Up next in 10
After a five-year break, I returned to river cruising in Europe to see how the experience compared to my past trips. I chose the European River Cruise line with the highest ratings by recent passengers and boarded with high expectations. This video shares my thoughts on what they did both well and less well, and if I felt they deserve the ratings they are getting
Links mentioned in the video:
Avalon Food and Bar menus + Daily Programs: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/Avalon
For bonus & exclusive content (including videos, articles, eBooks and more) become a channel member or patron:
---------------------------------------------------
* Patreon Patron: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers
* YouTube Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join
Check out my cruise-themed T-shirts and products:
---------------------------------------------------
* TeePublic Store: https://tipsfortravellers.dashery.com
* Teespring Store: https://tips-for-travellers-youtube.creator-spring.com
* Fourthwall: https://gary-bembridge-1-shop.fourthwall.com
Book Cruise Port Excursions
* Venture Ashore: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/excursions
* Shore Excursions Group: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/shoreexcursions
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
I decided to do a European river cruise
0:02
after a 5-year break. The question was,
0:04
which line should I use? I looked at the
0:06
latest reviews on Cruise Critic and was
0:08
intrigued to see that a line I'd been on
0:10
before and thought was okay, but not
0:12
exceptional, was currently the highest
0:14
rated line by passengers with an
0:16
impressive 4.7 out of five. So, I booked
0:20
on one of their Ryan River cruises and
0:22
of course boarded with high
0:23
expectations. And this is what I
0:25
discovered, good and bad. Welcome
0:28
aboard. I'm Gary Benbridge and as
0:30
always, I booked and paid for this
0:31
cruise at the going rate through my
0:33
travel agent to make sure that I give a
0:36
fair and balanced review. The line
0:38
currently rated highest by past
0:40
passengers is Avalon Waterways. But who
0:42
and what are they? Avalon is a
0:45
20-year-old river cruise company owned
0:47
by the Globus family of travel brands
0:49
who the largest tour operator in the
0:51
world. They sail 15 ships on a wide
0:54
range of European rivers including the
0:56
Danube, the Ryan, the Moscel, the Ron,
0:58
the Zane, and the Duro. Most of their
1:01
ships carry 166 passengers like the
1:03
Avalon Envision that I was on. They also
1:06
cruise on rivers in Asia, South America,
1:08
and Africa. Avalon are a four-star
1:11
premium river cruising line falling
1:13
between five-star luxury lines like
1:15
Riverside, Scenic and Uni World, but
1:17
definitely higher than more threestar
1:19
budget lines like Crossy Europe and Tui.
1:22
Their closest competition, I feel, are
1:23
lines like Emeralds, Viking, and Amma
1:26
waterways. Avalon focuses on
1:28
English-speaking travelers with the vast
1:30
majority on board being from the United
1:32
States. They're best known for one
1:34
feature which they talk about more than
1:37
anything else which actually I agree is
1:39
a good thing. So let me start with this
1:41
and other things that I liked before I
1:43
get on to those that work less well.
1:45
Avalon argue the best thing about their
1:47
ships are the cabins and I agree. Most
1:49
cabins are panorama suites. These they
1:52
claim are 30% larger than the industry
1:55
standard and have two standout features.
1:58
First, there is no balcony, but there
2:00
are floor to-seeiling wallto-wall
2:02
windows that open very wide, which means
2:05
great ability to see the scenery and
2:07
have fresh air coming in. I absolutely
2:09
love these. Also, the bed faces those
2:12
windows and therefore the view certainly
2:14
when lying in or on the bed and going
2:16
through scenic areas is fantastic. I
2:18
found the bathroom was a good size with
2:20
nice touches like aloxxatan toiletries
2:22
and then they have to tiles in two
2:23
colors, white and beige, so there's no
2:25
arguing over whose towel is which. I
2:28
like the really good soundproofing and
2:30
certainly unlike several other river
2:32
cruise ships I've been on. I couldn't
2:34
hear people on either side at all. There
2:36
are only two minor negatives I had with
2:39
the cabin and these are pretty minor.
2:41
First of all, and probably linked more
2:43
to the fact that it's a sort of a
2:44
premium rather than a sort of luxury
2:47
line. I found the bedding and the
2:48
pillows not great. Fairly flimsy duvet
2:51
and the pillows sort of had a very
2:52
synthetic feeling filling. And if you're
2:55
a North American traveler, it only had
2:57
European sockets like most European
2:59
river cruise boats, but it did have USB
3:02
ports by the bed. They have two other
3:04
cabin types. a royal suite which is much
3:06
bigger with separate seating and bedding
3:09
areas and definitely a larger bathroom.
3:11
And then on the lowest deck and 3/4
3:13
underwater, they have deluxe cabins with
3:16
windows just above that water line. The
3:19
second positive that I do want to talk
3:21
about though is the ship overall. While
3:24
it's not particularly unique or
3:26
different to other river cruise ships
3:27
because they all have to be the same
3:29
width, height, and length to fit in the
3:31
locks and go under the bridges, I did
3:32
find the ship pretty good. Although,
3:35
like all river ships, facilities are of
3:38
course pretty limited. There was a main
3:39
lounge, the panorama lounge with the
3:42
bar, 24-hour coffee machine, and great
3:44
views out on three sides and a little
3:46
seating area in the very front outside.
3:49
It's used for daily briefings, any
3:51
entertainment, and importantly, as you
3:52
will hear later, some dining. There's
3:55
another small lounge that I've really,
3:57
really liked at the rear of the ship
3:59
called the Club Lounge. It has fantastic
4:02
views on three sides, a 24-hour coffee
4:04
machine, a huge range of teas, then
4:06
snacks 24 hours a day, including
4:08
cookies, treat of the day like apple
4:10
turnover or muffins, bags of fruit and
4:12
nut mix. They also have sets of games
4:15
here. There's a large dining room, which
4:17
I'll talk about in more detail when I
4:19
talk about the food. Lots to talk about
4:21
there. There's a lobby with a 24-hour
4:23
guest services and the cruise director's
4:25
desk. Now, unlike many river ships, it
4:27
doesn't have a shop, though. They had a
4:30
pop-up Avalon merchandise store one day
4:33
on the sailing. There's a very small
4:35
fitness center with a bike, rowing
4:36
machine, and some weights, which is
4:39
unusual across many river cruise ships.
4:41
They have an elevator between the floors
4:43
for passengers who have more limited
4:46
mobility. On the top of the ship is the
4:48
sky deck running the full length of the
4:49
ship. It has lots of seating areas, many
4:52
undercover, which is fantastic when
4:54
doing scenic sailing days like when we
4:55
went through the Ryan Gorge for example.
4:58
It has a games area with kind of
5:00
oversized chess back gamon, a little
5:02
putting green, a very small hot tub, and
5:05
a running walking track. Unfortunately,
5:07
unlike some river ships that I've been
5:09
on, it doesn't have like a plunge pool
5:11
or something a bit more on the top deck.
5:13
I found the decor of the ship rather
5:14
neutral. It's not that memorable or
5:16
distinctive, but it's practical and it
5:18
worked perfectly fine. So, next I want
5:20
to talk about the strengths and
5:22
weaknesses of the actual onboard
5:24
experience, the off ship excursions, and
5:26
importantly dining. But let me start
5:28
with that since that's so important to
5:29
many people. There are some aspects of
5:31
dining that have changed since I was
5:32
last in Avalon which I really liked. The
5:35
dining room that I mentioned offers a
5:37
buffet breakfast, a buffet lunch, and
5:39
then a fourc course served dinner. One
5:42
day, instead of lunch in the dining
5:44
room, though, the chef ran a grill up on
5:46
the sky deck with burgers, German
5:48
sausages. It's actually a great venue,
5:49
and it's a pity it was not used more
5:51
often, certainly on my sailing. For
5:53
dinner, unlike many river cruise lines
5:55
I've been on, it was open seated dining,
5:57
so people didn't all have to be seated
5:59
at a fixed time. So, it offered a little
6:01
bit more flexibility about the time you
6:03
ate, which I really liked. But I also
6:05
liked the layout of the dining room
6:07
because instead of large tables for six
6:09
or more like many other lines I've been
6:11
on, there are also two long banks of
6:13
tables with options to dine alone or as
6:16
a couple. Admittedly, they're very close
6:18
to each other, so you do of course end
6:20
up sitting next to people and chatting,
6:22
but I liked that you didn't have to
6:23
necessarily sit at a big table. The
6:25
dinner menus were pretty solid. It was a
6:28
good decent choice, usually with at
6:29
least one healthy option called Avalon
6:31
Fresh, a local specialtity dish and a
6:34
vegetarian one. Overall, I found the
6:36
food good. It definitely matches the
6:38
other premium line competition. Maybe
6:40
not as good as the luxury ones, but
6:41
certainly matches the premium. But what
6:43
I really liked is Avalon have embraced
6:45
more casual dining. On most river
6:48
cruises, I found very limited options
6:50
for casual dining. Avalon offered a room
6:54
service breakfast. Admittedly, it was a
6:56
pretty small menu, but of course, you
6:58
could have it. They also had a small
7:00
casual lunch option in the Panorama
7:03
Lounge and a casual buffet dinner with
7:06
selected dishes from the dining room
7:08
menu also in the Panorama Lounge. I
7:11
really like this because it meant that I
7:13
didn't have to go and have what usually
7:15
was up to a 2hour served dinner. And so,
7:18
if you're docked in town, I could pop
7:20
off and do a bit of more exploring. I
7:22
could relax up on the deck or in my
7:24
room. I didn't have to go to those long
7:25
dinners. Another positive was there was
7:28
a meeting with the executive chef held
7:30
on an imbarcation day to discuss dietary
7:33
issues or needs. So that was well
7:34
catered for. When it comes to dining,
7:36
there were two areas I think that
7:38
possibly could be improved. They have
7:40
afternoon tea every day at 4:00. It was
7:43
a bit of a miss as the sandwiches I
7:45
think probably were prepared a bit too
7:46
early. So, they were a little bit dried,
7:49
a little bit curled up, but every day
7:50
had different cakes and treats, which I
7:52
think were pretty well done. But more
7:54
significantly, I felt they didn't really
7:56
embrace and immerse us guests into the
7:58
regional food and drinks as much as I've
8:01
had on other lines. An observation that
8:03
I'm going to come back to in another
8:04
area, too. By the way, they did have, as
8:07
I mentioned, some regional and local
8:09
dishes here and there on the menu, but
8:11
I've had much more immersive, fully
8:14
regional themed dinners and dining on
8:16
other lines. And I think that was a
8:17
little bit of a miss here. Now, on that
8:19
theme, while the included wines at meals
8:22
were all European, they were not all
8:24
from the area with a red, a white, and a
8:26
rosé wine on each menu from Spain,
8:28
Italy, France, and even Romania
8:30
included. Though, I suspect this was
8:32
probably done to offer variety and
8:34
quality to wine drinkers. Certainly,
8:35
wine drinkers I spoke to enjoyed the
8:37
options and the quality. So, maybe it's
8:39
me being overly critical. Wines, beers,
8:41
and soft drinks, by the way, were
8:42
included with lunch and dinner. And
8:44
there were more included drinks at the
8:46
daily happy hour, where I and other
8:48
guests could order from a very specific
8:50
happy hour drinks menu, which included
8:52
some wine, some beer, some cocktails,
8:54
some nonalcoholic cocktails, some
8:56
alcoholic drinks, and so on. The rest of
8:58
the time, drinks were an added charge.
9:01
Now, as many of you like to explore the
9:02
food and drinks much more, I put all the
9:04
menus for all the meals and the full bar
9:07
menu in a folder which you can view at
9:09
tips for travelers.com/avalon.
9:12
Next is probably one of the big
9:15
strengths of Avalon and why I think many
9:17
past passengers have rated them all so
9:19
highly. This is the relaxed atmosphere
9:22
with more flexibility, more active
9:24
options than many river cruisers I've
9:26
been on, underpinned by good, efficient
9:29
service. I found Avalon to be less
9:31
formal than many lines. I think that's
9:33
because they're trying to attract
9:34
travelers who are more youthful and want
9:36
to be more active. They want to be more
9:38
casual than the traditional river
9:40
cruiser. For example, there's no dress
9:43
code. And if you want to wear shorts and
9:45
a t-shirt to dinner, then you absolutely
9:47
can with no issues. No announcements
9:50
were made through the PA system, so
9:52
avoiding that feeling I've had on other
9:53
lines of being sort of on a tightly
9:55
controlled, very ordered, escorted tour.
9:58
It felt much more casual. The open
10:00
seated dining and more flexible dining
10:02
that I mentioned, of course, added even
10:03
more to the casual, less structured
10:05
feeling I've had on other river cruise
10:07
lines. The high level of inclusions
10:09
probably also added to the casual
10:11
feeling because there was hardly ever a
10:13
need to sign for or charge anything to
10:15
my cabin. As well as the drinks and
10:17
24-hour coffee stations I mentioned
10:19
earlier being included, other inclusions
10:21
were Starlink Wi-Fi where you could
10:23
connect as many devices as you wanted, a
10:26
choice of at least two excursions at
10:28
every stop. There was daily fitness
10:30
classes run by a dedicated fitness
10:32
adventure host, and then there was the
10:34
ability to use onboard ebikes and
10:36
regular bikes to self-explore in any of
10:38
the ports. There was no hard cell, no
10:40
nickel and diamonding on board at all.
10:43
The only added charge items were drinks
10:46
outside the included times, the mini bar
10:48
items in your room, some additional
10:50
added charge premium excursions,
10:52
gratuitities were extra, and so were
10:54
transfers. Another nod to the more
10:57
youthful and modern approach, instead of
10:59
a printed daily program, it was only
11:01
available on the Avalon Go smartphone
11:04
app and the in room TV. The app also had
11:06
all the menus, excursion details, local
11:09
maps, and all the kind of information
11:11
you needed. Another positive and one I
11:13
saw referred to often in the online
11:15
reviews is the crew and the service.
11:18
It's a healthy crew to passenger ratio
11:21
with 47 crew looking after the up to 166
11:25
passengers. Most of the crew were from
11:27
Eastern Europe, although I did see there
11:29
were many more Asian cabin attendants,
11:31
which is a change from other river
11:33
cruises I've been on. But linked to the
11:35
relaxed approach, the crew and service
11:36
is definitely less formal with a kind of
11:39
a chatty, friendly format. However, it
11:41
was still attentive and efficient, but
11:43
it's definitely kind of a more relaxed
11:44
approach. Let me talk about the things
11:47
now that I think were okay or less good.
11:49
Starting with one I thought would be a
11:51
standout due to Avalon being part of the
11:53
Globus group, and that is excursions.
11:56
Personally, I didn't find the Avalon
11:58
excursions standing out versus other
12:00
river cruise lines that I've been on.
12:03
And I thought they would leverage much
12:04
more of the Globist connection because
12:07
of course Globists do tours, you know,
12:09
all through Europe, all through these
12:10
places. But talking to some of the
12:12
guides, they did seem to really
12:13
basically focus on river cruise lines.
12:15
They work across several different
12:17
cruise lines. I didn't speak to all the
12:19
guides, but those that I did told me
12:20
that there was a choice of excursions in
12:22
all the stops, which of course was
12:24
really good to have some choice. Avalon
12:26
did make much of having three categories
12:29
of excursions, active, discovery, and
12:31
classic. But I didn't see a massive
12:33
difference between them in reality. The
12:35
classic tours of course were the same
12:37
I've had on other river cruise lines
12:39
which are walking tours of nearby
12:40
historic towns. You get some history,
12:43
you look at historically significant
12:44
buildings or regions, you visit the town
12:46
square and you go to the cathedral. So
12:48
pretty standard stuff. The discovery
12:50
tours promised to go to more of the
12:53
beaten areas or explore a specific
12:56
topic. So in Cologne it explored Jewish
12:58
heritage. in another explored the black
13:01
forest and the cuckoo clock making. Now
13:03
the active tours were run by the
13:05
adventure host and included for example
13:07
a hike to the near vault monument high
13:09
above rutshine cycling tours of Cologne
13:12
and Strasburg and so on although they
13:15
stressed that the host was not a guide
13:17
and so while they would lead the hiker
13:18
cycle you wouldn't get an explanation of
13:21
the sites and places in detail. So I
13:23
think that was disappointing. The tours
13:25
generally were like those I've been on
13:28
other river cruise lines. So, I was a
13:29
little bit disappointed. There was
13:30
nothing really unique and different.
13:31
However, of course, the challenge is
13:33
where these ships stop. They're very
13:35
limited on what is there. And all the
13:37
lines, I think, kind of have to do the
13:39
same things cuz that's basically what's
13:40
in these little towns. Probably though,
13:42
the main thing I was kind of
13:43
disappointed in was the lack of
13:45
enrichment, immersion, and entertainment
13:47
from the areas that we passed through.
13:49
So, the daily briefing was probably
13:51
weaker versus other lines I've been on
13:53
because it just covered the daily
13:55
program for the next day. On other
13:56
lines, we were given talks about the
13:59
river, the area, the history, the
14:01
culture to give kind of more depth to
14:04
what we were doing. By the end of those
14:07
river cruises, I felt that I understood
14:08
the river, the places we were going
14:10
through. That didn't really happen on
14:11
Avalon. There was no kind of overarching
14:14
story or understanding about the region
14:16
or the ride itself done on board. Now,
14:18
while most river cruisers don't have
14:21
much evening entertainment, this was
14:23
particularly low-key, I felt on my
14:25
cruise anyway. In the evenings there
14:26
were a couple of game nights. A local
14:28
band played in Cologne when we were
14:30
there, but it was a dance band rather
14:32
than anything kind of cultural. A string
14:34
trio played in Rudeshine. But again,
14:36
there was no real deep link to the
14:39
culture or heritage of the region. Other
14:42
lines that I've been on brought on say
14:44
traditional dancers, traditional
14:45
musicians, experts to talk and so on.
14:47
And we didn't have that. Bearing these
14:49
pros and cons in mind, did I feel that
14:52
high 4.7 rating is valid? Well, first
14:54
off, bear in mind this is a costly trip
14:57
as all river cruises are. It's the level
14:59
of going on a luxury ocean cruise line
15:02
per night. So, a typical Avalon 7 night
15:04
cruise like the Ryan cruise I did costs
15:06
per cabin for two people the following
15:08
about $1,000 a night for a deluxe cabin
15:10
under the waterline, about $1,600 a
15:13
night for Panorama suites, and about
15:15
$2,100 a night for the Royal Suite. So,
15:17
very costly. I actually booked on a no
15:20
solar supplement promotion and so I paid
15:22
$800 a night for my panorama suite. So
15:25
if you are river cruising, you must
15:26
judge value for money knowing it is more
15:28
costly than most ocean cruise lines and
15:30
compare it to other river cruise lines
15:32
not ocean. With that in mind, I can see
15:34
why Avalon got such good ratings as the
15:37
combination of service, competitive
15:39
food, acceptable excursions, pleasant
15:42
ships, comfortable cabins delivered with
15:44
a more relaxed and flexible experience
15:46
does set it aside from many river cruise
15:49
line options. It's also why I saw
15:51
younger or certainly more youthful
15:53
guests, including several families with
15:55
teen and college university age kids on
15:58
board. Does it have elevated food? Does
16:01
it have great entertainment and good
16:03
enrichment? Is it very luxurious? No,
16:05
it's not. But it's a great premium line
16:07
that definitely works for a more
16:09
laid-back, more independent-minded
16:11
traveler who does want to try river
16:13
cruising. But to find out what the 12
16:16
river cruises I've done to date have
16:18
taught me that anyone going on river
16:20
cruising needs to know, join me over in
16:22
this video where I start with the
16:24
biggest mistake almost everyone makes.
16:27
See you over there.
#Tourist Destinations