Avalon River Cruises Onboard Questions

[cbr663]

We are about to book an Avalon River cruise and have a couple of questions about the onboard experience:

 

1.  How much is laundry service?

2.  How much is the service charge for room service?

3.  Any special perks/amenities for Royal Suite passengers?

4.  Are breakfast and lunch options a combination of buffet and made to order items?

5.  Any advice on someone's first river cruise?

6.  Any thing you were surprised with onboard?

Edited January 28 by cbr663

[*Miss G*]

I didn’t use the laundry.  Room service coffee came with warmed cream.  Breakfast was the buffet plus eggs how you want them, including omelettes.

 

Our Avalon cruise was awesome and amazing.  We were up early every day and out in the AM doing the included tours until brought back for the afternoon or evening.  Afternoon “tea” included cakes and sandwiches and all kinds of extras.  We were thankful to be able to walk all that off on the 2nd port of the day because supper was going to be amazing.

 

My advice:  you will be on the move and on the go for most of the day.  You will gather in the lounge for hors d’oeuvres and cocktails or champagne each evening, for port talks, prior to moving to the dining room for dinner.  You cannot miss this time as the CD will be there to talk about the following day and let you know how to sign up for different tours.  Do not miss these talks.

 

If, somehow, you get “snacky” there are awesome snacks and coffee/drinks in the club lounge at the back of the boat.

 

You will be on the go from morning till night.  If you have any energy left, you can attend the evening entertainment (local) which will be brought on board at each port.

 

I posted a “Live From” thread from my first sailing. (Below)  Most surprising thing, for me, was that it was a very active cruise and quite different from an ocean cruise.  We LOVED it and can’t wait to do another.

 

 

 

Edited January 29 by *Miss G*

[YoungDubFan]

Make sure you read the post at the top of these boards for first time river cruisers. River cruising is a completely different experience vs ocean cruising. There is also a thread on here titled All About Avalon. Read through this long post because it has a lot of information specific to Avalon. 

 

1. I didn’t use laundry so can’t comment but from what I remember, it wasn’t too expensive. From what I’ve read on these boards, service is pretty quick. 

2. I think the only room service you can get is maybe a continental breakfast and / or coffee. I have never used it. I always go to the dining room for all meals.

3. I’m not aware but none that I’ve seen posted. You just get a bigger room.

4. Breakfast & lunch are buffets with a few rotating selections that could be ordered from the menu. Sometimes the lunch menu option was included as part of the buffet. Dinner is always from a menu. 

5. Read the referenced threads

6. On my Tulip Time cruise last April - Avalon had eliminated the piano player for nightly entertainment. There were some local acts that were brought on a few evenings. 

[Suzanne123]

I spent about $50 on laundry last fall on the Moselle, but that allowed us to take just carry-ons and no checked luggage. Laundry was returned the same day or the next morning. Very neatly done.

We mainly ate dinner upstairs at the buffet. The one thing that surprised me was the noise level in the mdr in the evening.  More like a high school cafeteria than what I remembered from the cruises prior to last year that featured a more traditional, quiet, dinner.

There was a made to order breakfast menu that had French toast and pancakes for sure ( I had them ), and a couple other options that I don’t remember.

We are booked for October, so I’m curious to see if the noisy dinners were just an anomaly.

As far as advice, I think Avalon is a great choice. They really take care of everything.  Boats are beautiful and staff are exceptional.  

[gnome12]

River crise boats are limited in height, unlike ocean cruise ships. Thus the dining room will by definition be only the same height as cabins. A low ceiling means more noise. 

[Daisi]

17 hours ago, cbr663 said:

We are about to book an Avalon River cruise and have a couple of questions about the onboard experience:

 

1.  How much is laundry service?

2.  How much is the service charge for room service?

3.  Any special perks/amenities for Royal Suite passengers?

4.  Are breakfast and lunch options a combination of buffet and made to order items?

5.  Any advice on someone's first river cruise?

6.  Any thing you were surprised with onboard?

 

Hi, I'll do my best to answer your questions. 

 

1) Yes there is laundry, I'll attach the pricing I have from another site.

 

2) According to the Avalon Waterway's site, under "Dining", you can get complimentary lunch & dinner for room service, and I believe the continental breakfast is also included.

 

3) No special perks for the 2 Royal Suite cabins other than the larger cabin. Everyone on the ship gets access to everything, no special perks at all.

 

4) Yes, breakfast & lunch are buffet, there is a made to order omelet station for breakfast, and usually the chef is there with a carving station for lunch. There are also items that can be ordered from a menu, limited, but the buffets are quite large with choices for almost everything. You can check sample menus under the "Dining" tab on the website.

 

5) Have fun, go with the flow, and be prepared for anything. They are very good at overcoming river level problems, and are also good for organising extras if you ask. Pre-booking outside tours isn't really recommended unless you know for sure you will be at the port as things can change quickly.

 

6) How easy it is to get to know almost everyone onboard, from crew to fellow passengers. We were on one of the longer ships for our Danube cruise in Sept, and I was a bit worried about the larger #'s (not one for crowds), but it still didn't feel crowded. 

 

Do your research, so you know what is possible to see, and have fun, Avalon is a fantastic line, 5* service but casual enough that you don't feel uncomfortable.

 

[cbr663]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful replies.  Lots more reading to do.  We went ahead and got our TA to book it.  We are doing the Rhine Northbound with the add-on of 3 days Lake Como and 1 day Lucerne.  We are so looking forward to it.

[*Miss G*]

Lucerne and Lake Como are amazing.  We did them on a land trip, just before the shutdown, traveling by train.  The Rhine itinerary is wonderful!  I am excited for you.  Congratulations!

[Rebel54]

On 1/29/2024 at 2:06 PM, cbr663 said:

Thanks everyone for the wonderful replies.  Lots more reading to do.  We went ahead and got our TA to book it.  We are doing the Rhine Northbound with the add-on of 3 days Lake Como and 1 day Lucerne.  We are so looking forward to it.

Which cabin did you go for?

[Rebel54]

On 1/28/2024 at 3:37 PM, cbr663 said:

We are about to book an Avalon River cruise and have a couple of questions about the onboard experience:

 

1.  How much is laundry service?

2.  How much is the service charge for room service?

3.  Any special perks/amenities for Royal Suite passengers?

4.  Are breakfast and lunch options a combination of buffet and made to order items?

5.  Any advice on someone's first river cruise?

6.  Any thing you were surprised with onboard?

1.  Very affordable and wonderful.  I'm doing a 20 day cruise and thankful for that.

2.  No room service charges.  I never had meals delivered, preferred to go to the food so it was hot and fresh.  I did get coffee and juice delivered a couple times. 

3. I believe you get a bottle of Champaign (at least the last time we sailed we did) and there is a nespresso machine in your room.  Kind of a waste of space to me because you could go make a fresh coffee in the lounge anytime you wanted.

4. They had waffles that you could order for breakfast and they had the pearl sugar so they had a nice sweet crunch to them.  If you love olive oil and balsamic vinegar with your bread...they have the BEST at the table.

5. Just unpack, relax and enjoy the ride.  There's not a LOT of on board entertainment and the majority of people (on my two that I've done) tend to turn in earlyish so this is not the hopping nightlife that you get on ocean cruises.  This is a nice time to journal, read, or just chat with new friends 🙂
6. I love the relaxed atmosphere.  No pushy sales, no long walks off the boat to face pushy photographers trying to sell you photos, no pushy sales people as you walk out of the cruise owned port (because you don't have those).  No one checking your bags coming back on the boat.  Want to bring back wine and cheese or whatever you prefer...no problem.  No one cares.  Want to walk off the boat, scan your card and with a quick walk you are in a village.  Staff are amazing.  No request too big or too small.  They want to make sure you enjoy your time and there's less than 200 people for them to take care of ... they will know you by name instantly.

 

[Canal archive]

Rebel54 it’s not a case of ‘no one cares’ it’s more that on river cruises regardless of which company you use, they actually care enough to realise that it’s your holiday so that gentle acceptance of your requirements is uppermost rather than the frantic security that seems, sadly to be a needed on ocean cruises. Just step back and enjoy.

[Rebel54]

15 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Rebel54 it’s not a case of ‘no one cares’ it’s more that on river cruises regardless of which company you use, they actually care enough to realise that it’s your holiday so that gentle acceptance of your requirements is uppermost rather than the frantic security that seems, sadly to be a needed on ocean cruises. Just step back and enjoy.

It wasn't meant in a negative light.  I hate ocean cruises for that very reason.  I think it's also a difference in the clients that come on board river vs ocean cruises.  Don't think you will ever see the need for full time drug sniffing dogs on a river cruise :).

[Canal archive]

Really, but then even we had a police drug sniffer dog through our Narrowboat it was because we were providing the power for the microphone for the King when he was Prince at an event he was more interested in the boat and the dog discovered where all the food especially the confectionery was kept.

[Rebel54]

2 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Really, but then even we had a police drug sniffer dog through our Narrowboat it was because we were providing the power for the microphone for the King when he was Prince at an event he was more interested in the boat and the dog discovered where all the food especially the confectionery was kept.

Very interesting 🙂

[scottie920]

On 1/29/2024 at 12:33 PM, YoungDubFan said:

Make sure you read the post at the top of these boards for first time river cruisers. River cruising is a completely different experience vs ocean cruising. There is also a thread on here titled All About Avalon. Read through this long post because it has a lot of information specific to Avalon. 

 

1. I didn’t use laundry so can’t comment but from what I remember, it wasn’t too expensive. From what I’ve read on these boards, service is pretty quick. 

2. I think the only room service you can get is maybe a continental breakfast and / or coffee. I have never used it. I always go to the dining room for all meals.

3. I’m not aware but none that I’ve seen posted. You just get a bigger room.

4. Breakfast & lunch are buffets with a few rotating selections that could be ordered from the menu. Sometimes the lunch menu option was included as part of the buffet. Dinner is always from a menu. 

5. Read the referenced threads

6. On my Tulip Time cruise last April - Avalon had eliminated the piano player for nightly entertainment. There were some local acts that were brought on a few evenings. 

Sorry to hijack. But I couldn’t find the thread “all about Avalon”  can you post the link please? 
Thank you.

[YoungDubFan]

Scottie920 - the thread is called All Things Avalon & I just bumped it to the top of the forums. You should be able to find it now. I think it is over 70 pages but it has a lot of good information in it. Please post here again if you can’t find the thread. 

[scottie920]

1 hour ago, YoungDubFan said:

Scottie920 - the thread is called All Things Avalon & I just bumped it to the top of the forums. You should be able to find it now. I think it is over 70 pages but it has a lot of good information in it. Please post here again if you can’t find the thread. 

Thankyou 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Friendly reminder:  bumping is against the CC guidelines.

[scottie920]

19 hours ago, YoungDubFan said:

Scottie920 - the thread is called All Things Avalon & I just bumped it to the top of the forums. You should be able to find it now. I think it is over 70 pages but it has a lot of good information in it. Please post here again if you can’t find the thread. 

Thankyou, located the 83 pages of information. I was just wondering the following:

 

are there any soft drinks/water at the 24 hour drinks station?

is the Mini Bar included as the brochure states fully stocked and no little asterisk to say charges apply?

are the l’occitane toileries individual bottles or large pump bottles stuck to the wall.

 

Thank you in advance

 

 

 

[YoungDubFan]

Scottie - there are water dispensers & ice dispensers at a couple of locations around the ship. There is a flavored water dispenser in the club lounge at the back of the ship. This is where cookies. & snacks are located. I don’t think there were any soft drinks but there may have been ice tea. 

I didn’t use the mini bar so can’t speak to that. Avalon does include bottled water in your cabin that is replenished as needed. 

 

The toiletries were large bottles stuck to the wall of the shower. 

[cbr663]

On 2/1/2024 at 6:39 PM, Rebel54 said:

Which cabin did you go for?

 

We decided against the Royal Suite and booked a Panorama Suite for 2 reasons:

 

1.  Avalon prides itself on the cabin layout with the bed facing the wall of windows so you can lie on your bed and watch the river as you are sailing.  The Royal Suite actually has a large wall in the front of the bed that severely blocks your view.  The best view is from the PS.

2.  Our other concern was the shower size in the PS.  After watching many videos online we finally found a video where one of the guys filming actually went into the shower and spread out so I could see that the shower would work.  I also discovered that not all the ships are the same in that some ships have the shower stack in the PS on the short side of the shower while others have it on the longer side.  We booked with it on the longer side as we think it will make a difference.

3.  We also noticed that the show in the RS has a bench that is located close to the shower stack which we thought would make showering awkward.

 

[Daisi]

@cbr663, you can go to the Avalon website and do a 360 of your cabin if that's easier. I know it doesn't cover everything, but I always do, as I like "my" side of the bed to be close to the wall, so I make sure my cabin is arranged that way. 

 

As to soft drinks, they are only available at the bar for a cost if you are looking for one not during the lunch/dinner times, however we always ask our cabin attendant to clear out our fridge and then we can stock whatever we wish in it (chocolate melts when sailing in warm weather 🙂) since you can bring anything onboard. 

 

As YoungDub mentioned, Iced Tea (unsweetened) is available at any time, as well as hot coffee & teas. 

[cbr663]

4 hours ago, Daisi said:

@cbr663, you can go to the Avalon website and do a 360 of your cabin if that's easier. I know it doesn't cover everything, but I always do, as I like "my" side of the bed to be close to the wall, so I make sure my cabin is arranged that way. 

 

As to soft drinks, they are only available at the bar for a cost if you are looking for one not during the lunch/dinner times, however we always ask our cabin attendant to clear out our fridge and then we can stock whatever we wish in it (chocolate melts when sailing in warm weather 🙂) since you can bring anything onboard. 

 

As YoungDub mentioned, Iced Tea (unsweetened) is available at any time, as well as hot coffee & teas. 

 

Yes, we tried the 360 tour of our cabin.  Unfortunately, the tours aren't available for all the ships.  For instance, we all sailing on the Vista and the tour is for the sister ship Envision.  This is an example of where on the Envision the shower stack in the PS is on the shower's narrow wall whereas on the Vista it's on the shower's longer wall.  Took us a while and paying very close attention to find that.

 

Our TA asked why we changed from the RS to PS and this is feedback that she is providing to Avalon on our behalf.

[Rebel54]

On 2/9/2024 at 8:23 AM, cbr663 said:

 

We decided against the Royal Suite and booked a Panorama Suite for 2 reasons:

 

1.  Avalon prides itself on the cabin layout with the bed facing the wall of windows so you can lie on your bed and watch the river as you are sailing.  The Royal Suite actually has a large wall in the front of the bed that severely blocks your view.  The best view is from the PS.

2.  Our other concern was the shower size in the PS.  After watching many videos online we finally found a video where one of the guys filming actually went into the shower and spread out so I could see that the shower would work.  I also discovered that not all the ships are the same in that some ships have the shower stack in the PS on the short side of the shower while others have it on the longer side.  We booked with it on the longer side as we think it will make a difference.

3.  We also noticed that the show in the RS has a bench that is located close to the shower stack which we thought would make showering awkward.

 

Very thoughtful response.  Thank you.  The bench in the shower really does not impact you showering at all.  That shower is pretty big.  I also like that there is a separate toilet from the shower room and more counter space.  Traveling with my daughter makes both details a blessing :).

I agree on the window situation with the bed in those cabins.  Really wish they had thought about that.  I honestly never laid in bed and watched the scenery so it didn't bother me much.  I'm booked in a RC on the Envision and will have a twin set up and plan to give the bed near the window to my daughter so she can enjoy it.  I prefer to sit at the table and enjoy my coffee in the AM.  I like that the seating area is not crammed at the end of the bed in the RC. 

[Rebel54]

On 2/9/2024 at 6:51 AM, scottie920 said:

Thankyou, located the 83 pages of information. I was just wondering the following:

 

are there any soft drinks/water at the 24 hour drinks station?

is the Mini Bar included as the brochure states fully stocked and no little asterisk to say charges apply?

are the l’occitane toileries individual bottles or large pump bottles stuck to the wall.

 

Thank you in advance

 

 

 

You do pay for the items in the mini bar.  No soft drinks in the 24 hour area.  I had them remove the mini bar items and just picked up some preferred drink items when we were in port. 

L'occitane products are in pump bottles attached to the walls in the shower and at the vanity.