Avalon magnificent europe room decision

[uilleann]

we have done a few ocean cruises. But this will be our first river cruise. Because it's a special occasion we have initially booked the luxury suite over the panorama suites. The room is larger at 300 ft sq than the panorama rooms at 200 ft sq. but the upgraded price for two people is a total of $3400.

 

So I would love to hear from other Avalon cruisers as to what your thoughts are on the value of the larger room. For that matter, any experienced river cruisers on any line could probably offer good advice.

Edited February 17, 2015 by uilleann
Typo

[caviargal]

We found the Panorama Suite to be spacious and well appointed with a very nice bathroom as well. The layout was clever and added to the open feeling of the stateroom. Bed was great!

 

I would not pay the extra for the full suite as we are not in our room enough to warrant the cost. I would use it towards an upgraded seat on flights or for extending my stay in Europe instead.

Edited February 17, 2015 by caviargal

[Shebely]

I totally agree with Caviargal. You just are not in your room enough to appreciate the suite. Also we choose the Sapphire (middle) deck on the Suite ships. Again there is no big advantage to pay more to be on the Royal deck. Also there is a very popular lounge at the back of the ship on the Royal deck. The only way to get there is to walk past the cabins on the Royal deck. So there is a little more traffic on that hallway.

On a river cruise, you want to be where you can see both sides of the river. That would be top deck, or forward or back lounge.

Enjoy,

[Shebely]

My 2 cents. Extend your trip in Budapest. It is a magical city and hire a guide to take you around the city and inside the most beautiful Parliament building. Avalon uses the Intercontinental hotel with views of the Chain Bridge. I upgraded our room to river view on a higher floor and that was welll worth it.

[stretchcruz]

I totally agree. Sapphire Deck aft is what we've booked,same exact room as Royal Deck. No advantage to being up higher, and the Panorama Suite is plenty big enough. Extend your stay in Europe!!

[papa B me]

I'm always in the minority when I say that we found on our last Uniworld cruise upgrading to the suite that was 300 sq ft was well worth it for us. We enjoyed having the extra space(especially double sinks) in the bath room. We also found the upgraded suite came with a number of nice amenities that we enjoyed. We looked at the cabins below the suite level and they were fine and I'm sure we would have enjoyed them but we so enjoyed the suite that we have booked the suite for our next two river cruises. Just another opinion.

[JohnoClark]

We are also debating the Royal Suite - $1,400 for around 10 nights extra

 

Are there any additional benefits versus the Panorama other than more room?

 

2 sinks is one; Anything else?

[JVilleGal]

We are also debating the Royal Suite - $1,400 for around 10 nights extra

 

 

 

Are there any additional benefits versus the Panorama other than more room?

 

 

 

2 sinks is one; Anything else?

 

 

Considerably larger cabin :D

[DrivesLikeMario]

My friends booked the full suite with Avalon and thought it was really nice and spacious but they spent so little time in it, that they didn't think it was that big of a deal. For their next cruise, they didn't go with a full suite. I'd go with the Panorama Suite (200sf) ones.

[xpcdoojk]

I wouldn't spend any more money unless you are not going to get off the ship for a suite. I would pay for the French balcony, but not for more space. It is just not worth it to me. The days are mostly spent touring, and we only spent a few hours for the whole trip in the cabin when we weren't dressing, sleeping, or gathering things for the day. Then we were quite content to sit on the bed and watch tv or play cards.

 

I think there were some older passengers that rarely toured even on the gentle walker buses, so for those folks a suite might be really nice.

 

I agree, spend money on more trips, longer stay in Europe. Budapest was awesome, as was Vienna (but Budapest was 1/2 the cost). We enjoyed Bucharest, (and it was really really cheap) but it is not as beautiful as Budapest or Vienna.

 

jc

[pully8]

agree would not pay for the extra space. like the big windows and would pay for that. however given the amount of rafting now meaning some cabins have no view for extended periods, many may reconsider their choices.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I totally agree. Sapphire Deck aft is what we've booked,same exact room as Royal Deck. No advantage to being up higher, and the Panorama Suite is plenty big enough. Extend your stay in Europe!!

 

That's what we booked as well. Used the savings for better air seats.

[WendyG]

Just back from our Avalon trip and we were right next door to the royal suite and met our neighbors and toured their room. It was very nice (main difference was the double sink and the small sitting area but in my opinion is not worth the extra money since you are rarely in your cabin. Most of the time you're off the ship and when you're on it you're mingling with the other guests in the lounge or on the observation deck. As for sapphire vs royal deck, I think the view was better from the royal deck, especially when docked as I remember once seeing a big wall and thinking the people below us couldn't see anything.

Avalon is a class act, we loved every moment of our cruise :)