Avalon - Would you miss having a balcony?

I just watched Avalon's promotional video, and they make a point of the fact that they do not have balconies, but rather have made their cabins bigger, with a larger sliding glass window.

I've always enjoyed sitting outside on a balcony when I'm on an ocean cruise, so am wondering if having the bigger cabin does make up for not having a balcony?

Any thoughts? I'm especially interested in hearing from anyone who has tried the Avalon cabins.

Thanks!

I just watched Avalon's promotional video, and they make a point of the fact that they do not have balconies, but rather have made their cabins bigger, with a larger sliding glass window.

 

I've always enjoyed sitting outside on a balcony when I'm on an ocean cruise, so am wondering if having the bigger cabin does make up for not having a balcony?

 

Any thoughts? I'm especially interested in hearing from anyone who has tried the Avalon cabins.

 

Thanks!

This is a big difference, in my opinion, between ocean and river cruising. With river cruising, there are vistas on either side of the boat as you are sailing. The best views are from the top deck or from the forward lounge or forward viewing area.

If you are sitting on your balcony, your views are limited. Last summer on the Danube we could not leave our French balcony door open because of mosquitoes and gnats.

Most people are only in their cabins rarely. We have traveled on one Avalon cruise already and have 3 more booked.

to prevent that happening.

But, I m one of those who LOVE an outside full balcony,not French.

I DO spend time out there,in AM with AM coffee(can get from lounge or in next case on Scenic,,,Room service.

Like the views,fresh air,and just overall experience.Once I had one,I can t go back.Others say its not important,but I m NOT ONE OF THEM>

Even booked Scenic next time because I saw in brochure they have glass cover over balcony so it can be used even in rain,etc.BUt,a French is better than NONE.;)

OK, Sounds like we have one for, and one against the balconies.

I also have enjoyed our balcony on our ocean cruises, with the ability to step outside, and also to sit outside and watch the world go by.

I like the idea of having a more open view, while still having the privacy of your own space. However, I do agree that you get a wider view from the decks and public lounges.

I travelled on Avalon a few years ago and did not miss not having a full balcony. In fact, the next river cruise I book, I will probably book in aquarium class. As above, when cruising the scenic parts of the river, we were up on the top deck or in the forward lounge so we could see both sides of the river. We spent very little time in our cabins, other than sleeping and dressing. If you haven't cruised before, depending on when you cruise and which river, there is a chance that when docked, you could be rafted up next to other ships. If you are rafted, you wouldn't want to be out on your balcony because you would only be looking into cabins on the ship tied next to you.

IMO, it depends on the time of year. We really enjoyed a full balcony on our recent AMA cruise but doubt we would opt for one if sailing in winter. Also, in several ports we were unable to use the balcony since we were docked up against another boat.

We have sailed in Avalon's Panorama cabins and they are very nice - spacious and bright with excellent beds and well appointed bathrooms.

We travelled on Avalon at Christmas/New Year this past year and our room was a French balcony. Yes we spent more time up in the front lounge but very limited time up on sun deck. Having this type of room allowed us to sit in our room prior to breakfast and take in the views(waking up and seeing the Fortress in Wurzburg was magnificent!), watch the fireworks in Vienna still being let off way past midnight. We didn't open the door very often(abit too fresh!), so if we had a balcony we wouldn't have been sitting outside! When we did open the door - to speak to locals walking past in Regensburg, take photos while sailing, lean out to see back down the river, we could do so while sitting at our table & lounge chairs in our room. Also could check the view up front from the TV in room. We like the larger size room and were lucky that we didn't experience any rafting, only came close when an APT ship cruised past very very close in Nuremburg. Have booked Avalon French balcony again for France in 2015, personally wouldn't book a ship with a balcony as happy with what we experienced. If we could afford it would consider Tauck's new loft staterooms.

[ATTACH]310170[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]310171[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]310172[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]310173[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH]310174[/ATTACH]

Tried to edit my pics but was too late so here they are again:

My DH and I have been on three river cruises (and numerous ocean cruises). One on AMA and two on Viking. We are going on the Danube in late Aug./early Sept. on the Avalon Panorama with three other couples. Since none of them have ever river cruised, they let us pick the cruise line. We are trying Avalon precisely because of the panorama suites. The AMA cruise in Holland was on one of their older ships and the cabin had a French balcony, which when included in the 170 sq. ft. made the room seem very cramped. On our two Viking cruises (China and Russia) we opted for a full balcony, neither of which we used very much. In China it was fine as the cabin was large (250 sq. ft.) and had a seating area (love seat), which we used much more often do to the humid weather/smog/or being docked next to another boat. Our Russian river cruise last September was when we decided to explore Avalon. There was nowhere other than the desk chair to sit in the room. My DH and I find it uncomfortable to seat and read on the bed. This was a 12 night cruise and due to either docking next to other ships (you're docked as a "hotel" six of the nights in St. Petersburg and Moscow) or the cool weather, we rarely used the balcony and it took a lot of space away from the already cramped room. As others have said, the views are much better on the top deck than what you can see from your balcony on a river cruise. After our experiences, we will always go for a larger room over a balcony on river cruise. (Ocean cruises are completely different as the cabins are usually much larger.) The Panorama suites on Avalon seemed like what we were looking for - floor to ceiling windows that open, but do not take away living space. We'll have to see in August!

The Panorama suites on Avalon seemed like what we were looking for - floor to ceiling windows that open, but do not take away living space. We'll have to see in August!

Tauck's new "Loft Cabins" are also intriguing. Also AMA's new ships have cabins with both real balcony and French balcony. It's great to have new ideas to choose from!

My wife and I are booked on our first River Cruise with Uniworld on the SS Antoinette. We chose their suite which is about 300 sq ft and has both a walk out balcony with the ability to enclose it with a button to make it more of an atrium in the event of inclimate weather and a french balcony in front of the bed. The balcony has two chairs and a flat screen tv on the balcony. My thought was that with the window closed it actually adds another 60-70 sq ft to the suite. I'm curious if anyone has stayed in the suite on SS Antoinette or Uniworlds new ship the SS Catherine that could comment on this balcony experience. I haven't read any comments about this which seems somewhat unique on the River Cruise Ships.

Have to agree with all the positive comments above re Avalon French Balcony, we sailed the Rhine with them last year, very much enjoyed the extra space inside the stateroom, gave us room to have 2 other couples in for a few drinks.

Most of viewing was from top deck or lounge. Sailing again with Avalon end of July, Prague to Budapest can't wait.

We were on Avalon's Panorama from Budapest to Amsterdam in summer 2012 (August), we were very happy with the french balcony, having the outside experience without sacrificing any space.

We had the doors open most of the time that we were in our room, lovely place to sit with a drink of an afternoon or a coffee before breakfast. Or just laying in bed facing the window and watching the world go by.

Waving or a 'hello' to people on the river banks as we passed..a lovely way to travel :-) We had a great view from our window when we were going through the lochs too, also being able to touch the side wall of the loch, made for some pretty good pics.

Some wonderful sites on the banks of the river, even saw a nudist beach, with loads of people there, plus a few 'posers' who were obviously very proud of their body that they thought we should be enjoying it too!! lol :-)

We never had any problems at all with bugs etc, so having the windows open was not a problem, the a/c automatically turned off when the window was opened and started again when you closed them.

We have booked a french window again for our Grand France cruise in June/July this year.

My DW and I have been cruising for 25 years. This was all ocean cruising until last year. About 15 years ago, we first tried a balcony and we vowed we would never cruise without one. However, last year we only had a French balcony on our Vantage river cruise and we never missed the balcony. As others have posted, you would miss a lot of sights by staying on the balcony. Often, while in port, the ship is tied against another ship. We spent most of our cruising hours in the lounge or the sun deck. Now that I have tried river cruising I would still never do an ocean cruise without a balcony, but I would also not spend extra for a balcony on a river cruise.

I just watched Avalon's promotional video, and they make a point of the fact that they do not have balconies, but rather have made their cabins bigger, with a larger sliding glass window.

 

I've always enjoyed sitting outside on a balcony when I'm on an ocean cruise, so am wondering if having the bigger cabin does make up for not having a balcony?

 

Any thoughts? I'm especially interested in hearing from anyone who has tried the Avalon cabins.

 

Thanks!

In general, I would choose a larger cabin over one with a balcony. Before paying extra for a balcony, here are some things to consider (others have mentioned some of these):

a. When will you be cruising and when will you be alongside? Many river cruises move from port to port at night, and are alongside during the day for excursions.

b. In port, ships are often tied up side by side, so that your view may be directly into another ship. When the ship is moored, one side, particularly for the lower decks, has a view of the concrete side of the jetty. Not very attractive!

c. When cruising, if you are interested in the sights, there is usually something worth seeing on each side of the river. For this reason, the top or forward deck is often a better vantage point than one's balcony.

d. For a river cruise, sometimes a French balcony (i.e. sliding doors) is a good compromise.

I've done five river cruises, all without a balcony, and have never missed one.

We are early risers even when in Europe. Even though we are early risers, we find that since tours often start at about 8:30, we get up, get ready and go have breakfast and then get ready to leave for the morning tour. We came back, have lunch and get ready for whatever afternoon activities we have planned off the boat. Ocean cruisers are used to sea days where you sit and watch the open seas go by. This is a difference with river cruises. No open seas. On river cruises, the vistas can be on either side. As I said, earlier, on river cruises, the best views are on the upper deck where there are chairs and covered seating. I also like the forward lounge or the outside seating just in front of the forward lounge. There will be more rafting when in port because of the great increase in boats that are being launched each year.