Avalon Black Sea Discovery (Bucharest to Budapest)

[Steph27]

I had every intention of posting this review about 2 months ago but computer problems and work delayed that plan. Please see below a detailed review of our cruise on the Avalon Artistry May/June 2008 from Bucharest to Budapest.

 

Overall impression:

This cruise titled as “Black Sea Discovery” is obviously a bit of a misnomer. We visited the Black Sea, but only the city of Constanta. The cruise was a safe and relaxing way to see the sights of former eastern bloc countries. Fellow passengers were diverse. Age ranged from 20’s to 80’s. Our group consisted of 61 Australians, 29 Americans, 20 British, 19 Canadians, 11 New Zealanders and 2 Irish. Almost everyone was very agile. This came as a nice surprise as I live in the geriatric capital (FL) of the World. We were fortunate to have a majority of Australian passengers who provided a great deal of enjoyment and were the most polite and gracious passengers I have ever encountered at sea.

 

Cabin:

We were very happy with our room (217) on the sapphire deck with French balcony. The room was a good size and with beds apart there it was easy to navigate the cabin. The beds were comfortable but they lacked upholstered headboards. The safe was ample size and there was plenty of storage and closet space. We were very close to both reception area and the stairs to the restaurant and lounge. There was no shampoo in the bathroom just shower gel. The supplied hairdryer worked fine. The shower was very small and it is questionable whether it may have been too small for some passengers. We retired early every night. TV had tons of channels (SKY, BBC, CNN) Watched a captivating documentary on SKY TV about North Korea that will probably stay with me forever.

 

Ship:

The Avalon Artistry is clean, well maintained and very easy to get around. The sky deck has comfortable chairs with attached canopies for the sun. The lounge was suitable but could use an upgrade. It just looked very dated. The restaurant was nicely done and it was easy to find a seat. Exercise area was kind of wasted space. No treadmill just a bike. One thing we noticed almost immediately upon boarding was that the air was very dry on the ship. They had a very large bowl of lozenges at reception. I quickly developed a soar throat which remained for the duration of our cruise. Bring medicated lozenges. There was no evening entertainment with the exception of the next to last night. Enrichment lectures about the places we were visiting would have been welcome. The staff was professional and accommodating. Cruise director, Katalin Kovacs was articulate, well organized and very personable. She was very patient with my numerous questions. We had a tour of the ship galley one day. It was amazing in such a small space that they can produce the amount of food they do. On a less positive note, the chef, Stefan was asked if all 6 people working in the kitchen were men. He said they did have a woman once who did the bread but it did not work out.

 

Food:

Actually we were surprised that most of the food was pretty good. Breakfast and lunch were our favorites. Dinner was too rushed and bland. Dinner the first night and the next to last night is the best. The menus re-circulate every 12 days. Breakfast seemed more tailored to British tastes with the grilled tomatoes and baked beans. They had omelets, scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit, cottage cheese, smoked salmon, capers, yogurt, various cheese, cold meats and juices. They also had a good selection of breads. The tea was on the weak side. Bring your own. My mother had trouble getting coffee during breakfast. If you tried to get it yourself you would get scolded. The wines at dinner were free but only adequate. The most irritating feature of the cruise was the timing for dinner. It was held precisely at the allotted time and you only had ten minutes for each course until the next one arrived. They were constantly clearing plates though guests at the table were still eating. It was much too rushed. Room service was not an option so we endured the mad dinner rush. The highlight of dinner was meeting some of the other passengers.

 

Arrival in Romania

We flew from Southwest Florida to Atlanta to Brussels using Delta Miles in business class. We visited Bruges, Brussels and Prague (via Czech Airlines) before the start of the cruise. From Prague we flew to Bucharest. Czech Airlines was excellent. We arrived early both times.

 

Bucharest

We arrived a day early (Friday) before the official start of the cruise. Stayed at The Rembrandt Hotel and explored the Lipicani area. This is the “historic” quarter of Bucharest. It was seriously damaged during the 1977 earthquake and almost completely demolished during the Ceausescu regime. Ubiquitous Red and Blue circular signs on the buildings warn to instability should seismic activity occur. While restoration of this area is in full swing they are years away from major improvements. Saturday morning, we checked into the Athenee Palace Hilton which is close to the main shopping area and accessible to restaurants and museums. We took a half-day private excursion to Sinaia to visit Peles Castle. On Sunday, we decided not to take the 3 hour bus tour of Bucharest. Instead we visited the Village Museum and Peasant Museum on our own. The Village Museum was very interesting with hundreds of Romanian buildings that have been moved to the site. The Peasant Museum located on the same road closer to the hotel was interesting too but all the explanations were in Romanian. The best part about the museum was their shop selling Romanian craft reproductions (accessed thru the back door). In the afternoon I visited the Romanian Atheneaum (located adjacent to the hotel) where the philharmonic performs. There were 5 people on the “tour” which was only in Romanian but one of the other visitors graciously translated for me.

 

Optional Tours: There were two optional tours that day which we did not take (Village Museum) which happened while we were in Sinaia and the Parliament building.

 

Tip about Romania:

Make sure you have local currency as most places will not take credit cards. We had a great dinner at Balthazar (Asian fusion) but tried to pay by credit card. The bill was over $100 dollars but easily would have cost twice that in NY or Boston. The manager told us our credit cards did not work (had no trouble with them before or after this meal) so insisted on cash and increased the bill 20% using a much higher exchange rate. The Peasant and Village Museums will not accept foreign currency or credit cards either. The Athenee Palace Hilton has a bank inside the hotel but you can also exchange money at the reception desk. They limited us to $40 USD per person per day. The bank was closed over the weekend.

 

Excursions - Sinaia

We spent most of the day on Saturday before the cruise in Sinaia and used Starlimo to take us the 1 hr 30 minute drive to Peles Castle. I had hoped to stop at the Monastery too but we ran short on time. The scenery in Sinaia is reminiscent of Vermont. You could see the base of the Carpathian Mountains and in autumn the foliage must be fantastic. Starting at the car park the walk up to the castle was very long. The tour was great but you must pay 15 lei if want to take photos inside. They do not accept any USD for admission or the photo fee. No credit cards either. The tour took about an hour and they had women all over the place like KGB agents watching to make sure no one took a photo unless they were wearing a “photo pass”. I thought about sneaking in one photo but quickly changed my mind. It was obvious these women meant business!

 

Embarkation

At 6:00pm the night before embarkation we had a reception to meet the cruise director, Katalin Kovacs and get an explanation of the boarding process. There were cocktail tables setup in the function room but no chairs. So we all had to stand there for over 45 minutes. Fine for me but some of the older passengers had just arrived that day and would have appreciated sitting. There were no snacks, just champagne or water. Everyone was told to checkout the next morning by 9:00am and have their bags brought down to the lobby. The next day we decided not to take the 3 hour tour of Bucharest as we had already seen quite a bit of the city on our own. Also sitting on a bus for 3 hours didn’t sound like much fun and then another 2 to get to the port. We did some sightseeing and then returned to the hotel around Noon. Went to our room to get our bags and then checked out (requested late checkout in advance). We had Pavlova in the hotel Bistro and then joined the hordes in the lobby waiting to board the buses.

 

I was very apprehensive about the embarkation. I had a feeling it was not going to go smoothly. Unfortunately my instincts were correct. There were over 50 people sitting on the marble stairs waiting in the lobby. The announcement was finally made (after an hour) to board the buses. It was complete chaos. Katalin (cruise director) was trying her best but she quickly lost patience. There was no identification on any of the buses. Apparently the people who took the 3 hour morning tour left items on the bus. Without knowing any of this, Katalin told everyone just to get on any bus. This did not work well. I tried to stow our two small carry-ons under the bus while my mother attempted to get seats. My mother said everyone was yelling at her to get off. I removed the luggage from the baggage area and was resigned to take a taxi. Katalin was now steaming mad and yelling at the bus drivers and some of the passengers. I honestly don’t know what was going on but this was the worst part of the entire trip. Everyone seemed confused about what bus to get on. Katalin started announcing colors (green, blue) for the buses (there were only 3) and that seemed to get things moving. Perhaps it is just us but we thought it was very strange to use colors instead of numbers. Katalin finally approached us after almost everyone was on board and told us which one to get on (Red). We put the luggage underneath and had no trouble getting seats. We were finally off! We were told it was 2 hours to the port but it was actually closer to a little less than an hour. We were supposed to depart the dock at 4:00pm but we did not leave until 6:00pm. Apparently a piece of luggage got left behind in Bucharest and they went back to retrieve it.

 

Ports:

Constanta

The next morning we docked in Constanta on the Black Sea. I was up early at 5:00am as we traveled thru the Black Sea canal which only recently reopened after 2 years. We went thru our first lock and I was amazed how quiet it was. I had read on the boards about noise and vibrations. During the entire cruise we went thru 4 locks and I hardly noticed. We boarded our tour bus in Constanta and the local guide, Vasile was excellent. As Constanta is not too exciting he really made the tour for us. He was a naval diver and an oceanographer. He spent considerable time in the military and was quite funny and sarcastic talking about it. We went to the Peter & Paul Orthodox church which was interesting. From there you can see the largest mosque in the background a few miles away. At the museum we saw the Roman mosaic floor and some Roman glass. After a stroll along the Black Sea and the closed Casino building (it will reopen in 2 years after a renovation) we boarded the buses for Mamaia. The weather was perfect. It was windy but warm. In Mamaia we had free time so I walked a long the beach to the Rex Hotel. Definitely too early in the season for swimming. The pool area was beautiful but I only saw a few guests. Once back on the buses it was a quick ride back to the ship and lunch.

 

Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanassi

The next day we visited Bulgarian towns of Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanassi. The way Avalon organized the day was very poor. It was a long bus ride from the port to Veliko Tarnovo. Once we arrived they told us we could have a bathroom break and cookies. There were some tables set up with crafts but they were uninteresting. Not sure how many people used the bathroom but the stop seemed like it took forever. 10 minutes would have been fine instead of 40. We got back on the buses and went to Arbanassi. We saw an old house with a very large bed which took up almost the entire room. Our young guide Momo, told us the bed was large because if a woman was healthy there was no reason she could not have 12 children. He said it is “not a problem”. Hmm. The guide took us to a crafts area with 2 stores. Neither was very good. Then we went to a church. Then another craft area which had better shopping and then another church. They second church was fabulous and had very intricate paintings inside. It was very impressive and they had a docent explain the history and the meaning of the paintings. When it was time for lunch they took us back toVeliko Tarnovo and we had a great meal at a hotel. Shokpsa salad, mushroom soup, kabobs and dessert. It was all delicious. I wanted to go to Samovodska Charishia, a street with craft shops and galleries but there was very little time. I walked up and had only about 10 minutes before it was time to get back to bus. Next stop was the Fortress that had been built in 1187. It was burned down by the Turks but the ruins are interesting. It was a leisurely 15 minute walk up to the top of the fort. I purchased some watercolors from a man sitting outside. I didn’t have Bulgarian currency but he took USD. His paintings were very nice and a bargain at $10.00 each. After the fort we boarded the buses to return to port. It would have been better to do the Fort first thing in the morning. The walk up there was during the hottest part of the day and we were already tired from everything else we had visited earlier during the tour. I would suggest they do the bathroom break in conjunction with the tour of the Fort.

 

Cruising the Danube

We had 2 full days of cruising which was wonderful. The major difference between a river cruise and an ocean cruise is that you don’t notice you are on the water. I missed the rocking motion you feel at sea but enjoyed being able to see the shoreline. Most of the time I could not tell we were moving. The Iron Gates Gorge was beautiful. It was very hot even in early June so we viewed it under the overhang at the front of the ship.

 

Belgrade

After a full day of cruising we docked in Belgrade. The ship tour visited Tito’s tomb and museum which was better than I had imagined. We also went to Kalamagden Fortress. We saw several NATO bombed buildings and then made a brief stop in Republic Square before returning to the ship. We decided to have lunch (Italian) in town so went back to Republic Square. We walked around and then went to Skadarlija, Skadarska Street were the evening optional dinner was being offered. This steep cobbled street (actually huge stones) has many small adorable restaurants. We were looking for galleries, but came up short. As it was early there weren’t many people as this is mainly a dinner destination. We took a taxi back to the ship to relax for an hour and went to Lagouste for dinner. It is located a short walk up the stairs from the dock. Dinner was great and we had a fantastic view overlooking the intersection of the Sava and Danube rivers with New Belgrade in the distance. My Salmon with saffron was excellent. My mother had the mussels which she said were delicious. We didn’t find much to purchase in Belgrade. We asked a lot of people about art glass or paintings but did not come across anything.

 

Novi Sad

This was not listed on our itinerary and was added later. Not much time spent here (2 hours) but it was interesting to see this town. Bought Italian lozenges in the pharmacy.

 

Kalocsa

We docked in a nearby port and had arranged a private transfer from Kalocsa to Budapest at 8:30am. The area around the Archbishops palace was actually very nice. We walked around for 20 minutes and then took a private car to Budapest.

 

Budapest

Favorite city of the entire trip (better than Prague). Glad we had 3 full days to explore. We arrived at the Kempinski Hotel and dropped of our luggage with the bellman (we were still sleeping on the ship that night). Hotel was very elegant and had some nice stores. We walked the entire pedestrian street (Vaci Utca) and then went to Andrassy street and had lunch at Goa (Pad Thai). We then went to Varosliget Park and Heroes Square. We had cocktails at Four Seasons Gresham Palace. Went back to hotel to change for the Opera. Purchased opera tickets online (box seats) ahead of time but did not know that being up high would be a disadvantage as the a/c was not turned on. It was much too hot. We stayed through the first act (45 minutes) and then decided to go back to the ship. I would advise anyone purchasing opera tickets during hot weather to only select the ground floor. Maybe this is why they end the opera season in early June.

 

The next day we took the Avalon included excursion to the Buda side / Fishermen’s Bastion. We opted not to join the afternoon Puzsta tour and lunch which I heard later was very good. Instead we visited Szentendre. We took the HEV which was very easy. Walked around town for a couple hours until the monsoon arrived and sought shelter in one of the stores. They had some very interesting stores but you had to really search! When the rain stopped we bought our tickets for the boat back to Budapest. As we approved the Elizabeth Bridge we saw the Artistry coming toward us (headed for Vienna). We had dinner that night at Baraka which was terrific! The next day we did some more sightseeing, visited the Basilica and looked for art and some porcelain beads we saw in Szentendre. Had lunch at Kor which easily lived up to the rave reviews. It was hot so we went back to one of the shops we visited on the first day and bought some art pieces and then returned to the hotel. Dinner was at Mokka which was terrible. Best avoided.

 

Overall we had a very nice cruise and Avalon provided a good value. However, I am looking at other options for our next river cruise. There was nothing “wrong” with Avalon. I am looking for something more upscale that is not as expensive as Tauck. The Scenic Tour spaceships look intriguing. Just hoping there are Australians onboard. I have completed a Shutterfly photo book and I will be posting a link. Please see a list of menus below during our cruise.

 

 

Hotels:

Prague – Visited on our own before the Avalon cruise. Hilton Old Town was very good. The hotel is actually more in Republic Square than Old Town but well located for our needs. Used Hilton Honor points for our stay. The room was the nicest during our entire trip. Met some interesting guests too.

Prague – Perla Hotel. Stayed one night. Fabulous breakfast and breakfast area. Rooms were just ok but price was right.

Bucharest - Rembrandt Hotel in Lipscani area. Excellent breakfast. Our room on second floor was large with wood floor. No view but didn’t need it or expect it. Small one-person elevator to get to rooms and small spiral staircase to get to the breakfast area.

Athenee Palace Hilton – Very clean and quiet. Well located with many restaurants.

Budapest – Kempinski. Elegant Hotel. Well maintained and great staff.

Munich – Sheraton airport Hotel. Fine for one night. beautiful relaxing outdoor garden for cocktails, snack in good weather.

 

Best Excursion: Karlovy Vary. We enjoyed Prague but had trouble understanding besides the Castle area what was so special. Luckily we decided to take the bus to Karlovy Vary 2 hours away. The bus going was older and not well air conditioned but the driver was very good. We arrived and took a taxi to the Hotel Pupp to get our bearings. Unfortunately not enough time to visit the colonnades / spas but really enjoyed our brief visit. The stores and people are vastly more upscale than Prague. It might be the Russian oligarchs influence and I would highly recommend a visit! We had a delicious pizza at Capri near the main square. If we closed our eyes we might have been on the Amalfi Coast. At 8:00pm took the Student Agency bus back to Prague and got off at the airport. The bus was a riot. Price was only $7 USD. Mostly students on the bus. It was very comfortable and they had individual TV monitors with headsets. They had a “gangsta” film with Ryan O’Neal that was in Czech with English subtitles. Quite funny. They also had a woman walking the aisle of the bus servicing snacks and drinks like on a plane. Quite amusing! We took a taxi back from the airport to the hotel. Did not want to walk from the bus station at night. The only negative about this bus is that the driver was a speed demon and it was very dark on a two lane road. Luckily the TV kept our attention.

 

MENUS

Dinner Sunday June 1: Sorry did not save this one.

 

Lunch Monday June 2:

Appetizer – Tomato Mozzarella with Basil Crème

Soups – Consomme Madrillene or Garden veg w/Pastrami

Main courses – Roast beef with Mustard sauce, Reuben Sandwich, Salisbury steak

Sides – Fried vegetables, mashed potatoes, spinach pasta

Dessert – Vanilla custard with berries, cakes, ice cream

For purchase: Wine – Pinot Grigio Hofmann 2006/07 Romania and Cabernet Sauvignon Hofmann 2005/06 Romania

 

Dinner Monday June 2:

Appetizer – Shrimp cocktail, salad with balsamic dressing, Farfalle pasta with tomato mozzarella

Soups – Onion soup or Smoked garlic soup with sourdough croutons

Main courses – Pan fried filet of Pangasius with herb butter, Chicken breast Florentine with mashed potatoes, Veg: Wok fried vegetables in a basket with basmati rice

Dessert – Yogurt lime terrine with forest berries, Vanilla ice cream with peach raspberry sauce, fruit salad.

Wine free – Weisser Gutedel 2007, Germany, Portugieser 2006, Germany

 

Dinner Tuesday, June 3

Appetizer – Grilled feta cheese in bacon, Boston lettuce in orange sauce, Ricotta with basil and parmesan

Soup – Chicken ginger with Chinese cabbage or Cream of string beans with dill and grated boiled eggs

Main course – Pan fried Victoria Perch on leeks with parsley potatoes, Braised rosemary lamb with gratin potatoes, Veg: Tempura vegetables with 3 dips and basmati rice

Dessert – Espresso mascarpone tart with almond espuma, Chocolate ice cream, fresh fruit

Wine – Muller Thurgau, Germany or Schwarzriesling Germany.

 

Lunch Wednesday, June 4

Appetizer – Smoked Salmon with apples and cucumber and dill

Soups – Consomme double with noodles or Old Fashioned Potato soup with bacon

Main courses – Pork Roast with sweet and sour sauce, Carrot and egg quiche, Braised beef rolled with bacon. Side dishes: sauerkraut, sugar snap peas, herb rice

Dessert – Mousse of farmers cheese with strawberries, Assorted cakes and ice cream

 

Dinner Wednesday, June 4

Appetizer – Boiled veal with tuna dressing, Salad with ranch dressing, Spaghetti with garlic and olives

Soup – Consomme with barley and vegetable strips, Cream of horseradish

Main courses – Oven baked cod on lobster sauce with pasta, Braised leg of duck orange with potato dumplings. Veg- Leek potato roesti with broccoli and herb sour cream

Dessert – Parfait of almond honey and poppy seed with rum soaked fruit, Banana ice cream with pineapple chunks, fresh fruit

Wine – Riesling Gengenbach 2007, Germany, Cuvve Carlo, Karl Pfaffmann 2006, Germany.

 

Dinner Thursday June 5

Appetizer – Melon with smoked ham, Salad with tomato and cucumbers, Saffron gnocchi with peppernota and spinach cream

Soup – beef Bouillon with red beets, cabbage and beef, cream of cauliflower

Main courses – Fillet Meuniere with herb butter, spinach and potatoes, Saltimbocca of pork loin with prosciutto, sage eggplant, Veg – Baked potato with bell peppers

Dessert – Tart Tartin, Coffee vanilla Ice, cold espresso and topping, fresh fruit

 

Lunch Friday, June 6

Appetizer- Ginger Marinated chicken breast with glass noodles

Soups – Turnip soup with fresh dill or Poultry consommé with cheese drops

Main courses – Roast Turkey with curry tomato relish, Pasta alfreda with leek cheese and tomato , chili con carne,. Side dishes – celery and carrots, long grain rice, pasta

Dessert – Stewed Forest Berries with vanilla foam, Assorted cakes and ice cream

 

Dinner Friday, June 6

FAREWELL DINNER

Canape – Tomato Basil Bruschetta

Appetizer – Garden greens with herb dressing,

Soup – Buttermilk bisque with garden cress

Hot Appetizer – Vegetable Samosa

Main course – Roast beef with béarnaise, Mushroom Ragout with bread dumpling, Tower of potatoe hash browns and ratatouille

Dessert – Ice parade, fresh fruit

Wine – Silvaner 2006, Germany, Burgenland Cuvee, Wenzl Kast, 2007, Austria

 

 

[Shorex]

Thank you posting the detailed review. We will taking a slightly different itinerary (Istanbul to Budapest) on the Amadagio soon. It is always interesting to collect more information on the various cities and towns along the Danube.

 

(If anyone needs a larger type for easier reading, just click <control> + and the type size will increase.)

[jacksonnh]

What a great review! Thanks for all the information.

[Steph27]

You are very welcome! Istanbul to Budapest sounds like a great itinerary. One thing I forgot to mention which has been covered on the boards before is the very slow Internet connection. Had to check bank balances and email a few times. Connections were more than slow. The worst I have ever encountered. I would look for a hotel or Internet cafe instead. However, I did learn while on the ship that our Parliament visit in Budapest was cancelled. If I had waited to check email in Budapest I would have just shown up and been turned away. :confused: