine, and breathing in the vapor won't hurt me, at least over the short period of time that I'm traveling. For what it's worth ....

Many thanks to both Ine and LHT28 for their recommendation of Marius. From his website, it appears he would be exactly what I'm looking for. Unfortunately, his scheduled vacation overlaps with the few days in mid-Sept. when we'll be in Amsterdam. Any other suggestions? I'm sure there must be others who provide similar service to what Marius does. Thanks again.

My wife and I and another couple will be in Amsterdam in September for a few days before leaving on a cruise. I'd like to visit some of the sites north of the city that relate to the Zuider Zee reclamation project, but I find that no organized group tours go to the sites I'd like to see. Has anyone had experience hiring a private car and driver for such a day trip out of Amsterdam? If so, I'd appreciate any recommendations. Thanks.

Thanks to txsprmom and Texas Tom for your recent posts about the scope of the "included" tours in Budapest and Vienna, and the info about where the boats will likely dock. They're most helpful in planning what we want to do independently.

That's correct jbeuks ... it's like an drive/walk through. Not a great deal of time spent at any of these sights.

 

Hope that helps!

 

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Indeed it does. Thanks very much.

"Budapest sightseeing is from 8:30 to 11:30 am and includes heroes square, the hilltop castle complex with Mathias church and several bridges... it gives a little run through in the itinerary but not many details. In Vienna sightseeing is from 8:15 to 11am and includes the hofburg imperial palace, Vienna boys for choir, Vienna opera house and st Stephen's cathedral. Again kinda vague on inclusions but hope that helps!"

When you say the tour "includes" these sites, am I correct that they simply drive by the places that you mention? Or do they stop and take you inside? (I ask because we're returning to Vienna after the cruise, and I'm trying to plan what we should do upon our return, and it will be helpful to have a sense of what we will already have done during the Vienna port call.)

We used Avalon for our Amsterdam to Budapest cruse in 2015. Avalon was wonderful and we had a great time. We did a 2 day extension in Budapest that was well worth it. My suggestion is to check some of the reviews and see how the cruise line handles any problems that come up. Most of the time things go as planned but sometimes there are glitches. We had some issues on our cruise and Avalon did an amazing job of keeping us updated, providing optional tours at no charge an compensating us far more than we had expected. we have since taken 2 additional cruises with them

My wife and I are booked on Avalon for the same itinerary in Sept./Oct. 2018. We plan to spend a couple of days in Amsterdam before the cruise and to return to Vienna for a few days afterwards. I'd greatly appreciate any guidance about what the cruise-included and optional excursions involve, so we can plan what we want to do independently and avoid duplication. Also, I understand that Avalon has passengers gather at a hotel near the docks rather than going to the ship by themselves. Do you recall what hotel was used in Amsterdam, and did you stay there? That strikes me as if it would simplify things a lot. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer on these subjects.

We're doing this cruise in September 2018, and plan to spend a few days in Amsterdam beforehand, and in Vienna after the cruise ends. We'd like to know what excursion options Avalon will be offering in those two cities, in addition to the "city tour" mentioned in the general itinerary, which I assume are essentially drive-bys of the primary sites. Do you actually go into any site on those tours? What extra-price options does Avalon offer for the "free time" that the itinerary mentions in each city? Thanks for any info.

We were on Nieuw Amsterdam in May 2013. For the port call in Livorno, having been to Florence and Pisa before, we decided we wanted to see Siena and San Gimignano instead. We found Share a Shore Excursion in Italy on the internet (not sure whether through Cruise Critic or somewhere else) and decided that it looked like a good way to go.

This was a really good choice. Their system -- sign up for a group, designate how many you're willing to share with, and wait for others to join -- worked very well. With just a couple of posts on the CC message board for our cruise, we quickly gathered a companionable group of 8 to share a van. Our pick-up was very smooth, and our driver Manny provided to be a treasure. He was very personable, very helpful to those in the group who had minor difficulties getting in and out of the car, and very knowledgeable about the lovely Tuscan countryside through which we were passing. He dropped us off and picked us up much closer to the walking areas in Siena and San Gimignano than a large coach could have done, and we traveled in greater comfort than would have been the case on a coach. And there was no waiting for the stragglers that are always found in a group of 35-40 on a bus. Manny also took us to a very nice restaurant in San Gimignano where we had a great, and reasonably priced, lunch. And all of this at a fraction of the price that HAL would have charged for a similar itinerary.

To summarize, we recommend Share A Shore Excursion very highly, and we'll definitely use them again if we ever cruise again in the areas they serve.

Four or us, cruising on the Nieuw Amsterdam in May-June 2013, arranged with Nikos for a car and driver in Athens during our day there. Right from the start, when I emailed several companies asking for information about their services and costs, Nikos was amazingly responsive; I would hear back from him almost immediately after I sent the email. And the experience "on the ground" was every bit as good. Our driver, Ilias, met us outside the cruise terminal exactly where Nikos had said he would be. Although he isn't a licensed guide and therefore couldn't go into the various sites with us, he provided a lot of interesting and useful information as he was driving us to and through Athens. At each stop, he was very clear about where we should go and where and exactly when he would meet us; he also gave us his cell phone number so we could call and arrange an earlier pick-up if we didn't spend as long at the site as he had allowed -- a service we took him up on several times. We covered virtually every site on the "must see" list, and a few more that we didn't even know about but thoroughly enjoyed. He also took us to a very pleasant sidewalk restaurant on the edge of the Agora where we had lunch. And at the end of the day, he got us back to the ship in plenty of time before the "all aboard" deadline.

All in all, an excellent day of touring, much more pleasant it would have been on a 40-person coach tour and at a fraction of the price HAL would have charged. We couldn't have asked for more, and we will definitely use Nikos's service if we visit again in one of the areas that he serves.