AMA or Avalon

Hello all. We are planning a river cruise in France (Paris to Normandy) for next spring, probably May.

We cruised the Danube on AMA and had a fabulous experience in every respect.

However, the new Avalon "suite ships" are gorgeous.

Will someone who has cruised on both lines post their experience and preference?

Thanks in advance.

Sharon

Avalon is tempting, isn't it, with the large staterooms on the Tapestry II. I'm researching a possible river cruise for next fall, and those differences kind of stand out. I also note that the other ship on this route, the Creativity, has the small cabins, not much difference from AMA.

I agree. Would not have even considered Avalon but for the new ship. Truly loved AMA. Hoping someone can educate me on differences beyond the staterooms

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I am also considering Avalon for the Grand France tour, because from 2015 they will have new ships sailing in France. Tapestry 11 Paris to Normandy, and Poetry 11 Burgundy and Provence ahd love the look of their rooms.

I have just returned from AMA cruise Amsterdam to Budapest on the new ship AmaReina. This was fantastic and I thought AMA perfect, but the ships they use in France are old, 2006 and 2007. I have not seen any reports of these ships been upgraded apart from the Erlebnis Chefs Table restaurant been added. After being on the latest ship, I would prefer to go on near new ships. The cost for these cruises from New Zealand is very expensive, and the flights long.

Uniworld has old ships, but they are continually remodeling them. Does AMA do the same.

I spent a lot of time comparing river cruise lines and happily went with Avalon. The main draw for me was the brand new spacious suite ships, the way the bed is angled, the large marble bathrooms, the casual dining buffet venue for evenings (which VERY few ships have), the included tours and word of mouth from those I know who have traveled with Avalon.

We have taken two AMA cruises, one Viking (on a new longship). We haven't been on Avalon yet. LOVED the AMA cruises. One note of caution---how long are the new Avalon ships? The Viking longship we were one docked WAY outside of the towns--no getting on and off and wandering around on your own.The ship itself, being new, was gorgeous. But I would check out exactly where the Avalon ship docks. One of the really nice things about river cruising in the ability to wander through town in the evening on your own. I would give up the 'new' ship for the ability to be a bit more independent. None of these river cruise ships are really that old.....

Another thing to check--on our Viking longship cruise down the Rhone from Lyon to Avignon, the sundeck was off-limits for a good deal of the cruise due to low bridges on the Rhone. This is another thing to check out before you book.

The AMA edge to us is the caliber of the guides and the good internet connections. Viking guides were good, AMA guides were excellent.

We have taken two AMA cruises, one Viking (on a new longship). We haven't been on Avalon yet. LOVED the AMA cruises. One note of caution---how long are the new Avalon ships? The Viking longship we were one docked WAY outside of the towns--no getting on and off and wandering around on your own.The ship itself, being new, was gorgeous. But I would check out exactly where the Avalon ship docks. One of the really nice things about river cruising in the ability to wander through town in the evening on your own. I would give up the 'new' ship for the ability to be a bit more independent. None of these river cruise ships are really that old.....

 

Another thing to check--on our Viking longship cruise down the Rhone from Lyon to Avignon, the sundeck was off-limits for a good deal of the cruise due to low bridges on the Rhone. This is another thing to check out before you book.

 

The AMA edge to us is the caliber of the guides and the good internet connections. Viking guides were good, AMA guides were excellent.

The new Avalon ships in France are 361 Feet (110 metres) and have 128 passengers. A lot less than the Viking long ships.

if service,food,all the etc.s go with AMA. I took the S.France cruise with Avalon,yes,in older ship a few yrs.ago. Was just OK as far as food,entertainment, all the extras and after that experience I tried AMA(yes,new ship with 2 balconies). Quite a difference, AMA was more upscale and enjoyed it much more.

So must weigh whats mOST IMPORTANT to YOU, remember every ship in the fleet and itinerary varies.

AMA was Burt Wolffs,travel channel host,pick.Good for him,good for me.

PS. tried a Scenic last time and WAY better than both of these lines.Really TOP of the line.Booked another with them for next yr.Truly 5 star.;)

The new Avalon ships in France are 361 Feet (110 metres) and have 128 passengers. A lot less than the Viking long ships.

That's another one of the reasons why we chose Avalon. Viking was a lot cheaper and is considered the "Carnival" of river cruise lines but the main reason we didn't go with them was because of the quantity of passengers.

About to take my 3rd AMA trip and love their attention to detail, the little extras and always keeping us "in the loop". Only Avalon trip we have taken was on the Mekong--it was fantastic. But have noted that the non-European cruises should not be compared to European river trips. If we were just starting out, it would be a hard choice. Guess it is spreadsheet time. Good luck, but watch river cruising can be addictive. Our next is our 20th. Pat

The Avalon suite ships are the same length as their older ships. They just reconfigured the cabins. As others have noted, Avalon puts much fewer passengers on their ships compared to Viking and their long ships. Viking seems to want to crowd the passengers on and the other lines go with a smaller passenger count, which makes the ships feel less crowded.

Just another thought - if you are planning for May 2015 - double check that there are spaces left. Because there are so many fewer cabins on the river cruise ships, the itineraries tend to book very quickly. It is not unheard of for cruises more than a year away to be sold out.

I agree. Would not have even considered Avalon but for the new ship. Truly loved AMA. Hoping someone can educate me on differences beyond the staterooms

 

 

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We cruised with Avalon 4 times before discovering AMA. Our three future cruises are all with AMA and we have never looked back.

Avalon has better beds and their Panorama cabins are lovely. In ALL other aspects, and based on our tastes and preferences, AMA wins.

AMA has much better food than what we experienced on Avalon. They bake their own breads and pastries aboard and they are wonderful! Avalon had the same stuff day after day. AMA's cheese boards are excellent! And they serve you more items to your table (soup at lunch for example) rather than having to go to the crowded buffet area.

Wines on AMA were much nicer than that we experienced on our last three Avalon cruises. And we were refused more once the entree was served on our last Avalon cruise, which we found odd as well as off putting.

AMA has the Erlebnis restaurant on their boats, which we very much enjoy!

AMA offers us a wide range of excursions. We are active and appreciate their fast walker tours, Limited Edition culinary series and escorted bike tours. For my mom, who often travels with us, the slow walker tours are thoughtfully designed around those with some mobility issues.

We enjoyed the evening entertainment more on our AMA cruises.

AMA's staff is warm and engaging; we found the staff and crew on Avalon friendly and efficient but the overall experience far less personal than on AMA. Our CM's on Avalon were very diligent and hard working, as well as very capable. Our CMs on AMA were all of that plus warm, engaging and simply exceptional.

AMA has shown great attention to detail aboard each of our sailings with them. IMO, when itineraries are similar the devil is in the details. We did Christmas market and holiday sailings with both lines and AMA went the extra mile to bring the holiday spirit aboard every day. It was more of an afterthought on our Avalon trips.

With AMA, their boats have decor and personality that is different boat to boat. Avalon felt quite generic and interchangeable vessel to vessel.

Avalon was a good experience but for us, AMA suits us much better and we loved our AMA cruises. They just do everything that much better.

I wrote detailed reviews for all of our river cruises if you want to read more.

We head out for AMA cruise #4 in 26 days with a group of family and friends. We can't wait!

Cannot speak for AMA, but when we were selecting our cruise, we did narrow it down to these two. We picked Avalon because of 1) bed configuration. May seem trivial at first blush but having the ability for both of us to look out at the passing scenery while lying there was a big selling point for us and 2) Avalon is a Globus company who have been doing European tours for decades (we have done their bus tours) and felt they would really know how to do it right.

Now, post-cruise, we were very happy with our decision all-around regarding cabins, staff, food, entertainment, tours, outstanding CD, etc.

If we do another river cruise, I don't see us even bothering with another line at this point.

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Of course there's Uniworld as well, in the same category I believe.

I don't think I'd book based solely on that bed configuration.

Thanks to everyone for advice and opinions.

Decided to stay with AMA.

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I don't think I'd book based solely on that bed configuration.

Agreed. And we didn't...but now that we experienced it, the competition would need to be leaps and bounds above Avalon in other categories, (hard to imagine) for us to switch.

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Having done to Avalon suite ships in the last 15 months, it would take a lot to get us to change. I would never have thought bed position was so important, but it was very enjoyable when we were a little tired to both just lay on the bed propped up on pillows, doors wide open and just watch the world go by for a couple of hours. Must be getting older or wiser, use to be go go go all the time but this was a very memorable part of our last cruise.

Could not fault Avalon, food, service or tours (was in restaurant business for 18 years so are very fussy when travelling)

HARBOURSIDE - give us a call if you want more Avalon data ph 021922178 we are also in Auckland

Having done to Avalon suite ships in the last 15 months, it would take a lot to get us to change. I would never have thought bed position was so important, but it was very enjoyable when we were a little tired to both just lay on the bed propped up on pillows, doors wide open and just watch the world go by for a couple of hours. Must be getting older or wiser, use to be go go go all the time but this was a very memorable part of our last cruise.

Could not fault Avalon, food, service or tours (was in restaurant business for 18 years so are very fussy when travelling)

HARBOURSIDE - give us a call if you want more Avalon data ph 021922178 we are also in Auckland

We were able to enjoy the same view on AMA, just that we were seeing at an angle where we had just passed. We did this a few times on our cruise. On the other hand, we ate three meals a day in the AMA dining room. Quality of food is the most important of these details for us, and our experience ratified the other comparisons that AMA has the best food (especially the soups and the ship-baked breads and pastries).

We were able to enjoy the same view on AMA, just that we were seeing at an angle where we had just passed. We did this a few times on our cruise. On the other hand, we ate three meals a day in the AMA dining room. Quality of food is the most important of these details for us, and our experience ratified the other comparisons that AMA has the best food (especially the soups and the ship-baked breads and pastries).

We also have enjoyed the view while relaxing in bed when we have had in French balcony cabins on both AMA and Avalon. We had a Panorama Suite on Avalon's Panorama and it was nice, but we would not make a decision on a river cruise based on a stateroom configuration or view as staying in our stateroom looking out is a very small part of our days.

We had a lovely twin balcony stateroom on AmaCerto and also on AmaBella and very much enjoyed the true balcony for the few times we used it. We enjoyed the extra interior space as well.

Quality of food and wine is high on our list as well. AMA really shines here. I grew up in the restaurant business and my parents owned several over a 40 year period. I am an excellent cook and very particular about food and also about wine and consider myself knowledgeable about both; our trips are quite focused on regional food and wine, whether a river cruise or DIY land vacation. I research the areas we visit on Chowhound and other foodie site before we travel and plan out our dining as much as the other aspects of our trips.

My list for Paris and Provence is full of markets, fromageries, bakeries, wine shops, bistro's and restaurants. Can't wait!