Choosing the right River Cruise Company.

[chromered7]

We are still researching our proposed River Cruise on the Mekong. We have experience with Cruise Ships and the companies but are conflicted when it comes to choosing the right river cruise company to use.

How did you arrive at your choice for cruising the Mekong and what airline did you use? Many choices are often guided by cost but recommendation provides a unique insight.

 

 

 

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[gnome12]

For me I was looking at AMA and Avalon and AMA waived single supplement so no real choice.

 

As to airline my experience will be different coming from North America and flying business class using Star Alliance points. I flew Eva Air Toronto-Taipei-Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City-Taipei-Toronto. Very good service and good connections and very low fees to pay.

 

 

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[Rebel54]

I went with Avalon because I had a great experience with them on our first cruise. We enjoyed the cabin, the bed that faced the wall of sliding glass doors, the amazing staff, etc. Avalon has 18 cabins on each boat and the groups are small. The advantage to sticking with one company is the repeat cruiser discount. I didn't use them to book my travel because I'm very particular about flights and seats and I just didn't like the crapshoot that is booking air through them. I need more control than that.

 

I do recommend that if you book Avalon, you do it yourself, not through a TA unless your TA gives you discounts. There really is no advantage to using a TA for Avalon that I can see. The negative is if you have any questions about your cruise with Avalon after you book, you have to go through your TA if you've used one. If you book yourself, you have more control and the ability to call and ask specific questions if you need/want to. As soon as the customer service finds out you have a TA, they tell you that you have to go through them.