Tedferg

@Hlitner you hit the bullseye for us 🙂 we have only cruised Princess and once with Celebrity. We have been intrigued by comments that Oceania or Viking are not much more expensive when excursions, wine & beer etc. are considered, but I have always found costs to be at least twice that of Princess. Friends just returned from Viking British Isles, we really enjoyed Princess British Isles last year, and so I did a quick comparison for 2025. Viking 15 days Princess 12 days. Least cost balcony on Viking $9,200 per person Princess balcony started at $2,900.

This was always a minor quibble for me. Not a big thing but never understood why they allowed this. Reservation or Walk Up, why add this complication. We were told a couple of times that we could not have the two-top by the window, "Because it was reserved"

OK thanks, I just wondered if a PVP could compliment a TA.

I received an unsolicited call from a Princess PVP. I use a TA and have never had any problems with Princess, but my TA is a two-person outfit and usually unavailable at weekends and in a different time zone than I am. Can you use a PVP and a TA? Or do you have to book directly to use the PVP. I get a discount and small OBC from TA, so have not seen a need to book directly.

Yes please

@CielBleu Thanks for an informative response. I saw the Avalon offer or 'save $1250' I clicked on 'Not interested in Air' and price did not change, so not sure how the $1250 is applied. Yes, I was looking at Danube Dreams. I should have said 'Comparing Prices' in my title. We are at a very preliminary stage. Several friends are Ocean cruisers as we are and have recently done a River cruise. They all said it was wonderful. A couple of years ago I did a cursory look and decided Viking and Avalon were best options for us and so was surprised when I checked again recently and saw the price difference.

Correct, I was thinking that some passengers might think ' Link Booking' was a way to do that.

Regarding OV versus Balcony, I just checked, and the saved booking and we are looking at Obstructed Balcony Deck 8. So, no problem 🙂

Aha, I see now. You are saying Avalon Balconies are all French. I thought you were saying all Avalon CABINS are French.

Thank you, good clarification in comparison with other port intensive itineraries. It was your photographs that lead to my question 🙂

Right, there is something like 'Travel Companions' I never understood what Link Booking was.

We are considering the 7-day fjords cruise and thought Ocean View would be adequate since it is port intensive. Do you have any thoughts?

I guess I was mistaken that they were similarly priced. I saw early references in CC under First Time Cruisers that implied they were similarly priced and 'sometimes Viking was a little more expensive' Avalon might be a good choice, just that I was surprised at the price difference. Regarding 'Avalon ONLY have French balconies.', their Deluxe Stateroom is an Aquarium level just like Viking.

Tanks @Pontac and Daisi. I did a little research a couple of years ago and Avalon and Viking were my choices. Other lines seemed more 'plush' and more expensive, and the differences seemed mostly related to the ship. Avalon seemed to stand out over Viking in my analysis at the time, better cabins, smaller passenger size etc. And prices were comparable. So I was surprised when I started looking again for 2025 that there is a big price difference. It did not seem to be just one cruise itinerary / date. There were offers of free or low-cost air etc. but I tried to stick with just the basics.

First time river cruiser and trying to ballpark options. Among posts here on CC Avalon and Viking seem to be comparable, Viking often referred to as slightly more expensive. Looking at 7-day Danube in July 2025, 'Aquarium' class Viking is ~ $5700 Avalon ~ &7700 for two. I tried no air fare and no insurance etc. just to get a ballpark number. Am I missing something?

Interesting, we were looking at this because we thought it had a better itinerary than Princess.

Thanks for replies, my discharge papers from National Service might not be enough, Also 30 or 40 pounds OBC might not be worth the effort for a one time cruise.

Thank you, I assume that if P&O recognizes military service that my UK service will be OK.

We are US based and are Platinum on Princess I also get Military OBC for my UK service. Do these transfer to a P&O booking?

We are from the US and yes, Dockers are probably called Chinos in UK. For me it is a question of luggage space, we will g=have vacationed in UK for two weeks prior to cruise. P&O itinerary looks better than Princess, hence my question as a Newbie.

What date did you travel? We are leaning towards September 2025

A little off topic from my OP. The nonrefundable deposit fee is a non-starter for me.

Thanks for the replies, the comment that Passau avoids one of the low water points was what I was trying to remember.

Is Munich the closest major airport? If not using Princess transfer, hod do you get to Regensburg or Passau? We will vacation in England before river cruise.