Avalon Waterways

[Jancruz]

I have chosen Avalon Waterways as our river cruise line of choice..can we have a few recent reviews on these ships...anyone out there???

Can you also tell me why you chose them tho the price is higher??

Thanks so much,

Jan

*****

[tban]

There are several tour operators offering European river cruises on the same ships - MS Symphonie, MS Artistry & MS Poetry.

We took the Prague to Budapest program aboard the Symphonie. The reason for chosing this cruise was because all three ships are brand new and we were not disappointed - cabins, food and service were just outstanding. The programs can be booked through Avalon Waterways, Amadeus Waterways and serveral other tour operators. We found that UET --- http://*****amade1.html --- offered the best price and that's why we booked through them.

tban:)

[dsimon]

To Jancruz1,

 

Wife and I took Danube cruise on Avalon's Artistry earlier this summer. Scroll down to message titled, "Artistry Cruise on Danube" and you will find not only a pretty thorough review of our experience with Avalon, but answers to a number of questions submitted by other subscribers to this board.

 

D. Simon

[Jancruz]

Hi dsimon,

I did see your excellent review and in fact you helped me choose Avalon, I was just wondering if anyone else had returned from the Artistry since you had posted, that had anything to add..I will be doing the August 26, 05

Artistry ..20 day cruise/tour with a group and am very excited to try something so different from Blue Water cruising..

Jan

*****

[spindrift]

I was on the inaugural on the Artistry where you would expect all the "errors" to be made. Wrong. Not only is this a class A-one boat, the crew and service is tops. I highly encourage you to travel this wonderful line. A very experienced management staff.

[cruisingmimi]

Hi tban,

 

Saw your post about your river cruise. I checked out the UET website & it looks interesting. We are thinking of a river cruise next Oct. or even Nov. Did you have any problems using UET? How were they to contact, etc. I am a bit confused about their prices. One place says airfare included and one says it isn't. Did you get a pkg. deal through them w/ your airfare included? We would be traveling from Boston.

 

Another thing is that it says a 4% discount is factored into the price for checks/cash. Does this mean if we use a credit card it will be a higher price?

 

Did you find the tours interesting? Were they well run? Did you travel on buses much?

 

It says this also includes pre-cruise and post-cruise hotels. Is there enough to see for 3 extra days pre or post-cruise?

 

Sorry to ask so many questions but we are very interested & want to make sure it is not a fly by night agency. Website indicates it is not.

 

Would be interested in other peoples experiences w/ this particular agency.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

P.S. I like the Legendary Danube itinerary.

 

PS#2: Has anyone done this cruise in Nov.? Prices seem to drop in Nov. Just wondered what the weather would be like then. Otherwise we are thinking of Oct.

 

PS#3: I have one other question about cabin selection. We have done a lot of cruising but not a River Cruise. Does it make a difference where the cabin is located? We are not interested in the high end priced cabins. We feel that you aren't in your cabin enough to spend a lot of money for one. Would rather spend it on sightseeing, cocktails, etc.

 

Thanks all!

[natbro]

We used UET for booking our Amadeus Waterways tour. Amadeus/Avalon is a product that is sold by many travel agencies. Globus and Brendan are probably the biggest players, but some of the smaller agencies such as UET discount a bit more. Paying cash allows UET to give a better price because there is no fee paid to the credit card company. We booked our own airfare, but UET's pricing was very competitive with a good route and flight times. Tim Blaschke (sp?), who I think is the owner, was easily reached by phone and email.

 

The tour was very interesting (Budapest to Prague). It allowed us to see sights we would never have visited on a self-directed vacation...Bratislava, Melk, Durnstein, etc. The Artistry is a lovely boat. We had a suite, but the extra room was really not necessary. I would definitely not stay on the lowest level if you could swing the extra money. Those cabins' windows are barely above water level. When the ship is docked, they look out on concrete pilings, etc. A definite negative is that sometimes the boat needs to lower itself to get under bridges and it has the ability to take on some water to make it ride lower in the water. This causes the water level to creep halfway up the windows of those lowest cabins.

 

We had never been on a tour before so we were very surprised at the age demographics of this tour, but maybe this is a general rule? We would estimate that most were older than 70, some were 60-70, and only about 6 couples were less than 60 years old. We are in our early 50s. Everyone was very interesting to talk to and we were able to connect with the few younger couples and had a great time, but I think that this information would have influenced our choice of vacation.

 

It is important that no one confuse this river cruise with any past experiences with ocean cruises. There is nothing going on at night, except some piano music and buying drinks at the bar. Occasionally some entertainment is brought on board such as gypsy dancers or umpah bands. The most interesting visitor was a lecturer that came on board to talk about the canal and lock system.

 

The food is adequate, not great. There were some really poor dishes such as Dutch Mustard soup and Liver Dumpling soup. If you didn't get to the dessert table early during the lunch buffets, you might not get any. The breakfast buffets were very good. I would say that only on the last night did the food come close to what we expected. We bought cookies, drinks and snacks for the room when we were in port, because there is no food available except for meals. There is cake and coffee in the afternoons, but it is always when everyone is in port. The coffee in the atriums is turned off at dinner and is not re-supplied until the morning. Certainly no one starved, but we expected a better product considering the cost of the tour. Also, for those vegetarians out there- it is not vegetarian friendly.

 

The included tours of the cities and sights were generally helpful. In Vienna we left the tour early because we felt we could do it better on our own (the bus seemed to be driving in circles). Talking to the local guides was priceless. How often do you get to ask a young Bratislavan girl about her life, hopes and dreams? The only optional tour we took was to Salzburg because we had never been there. It was worth the money.

 

The Sofitel in Budapest and the Marriott in Prague were very comfortable and well located. Both Budapest and Prague are lovely cities with excellent public transportation. We used the subways and trams frequently. Thousands of cafes to sit in and watch the world go by. It is easy to spend a few days in either city.

[cruisingmimi]

Thank you Natbro for your excellent report. That is precisely what I am looking for. We have never done a river cruise before & I would not want to be disappointed. We truly love cruising. I just thought that it would be so interesting to get such a close up view of these European cities/ports. We are still in the planning stages for next Oct. so will definitely take your comments under advisement. I am a big-time comparison shopper for cruises! I usually get some awesome prices!

 

We are still researching a big ship cruise to the Mediterranean. We really want to see Greece and perhaps Turkey. People have said favorable things about these cruises. However, prices are on the high side right now (at least in our view). A river cruise "seemed" to be less expensive right now, with a lot of the sightseeing included in the price. The airfare is the crucial factor.

 

Again, thanks so much.

 

Mary

[Jancruz]

Avalon Waterways has nice discounts right now for anyone using their air..it would pay to look into it..also some agencies are paying gratuities for Avalon.. on bookings made through the rest of 2004 and 2005..

Jan

*****

[p010ne]

:eek: Notice that the Euro/$ is at 0.81314 and seems to be struggling to recover? Oh well, maybe we won't have to buy too many extras?

:p We board the Symphony in Trier on Halloween and have to disembark on Sunday, November 7th in Nuremberg!:cool:

[llhlam]

Avalon Waterways has nice discounts right now for anyone using their air..it would pay to look into it..also some agencies are paying gratuities for Avalon.. on bookings made through the rest of 2004 and 2005..

Jan

*****

 

What kind of special? We are interested in 2005 Vienna to Budapest.

[Makeithappen]

I agree with anan that you will not go wrong with choosing the Symphony to cruise the river. A wonderfully clean well appointed ship. The crew was well trained and our cruise director, Wade, was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. We went on the Prague to Paris itinerary last September.

 

I would suggest taking plenty of reading material as there is not much to do in the evenings aboard the ship. That would be my only complaint. Another suggestion would to upgrade to Cat A or the highest level on the ship as you have a MUCH better view of the river and as each day you spend time cruising the river and the locks you'll want to be able to read in your room and gaze out the windows. The money will be well spent for the better view.

 

Jill

[waverly]

Thank you. We were told the same by friends, who cruised on the Symphony before and so we took your advice and upgraded to A-cabin category for our Christmas Cruise on the Symphony. We can't wait to get there. Let's only hope that the wether will be on our side with acceptable temperatures. Thanks again !

[Makeithappen]

Congrats on your upgrade to A! Plenty of scarfs and warm sweaters will be keep you comfortable, and there will be plenty of shopping to pick up extras if needed. I've heard the Christmas markets are excellent!

 

Jill

[unberwoob]

Waverly

I'm not too sure about that upgrade. Keep in mind that on a Christmas cruise it gets light very late and dark very early. Most of the days are spent on shore, so you won't see too much out of that expensive window. Also, it seems a lot of Christmas cruises are not booked full. We got an free upgrade on our cruise last year. The Christmas markets are really great, especially the one in Nuremberg-make sure you try the sausage sandwitches and potato pancakes along with your gluhwein.

[M&T]

Is there any information on expected arrival and departure times for Avalon Blue Danube (Budapest to Prague)? I'm especially interested in the times for Vienna but would like to know every port. Marlyne