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Except for the newest ships from Viking and Scenic, Avalon's award-winning ships are the youngest on Europe's waterways - the fleet is quite a bit younger than the industry average. That means you'll find larger staterooms, more innovative technologies and more features and services. As Avalon likes to say, "Seeing the Old World doesn't mean you have to cruise on an old ship." You can't wear shorts at dinner, but, other than that the dress code is casual.
All-inclusive cruising
Avalon Waterways launched in 2004 as part of the long-established Globus family of travel brands. The company's fleet is made up entirely of "Suite Ships" that feature rooms with a floor-to-ceiling window wall with sliding glass doors that that open to turn the accommodations themselves into a balcony in good weather. The Avalon View is among Avalon Waterways’ collection of Suite Ships, each of which features dozens of spacious suites with large panoramic windows. The Avalon View boasts two full decks of Avalon’s signature Panorama Suites with wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling sliding windows that make it easy to experience a little bit of the outdoors while you’re indoors. Freed from having to set aside space for dedicated outdoor balconies, the 200-square-foot Panorama Suites are 15 percent larger than many river ship cabins, allowing room in each for a queen bed, a small couch, table and chair.
Avalon Waterways introduces new “Short & Suite” river cruise itineraries
Because it sails so close to land, the ship is easily able to access on shore medical services. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Avalon's Douro cruisetour prices in 2024 started from GBP 2730 (EUR 3180/USD 3450) per person with double occupancy.
Royal Suite
Your fare includes beer and regional wines with your onboard dinners, free wi-fi, a choice of dining options and venues, enrichment activities and included shore excursions. Another thing that sets Avalon apart are some of its dining options. The line offers Flex Dining, which allows people to go for dinner at any time during set hours rather than all at once like many river cruise lines.
Avalon Waterways Adds More France in 2025 - TravelPulse
Avalon Waterways Adds More France in 2025.
Posted: Tue, 09 Apr 2024 18:00:00 GMT [source]
Avalon Waterways celebrates christening of Avalon Alegria on Douro River
Our floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall panoramic windows eliminate the need for a space-wasting balcony, giving you more room to stretch out with 30% more living space than the industry standard. When you retreat to your suite, you’ll never miss a moment of the ever-changing views. So dream on before you drift off in a bed with the dreamiest views in river cruising.
Active cruising
A few years back, Avalon teamed up with Austrian chefs Karl and Leo Wrenkh to offer a more comprehensive menu of vegetarian and vegan cuisine. Known as Avalon Fresh, the initiative focuses on local ingredients and regional dishes based around the fleet’s European itineraries. In addition to Avalon Fresh, the line makes gluten-free dishes available at meals, and the menus are marked with a handy ingredient list for people with food allergies. If some water level problems occur, or any technical problems, Avalon Waterways may operate the itinerary by motorcoach or to change the entire cruise tour program. Check the visa requirements with your travel agent - visas are the client's responsibility. Follow our social media and blog for the latest cruise and travel news, including our best vacation deals.
Avalon Waterways News: River Cruise Line Christens New Ship in Portugal - Cruise Critic
Avalon Waterways News: River Cruise Line Christens New Ship in Portugal.
Posted: Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Knowledgeable, English-speaking local guides led shore excursions (at least one daily excursion was included), and the excursions were enhanced with the use of wireless headsets. On that count, Avalon's Panorama Suites, with their view-facing beds and walls of glass, have delivered mightily since they first began debuting in 2011. As I am seeing on Avalon Alegria and have seen when sailing many other Avalon vessels, the Panorama Suites typically have small seating areas next to the walls of glass.
Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group and several others have already reported record successes during this period, and now other lines are chiming in with their own sales successes. Here's a 3-minute video from Avalon about its river cruise experiences. Shore excursions are at the heart of activities on any Avalon sailing.
As I've written about several times over the years at other publications, Avalon Waterways has my favorite river cruise cabins in Europe, in large part because the beds are configured to face the view in most of them. As an alternative to owning river cruise ships, Avalon leases them. The company partners with shipowner companies with operational ships in a particular destination and brand one or more boats as "Avalon Waterways". These boats are usually chartered for up to 5 years, with the option the company to refurbish them or give them back to the owner. This way Avalon easily maintains one of the youngest and most modern fleets on this market.
Avalon Alegria has scheduled two different itineraries - a classic 7-day roundtrip cruise from Oporto (visiting Regua, Pocinho, Aregos) and a 10-day cruisetour itinerary inclusive of three nights (hotel stay) in Lisbon. All affected Avalon river cruise and cruisetour bookings received a full (100%) monetary refund, including on prepurchased through Avalon Waterways packages and services. Born said that it was this very pace that prompted the river company to increase capacity for November sailings and add more “festive” cruises. As March came to a close, Carnival Corporation announced that reservation numbers, revenue and total customer deposits during the wave season reached an all-time high, even with significantly higher prices year-over-year. Carnival Corporation brands include AIDA Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises (Australia), P&O Cruises (U.K.), Princess Cruises and Seabourn. Layers, for cool nights at sea, and comfortable shoes, for use in many of the ship’s excursions, are recommended.
They do it by stealing space away from the interior parts of cabins. The narrowness of the locks on European rivers means that river ships must be built to be very narrow — too narrow to have cabins that are both spacious enough to be comfortable and have balconies at their ends. One of the big differences between the Panorama Suites on Avalon's Suite Ships and the cabins on the river ships of some competitors is that they don't have balconies. That allows the entire wall facing the outside to be turned into one big glass panel.
When it comes to excursions, Avalon offers a range of options from low-intensity tours to dedicated Adventure & Discovery sailings that are geared toward active travelers. These include things like guided canoe and hiking trips and biking along the shore. New Adventure Hosts provide passengers with all the potential options for activity onboard, and they can help organize special requests. Paid choices include a pub crawl in Linz and an absinthe tasting in Vienna for those with the stamina. Here are the shortcuts to all the Avalon Waterways river cruise line ships. The company operates a young fleet of mostly European riverboats aimed at North American, Australian and New Zealand passengers in their 50s or older.
While some other river cruise lines are jumping into family-oriented sailings, Avalon continues to gear its sailings toward adults. There are no facilities or programming for children onboard Avalon vessels. In 2017, Avalon launched new “Active Discovery” cruises that focus on new ways to explore ashore on many of the line’s European river cruises.
