Avalon Waterways Anmeldelser 

We had the vacation of a lifetime! Stepheno and the crew were wonderful! The food was amazing and the service was top notch! They cleaned and straightened our room twice daily, (We loved that), everyone was very attentive and the maids were exceptionally helpful and all were very nice, greeting us with a smile everyday in the hallways. The ship was very clean and the rooms were stocked with all the amenities, (towels, wash clothes, shampoo, conditioner, etc), twice daily. The Christmas Market excursions and all of the tourist events were well organized and the tour guides were very personable. If we would ever be able to afford another river cruise, Avalon would be our only choice! On behalf of my wife and myself, we would like to extend our gratitude and sincere appreciation for treating us regular working class folks like Millionaires!

Everything about the cruise was excellent. All the staff from Avalon were friendly, warm and very helpful. There were plenty of options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was sad to leave because I had to go home and cook!
The excursions were very good and enjoyed every minute of the cruise. On the wine options, it would have been a great option to provide wine that had no sulfites. I would have paid a little extra for that option.
Also, the people on the cruise were friendly and made life time friends.

This is our third trip with Avalon. I can’t say enough good things about their service, cruise directors and staff. They definitely aim to make each trip special and memorable. We won’t travel with any other company any more. You won’t be disappointed.

The entire experience was great.

I must admit we took the Danube trip 2 years ago, and it was fantastic. The second trip was the Rhine cruise, and it was good but not as good as the Danube. The cruise director was so much better on the Danube cruise. The entertainment was fantastic on this cruise. The employees on both of these trips were great, very friendly, and helpful. Both trips were very relaxing and enjoyable

The service and care of the crew members was amazing. The panorama suite is a must!!

It was a wonderful experience! The entire journey was planned very meticulously. The excursions were very interesting. The crew was very friendly and helpful. The upkeep of the ship was also very good.

Our Avalon river cruise was from 11/29/25 to 12/3/25. This was our first European river cruise and we were very pleased. Avalon gave us a wonderful experience throughout. The cabins were lovely; the food excellent; excursions were interesting; access to Christmas markets was awesome; cruise atmosphere was casual and inviting; service on board was excellent. Avalon was excellent at keeping us informed before and during our cruise of any changes in itinerary. I highly recommend Avalon.

Great experience from beginning to end. Room, excursions, food, entertainment, staff … all of it 5stars! Avalon is top notch.

This was our first cruise of any kind, and it was wonderful.

Avalon Cruises are the standard by which all competitors should be measured. Everything is first class: reservation website, communications, boarding, accommodations and amenities, food service, itineraries, on-shore excursions and transportation. The crew provides exceptional service. Did I mention that the food is great?!

We went on a Rhine cruise and experienced dramatic scenery along the way, and enjoyed touring the various towns on daily excursions.

It all exceeded our expectations.

The first class staff and service were impeccable! They called my wife and I by our name, and were quick to make sure you didn’t need anything.

8 night Active and Discovery on the Rhone

What a great experience. I had never done a river cruise before - I think I'll do it again.

I loved the pace on the ship. I never felt rushed or pressed into anything. The included excursions were excellent (tours in various cities/towns - in Arles we had a conversation with a real bull fighter - thankfully no bulls were part of the experience) and the ones that had an additional charge were worth it (truffle farm with truffle hunting dogs!). The excursions ranged from quieter single location experiences to walking tours,, to more physical experiences like cycling and kayaking.

The cabin (lower deck) while cozy was comfortable. When an issue arose because of allergies to the linen laundry detergent, the staff were incredibly responsive and found a solution right away.

The food was very good. Most of the time top notch, though sometimes a bit less so. There was a coffee machine on 2 decks that was available 24/7 with very good lattes, espressos, hot chocolate, etc. I even figured out how to make myself an iced latte.

The staff was impeccable. All were pleasant, cheerful and helpful. They genuinely appeared to be enjoying themselves despite working exceptionally hard. With one exception (there has to be one I guess) they were personable and treated every guest with kindness and respect.

I liked that this cruise line had a more relaxed, casual feeling that some I'd seen/heard of. While people dressed for dinner, it was a cleaned up casual feel. There was an excellent range of ages from probably mid 40s to into their 90s. There were opportunities during meal times and on excursions to get to know your fellow travellers. The people we got to know were delightful and we're still in touch with some till now.

If I could have 2 wishes for the next cruise, they would be this:

1. that the furniture throughout the ship be more comfortable. The dining seating was comfortable, as were the beds. The chairs for lounging tended to be hard and they were often low to the ground in the Nordic style. None of the seating was soft, even the loungers on the top deck did not have any pillows that I could see.

2. I was looking forward to sitting around reading and seeing the countryside roll by as we sailed along. There was only a couple of times where this happened. I had also hoped that there might be more sightings of old buildings along the shore, but there was very little of that.

Recently completed our 2nd Christmas Market Cruise with Avalon and this second cruise was just as good as our first cruise.
Avalon goes out of their way to make you feel special and take care of every need.
The food was absolutely delicious and I love that they have options outside of the daily menu. I had a taste for a cheeseburger one day for lunch, and it was absolutely delicious. Our waiter Gino took such good care of us and was so attentive, but not only to us but each table he was covering.
At each stop we had wonderful excursions with wonderful guides that provided us education on their city and history. You can tell how much they love their cities.
Due to water levels they had to make some modifications but just like last time Avalon made sure it didn't impact our river cruise. Avalon shares very clearly that they might need to make modifications for water level issues, so this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. How it's handled is what matters, and Avalon has mastered how they handle these issues.
We had a slight issue coming from Nurenburg but Avalon found a resolution and we got to visit a little quintessential German town that was almost my favorite.
Like last time they offered activities in the evening that you can participate in or not, your choice.
Loved Happy Hour every night that provided us the opportunity to catch up with other guest and have a drink before dinner.
What really made the cruise so much more special last time was our cruise director and we were concerned this time Well, Avalon did it again and our cruise director Attila was fantastic. I don't know how they make sure they take care of all of their guests and make them feel special, but they do.
Avalon kudos for giving us a wonderful memorable vacation and having a crew that cares so much about their guests. We are already planning our next river cruise and it will only be on Avalon.

This rating is based on the booking process, as I haven’t been on the actual cruise yet. I have a cruise already booked and wanted to add on their 2 night pre cruise. I’ve never had trouble doing this with any cruise line, until Avalon. Instead of adding on to my existing booking, they are starting from scratch, and since the cruise price has gone up since my booking, I am being charged hundreds more (not including the precruise add on price). It’s like they’re punishing me by charging more money for my base cruise price, just because I want to participate in THEIR pre cruise trip. Advice: make sure you don’t want to make any changes or upgrades to a booked Avalon cruise. I even tried to speak to a supervisor directly, but they wouldn’t get on the line, only talked through 3rd party. I’m very disillusioned with Avalon, as they are showing me that passengers don’t count as much as money to them.

Please read Avalon's Policy regarding Cancellation due to Doctor's Medical Certificate. Check the value of Refund for individual cancelling. If have to go Solo, there is a large extra fee to be paid. In addition, you cannot have a substitute for the individual cancelling. We experienced this for our Bucharest to Budapest Cruise in July, 2025. My Husband could not join me and had Medical Documentation to prove that he was not capable to travel. Only a certain % refunded and a charge more than the refund for me to go Solo.

Currently finishing our Egypt river cruise. Amazing sites seen however the MS Farah is NOT an Avalon boat and not up to the level of their river cruise boats. An added excursion on our last night, a dinner
cruise on the Nile. $100/person... NOT worth it. The river boat was old, dirty and nasty. Food was terrible, we only were able to pay for 1 drink, they never asked if we wanted more. There was no
outside space to enjoy the view & beautiful weather other than a smoking area. They started to place new urensils while we were still sitting with our drink glasses, for the next cruise at 9pm... and never cleaned the area we just ate at.. which leads me to believe we were sat at an unsanitary table when we were seated for our dinner time. This was the end our cruise with a horrible
experience really left all 11 of us who went with a very bad last impression of Avalon. Don't pay for the dinner cruise at the end if you're going! It's disgusting & can think that Avalon is OK with this level of service for their guests.
And know that you'll get lectured for hours at each site vs being able to explore on your own by the tour guide. Bring plenty of money to tip and if you need a 3rd bottle of water after being in the 104
degree Sahara desert you'll need to pay for it.
Just know that your ship is not on an acutual Avalon owned boat!

I took the Danube River, Budapest to Nuremberg cruise. It was one of the most enjoyable holidays I have had for a long time. There was no stress at all, everything we needed was taken care of, from the moment we boarded the plane Avalon booked to the time we arrived at the departure airport, and in between, it was pure enjoyment. We went to many places, always well organised excursions and attentive crews. I have now booked another cruise with Avalon for next year! Happy days ahead.

The trip up the Mosel and Rhine was peaceful. The food was great, servers were very nice and attentive. Boat was clean. Enjoyed the room.
Mostly visited little towns. Saw castles, churches and wineries. Beautiful country. Unfortunately we typically had to leave ports at noon to keep to the schedule. That meant we spent lots of time on the boat and didn’t get to go into town at night for dinner or entertainment. If you don’t mind eating on the boat every night then you will be alright with this cruise.
One major concern. Had a health emergency while on the boat. Alerted the front desk staff. This was urgent.
No assistance was offered by the staff. No help of any kind.
Had to wait 24 hours for medical care.
Had to walk to a clinic with no aid from the staff. Ended up in an ambulance and taken to the hospital.
The health care I received was good and the doctors and nurses were very kind. Once I put myself in their care, I was taken care of.
Avalon did nothing to help me.

We cruised with Avalon from (Basel) had to leave from Huningue, France and finished (Amsterdam) had to finish in Rotterdam so cruise wasn't quite what was advertised. Firstly can't fault staff. They were great and nothing was too much trouble. Food and drinks were amazing. It was plentiful and varied across the week. Our cabin was kept immaculate and we were on the 2nd level in the middle so had no engine noise. Excursions were okay. With such large groups you didn't really get to see too much due to different fitness levels of the group so we tended to leave the group to enable us to see a bit more. Did some of the active bike tours and they were great.
This was our first cruise and we were excited as per Avalon advertisement to wake up in our window facing bed to a beautiful view. BIG disappointment. Out of the 7 mornings of our cruise we only had 1 one morning waking up to a view. 5 mornings we had another boat next to us which meant your room was like a dark cave (so close you can touch the other boat) and you couldn't leave your curtains open due to privacy issues. The other morning we were against a solid concrete wall. We were told to expect maybe a couple of times this may happen and could have accepted that but not 6 out of the 7 mornings. Not sure if all river boats do this but certainly didn't see other companies eg Viking doing it. Sadly this left a bad impression of our Avalon river cruise and we would be reluctant to use them again.

River cruising is the most relaxing way to travel and Avalon does it so well. The excursions, the staff, the food and dining are all wonderful.