Avalon Waterways

We took a small group on the Paris to Normandy tour recently as my wife Regina is an independent travel agent. It was, in a word, 'awesome'! The professional service that we received from the captain and Avalon crew was wonderful. The food and wine onboard was consistently superb. The onshore excursions were fascinating and very well done. Our favorite part was the tour of Monet's gardens in Giverny - 'tre fantastique'! Also seeing the American War Memorial in Normandy was deeply moving. Can't say enough about this tour!! Many thanks to the Avalon crew and excellent guides for making it a trip of a lifetime!! Merci beaucoup!!
Brian & Regina Sneed

This was our second cruise with Avalon. We absolutely loved it. The staff is amazing. I think that is what makes the trip such a good experience. The food is always great although I thought our first cruise was a shade more creative and exciting. Still wonderful though.

I have traveled quiet a bit in the past 20 years or so can I can say without hesitation that my Avalon cruise is one of my best trips ever, if not THE best! Yes, they are a little pricey, but you really do get what you pay for. From the service, to the food, to the excursions ...everything was fabulous and could not have been better. Once I save my pennies, I will most definitely take another cruise with Avalon!

This was our second Avalon river cruise, so having had a positive experience with this company on the Seine, we had no hesitation about booking with Avalon Waterways again. This time we added days in Siem Reap, Ho Chi Minh, and Bangkok, for a total of 16 days in the stewardship of Avalon. My only regret was that we didn’t also go to Hanoi & Ha Long Bay.

We began in Siem Reap, checking into the Park Hyatt Hotel in the center of town. In addition to its’ superb location, merely blocks from the night market, and walking distance to restaurants and museums, the hotel itself was absolutely incredible. The staff were courteous and attentive; breakfast each morning, delicious - with abundant offerings, catering to the individual palates of multi-national travellers. Guest rooms, pools, spa and public areas of the hotel are so sumptuous, and tastefully appointed (decor/architecture subtly sophisticated, not tacky & overstated) we would have been happy not to leave the hotel. Here we met our cruise director, Ha, who later introduced us to our Cambodian tour guide Pharot. The two of them would accompany us on tours of the sacred Angkor temples and introduce us to the local industry and way of life - all authentic and exceptional excursions!

The air transfer from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, and embarkation onto the ship couldn’t have gone more smoothly.

Both ship and crew were superb. The common spaces - lounge, dining room and outer deck, as well as the guest rooms, were comfortable, spacious, tastefully appointed and in good repair - one of the main reasons I chose Avalon in the first place, as so many other cruise lines seem to offer a tawdry, Las Vegas-style environment. All meals were excellent and Ha and the crew did their utmost to accommodate our vegan food preferences, sometimes modifying a recipe specifically for us. Ha even made sure the ship had almond milk on board for our cappuccinos every morning! The entire crew knew all our names by the second day, and were always diligent to point out any non vegan food offering we may want to avoid. The graciousness of the staff throughout the week was unending.

There are only two improvements that would have enhanced our on-board experience:

1.) Better/softer pillows. We did ask for alternates, which were promptly delivered to our room, but they were really no different than what we started with.

2.) After dinner entertainment - at least for some of the evenings. We made wonderful connections over meals with several other passengers, who all agreed it would be fun to have the option to dance or enjoy music together after dinner, or even a guitar for guests to play.

The excursions off the ship continued to inspire. Often tying the river boat to trees in remote areas, we’d climb up the side of a bank on primitive steps carved into dried clay, where drivers of various types of transportation (ox carts, sampans, tuktuks, etc.) awaited to shuttle us into small villages for an exclusive and authentic experience, unfettered by mass tourism.

The tour of the Royal Palace specifically, in Phnom Phen, was my least favourite. You can’t go inside the palace. The auxiliary buildings in the compound are unkempt and very crowded. The famous Silver Pagoda - renowned for a flooring of more than 5000 silver tiles, is almost entirely covered by a patchwork of tattered area rugs. The few tiles that can be partially viewed, through gaps between the carpets, are nearly black with tarnish. Another other point of interest - the tiny Emerald Buddha, has been replaced with an unimpressive (plastic?) replica. Lastly, artifacts in display cases were covered in a generous layer of dust, without much or any explanation as to their significance. But this is the extent of my criticism about any and all excursions.

The Reverie, our hotel in Ho Chi Minh, was over the top! No complaints about this top-four-in-the-world hotel....even if it was a bit reminiscent of Las Vegas opulence and excess. The rooms had everything - including stellar views of the city, motorized draperies, heated toilet seats, luxury bath products and sumptuous beds, linens and pillows. Breakfast was good and the spa offered the ultimate in luxury pampering.

The excursions in Ho Chi Minh were also very good, and the cooking class, which I initially had my doubts about, turned out to be an absolute delight, delivering yet another authentic experience.

We had an issue with our hotel in Bangkok, due to a mistake by the tour company, that failed to secure our reservation at the hotel we were originally promised. The problem was swiftly addressed, resulting in a brief interruption in what continued on to be a positive end to our journey.

For all aspects of this experience, including service, accommodations, food quality, activities/excursions, and even conflict resolution, I give Avalon and their representatives full marks. I can’t imagine we’ll ever find better value for our money on any similar type river cruise.

Way to go Avalon!

We were very pleased with our trip and the professionalism of Avalon and how we were treated and taken care of on our trip. Our guide was superb. Food was excellent and accommodations were very comfortable on the boat. We enjoyed all of our hotel accommodations also. We highly recommend Avalon

I'll explain extraordinary circumstances and why that rating at end of review. First, overall it's simply a lovely way to travel: wonderful room with a comfortable bed, ample closets and nicely appointed bathroom; large, sliding glass doors that make the entire room a "balcony", if desired; extraordinary service from absolutely everyone; many tours from which to choose at several ports with at least 1 provided tour at every stop; decent food with lots of choices at every meal; and a casual atmosphere that encourages passenger mingling.
Ship Details: A late 2019 September cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam aboard the Illumination.
Food Pluses: Average to excellent, so no complaint from me. 1) A buffet "Bistro" dinner was available in the lounge for those of us who didn't want to wade through a long, four-course dinner downstairs. Perfect!! 2) Avalon is still working out passenger dietary differences. They made a concerted effort to speak with anyone who had special dietary needs and did their best to accommodate them. Kudos!
Food Negatives: That given, their vegetarian option was almost always a pasta dish. That made it impossible to eat meat-free and gluten-free and have anything other than salads and, occasionally, vegetable sides dishes.
Port Stops: the design of river cruises is such that no more than a day is spent at any port, and sometimes only a half day. I wish this would change but don't have any expectations. It's still a good way to see a lot of cities and villages.
WHY 6 STARS: our boat was run into by a barge near the end of our trip and the crew response was stellar!!! It was night and we were into only the first course of our big, finale dinner downstairs. Everything, including some people, went flying across the room as screams ripped through the air. Immediately the Cruise Director, Tibor, came on the intercom and asked that we remain calm and check for any injured among us, bringing them upstairs to the lounge where a triage area was setup. (There were very few injuries, none major, and local land emergency crew came aboard to facilitate medical attention or transport to a hospital.) The staff had obviously run drills because they were on scene with First Aid Kits before the initial screams had died down. Amazing. Within 2 hours all broken glass, spilled liquids and toppled furniture had been cleaned and passengers were being served sandwiches and drinks in the lounge. Our itinerary was, obviously, changed for the next day but that, too, was handled last minute by Tibor.
So, I would travel again on any Avalon cruise!