Cobbie48

Dear Debbie,

Thank you for your reply. Did the tour take you up to the castle or did you have to walk on your own? Did you get to go in the castle or just tour the grounds? How long were you actually in Cesky? Was the uphill walk to the castle difficult? We.are not disabled but sometimes the knees complain on hills.

Thanks,

Nancy

We took your same cruise on the Expression last year. Did not do the Dvorak concert but did the Cesky tour. We signed up before the cruise. Our experience was the same as previous poster except no stop for photos along the way. The tour did not take us up to the castle. We decided it was too steep a climb for our old knees. The bus guide and local guide were excellent. The town is gorgeous. Do not miss it! We were in Cesky several hours. Enough to have plenty of free time after the tour and a delicious lunch. The tour ends in Linz were we meet the boat. Seems we arrived back about 6pm.

We took the walking tour of old town Prague and the Schonbrunn tour in Vienna.

We enjoyed the included walking tour of Nurenburg but wished we could have gone to the old town behind the walls. Next year we will return and hopefully take a private tour behind the walls

Beware of the wonderful gingerbread cookies in Nurenburg. They are quite hard and I broke a filling!

Enjoy your trip and be sure to report back!

Karen

Jazz, first - thanks for all your hard work!

 

We will be on an Avalon/2014 cruise through Gernamy on the Danube/Main/Rhine (from Passau to Basel) I don't see where that trip fits into any of the "omnibus" roll calls.

 

I do realize that this is a trip that isn't made by many lines.....and am surprised that there are still 10 cabins available for a July 2014 cruise - but it would be nice to have the 'chance' of meeting someone who's at least been on the Artistry II. :(

We are doing your same Avalon cruise in July 2015. Actually we begin in Munich then sail from Passau to Basel. Please do a trip report. Thanks

We were on the Felicity last April from Amsterdam to Basel for our 1st river cruise ever. We met at the Movenpick Hotel in AMS and they loaded us up for a short ride to the ship and I believe it was around 4pm. We each brought 2 bags and there was no problem. The crew took our luggage from the dock & it showed up in our room a short while later. No problems at all. Well organized and we had a fantastic trip with Avalon. You will enjoy it.

We were on the Expression last year. I had a medium bag and a tote bag. My partner had his Cpap bag, tote and medium bag.

We departed from Prague on the Avalon bus. It seems we arrived around 4pm and got into our room immediately

I just reserved Avalon again for July 2015. The agent said one bag and one tote. However the tote can not have wheels in case you are on an Avalon bus. The wheeled totes don't fit in the small over heads. Too bad, as I just purchased a wheeled tote.

Avalon is a first class outfit. You will love it..

Thanks so much for all the info! :o:p Since this will be our first river cruise, I have read lots of differing reviews, and for this very reason, we decided it really wasn't worth the extra $$ for a French balcony. Yikes, we booked on the main deck and there were only 7 cabins at an incredibly good price, but our TA said the cabins had a bit more storage. So, we are hoping for the best.

 

Has anybody else booked the main deck with the small upper windows? If so, how was it in regard to this issue? Thanks in advance.

We were on an Avalon cruise last summer on the deck with small upper windows. We were so satisfied we are booking another in same type room for next year

Thanks, youngdufan. We're able to purchase the airport transfer on the cruise?

Cobbie- that is an advantage of their air but we usually do out own.

We stayed an extra night in Budapest and shared a taxi to the airport with another couple. It was way cheaper than the Avalon transfer which was not free as we stayed longer

If you purchase transfers from Avalon, they will get you from the boat to the airport. We did this trip in reverse in 2012. Upon arriving in Zurich, the hotel had a free bus from the airport. We used Avalon's transfers and were taken on a bus from the ship in Amsterdam to the airport. Departure times varied depending on your flight times.

If you book air with them transfers are included.

We've been on Millennium and are considering a short sailing on Constellation. How is the Connie? I read that she was refurbished in 2013. What is new? Any negatives?

 

Thank you!!

Took a 12 night Med cruise last fall. My second cruise, it was amazing. Loved the size of the Connie. Lots of interesting spaces to lounge in. Tuscan Grill was wonderful. Staff excellent.

Go for it!

I booked directly with Avalon. I talked and emailed directly with one agent.

Don't worry at all. We went on a Avalon Prague to Budapest. It was absolutely wonderful. Couldn't complain about a thing! The beds were like clouds, the meals great, the staff attentive and the itinerary fantastic. One of our most memorable holidays. :)

We too did Avalon Prague to Budapest last year. The cruise was amazing. Staff were wonderful, good food, wine and beer. Booking another Avalon cruise for summer 2015

We (2 couples 57 to 65yrs young) did our first river cruise last year with Avalon from Basel to Amsterdam. It was perfect in every way, so good that we are now booked to Prague to Budapest. Suggest you fly into Zurich at least 3 days prior and have a couple of day relaxing in Lake Lucerne then back to Zurich and Avalon looks after your every need for the next 8 nights. Spend some time in Amsterdam or elsewhere in Europe and then fly home .

You will get hooked and want to do more - be careful and enjoy

We did Prague to Budapest last June just after the floods. A fabulous cruise. Are you on the Expression? We loved everything about our cruse, including our aquarium room.

We stayed in this Avalon category last July on the Danube. Loved it. When it was daylight and we were in the room there as plenty of light. You stand and look out he window. We weren't in the room that much anyhow. We will cruise with Avalon again in 2015 in an aquarium room.

We cruised last July on Avalon on the Danube. We were one of the first cruises after the floods

I cannot say enough about Avalon. This was our first river Cruise. From being picked up at the airport in Prague to being delivered to our hotel in Budapest, everything was flawless

Our only complaint was the Prague Hilton was too far from the sights. The hotel was excellent, just poorly located

Food was great, all staff wonderful, city guides good, even the weather was perfect.

We had an "aquarium" room on the lowest floor. Our room was the same size as all others except the big suites. We did not feel we missed the big windows in our room. We weren't in the room that often

We plan another Avalon trip next year from Munich to Basel

Enjoy!!

Would love to read it. Where do I find it?

Glad you had a great trip; no stalls due to strike at locks?

I just answered a question on my Avalon thread so it has been bumped to the top. Avalon Expression June 23

SfromATX, thank you so much for the great responses to my questions! It really helps me to get a better picture of what to expect. The past few days we did some more CC reading and cruise company websites and we're waiting for a quote for the Avalon May 9 cruise of the same itinerary, mainly because of the panorama windows and generally better perception of Avalon food and excursions. Depending on the day we start and finish we'll probably be spending a pre-cruise in Prague or post-cruise in Paris (my wife's choice). We did big cruises for our 20th and 25th anniversaries (see .sig) and this will be for our 30th anniversary. Thanks again!

We just returned from a Prague to Budapest Avalon trip and it was fabulous. You can't go wrong with Avalon. Lots of little touches like always free water bottles and when you return from our excursion a glass of water and cold towel as you enter. Staff was enthuastic. See me review in this section.

We are on the brand new, stunning Avalon Expression. 3 days pre sail in Prague was wonderful. Arrived Nuremburg Wed and sailed Thurs noon to Regensburg. All the towns are cleaned up and having tourists. We will be able to sail thru the Altenburg lock on Sunday. Weather has been either rainy or just cloudy and cool. Pack a jacket

The ship is a floating resort with the feel of being on a constant party. I'm loving it

Karen

Going on first river cruise in June 2013. Avalon cruise on Danube from Prague to Budapest. Did a few comparisons. Avalon had the itinerary and amenities we wanted