All Things Avalon

[jsn55]

8 hours ago, Daisi said:

As of 2024, Avalon will be sailing the Douro! 

 

https://www.avalonwaterways.ca/river-cruises/portugal/?computed_itinerarylocationcountries_sm=Portugal&format=vertical&limit=12&page=0&sort=computed_itinerary_firstbestdiscountedprice_cad_tl%3Dasc

I have friends in Lexington KY who were right on the brink of booking this cruise with another cruise line.  They are just thrilled that Avalon's going into service on the Duoro.  Have to check to see if it's a new ship.

[Daisi]

@jsn55, yes, it's a new ship, smaller than their others.  This is the one itinerary that we were thinking we may have to look at another line if we decided to go, now we can stick with Avalon. 

[retiredslug]

Hanging out in one of our favorite European cities, Salzburg, before taking a train ride over the Alps to join the Avalon Artistry II in Basel, Sep 27.  Basel to Nuremberg—anyone else on this cruise?

 

Bill

[jsn55]

9 hours ago, retiredslug said:

Hanging out in one of our favorite European cities, Salzburg, before taking a train ride over the Alps to join the Avalon Artistry II in Basel, Sep 27.  Basel to Nuremberg—anyone else on this cruise?

 

Bill

HOW I WISH!!!  Salzburg is one of our faves too, then to see the Alps on your way to join the Artistry??!  Pure heaven.  Have a terrific time and savor every moment.

[*Miss G*]

I have a couple of questions that I couldn’t find the answer to on the Avalon site.

 

1.  Are there slippers in the staterooms?

2.  It states a choice of mattress.  Is this requested onboard or is there somewhere to do it in advance or do you do it yourself a la sleep number?

 

[Kenster]

Slippers and robes in the cabin. They say you can request a firmer or softer mattress. I think they do this by changing out the mattress topper. We have always found the beds extremely comfortable as is. 

[*Miss G*]

Thank you, @Kenster!  That was very helpful.

[sanger727]

Hello. Help Needed! We leave for our Avalon Mekong cruise in a month. I received a health screening email from them that says that you must be fully vaccinated and ‘check validity dates if you vaccine because boosters may be required to keep your vaccine valid’. Are boosters required? CDC says 2 shots are ‘fully vaccinated’. Additional boosters are recommended to keep your vaccine ‘up to date’; but they don’t use the word ‘valid’ so i don’t know what Avalon is trying to say. I understand that the countries we are traveling to have their own requirements. But can anyone who has cruise recently advise what is required by Avalon for boosters? I had a booster last month but my traveling partner hasn’t had a booster recently. She *thinks* she had covid last month so wasn’t planning on getting a booster. But she didn’t get tested so she doesn’t have the 90 day thing.

Edited October 29, 2022 by sanger727

[Kenster]

This is nothing new and should not have been a surprise. It’s in Avalon’s documentation and on their website. If it has been more than 270 days since your second vaccine, you need a booster. I believe the booster has to be received at least two weeks prior to departure.

 

”Possibly” having had Covid recently doesn’t carry any weight if it was not documented by a doctor. 

 

Your friend should get her booster immediately, then she’ll be good to go. 
 

Covid is still popping up on cruises. Why risk getting it and having to leave the ship or be confined to your cabin for the duration of the cruise,  and possibly being unable to fly home as scheduled? 

[sanger727]

5 hours ago, Kenster said:

This is nothing new and should not have been a surprise. It’s in Avalon’s documentation and on their website. If it has been more than 270 days since your second vaccine, you need a booster. I believe the booster has to be received at least two weeks prior to departure.

 

”Possibly” having had Covid recently doesn’t carry any weight if it was not documented by a doctor. 

 

Your friend should get her booster immediately, then she’ll be good to go. 
 

Covid is still popping up on cruises. Why risk getting it and having to leave the ship or be confined to your cabin for the duration of the cruise,  and possibly being unable to fly home as scheduled? 

Thanks for the clarification. Can you point to where the Avalon site says that? Their pre-boarding material about it is vague.

 

as best I can tell, the CDC only requires one booster for ‘up to date’. I think she would prefer not to get it since she just got a flu shot and we are also getting typhoid before the trip. If she doesn’t HAVE to have a booster, it’s up to her.

Edited October 29, 2022 by sanger727

[*Miss G*]

51 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

Thanks for the clarification. Can you point to where the Avalon site says that? Their pre-boarding material about it is vague.

 

as best I can tell, the CDC only requires one booster for ‘up to date’. I think she would prefer not to get it since she just got a flu shot and we are also getting typhoid before the trip. If she doesn’t HAVE to have a booster, it’s up to her.

 

I was on an Avalon cruise earlier this month and the requirement was to not be past 270 days since your last dose in the primary vaccine.  We had to provide proof of vaccines upon check-in.  You would need to check The Latest Travel & Health Restrictions on Sherpa for the ports in your itinerary to see their requirements.

 

Incidentally, I got my flu shot and my 2nd booster on the same day in August.  They don’t counteract each other.  She may as well get the booster because the primary vaccines are going to expire and she’s going to require one eventually anyway.

[sanger727]

10 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I was on an Avalon cruise earlier this month and the requirement was to not be past 270 days since your last dose in the primary vaccine.  We had to provide proof of vaccines upon check-in.  You would need to check The Latest Travel & Health Restrictions on Sherpa for the ports in your itinerary to see their requirements.

 

Incidentally, I got my flu shot and my 2nd booster on the same day in August.  They don’t counteract each other.  She may as well get the booster because the primary vaccines are going to expire and she’s going to require one eventually anyway.

thabks for the info. Yes, I got my flu and covid at the same time. Not sure is typhoid is a problem. I’ll let her know.

[Canal archive]

Yup we had our covid booster and flue at the same time albeit in different arms, my friend also had her pneumonia as they discovered it got missed during covid lock-down. I’m no expert but she was told the cocktail seemed to help all three, she had no side effects at all. At my great age I remember having to have some ‘what sounded to me’ weird and wonderful mixtures of vaccinations to travel to different countries where infections were endemic. I’ve never caught anything out of the norm so if it’s keeping me on this planet keep needling away!

[ljandgb]

FWIW, when I was in the military, they'd give you anything and everything you needed at the same time.  I think I got 4-5 vaccinations that first time.

[sanger727]

I talked to my travel partner about the booster and it turns out she had hers in August so we are good to go after all. Really looking forward to our trip in a few weeks!

[CT-Edin]

Hello, has anyone done a Nile cruise with Avalon and if so, what was it like?  Any hints/tips/things to be aware of?  We're looking at their Egypt & Jordan cruise currently.  Thanks in advance!

[cleobella]

Does anyone know if Avalon offers a trip out to Lucerne, as an option,  during its Zurich Post stay? They did not have the option to actually stay in Lucerne and are not too quick answering my inquiry. 

[Daisi]

2 hours ago, cleobella said:

Does anyone know if Avalon offers a trip out to Lucerne, as an option,  during its Zurich Post stay? They did not have the option to actually stay in Lucerne and are not too quick answering my inquiry. 

 

The Romantic Rhine has a couple of extensions with overnights to Lucerne. 

[TMLAalum]

4 hours ago, cleobella said:

Does anyone know if Avalon offers a trip out to Lucerne, as an option,  during its Zurich Post stay? They did not have the option to actually stay in Lucerne and are not too quick answering my inquiry. 

We are disembarking Avalon's Romantic Rhine in Basel, but rather than book with Avalon we are DIYing it to Lucerne. We'll take a taxi to the Basel train station for the @1 hour + journey. We chose the Hotel Continental Park since it is walkable from Luzern Central Station but there are numerous other options nearby. We plan on a walking tour of the city and a trip to Mount Pilatus using the Silver Pass option. Our cost will be about half of what we'd pay Avalon! We will fly back to the US from ZRH after spending 4 nights in the Berner Oberland for hiking and an excursion to the Schilthorn, famous for its ties to 007!

[Furball83]

Considering an Avalon River cruise from Prague to Bucharest, 19 days, in April 2024. This will be a specialty cruise with author Diana Gabaldon (Outlander series) “The Danube to the Black Sea.”Have you been pleased with Avalon in general: service, tours, food, etc.? Seems strange to me that they price the cruise separately from the cabin class. Cabin is panorama with French balcony. Actually the two days in Prague are on land, then embark in Regensberg. Says hotel info in Prague will not be available until 30 days prior to the cruise, which worries me a little. I’ve been to Prague, Vienna, Melk, Bratislava, and Budapest before, but the rest will be new for me. Live on the east coast of the US. Wondering how it will be flying back from Bucharest…do any of you do your air with them?

[TMLAalum]

7 hours ago, Furball83 said:

Considering an Avalon River cruise from Prague to Bucharest, 19 days, in April 2024. This will be a specialty cruise with author Diana Gabaldon (Outlander series) “The Danube to the Black Sea.”Have you been pleased with Avalon in general: service, tours, food, etc.? Seems strange to me that they price the cruise separately from the cabin class. Cabin is panorama with French balcony. Actually the two days in Prague are on land, then embark in Regensberg. Says hotel info in Prague will not be available until 30 days prior to the cruise, which worries me a little. I’ve been to Prague, Vienna, Melk, Bratislava, and Budapest before, but the rest will be new for me. Live on the east coast of the US. Wondering how it will be flying back from Bucharest…do any of you do your air with them?

 Jealous! Love Outlander!

I wonder if the cruise has a surcharge over cabin price because it is one of Avalon's special ones featuring a popular author...

Friends of ours did the Prague extension prior to our Danube cruise and used Avalon air. None in the group of 8 had complaints about either.

We were very pleased with our Danube cruise on the Illumination. Great guides in small groups of about 15-20 people (except in Vienna). We were on the Swan deck and have booked it again for our Rhine cruise. Looking forward to being able to use the upper deck since the Danube in November was too damp and chilly to be up top.

[cleobella]

TMLA that sounds great! We have done our own thing around Europe and wanted to try a package as this is a special occasion and we only have a short time there. But unless we are treated like Royalty (lol) I'm not sure we would take packaged hotel options again. Our hotel is a large corporate one, away from the Old Town. We would have picked something boutique in  Lucerne or even Zurich Old Town area. Well, will see, and we'll plan a day in Lucerne anyway.

[Daisi]

If you scroll to the bottom of the link attached, you can see the hotels listed for Prague. If you click on the other 2 cities, you will see the ones for there as well.

 

https://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/go-tell-the-bees-the-danube-from-germany-to-the-black-sea-with-diana-gabaldon-plus-2-nights-in-prague-and-2-nights-in-transylvania/WDOE-T1/?season=2024

 

We love Avalon, they aren't as "fussy" as other lines, but you still get great food, excellent tours and treated great. Loved them so much, we were planning our next cruise on the flight home.

 

I don't quite understand your comment about cabins, the closer you are to the stern, and the lower you are, the less the cost. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, Daisi said:

We love Avalon, they aren't as "fussy" as other lines

I can see how this applies to Uniworld, but neither AMA nor Scenic are in any way fussy IMHO.

[sanger727]

We are leaving on Friday for our first Avalon cruise! We are on Avalon Saigon. I have a handful of questions that I can't found anything on Avalon's site to answer:

1. There's an exercise room. What should I expect with that? A room with some space and freeweights or actual equipment?

2. How is the wifi on board? Trying to determine if we are better off using our cell phone coverage.

3. What time to excursions and tours typically start? 

Thank you!