Back from the Avalon Poetry

[msmeltz]

Just returned from the Budapest to Prague Cruise Tour

 

Everything was wonderful.

The boat was clean and beautiful

 

The food was very good...better than expected after reading some reviews. Red and white wine served every night..continuously during dinner. Waiters came around withplatters of seconds for those that wanted. Great buffets for breakfast and lunch.

 

Everyone working on board was pleasant and helpful for your every need.

 

Hendrik, our cruise director, was extremely knowledgeable,very personable and always available.

 

No dressy clothes needed at all. Men never wore jackets.

Everyone wore whatever they wanted. Most of the men wore shorts and polos for touring. Shorts were even worn by some for dinner with nothing said.

 

The entertainment was a talented musician that played many instruments...only problem was that he played the samemusic every night. The staff show on one night was very cute. The tours started out so early every AM, that we were glad to go to sleep early.

 

We went through many locks, that did get noisy during the night, and kept us off the outside deck during the day.

 

Any questions....I will be glad to answer them.

[magmorr75219]

I should have told you to say "hi" to Silvia, Martin, and Miklos for me. They're all in the dining room (Miklos is the restaurant manager).

 

Glad you had a nice trip!

[Joanandjoe]

We're happy to hear that you liked Hendrik as much as we did. He made the trip very enjoyable.

 

Our April Dutch tulip cruise was only in Belgium and the Netherlands, but maybe we'll have a chance to try a river cruise that starts in one place and ends in another in the future.

 

We thought the food was OK but not great. That's probably colored by the fact that we don't eat pork or cream soups, and are not fans of consumes. That eliminated a good chunk of the menu for us, and we never liked the soup course. We like thick, non cream soups such as pea, lentil, and minestrone, and there were none on our trip. (They had a supposed pea soup, but it was really a consume with peas in it.) We do eat a lot of beef, lamb, chicken and veal, but each of them appeared only once at supper (pork was on the menu three times), so we mostly subsisted on fish. There were days when we had fish at all three meals. What we did eat was pretty good, but there weren't enough choices given our food tastes.

 

Lunches were very good; but again, too much pork! (And, of course, the breakfast meats were mostly pork; but I don't eat meat at breakfast anyway, and I loved the fish at breakfast.) I guess that's what you get with a middle European chef.

 

Overall, we loved our cruise on the Poetry.

[skandls]

Did you spend any time in Prague? We are looking at spending some time in the city.

[Liebo]

Boarding Tranquility in Budapest on September-2nd. Can anyone tell me:is there a central meeting point for transport to Tranquility or should we go straight to Tranquility on our own?

[letsgo39]

Boarding Tranquility in Budapest on September-2nd. Can anyone tell me:is there a central meeting point for transport to Tranquility or should we go straight to Tranquility on our own?

 

We were on THe Tranquility for the July 7 Budapest to Amsterdam cruise. You are going to have a fantastic time.

The meeting place was the Cafe Gerbaud.Avalon had a room there on the left side,around the corner of the Cafe Gerbaud. There will be someone there checking people in from around 7:00 AM. You may leave your luggage there and go about your sightseeing if you wish.Around 3:45 PM they walk everyone over to the Softeil Hotel where you board several busses for the trip to the ship.

The ship will have docked the day before between the Liberty and Elizabeth bridge very close to the Central Market Hall. The previous passengers can stay on the ship until around 10:00 am so you can see that your cabin will not be ready until around 4:00 PM. I am sure they will store your luggage for you until 4:00 PM if you wanted to leave it on the ship if you prefer to go directly to the ship and not to the meeting place.You will be given the CD phone number in your documents and if you don't plan on going to the meeting place I would call her and let her know.

I envy you as I would do this cruise again in a heartbeat. This was the best vacation we ever had and we plan on cruising again next year with Avalon.I am usually raedy to go home after a long vaction but this cruise was so relaxing that I just hated for it to end.

[msmeltz]

Joan and Joe,

The cream soups were absolutely delicious..even though I usually don't eat them because they are fattening.

There was always roast chicken and salmon for dinner, if we didn't want the meat that was offered. It was a little different from eating in Teaneck. We came to Florida from Mahwah.

 

 

Skanls

Our tour included 3 days in Prague, and it was wonderful. Because it wasn't bombed during the war, all the old buildings were still standing. There was such beauty along the canals, and great restaurants with great views. There was so much to see.

Avalon stays at the Hilton...a beautiful hotel..newly renovated, but too far from the city center. Our CD said it was the only hotel capable of holding these large groups. If you are booking your own hotel, try a hotel near the old city.

[Joanandjoe]

Joan and Joe,

The cream soups were absolutely delicious..even though I usually don't eat them because they are fattening.

There was always roast chicken and salmon for dinner, if we didn't want the meat that was offered. It was a little different from eating in Teaneck. We came to Florida from Mahwah.

 

We hope you enjoy living in Florida. I'm that rarety, someone who loves cold weather and hates heat, so I'll stick to the Northeast.

 

Joan and I eat almost all kinds of food, with my favorites being anything spicy--Korean, Indian, Thai, etc. German and Austrian food (other than the yummy Austrian pastries) are at the bottom of my list. For some reason, my stomach can take lots of spice, but can't take a lot of salt or fat--so cream soups are out. For us, trying local food is normally the best part of a trip. We wouldn't want what you can get in Teaneck; but we've never developed a taste for cream or pork, which are at the heart of Germaan-Austrian food.

 

In France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Iceland, UK, Ireland, Denmark, and other countries, local food was the best part of the trip.