Newbie to River Cruising/Avalon vs Viking

We are looking at a river cruise late August 2015. Trying to decide between the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam vs the Seine. Charlie wants the Normandy Beaches so I am thinking that it is #1 HOWEVER it is a birthday cruise for me so in the end I get to decide :D Our TA has recommended Avalon over Viking. It looks to me as if Avalon ships are newer which is very important to us. I am having difficulty locating any cruise reviews…any help? Any thoughts??

Karen

When comparing the two companies look carefully at the number of passengers on a Viking Ship vs an Avalon Ship, the cabin sizes, and the included amenities (tours, wine, internet, etc). Both companies have launched new ships recently.

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Just home from Rhine Getaway w/ Viking. Brand new ship, Gullveig. We were the 5th sailing.

I was told by the chief engineer that every month Viking is launching a new ship. There are a dozen or more new Viking ships on the rivers now, but possibly they newer ones may not yet be in France.

I have to say that Viking is a well run, top-notch cruise company I was very pleased. A fellow passenger told me that she had previously sailed with Tauck and she preferred Viking. (Tauck does not own their own ships)

Just home from Rhine Getaway w/ Viking. Brand new ship, Gullveig. We were the 5th sailing.

 

I was told by the chief engineer that every month Viking is launching a new ship. There are a dozen or more new Viking ships on the rivers now, but possibly they newer ones may not yet be in France.

 

I have to say that Viking is a well run, top-notch cruise company I was very pleased. A fellow passenger told me that she had previously sailed with Tauck and she preferred Viking. (Tauck does not own their own ships)

You are not quite correct. Tauck contract with the Swiss company Scylla to build and crew their boats. The boats are built to Tauck specifications. Tauck provide a Cruise Director and three Tour Directors for every cruise.

To each their own but I know that if I had a choice of traveling on the same size boats I'd prefer to travel with the company that has half as many passengers than the other one but then that's just me.

As you can see their are members on this board who have their favorite companies.....

I also can't stress enough how important it is to pay attention to the number of passengers onboard. Some ships carry as few as 120 and as many as 200. While the size of the ships are many times the same.

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While I know there are lots of Viking fans out there.....and that Viking holds the dominant share, you might look at the posting from last year to see how Viking treated its passengers during the flooding. Many lines simply cancelled cruises allowing its passengers to use insurance to get their money back.

Many Viking passengers were quite upset when Viking converted a cruise to a bus tours.

Treating people well when things go well is easy. How you behave when the chips are down defines you.

Did our 1st river cruise last April on the Rhine from AMS to Basel on the Avalon Felicity & loved it. Only 125 passengers and no problems getting under bridges, etc. It was a fantastic trip & they've hooked us. Going next April on the Felicity's sister ship, Luminary (built in 2010) for 18 days on the Danube & can't wait. 1st rate company.:D

Also the Square footage of the cabin is important also. One reason that is important to me, but not to others is that in order to get the "sale" price with Viking you are required to pay in full at booking. That alone was a no-go for me.We used Avalon for the Seine River Cruise and my review is here on CC on the Member Review page. This year we are doing the Rhine with Avalon.

As you can see their are members on this board who have their favorite companies.....

I also can't stress enough how important it is to pay attention to the number of passengers onboard. Some ships carry as few as 120 and as many as 200. While the size of the ships are many times the same.

 

 

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We were on Viking in 2008..Rhine-Danube..Had a great time ..no complaints.....Until we decided to book their Grand France....and they started their pay all up front policy and phony 2 for one specials.\. Decided to go with Avalon instead.. the cost was comparable..Out 2nd cruise -Grand France in 2012 - was with Avalon. Had a fantastic time....Our next cruise will be with Avalon again ( Zurich to Amsterdam) this summer. I think you will have a good cruise with either one but we consider Avalon a notch above Viking.

Just booked Viking for the Rhine Getaway next September 2015. Perhaps they have recognized that they are losing potential customers if asking for full payment up front at time of booking. Without being asked, the Viking rep offered to defer full payment until September 2014 instead of requiring it in full by the end of this month. Just the $500 pp deposit required now and still got the current lowest price deal.

Just booked Viking for the Rhine Getaway next September 2015. Perhaps they have recognized that they are losing potential customers if asking for full payment up front at time of booking. Without being asked, the Viking rep offered to defer full payment until September 2014 instead of requiring it in full by the end of this month. Just the $500 pp deposit required now and still got the current lowest price deal.

Sorry, but 12 months is still not the industry standard 90 days.

Hello,

Sorry, but 12 months is still not the industry standard 90 days.

I agree. We had the discussion about the payment policies in another thread. I am not sure which one.

90 days is normal, but in Germany a couple of companies go even lower than that.

500$ deposit sounds fine to me.

As regards the water levels: flooding is one thing, low water is another. I explain: in August flooding is almost impossible, whereas low water happens often. The difference is that ship movements during flooding are regulated by law whereas in low water it is up to the ship crew, i.e. captain to decide whether the ship can sail or not. A ship with a bigger draught might have to stop sailing while smaller ships can still go.

The itinerary is a tough one to decide on. Basel to Amsterdam gives you the culture of four countries whereas the Seine only one. Other than that, a deciding factor could be a place you really, really want to see and might not get to in the near future otherwise.

The day-to-day itineraries are online, so could look at these and with the help of google pictures find something that draws you like a magnet...:D

Have fun planning.

notamermaid

Here is a paraphrase from our TA:

Avalon is considered "above" Viking if one was ranking companies. Trip deposit is industry standard.

Avalon tends to have newer ships than Viking, but Viking is putting new construction on the rivers. TA says age of ship is crucial; less likely to have mechanical problems and interiors have less signs of age.

TA says Avalon has fewer passengers than Viking and his/her clients have complained about the number of passengers trying to get off at the small towns from Viking ships.

Avalon and AMA were the superior lines in handling the river flooding last year from a TA and customer perspective. Everyone was kept fully informed as soon as there was new information.

That said, we took Avalon to Normandy and the tour was excellent. We appreciated being left on our own to diy. We climbed to some of the pillboxes overlooking the beaches and then later the tour took us to Point du Hoc. If he can, tell husband to walk out on the beaches and then turn around and look up....those allied soldiers were unbelievably brave in the face of those guns trained down on them. Incredible perspective from the beach.

We saw hedgerows, (awesome!) many went into the museum, and all of us went to the American Cemetery, except the Brits and Canadians aboard who asked and were taken to their cemeteries. The trip to their cemeteries wasn't on the itinerary but that is just how nice the guide and the driver was.

We thought they did a great job in the amount of time available to see DDay locations. Of course, one could spend a week there but that's for another trip.

I have sailed Viking... first Avalon cruise is next month. I have cruised both the Seine and the Rhine --> different experiences.

I loved the Seine. I let DH pick the itinerary for our 1st river cruise (he wasn't keen to go on one...) and he picked the Seine. It was amazing. We loved the history around the beaches in Normandy (my dad landed on Juno Beach - not on the first wave, however...) - but there was also so much to see related to art history (Van Gogh, Monet) and "other" history (Joan of Arc) that it really appealed to a wide spectrum.

We did the Rhine as part of a Christmas market cruise. It was great - and we would like to go back - but (personally) preferred the Seine.

Number of passengers is something to consider, but if you have never travelled on a river boat - and have done a big ship cruise - 180 passengers still seems "intimate".

We don't care as much about new builds, and I would (respectfully) disagree that a new build would mean less mechanical failure. We had an issue with the air conditioning on our Viking cruise and it was on a new longship --> no issues on any "older" boats we have travelled on. If the new ships have any new technology (ie: balconies that have a glass wall that raised or lowers) I would suspect that the new technology might be more of a risk than "old" technology.

Everyone has their favourites - and often for different reasons. For some it is the size of the cabins. Some, the food or wine. Others it will be the demographics on board. Or the decor. Then there is the issue of "payment in full" a year out... which really annoys some people to point they won't book with Viking. That isn't a deal breaker for us... Figure we won't get much interest on our money in the bank. We have booked our 2nd Viking cruise for next May.

If there is something that is really important - or a definite deal breaker - start there. Compare closely - and make a decision about what is right for you. And, don't second guess your decision. There are always people who will say you should have booked differently - but only you can really know what is important for you.

If you have questions that are a bit more specific (ie: what is included in an excursion, any comments on an optional excursion) please ask away. Asking about a comparison between 2 lines brings out the cheerleaders - and much is subjective.

Have fun with your planning!!!

Fran

We have sailed on Uniworld, AMA, and most recently on Viking, for a total of 4 river cruises so far. We have another AMA cruise (Rhine) scheduled for this November on one of their newer ships with the larger double balcony cabin. Am looking forward to comparing it to the new longship we sailed on in April in Bordeaux. We loved the larger balcony cabin on the longship Forseti.

We have just scheduled the Paris to Normandy cruise on Viking for next March. We have wanted to do this cruise and immediately booked when we saw they are putting one of their longships on this itinerary. Got a great deal with an larger repeat traveller discount than usual, plus a discount for introduction of this ship to this itinerary. Instead of payment in full our TA was able to arrange final payment in November..about 4 months ahead of the cruise. He did have to request the later full payment, but had no problem getting them to agree.

We love AMA and Viking and would sail on either one. Considered AMA for our Seine, Paris to Normandy cruise, but chose Viking due to the longship and some slight differences in itinerary. Have not considered Avalon and likely won't unless we have a different experience on AMA or Viking in the future than we have had in the past.

I have just returned from Viking Aegir European Sojourn 23 days Amsterdam to Bucharest. it was a bus trip - the ship had mechanical, electrical, cooling, computer break down - the story changed each time. we spent more day light hours on the roads and in the buses than on the water. try to find out before hand what is the ships policy if problems occur. on my trip and after the ship came out of dry dock, when everyone had to get off the boat for the day, Viking pushed it full steam down the river. castles, sights views etc all passed in the middle of the night. Imagine 150 plus people waiting to go to the toilets after a two hour bus trip each day - this was not the expensive cruise I paid for and came all the way from Australia to be taken for a ride.

I have just returned from Viking Aegir European Sojourn 23 days Amsterdam to Bucharest. it was a bus trip - the ship had mechanical, electrical, cooling, computer break down - the story changed each time. we spent more day light hours on the roads and in the buses than on the water. try to find out before hand what is the ships policy if problems occur..

Wonder if they are having ongoing problems with the Aegir? That was the longship we were on when we had the air conditioning problems.

Viking offered a credit based on the number of days we experienced problems - tied in with the level of cabin you booked (ie: people in the suites were offered more that those of us in Aquarium class). We have rebooked with Viking for a cruise next May - but on one of their older ships on the Elbe.

Fran

I have sailed Viking... first Avalon cruise is next month. I have cruised both the Seine and the Rhine --> different experiences.

 

I loved the Seine. I let DH pick the itinerary for our 1st river cruise (he wasn't keen to go on one...) and he picked the Seine. It was amazing. We loved the history around the beaches in Normandy (my dad landed on Juno Beach - not on the first wave, however...) - but there was also so much to see related to art history (Van Gogh, Monet) and "other" history (Joan of Arc) that it really appealed to a wide spectrum.

 

We did the Rhine as part of a Christmas market cruise. It was great - and we would like to go back - but (personally) preferred the Seine.

 

Number of passengers is something to consider, but if you have never travelled on a river boat - and have done a big ship cruise - 180 passengers still seems "intimate".

 

We don't care as much about new builds, and I would (respectfully) disagree that a new build would mean less mechanical failure. We had an issue with the air conditioning on our Viking cruise and it was on a new longship --> no issues on any "older" boats we have travelled on. If the new ships have any new technology (ie: balconies that have a glass wall that raised or lowers) I would suspect that the new technology might be more of a risk than "old" technology.

 

Everyone has their favourites - and often for different reasons. For some it is the size of the cabins. Some, the food or wine. Others it will be the demographics on board. Or the decor. Then there is the issue of "payment in full" a year out... which really annoys some people to point they won't book with Viking. That isn't a deal breaker for us... Figure we won't get much interest on our money in the bank. We have booked our 2nd Viking cruise for next May.

 

If there is something that is really important - or a definite deal breaker - start there. Compare closely - and make a decision about what is right for you. And, don't second guess your decision. There are always people who will say you should have booked differently - but only you can really know what is important for you.

 

If you have questions that are a bit more specific (ie: what is included in an excursion, any comments on an optional excursion) please ask away. Asking about a comparison between 2 lines brings out the cheerleaders - and much is subjective.

 

Have fun with your planning!!!

 

Fran

Totally agree.

Vantage is our river cruise line of choice. We are booked for the Seine cruise this September. Have done Rhine, Mosel, Danube, Rhone , and Holland.

Vantage seems to fill their boats with repeat cruisers ( like us) ; hence less need for lots of advertising.

Tried unworldly once; worst boat, staff, etc. we have ever encountered.

:):)