Avalon Waterways

This was our first riverboat cruise and we loved it! The staff was awesome, and the entire experience was great. The food was delicious, service was excellent. The excursion options were nice. Will definitely do another during warm weather.

The services on the boat were top notch. There wasn't a bad place on the boat to spend time. The cabins were lovely, the various decks were well stocked and comfortable. It was a great way to view the Balkans.

We experienced our second Avalon River Cruise this year (first one was in 2018) sailing from Basel to Amsterdam. During those 4 years, Avalon has developed a kiosk in the lobby where information about the day's itinerary and dining options are easily accessed. "Checking out and in" from excursions also happens at the kiosk. My husband wears braces on his ankles due to end stage osteoarthritis, and although he can walk short distances, without a wheelchair, he would not have been able to participate in excursions. His battery operated wheelchair is designed for travel, folds and is easily transported. We worked with Avalon to allow his wheelchair to be brought on board with the understanding that it would be stored in our cabin when not on excursions. He was able to navigate cobblestone streets, hills, and was able to reach places where he could not have gone without use of a wheelchair. We chose to extend our vacation to Paris and London as part of the package we booked with Avalon. Even with needing to use the wheelchair with those transfers via high speed train and the Eurostar, our transfers were completed with absolutely no issues. Thanks to Avalon, we were able to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary trip and my husband was able to experience all that Avalon offered to us. Our best vacation to date!!

Overall an excellent experience. Our tour guide Hassan was extraordinary. Cairo hotels were top notch; and don't miss the Indian restaurant at Marriott Mena House! Enjoyed the Nile cruise aboard MS Farah. Didn't expect two super-early-AM departures during the tour, but as they say, it builds character!

We loved the entire adventure! The room, the food, the service, all excellent. We are planning another Avalon river cruise in 2023.

Everything was top notch. The food and wine were all very good. Our cruise director Tony was top notch! All the staff from the bar/dining rooms to housekeeping were top of the line. Thanks to all these folks our cruise rates a 5 out of 5.

Relaxing cruise with good mix of activities and leisure time. Friendly & helpful staff and great food. My mother really enjoyed having a choice of entree every night unlike the previous cruise we had taken in 2019.

We had an Amazing Cruise on the Danube in 2022. Our ship and staff were Fantastic, nothing was too much! The Crew onboard went above and beyond to provide us a Great cruise. We really enjoyed the included sightseeing, this make for a very good Holiday. This was my 2nd Avalon trip and we will for sure add to that number.

Greedy money snatching company which doe not give a toss about the client.
We had booked a fully inclusive cruise (3 meals per day with unlimited beers, wines and spirits with our meals) from Amsterdam to Basle in September. We had to cancel due to Shingles and did not expect a full refund. However we did expect a refund of the material costs of food and beverage which we did not consume.
They greedy money grubbers refused. So not only did they make their normal profit but made an extra profit at our misfortune.

We loved the intimacy of such a small group. Our pre trip in Prague was amazing. Our cruise director [Helmut] could not have been more accessible and helpful. The vast majority of the guides were great ! We met many lifetime friends on the ship and the cities, sites, and Danube were beautiful. We will definitely cruise with Avalon again soon.

A fantastic experience. Avalon is the best. Beautiful ship (Avalon Illumination), wonderful service and food, and the staterooms are just perfect.

Avalon lived up to their advertisement and fulfilled their promise. Every member of the crew made me feel special, very friendly, always helpful. The only negative was the water level was too low to meet the ship in Nuremberg, so Avalon bused us 3 hors down river. Avalon added a tour and refunded the cost of the next exertion to compensate but they knew in advance this was going to happen and choose not to tell us until one day prior to arriving. Although I had arrived a day early so I toured Nuremberg, many others missed touring Nuremberg all together. Avalon proved to be a better option than Viking because while touring on Avalon's exertions we saw Viking boats traveling in groups of boats which caused overwhelming the small towns, long lines, large walking tours groups, longer lines, nesting three boats across the piers, etc. I was pleased how quiet the cruise was, even while going through locks. Our Avalon host was informed, funny and gracious. I'm looking forward to traveling with Avalon again.

This was our first trip to Europe and what a way to break our suitcases in! I had been on a large ocean cruise before and vowed I would never do a cruise again. My husband talked me into trying an Avalon cruise and it was the most wonderful trip. We began in Frankfort, experienced the first of many wonderful meals and we got to go through a lock system the first evening. Many informative and beautiful tours followed that week. All the guides and bus drivers were efficient, kind, knowledgeable and strove to make our experience top notch. The boat crew was attentive, providing scrumptious food and great service. We cannot recommend Avalon cruises enough and are anxious to go again for more adventures.

It was our first European river cruise experience. Literally everything met or exceeded expectations. So much good stuff to share. The tour guides were off the chart good. They were knowledgeable, friendly, articulate, fun, and passionate about the topics. Every stop was great but seeing dozens of Van Gogh paintings up close was wonderful. The boat itelf was very pleasant. The tour director was funny friendly and helpful. The rooms were nice...but we weren't in them much. The food also was wonderful quality. Simply sitting on the deck was fun. The sites we saw were so good. And the days were very full...which we wanted. I was also impressed with how well all of the logistics were managed. Outside of the coffee/expresso machine breaking down the last 2 days everything was crazy smooth. Maybe the best comment i can make is that we are planning another next summer!

This was my first European river cruise. It was everything I could have wanted. The smaller passenger size, the city tours (which were included), and a crew you could actually get to know made the trip refreshing. I don’t know if I will ever go on an ocean cruise again.