All Things Avalon

Could someone tell me what toiletries are provided on Avalon i.e. is body lotion etc available

Hope this helps, just ask for more if you run out.

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Great products from L'Occitane :)

Maybe this is a little clearer! :)

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My favorite scent EVER. :)

Will be sailing from Amsterdam to Basel in Sept. Trying to find info on Basel Docking location/time. Do know that sometimes docking location can change.

We will be traveling from Basel to Zurich to continue trip. Planning to book private transportation to Zurich.

Anyone sailing Tranquility II Rhine River from Amsterdam to Basel?

I love threads like this and I find them extremely helpful. I would want to know all about the cabins and also the food and what is and is not included and then the tours.

Will be sailing from Amsterdam to Basel in Sept. Trying to find info on Basel Docking location/time. Do know that sometimes docking location can change.

 

We will be traveling from Basel to Zurich to continue trip. Planning to book private transportation to Zurich.

 

Anyone sailing Tranquility II Rhine River from Amsterdam to Basel?

We are but not till next fall (2018). We went ahead and signed up for the transport to Zurich through Avalon. Pretty inexpensive and takes us right to the airport.

Hope you post here after your cruise and let us know how you enjoyed it!!!:D

Texkan, we will be on the same route but on the Imagery II in May 2018. If you can wait that long, I will do my best to post arrival time & docking info. We will be taking a train back along the river route to Amsterdam, just to see more countryside.

Gracie115, our price has dropped again, so keep an eye on your invoice. I know we got the last drop no problem, and expect the same again. Just means more luxuries we can splurge on now. :)

When we were planning a cruise that ended in Basel, I looked regularly on marinetraffic.com to see where ships were docked, and it varied. Usually I would find a couple of ships docked downtown on the east side of the river (very convenient), while others would be on the west bank near the German border. It's pretty far from downtown, but there's a trolley stop nearby. I never identified any pattern regarding which ships were docked where.

We (six of us) booked a van from Basel to Zurich for a flight. We were docked on the east side near the German border, and the driver had problems finding us. He called me and asked for our location. The ship's personnel told me the name of the docking location, but he couldn't find that on his phone. Finally I walked down the street until I could find a street sign, and the street name was enough to get him there.

Our other frustration was the fact that the driver spoke limited English. We ended up conversing in German since my German--bad after 40+ years--was better than his English.

If you're not set on a private transfer, the train takes about an hour. Of course, you'd have to handle your own luggage and get a cab to the Basel train station. For the six of us, the van was cheaper than two cabs and six train tickets.

Good luck on your planning!!

The Dockmaster tells the ships where to dock and that doesn't happen until they enter the port. You will need to have the Cruise Director call them (or the driver) in the morning to let them know where we are. They made dozens of calls for passengers to private transportation. The local companies know "about" where you will be. It's not a big deal.

But Avalon won't know until they arrive where exactly they will be. There is little control over the system.

I love threads like this and I find them extremely helpful. I would want to know all about the cabins and also the food and what is and is not included and then the tours.

If you ask about specific itineraries I think folks can be more specific. But overall on Avalon everything stated in the brochure for tours is included. Usually no food or drink included but I've been on tours such as Normandy and Rudesheim where there has been food included but it states it in the day to day itinerary. Optional tours take place after lunch and they carry an extra fee.

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We just returned from our first river cruise. We've done many ocean cruises but wanted to try something different. I'm sure glad we did. We were on the 15 day Magnificent Europe River cruise on the Avalon Impression.

I can't say enough great things about this cruise. The crew is top notch and took care of everything. It's not often you see even the Captain loading and unloading luggage. Two liter bottles of water are in your room and replenished as soon as you empty one. Water is also provided on every tour.

There were plenty of offerings at each meal to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. The boat holds 166 passengers and there were 138 onboard. The weather was warm and sunny the entire time.

We did two optional tours - Cesky Krumlov and the Evening concert in Vienna. In Cesky, we had plenty of time to wander about after the guided tour. We enjoyed the concert which was in an old hall and filled with various river boat passengers. 9 musicians, two singers, and two dancers performed. At the conclusion, you are given a DVD of the music played.

We stayed in Budapest after the cruise at the Mercure Budapest City Center hotel. We did the online check in while on the last day of our cruise and said we would be there at 11 am. They had a room waiting for us. The staff took care of arranging a taxi at 3 am (we had a very early flight) and we found the location great for walking all around the city.

If you have any questions, ask away. We will definitely book with Avalon again.

Thanks for any info about the Avalon cruise from Nuremberg to Budapest, with 3 days in Prague at the beginning and 2 extra nights in Budapest. We cruise in 3 weeks. Can't wait!

Sonia & Dave

Maybe this is a little clearer! :)

Appreciate these postings on the offerings with Avalon and on their ships. Like this brand. Nice products and scents!! Am getting ready for late January 2018 to be doing our first visit to Southeast Asia, for Hong Kong, Bangkok, Vietnam and Cambodia, including Angkor Wat and Hue/Danang. This includes seven days on the Avalon ship sailing up the famed Mekong River. Assume that they use the same products in Asia. Right? Any recent postings from those doing this Avalon Mekong "adventure"??

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 187,008 views for this posting.

Are you able to bring a bottle of hard alcohol on board? :)

We just returned from our first river cruise. We've done many ocean cruises but wanted to try something different. I'm sure glad we did. We were on the 15 day Magnificent Europe River cruise on the Avalon Impression.

 

I can't say enough great things about this cruise. The crew is top notch and took care of everything. It's not often you see even the Captain loading and unloading luggage. Two liter bottles of water are in your room and replenished as soon as you empty one. Water is also provided on every tour.

 

There were plenty of offerings at each meal to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. The boat holds 166 passengers and there were 138 onboard. The weather was warm and sunny the entire time.

 

We did two optional tours - Cesky Krumlov and the Evening concert in Vienna. In Cesky, we had plenty of time to wander about after the guided tour. We enjoyed the concert which was in an old hall and filled with various river boat passengers. 9 musicians, two singers, and two dancers performed. At the conclusion, you are given a DVD of the music played.

 

We stayed in Budapest after the cruise at the Mercure Budapest City Center hotel. We did the online check in while on the last day of our cruise and said we would be there at 11 am. They had a room waiting for us. The staff took care of arranging a taxi at 3 am (we had a very early flight) and we found the location great for walking all around the city.

 

If you have any questions, ask away. We will definitely book with Avalon again.

The concert in Vienna isn't in the Opera House? Also are you able to bring a bottle of alcohol on board?

Are you able to bring a bottle of hard alcohol on board? :)

They honestly don't care!

You can bring wine or alcohol on board to enjoy in your cabin or on the sun deck. If you want to drink in the restaurant, there may be a corkage fee. No need to sneak it on board.

We just returned from our first river cruise. We've done many ocean cruises but wanted to try something different. I'm sure glad we did. We were on the 15 day Magnificent Europe River cruise on the Avalon Impression.

 

 

 

I can't say enough great things about this cruise. The crew is top notch and took care of everything. It's not often you see even the Captain loading and unloading luggage. Two liter bottles of water are in your room and replenished as soon as you empty one. Water is also provided on every tour.

 

 

 

There were plenty of offerings at each meal to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. The boat holds 166 passengers and there were 138 onboard. The weather was warm and sunny the entire time.

 

 

 

We did two optional tours - Cesky Krumlov and the Evening concert in Vienna. In Cesky, we had plenty of time to wander about after the guided tour. We enjoyed the concert which was in an old hall and filled with various river boat passengers. 9 musicians, two singers, and two dancers performed. At the conclusion, you are given a DVD of the music played.

 

 

 

We stayed in Budapest after the cruise at the Mercure Budapest City Center hotel. We did the online check in while on the last day of our cruise and said we would be there at 11 am. They had a room waiting for us. The staff took care of arranging a taxi at 3 am (we had a very early flight) and we found the location great for walking all around the city.

 

 

 

If you have any questions, ask away. We will definitely book with Avalon again.

Was the Mercure hotel in Budapest Avalon’s choice or yours?

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We have been home for about 10 days now, after our Avalon Visionary cruise....Prague to Budapest, with a 2 day extension in Budapest (at the Prima Fashion Boutique Hotel....great room and location). Unfortunately, our Avalon experience was not as good as what has been written above. Our room was good and nicely kept. Room attendant was efficient but not much personality or interaction. We had ok weather for the first half of the trip and great weather for the 2nd half. The better weather allowed us to sit up top and enjoy this extra space. We enjoyed the coffee machine and cookies/doughnuts that were available 24/7. We did the same two extra excursions, Chesky Krumlov and the Vienna concert, and thoroughly enjoyed both....guides and performers were excellent. Our disappointment was the food and the staff. The food was ok....good but not very good. The servers did what they had to do but didn't go the extra mile. It was not "service with a smile" and it did not come close to comparing to our service on an Oceania cruise we did last year. The dining room noise level was a huge problem for many of us.....surely there is some sound proofing that could be done to improve this. I don't know if this problem is just on the Visionary or if all of the boats have this problem. It really took away from the dinner time and we did not have the relaxed dinner feeling. This was something that many people brought up. As someone else said, the Captain was great and we saw him helping with everything and he was very pleasant to talk with. He made time to mingle a bit with everyone. Also, Jerry, the director of the cruise, was excellent....he did give the special service to us and to everyone else that I saw him with. He interacted in a happy and friendly manner.....and I guess this is what we expected to see from all of the staff. The reception desk had an efficient woman but again, one did not feel the "happy to help you" attitude. We loved the places we visited on this trip, we enjoyed the passengers (nice group) and all of the included bus and walking tours were good. Staff training maybe needs to be done to bring the service level up. Would we do it again? Yes....because we have many friends who have had wonderful river cruise experiences and we think we just maybe had an unusual experience. We like enough about this trip that we would try it again.

We have been home for about 10 days now, after our Avalon Visionary cruise....Prague to Budapest, with a 2 day extension in Budapest (at the Prima Fashion Boutique Hotel....great room and location). Unfortunately, our Avalon experience was not as good as what has been written above. Our room was good and nicely kept. Room attendant was efficient but not much personality or interaction. We had ok weather for the first half of the trip and great weather for the 2nd half. The better weather allowed us to sit up top and enjoy this extra space. We enjoyed the coffee machine and cookies/doughnuts that were available 24/7. We did the same two extra excursions, Chesky Krumlov and the Vienna concert, and thoroughly enjoyed both....guides and performers were excellent. Our disappointment was the food and the staff. The food was ok....good but not very good. The servers did what they had to do but didn't go the extra mile. It was not "service with a smile" and it did not come close to comparing to our service on an Oceania cruise we did last year. The dining room noise level was a huge problem for many of us.....surely there is some sound proofing that could be done to improve this. I don't know if this problem is just on the Visionary or if all of the boats have this problem. It really took away from the dinner time and we did not have the relaxed dinner feeling. This was something that many people brought up. As someone else said, the Captain was great and we saw him helping with everything and he was very pleasant to talk with. He made time to mingle a bit with everyone. Also, Jerry, the director of the cruise, was excellent....he did give the special service to us and to everyone else that I saw him with. He interacted in a happy and friendly manner.....and I guess this is what we expected to see from all of the staff. The reception desk had an efficient woman but again, one did not feel the "happy to help you" attitude. We loved the places we visited on this trip, we enjoyed the passengers (nice group) and all of the included bus and walking tours were good. Staff training maybe needs to be done to bring the service level up. Would we do it again? Yes....because we have many friends who have had wonderful river cruise experiences and we think we just maybe had an unusual experience. We like enough about this trip that we would try it again.

Can you give more detail on your opinion of the food? Did you think servings were too small, didn't care for the menu items, or thought the quality wasn't great? Food can be subjective, so it would be helpful to know what you didn't like.

KathyK13....re the food: Every dinner was decent and good and the portions were good, but only one dinner was what I would describe as "very good." That dinner was the Captain's Dinner and it was the calibre I had thought we would see every evening. I know they are working from a small kitchen but the selections were very ordinary in taste. For example, the Caesar salad was fresh and ok, but quite tasteless. The steak (which is offered every night along with chicken or fish as an "always available" if you don't want any of the day's dinner selections) was fine but needed some sort of sauce. On the evening of the Captain's dinner, I chose the steak but this time it came with a very tasty sauce which took the meal up to very good. ( I like steak with no sauce, but the steaks served needed something.) The fish and chicken were also good, but nothing special. I guess what I'm trying to say is just everyday ordinary....like we would get at a restaurant that I might choose to take my family and grandkids to for a nice meal. I must say, my favourite dish was a late night snack that was offered one evening....goulash....excellent flavour (and that's what I found lacking in the dinners....flavour). As far as breakfast and lunch, there were lots of choices, but I would describe the buffet to be more like a small smorgasbord. Again, we were spoiled to the max on Oceania and didn't expect that level of food and service, but this offered nothing close. Add to that the noise problem (acoustics in dining room) and the service that was "just ok," that's what was disappointing. Seriously though, maybe we just got a weak week.....not sure.

We are just back from a 7 day Belgium and Netherlands cruise on the Impression. It was our 3 rd cruise with Avalon. Our personal complaint with the dinners was that they were too long and too much food. This time they offered “bistro dining” which was held in the front of the lounge.

We really enjoyed it and dined there almost every night. There were never too many of us there. They had two servers and were free with the wine.

Portions were small, more like tapas and it was a buffet. There was always something tasty.

I would like to hear if anyone else on an Avalon river cruise had the same main complaint that we did....the nearly unbearable noise level in the dining room at dinner time. That would have made even the best dinners less tasty. (We didn't do the smaller tasting menu but we should have....we never decided in time to pre-book which was our fault.)