Choosing Viking vs. Avalon and questions

[injeanious]

My husband and I are going to Europe in the spring 2006. I need alot of sleep and am bad with time changes so this concerns me about the pace of a trip. We aren't big history buffs, just really want to get a flair for the area more so then major touring. We've looked into self guided tours but it is quite overwhelming especially since 99% of our vacations are cruises. The pace of a regular cruise seems too exhausting. Yesterday a river cruise was suggested to me and this sounds like a fabulous compromise. Besides the itinerary is there an advantage to choosing Viking vs. Avalon? I'm leaning towards Avalon but curious if anyone has any feedback one way or another.

 

Also, are all the tours early? I know I will be miserable if I am touring exhausted and this is part of why we didn't want to take an organized tour. It sounds like theres more down time and less nightlife that I should be able to get a good nights sleep but just wanted to make sure. Am I able to miss a 1/2 day tour if I needed to?

[bigreckster]

We took an Avalon cruise in July and the pace was certainly not frantic. The tours are always optional and they always have a "slow group" for those with less mobility. Morning tours were always after breakfast and there was little to no nightlife (we closed the bar at 9:30 PM often!). We chose a suite on Avalon because it was the largest and most comfortable in the industry...very large bath/shower and beautiful full wall french balcony windows. If you are used to regular large ship cruising be forewarned that this venue is entirely different. The big advantage is being able to dock right in a destination and not have to travel hours by bus from place to place. Mornings are much more leisurely than the rush of boarding early buses and the food was quite good for a small ship with 150 or so passengers. For us, the pace was very slow compared to previous Med. and Baltic cruises and there is no jogging track, spa or casino...just wonderful, beautiful scenery up close throughout the trip. I think you'ld enjoy the experience and yet find it very relaxing.