Rhine cruise - Ama or Avalon

There are 6 of us considering a cruise in October 2017. I'm curious if you can give any advice in choosing between the two carriers? This will be a first river cruise for 4 of us and a 2nd river cruise for two. They previously were on Ama. Thanks.

There are 6 of us considering a cruise in October 2017. I'm curious if you can give any advice in choosing between the two carriers? This will be a first river cruise for 4 of us and a 2nd river cruise for two. They previously were on Ama. Thanks.

I can recommend AMA from two wonderful cruises with them. Our first river cruise was AMA Rhine. As repeat cruisers your friends will get a small loyalty discount, but all of you will have a great time. I hope you have enough time to add a visit to Lucerne -- it is really cute and the location on a lake and with several accessible mountains makes for a wonderful stay.

There are 6 of us considering a cruise in October 2017. I'm curious if you can give any advice in choosing between the two carriers? This will be a first river cruise for 4 of us and a 2nd river cruise for two. They previously were on Ama. Thanks.

We just completed the Rhine cruise on Avalon and it was wonderful, but having said that - from all of the reviews of AMA you probably won't go wrong with either. The nice thing about Avalon is their "suite" cabins with wall to wall windows. Definitely done miss Lucerne.

Cole

Having sailed with AMA 6x and Avalon 4x, I can only say that we never looked back after our first AMA cruise. We were wowed by the overall quality of food, wine, entertainment and excursions as compared to Avalon (they were the first river cruises we ever took) as well as the amazing staff, crew and Hotel Managers we have had on each of our AMA cruises. They left Avalon in the dust.

We have experienced AMA's amazing attention to detail on each of our cruises with them and have two more booked.

Our Rhine cruise on AmaSerena last November was hands down the best river cruise we have ever experienced. Here is a link to my review, in case you find it helpful: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=520858

We have also cruised with Uniworld and Scenic and enjoyed them both and would sail with either line again happily. We would not cruise with Avalon again.

I posted detailed reviews for all of our cruises here on CC in the review section.

You will get replies recommending both lines. I have done two cruises with Avalon - Rhine & Seine, & enjoyed both tremendously. I have written extensive trip reports for both. You will have a great time on either line. Ama was a bit pricier than Avalon for my cruises but they also have more included. I also got a nice loyalty discount on the 2nd cruise. Do research looking at what is included with both lines to see what fits your style better. If you are willing to sail on the older Avalon ships, you can also save some more money. The only opinion that matters is your own. Get the brochures, do the research, make a decision then don't question it. You will have a wonderful vacation with either line.

The only opinion that matters is your own. .

However, they will not have an opinion until they have experienced both.:)

OP, if your friends enjoyed AMA, IMO they will be disappointed with Avalon. JMO based on experience with both.

We've not cruised on AMA but based on price and a bit of what I've read I believe AMA would be a more upscale cruise. We have cruised with Avalon and really enjoyed our cruise. There was nothing that disappointed us and we are looking to do another river with them.

Like caviargal said, your friends my be disappointed in Avalon if they are looking for an AMA treatment.

On the other hand, my in-laws did the Avalon cruise with us after having done 4 or 5 Uniworld cruises and still loved Avalon. They did not feel disappointed at all (other than so many people got sick on our cruise - of our family group of 6, I was the only one who didn't get sick:o)

Our first River cruise AMA probably about 2007 The Danube. We were terribly disappointed in the food. We are not foodies and food was not good. One night we had the chef sit with us and voice our complaints. Not just us many people complained. I wrote a letter when I returned from our cruise and I was told my expectations were maybe too high...rumor they were in transition and sold to another travel company. Not sure if this is true. I have read many outstanding reviews on this forum on AMA not sure if I would cruise with them again. Since then we have cruised with Uniworld twice loved it. Last year we had a chance for a last minute deal with Avalon our first with Avalon. Ship about five years old. Not as upscale as Uniworld but we had a fabulous time. Food, staff itinerary everything was wonderful.. It's all about your expectations. We are easy to please... We are now going with the best deal. Defintely cruise with Avalon again. Uniworld has gotten $$$$....

.

 

However, they will not have an opinion until they have experienced both.:)

 

OP, if your friends enjoyed AMA, IMO they will be disappointed with Avalon. JMO based on experience with both.

I respectfully disagree that one cannot have an opinion unless they have experienced both. We chose Avalon over other cruise lines after a lot of research for a variety of reasons that were important to us. I don't presume to think that what matters to us is as important to others.

There are so many factors to consider when choosing a cruise company and there is no one company that is best for everyone. Itinerary, excursions, accommodations, cuisine, and price can vary. Read the information on cruise line websites and decide what is important to you.

We cruised with Avalon in 2013 and 2015 and found the food, crew,tour guides, entertainment all to be excellent. I don't feel our opinion on our experience should be discounted because it's the only line we have used.

I appreciate everyone's opinions. It's all very helpful. Keep them coming!

I appreciate everyone's opinions. It's all very helpful. Keep them coming!

You might also try using the search function on this forum. Search for 'AMA' or 'Avalon' and you will find many posts people have written about these lines.

You will find that -- unless things went disastrously wrong (like the dreaded "bus tours") -- most people have a great time on their first river cruise and keep sailing that same line. I am in the first category -- sailed AMA, loved it, haven't really thought about switching lines. Obviously there are lots of folks who feel the same way about Avalon. Other than reassuring you that there may not be a bad choice, none of us can be very helpful in answering your original question about choosing between these two lines. Only the few people who have sailed both lines -- or who can give the reason they chose not to sail one of them -- will be really helpful.

I'm finishing up my first AMA cruise after two Avalon cruises. I would say that Ama's food is better, but Avalon food is perfectly fine. Avalon buys all their bread is each town which we found of higher quality. We also enjoyed the small lounge on the third floor of the Avalon ships with the tv and cookies and muffins and coffees. Finally there really is no cocktail hour with drink of the day on Ama. Avalon did not offer bikes on board. Great time on both ships. I have found that Avalon gives great value for the price

I respectfully disagree that one cannot have an opinion unless they have experienced both. We chose Avalon over other cruise lines after a lot of research for a variety of reasons that were important to us. I don't presume to think that what matters to us is as important to others.

 

There are so many factors to consider when choosing a cruise company and there is no one company that is best for everyone. Itinerary, excursions, accommodations, cuisine, and price can vary. Read the information on cruise line websites and decide what is important to you.

 

We cruised with Avalon in 2013 and 2015 and found the food, crew,tour guides, entertainment all to be excellent. I don't feel our opinion on our experience should be discounted because it's the only line we have used.

Comparing marketing information provided by cruise lines to make your decision, in addition to any research you choose to do, is a useful tool when choosing how to spend your time and money.

However, IMO it is not possible to compare the actual experience unless you have something to compare it to. Brochures, websites, and objective information are only part of the equation.

All lines have their fans and for good reasons; everyone has different preferences and travel styles and what may be perfect for me will not be for you.

Can one compare restaurants by reading the menus? Certainly I can compare offerings, prices, wine list, opening hours, etc. But one cannot truly compare unless one experiences those two restaurants that look so similar on paper. I personally am not a fan of Morton's and have friends that love that particular steak house. When I want a good steak I go to Capital Grille. Objectively they have many similarities but subjectively they are quite different. We don't dine out together when steak is what we are looking for. Nor do we ocean cruise together as they enjoy big ships and we do not.

While there are certainly objective comparisons that can be made IMO it is not possible to actually compare two cruise lines, hotels, etc., without experiencing them. I find detailed comparisons based on actual experience helpful to me personally and even more so when I know the hotels and ocean cruise lines that reviewers enjoy.

We started our river cruising history with Avalon and, had we not discovered AMA and now other lines we enjoy as well, we would not have continued to river cruise.

There is a line (or 2 or 3) for everyone and of the 4 lines we have sailed so far, the only one we would not sail again is Avalon.

I have not been on an AMA cruise so no I can not compare the actual experience on Avalon vs AMA. We recently cruised on the Avalon Panorama, not their newest vessel (2011), and were extremely pleased with the total experience.

We had selected Avalon after a lot of reading and comparison of what was offered by each line. It came down to us seeing that to get a similar cabin on AMA would have cost in the region of $3,000 - $4,000 more than on Avalon. On reading what was included other than wine at lunch as well as dinner, there did not seem to be a great deal of difference. The food and wine would have had to be a great deal better to justify that difference. From what we could see when on the cruise, there was not much difference between the AMA and Avalon excursions and we could not have had better guides. There was entertainment, and good visiting entertainment on board, not every night but the resident pianist was good. We had "enrichment" talks and tastings. Staff were friendly and looked after us as well as could be wished for.

All in all we had a great time with Avalon. Would we have had a better time with AMA for the additional money, we don't know but it is hard to imagine we could.

Bottom line, decide what you want and what you want to pay. It is expensive enough as it is so why add extra expense for questionable extras.

I agree. When comparing Uniworld and Avalon, we had wonderful cruises on both. We are booked with Avalon for October because we are not big drinkers, and the food, staff, and the knowledgeable excursion guides were almost identical on both lines. I couldn't justify the extra cost on Uniworld "all inclusive" for what makes us happy, so I am certain I will not be disappointed with Avalon.

When I read comparisons between lines - I read/trust those who have actually been on both lines. These are the individuals who can provide the most accurate comparison IMO.

Avalon buys all their bread is each town which we found of higher quality.

Since I'm getting ready to do my first Avalon cruise in September, I'm glad to hear this. Our last cruise was on Vantage, and our our galley tour we were told that all the food for the 14-day cruise was loaded onto the ship the day we left Amsterdam!

Looking forward to fresh bread--especially at breakfast!!

FuelScience

Avalon buys all their bread is each town which we found of higher quality.

Since I'm getting ready to do my first Avalon cruise in September, I'm glad to hear this. Our last cruise was on Vantage, and our our galley tour we were told that all the food for the 14-day cruise was loaded onto the ship the day we left Amsterdam!

 

Looking forward to fresh bread--especially at breakfast!!

 

FuelScience

AMA also has fresh bread daily -- because they have a dedicated bread baker in the galley. I find this amazing on such a small ship, but when we had the final night thank you ceremony we met the bread baker, the pastry baker, and the soup chef along with the rest of the kitchen crew. No wonder all those things were so good!

AMA also has fresh bread daily -- because they have a dedicated bread baker in the galley. I find this amazing on such a small ship, but when we had the final night thank you ceremony we met the bread baker, the pastry baker, and the soup chef along with the rest of the kitchen crew. No wonder all those things were so good!

Even though the fresh bread on Ama was very good it can't compare to the authentic bread bought in the towns. Not that I recommend choosing a cruise on bread alone. Lol.

Even though the fresh bread on Ama was very good it can't compare to the authentic bread bought in the towns. Not that I recommend choosing a cruise on bread alone. Lol.

I found the bread on our Avalon cruises disappointing (on all 4 cruises) and much the same day after day and not worth the calories. On AMA, I love the bread, which reflects the regions we are cruising in, as does their menu and wine selections.

And their cheese board is heaven on earth!

Wine, bread and cheese are my three major food groups.:D

Of all the lines we have cruised with, AMA, for our tastes, has the best food overall. Variety at all meals has been very good. We enjoy being able to order off a menu at all meals, with specials changing daily at lunch (no other line offered this). We very much enjoyed that AMA served our soups at lunch (is Avalon still self serve?), the creative way they set up the dining rooms on their ships to reduce congestion, and their excellent Chef's Table.

We are foodies so these details for us stand out. YMMV.

Can't wait to experience what they have waiting for us on AmaVida!

Avalon has a buffet for breakfast & lunch but there are always 1-2 items on the menu that can be ordered at lunch. Not all passengers realize there is a menu for these two meals. At lunch sometimes soup was served & sometimes it was self service. All the soups were wonderful.

Should also state that Avalon has a menu choice of appetizers and three different entrees each night as well as for or five items available every night. In addition they had Bistro Nights in the lounge where you had a number of small plates with appetizers, entrees and desserts, I think it was 10 in total so there is plenty of choice for foodies. Not sure which vessel Caviargal was on but unfortunately does not sound as if she had the same experience as we did. Perhaps there have been major improvements since she took her cruises.

Should also state that Avalon has a menu choice of appetizers and three different entrees each night as well as for or five items available every night. In addition they had Bistro Nights in the lounge where you had a number of small plates with appetizers, entrees and desserts, I think it was 10 in total so there is plenty of choice for foodies. Not sure which vessel Caviargal was on but unfortunately does not sound as if she had the same experience as we did. Perhaps there have been major improvements since she took her cruises.

Quality trumps quantity for me and food is subjective, which is something we can all agree on.:)

It has been several years since our last Avalon cruise (Avalon Affinity, Avalon Luminary 2x, Avalon Panorama) as, after the last one on Panorama, we decided to try AMA and totally enjoyed the entire experience.

Next we experienced Uniworld and then Scenic, both of which we enjoyed. AMA remains our favorite, and we now have three river cruise lines that we enjoy and that are on our short list; that gives us plenty of options..

Based on recent comments from others - including CC posters - who have similar tastes and experience to ours, things seem pretty much the same on Avalon now as they were when we were aboard in terms of food, service and overall standards. No need to spend time and money to confirm that for ourselves.