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Experience a world beyond your expectations. Choose from our award-winning vacations on virtually every continent with local favorites and off-the-beaten-path experiences only Globus can share.

We know why you travel. You’d rather have an extra day exploring than a fancy chocolate on your pillow at night. Enjoy hand-selected inclusions and world-class experiences for value-minded travel lovers like you.

Raise your sights and set your sails for the rivers of Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa on an Avalon Waterways cruise. Elevate your cruise experience with fewer passengers, more choices, and endless possibilities.

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River cruising through France on Avalon Waterways: A new...

Welcome Aboard: Firsthand River Cruise Experiences

June 25, 2015 Comments Off on Tips & Tricks for Your River Cruise Cruising Tips , Homepage Slider -->

Tips & Tricks for Your River Cruise

River cruises are rising in popularity, and it’s no wonder why. Less passengers, more inclusions, and unpacking once are just a few reasons why people are realizing that river cruising is the best way to explore Europe.

At Avalon, we’re experts in river cruising. We compiled a list of tips and tricks from our travel experts to help you once you get on board your next Avalon river cruise ship.

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More space in your closet!

Get extra closet space by storing your empty luggage under your bed
You can have Avalon create you a name tag when you arrive – it’s a fun way to get to know our fellow cruisers
Include binoculars in your luggage. There is so much to see along the shores and it’s fun to be able to look at small castle and vineyard details from your stateroom
Never worry about not having a bottle of water handy – every time you leave the ship for the included sightseeing the crew has bottles of water to take and there will always be two bottles of water in the stateroom

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Cookies and fruit are available for snacks in the Club Lounge!

Sit back and enjoy the view!

Try out the Sky Deck…

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…and you can enjoy the Panorama Bistro.

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Chef cooking in the Panorama Bistro.

Port talks and the entertainment are very popular – if you want a front-row seat, we recommend getting to the Panorama Lounge early

If you’re maintaining your workout routine, don’t worry about bringing a towel or water to the Fitness Room , they supply both for you (and it was fun to run on the treadmill looking out the window at the river)

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You get to hear insight from a local on your included shore excursions.

On the last day of the cruise, Avalon can print out a full set of the dinner menus for the cruise – such a fun keepsake to remember all the amazing meals you’ve eaten
Is there was a particular dish that everyone loved? Ask your server at dinner and your chef will provide your travel group with the recipe
Make sure to check the Breakfast and Lunch menus – in addition to the buffet, they offer Daily Specials that are not on the buffet, but can be ordered

A hidden secret? The Observation Lounge.

Have you been on an Avalon river cruise before? What tips and tricks do you have to share? Make sure to join the conversation on our Facebook page.

» breakfast , dinner , Europe , european river cruise , experiences , food , Included , lunch , meals , River Cruise , Suite Ship , Testimonial , tips

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Packing for a River Cruise

Why river line Avalon has the best cabins in Europe

“BEST CABINS” IN RIVER CRUISING

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Avalon Waterways is a river cruise company with itineraries on some of the world’s most well-known rivers and the cities on their banks. Excursions and activities onboard and off the company’s 14 ships immerse passengers in the local culture and cuisine and include options like guided walking tours, canoe trips, and cooking classes.

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Food is a big focus at Avalon, and ships feature multiple dining venues where passengers can take advantage of the company’s FlexDining program. Another initiative, Avalon Fresh, incorporates local ingredients to create dishes that are both healthy and inventive.

TourScoop Takeaways

View of the Mekong River and an Avalon waterways ship with traditional fishing boat and fisherman in foreground

Destinations: 70+ itineraries/four continents
Tour Size Average: The average ship holds 150 guests, with some, like the Avalon Saigon in Southwest Asia, carrying just 36 passengers.
Tour Type: River cruise ship

How to Book

Cruises can be booked by phone with an Avalon Vacation Planner at 877-797-8791 or through a travel advisor . You can also chat with a Vacation Planner through the Avalon Waterways website.

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Credibility Check

Avalon Waterways has received a slew of awards and accolades , including being named a top river cruise line by Conde Nast Traveler, USA Today, and Travel + Leisure. It has a Cruise Critic user ranking of 4.7 out of 5 and rates 4.7 out 5 on TravelStride .

Tour Destinations

Avalon Waterways ship Envision with a bridge in the foreground

Avalon Waterways travels on 10 rivers through 22 countries on more than 70 different cruise itineraries. Passengers can travel throughout Europe on rivers including the Rhine, Danube, Rhone, and Seine, visiting counties such as Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland. There are also cruise itineraries to Cambodia and Vietnam in Southeast Asia; the Galapagos, Peru, and the Amazon in South America; and Egypt.

River cruise types include classic European river cruises, active itineraries, holiday season cruises, and cruises focused on interests including cuisine, wine, photography, gardens and nature, and history. Typical itineraries range from eight to 16 days, but there are also options for shorter four- to six-day trips and sailings of three weeks or longer.

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Tour Guides

English-speaking staff aboard Avalon ships include Adventure Hosts who can provide information on onboard fitness activities and connect passengers with excursions and gear (think bikes, walking sticks) for exploring the destinations they’re visiting. Expert local guides lead excursions. And street directions, restaurant recommendations, and other information are always on hand in the the AvalonGO mobile app.

What’s Included

View of the empty dining room aboard the Avalon Saigon river cruise ship

Almost everything is included on an Avalon Waterways cruise. That means the price includes:

Daily meals
Wine/beer/soft drinks with dinners and lunch and Champagne with breakfast
Complimentary Happy Hour
Accommodations in an exterior stateroom (more than 80% featuring open-air balconies)
Up to 28 included excursions on itineraries
Use of bikes and e-bikes
Exercise classes with Adventure Hosts
On-board entertainment and classes
Complimentary computer stations
Complimentary water stations

What’s Not Included

Optional excursions

Typical Travelers

The average Avalon traveler is in their 50s or 60s. But the variety of itineraries offered broadens that age range. The company’s Active & Discovery Cruises are popular for multigenerational travel and its Storyteller Cruises that feature celebrity hosts drawing in many first-time river cruisers.

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Avalon river cruises also appeal to solo travelers, and the company waives the single supplement on a select number of staterooms on every departure. There are no special arrangements or activities for children on the ships, and no children under the age of eight are allowed on the company’s cruises.

Communication

Avalon Vacation Planners are available by phone, email, and online chat from booking through travel. Passengers receive five pre-trip email communications after booking, which include a Travel Packet with a detailed itinerary, schedule, and flight information (if flights are booked through Avalon); destination information; tips and guidelines on pre-trip requirements and preparation for their destination; and the ability to add optional excursions to their trip 90 days or closer to the departure date. Avalon also provides access to its AvalonGO app 30 to 40 days prior to departure, which includes information on the destination and excursions, schedules, and interactive maps.

Loyalty Program

Avalon Waterways is part of the Globus Family of Brands , which offers a Welcome Back Credit for returning guests. Each time you travel with a Globus Family of Brands operator, you can earn up to a $250 per person Welcome Back Credit to use toward your next vacation. Guests have two years to book a vacation using their credit with Avalon Waterways, Globus, or Cosmos.

Sustainability Efforts

Avalon Waterways has undertaken numerous sustainability efforts , including supporting environmental organizations like Trees4Travel and The Ocean Cleanup. The company has eliminated single-use plastics onboard its ships, installed LED lighting fleet-wide, reduced paper waste by 80% onboard, and committed to using shore power while docked wherever available to reduce emissions. Avalon has longer-term goals to reach zero emissions and unveil the first, fully electric river cruise vessel.

Health and Safety Practices

Avalon has continued enhanced cleaning procedures that include daily disinfecting, air-filtration practices, the use of electrostatic and UV disinfecting technologies, and hand sanitizing stations when entering the ship and dining venues. For even more peace of mind, you can purchase Avalon’s Travel Protection Plan that includes a cancel-for-any-reason benefit and covers trip interruption expenses.

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Avalon Waterways is one of the Globus Family of Brands , which also include tour companies Globus and Cosmos.

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Why I still think Avalon Waterways has the best cabins in river cruising

Editor's Note

It's all about the view.

As I write this, I am propped up in bed on Avalon Waterways' new Avalon Alegria, marveling at the stunning landscape passing by just a few feet beyond my toes.

The 102-passenger river vessel is sailing up Portugal's famously lovely Douro Valley, and I'm being treated to an ever-moving scene of rolling hills, vineyards and centuries-old towns.

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It's a view I wouldn't have if I were lounging in bed on most other river ships in Europe — at least, if I had my back to the headboard.

Unlike on Avalon Alegria, the beds in cabins on most river ships in Europe face sideways to an interior wall. It's unusual for cabins on river ships in Europe to be configured so that the beds face the view.

It's a little thing that makes all the difference.

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.

It's not just the view-facing beds in Avalon cabins that win my adoration. It's the use of an almost complete wall of glass along the view-side of many Avalon rooms to frame the passing scenery.

Related: Why a Douro River cruise may be the ultimate friends group getaway

While not every cabin on Avalon vessels in Europe is configured this way, a large portion are. Avalon calls these view-facing cabins with walls of glass Panorama Suites, and they can make up roughly 80% of the cabins on many of the line's vessels.

It's been a key differentiator for Avalon since the cabins began rolling out in 2011. That was the year Avalon unveiled its first Suite Ship, as the line calls vessels with such cabins. The line now operates 16 such vessels in Europe and Asia.

Glass walls instead of balconies

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.

On most Avalon ships, these glass panels measure an astounding 11 feet wide.

What's more, the glass wall can slide open sideways to create a 7-foot-wide opening for fresh air. (Don't worry; you won't fall out when it's open. There is a secondary glass wall that rises up partway with a railing at its top to create a safety barrier.)

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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. When the glass wall is slid open, you have the feeling of being on a balcony even though it's not a balcony, as you can sit in the seating area at the edge of the now-open wall.

It's an "open-air" balcony, as Avalon calls it.

It's the highlight feature of a cabin type that is perfect in just about every way. At 200 square feet, Panorama Suites are larger than most standard cabins on European river ships. They're modern and stylish, too. They have comfy beds and elegant bathrooms with spacious showers.

Adding balconies to cabins on river ships isn't easy. 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.

Still, many river lines design their river ships with balconies attached to cabins despite such limitations, as they believe it's what customers want. They do it by stealing space away from the interior parts of cabins.

The result is often cabins that have balconies but feel tight on the inside.

In designing its Panorama Suites on river ships without balconies but with stellar views through walls of glass, Avalon has bucked the trend in river cruise cabin design — and in just the right way.

Cabins with balconies are all the rage in cruising, of course, and cruisers think that's what they want. But when you're river cruising, what really matters is the view. You want to see the scenery of the river bank as it rolls by, preferably from the comfort of your bed.

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.

TPG's Gene Sloan is reporting live this week from a preview sailing aboard Avalon Alegria, Avalon Waterways' first vessel on Portugal's Douro River. Visit his author's page at TPG for all his dispatches.

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