Avalon Waterways Reviews

This was a great river cruise and I highly recommend Avalon and this excursion!

Best cruise ever. Great service from crew and no big crowds I’m ports.

The tours, service and food were great on the cruise. Venice host was wonderful. Rome was less crowded. Best tour of Sistene Chapel ever. Avoya travel agent was very helpful in ensuring paperwork, etc was submitted to prevent delays

Overall we had a great time. The ship was very nice, our room was amazing and staff was attentive. The food was generally good but not amazing. Several cabins had issues with no TV and were advised we'd receive an excursion credit. As we'd prepaid for our excursions we were told it would be refunded to our credit card which it has not. You could tell we were the 1st cruise post-pandemic shutdown. Things guests shouldn't see or hear weren't well hidden. There was inconsistency with temperature checks. Hand gel was readily available and staff wore masks although sometimes not covering their noses. Housekeeping was great. Our cruise director Nico seemed very scattered. Loved the itinerary with a few exceptions : way too much time in Rudesheim without excursion options, Black Forest tour referenced a cuckoo clock demo which actually swayed our decision. Unfortunately no one in charge knew anything about the demo. Lucerne was great, wish we'd had 1 more day there. The hotel was nice and well located. Lake Como was lovely, great boat ride, hotel was in a great spot. The excursión dinner at Brunate was better than expected.

We loved the staff, spacious room, our guides and our Tour guide. Tours were well done and interesting. Food was delish and all the staff was amazing.

Avalon Waterways is a great river cruise company. Excellent service, tours, and food.

Ready for the next one!

Just an incredible and magical trip. The food on the boat was seriously 5 Star, the service was over the top and we could not ask for anything more!

My husband and I took his parents on this cruise and it was the "trip of a lifetime" for them. We enjoyed every minute and will definitely plan more river cruises in the future.

I can not say enough positive things about this cruise. I've cruised many times but never by riverboat or with such a small group (120 cruisers). Staff were amazing, it was small enough to truly get to know people (staff and fellow travelers), even our captain would come out when we were docked and lend a hand as folks got on and off the boat. Food was high quality, excursions (included and a couple of additional ones we did) were great. AMAZING trip. If I had the option, I would never cruise another way.

More than we expected! Would recommend Avalon as we had an outstanding vacation! The staff was amazing!

Loved the ship. It was relaxed, friendly,professional. Had a wonderful time. Traveled with family including 2 granddaughters age 8 and 9. Crew was great with them. I would definitely recommend Avalon to friends.

Avalon Passion is a clean, well staffed, well run, excellent ship that exceeded my expectations. The stateroom was a good size and our housekeeper, Melinda, was the best I've ever experienced. The cruise director, Valentin, was also the best. He was friendly, funny and informative. And, the food! Words can't describe! Our guided excursions to the Christmas Markets were both interesting and fun. The best non market excursions were to the Abbey in Linz and the Symphony in Vienna. This was my last trip to Europe and I do believe it was the best. Thank you, Avalon!

Wonderful ship, crew, staff, food, and accommodations

The room was very nice, the food was excellent, my fellow travelers friendly and interesting. Highlights were the Strasbourg food tour, the Mechanical Music Museum, castles on the Rhine.

Ship staff were super Ship was super clean Activities director was not good..did not like the way he treated us!! Included excursions were not the best..the ones we booked were far better Food fell far short of expectations..pre prepaired food service largely..wines and cheeses were everyone..cheap I would not do or recommend this tour.

We had a marvelous time on our Avalon Budapest to Prague trip. Our boat managed low water just fine, so we didn’t have to change boats like some on other lines at the same time. The food and service was exceptional; even though we chose the lowest cost stateroom, we had ample space for us and our things. The tour director Sorin was a delight and all the staff were most helpful. Highly recommend this trip!

The Impression is a lovely boat with excellent food and service. The bed was very comfortable. The onboard keyboard player was also very good. The only aspect I found somewhat disconcerting was the excursions. The written titles in the booklet of the included and optional tours did not match the titles that the cruise Director used when she discussed the tours which was very confusing. It made it difficult to figure out what to sign up for and also to remember what I had signed up for. Definitely communication was an area in need of improvement.

Tapestry II was the mirror image of the Artistry II that we did Tulips & Windmills with in March/April this year. We did love the larger room we had on our 1st cruise, but how much time do you spend in the cabin besides sleeping! Our room was 'cozy' (read cramped) but totally functional. Our Cabin Attendant was wonderful. Gayle Walters was the Cruise Director & she was Fabulous! Full of energy, shepaid attention to the tiniest details and had a great sense of humor! She was hands down the VERY BEST we've ever seen at this demanding job! Everyone was totally impressed. Weather in France last week was not terrific. It was cool, wet and windy. Temps were between 9-13 C (49-55 all week) , which was a bit cool for folks from Florida! But we came prepared with fleece for laying,as well as rain gear & umbrellas so we did just fine. Guides for excursions were fantastic too! They all were knowledgeable & professional, giving good insights into French culture & history. Our Biggest excursion was a 10 hr day on the bus to Omaha Beach/DDay sights. We were all very moved, especially at the Cemetery---a trip we all counted as a highlight. The visit to Giverny gardens was delightful, as the Monet gardens were still a riot of colors, although it was late in the season. Other highlights included the walk on the Left Bank and the trip to Malmaison. The weather was cold, wet & rainy in late October/early November, but we were prepared with our LLBean raincoats & layers of fleece. The food on board was amazing! Totally gourmet preparation with great service. It was a good thing that there was lots of walking, so we could walk off the calories from all the butter, cream & pastries. After doing a Galley tour, we had enormous respect for the chef's ability to turn out such wonderful food in such a tiny space. Definitely would do another cruise with Avalon, as they are First Class all the way.

My brothers and I took our elderly dad on the Rhine cruise and we loved it. Great food and wine, friendly crew and beautiful scenery. We also marveled at seamanship exhibited by the skilled captain. The excursions were fun and manageable for a senior. The boat was very nice - clean, quiet and stable. Highly recommended!

This was our first Avalon cruise, as out prior river cruises were taken on Viking. We hit a few spots of low water but the Director, Valentin, and the rest of the crew did an outstanding job of redirecting us to alternate routes. I did not envy them, but applaud them for their professionalism.