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By Bobbie Green ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??
Boarding our Avalon Ship, the Affinity, in Basel, to cruise the upper Rhine and the Danube River to Vienna, we had high expectations. Avalon Waterways can boast of many awards.? Cruise Critic?s Best River Cruise Line in 2010, Travel Weekly Magellan named them Best Overall River Cruise Line in 2011.? Conde` Nast Traveler named Avalon as one of top five River Cruise Lines for 2012.???
We are traveling in a Category P cabin on the Royal Deck. ?The cabin is 172 square feet with Floor to Ceiling sliding glass doors making the room light and airy. The bath and shower are average in size. We have experienced smaller showers. The ship has 65 guest cabins spread over three decks.? There is an elevator for those who cannot manage the stairs.
The aft end of the Royal Deck is a small guest lounge and game room, with coffee, cookies and juice always on tap.? We found this most convenient. There was also a small workout room on board with a few treadmills and exercise bike.?
We found the dining room on the Affinity (an older ship) had a poor lay out. They served breakfast and lunch buffet style and the lay out created inconvenient traffic jams. I hope that the newer ships have a better dining room design.? ?We found the food good and the service poor.? There did not seem to be enough dining room help to serve everyone in a reasonable amount of time.? The only night we were served properly was the one night an Avalon ship inspector was on board.? The wines included with dinner were of good quality and regional. The wine seemed to flow well, but it was difficult to get a glass of water. Some nights we skipped dessert so we would not miss the entertainment.
On our galley tour, we learned the menu was set by the home office and not by the chef.? This explained the lack of attention for guest with special dietary needs.? I have food allergies. The friendly ma?tre d? came to my table every night, to tell me what I could NOT eat.? They could not accommodate special needs as most other ships can.
The entertainment brought on board for the guest enjoyment was excellent. We were amazed with the variety and quality. Unique entertainer?s that guest will not see elsewhere. Even the Staff?s show was quite unique, as well as hilarious. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??
Tours are included at each stop; they also offer optional tours for a fee.? This is especially beneficial for repeat guest. They also offered some evening events on shore.
The pleasant days we were on board cruising down the river enjoying the shoreline sights was marred only by the fact that this ship did not announce upcoming sights like castles, or famous places as most other ships do.? We missed that and apparently, most of the other guest did also.? Guests were given a paper with mile marker numbers on it and an explanation of what we should see there.? This did not seem to work for many guest, if we found the marker by the time we saw it and read about it we missed the sight.
?There is a Jacuzzi on the Sun deck, which many guests did enjoy. My most favorite time on the ship (besides the excellent entertainment) was sailing down the river past Frankfurt at night. The lights were fantastic.? Everyone was on the sundeck and it was a special evening, one that makes memories. The limited number of passengers on these River cruises enable guest to get to know one another easier. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??
Although we did not find that this Avalon Cruise met our expectation, because of its first-class reputation, I would try another newer ship.? I would not hesitate to recommend you try Avalon Waterways. I believe, after talking to other past Avalon guest, that these problems were atypical of Avalon Waterways, but particular to the Affinity itself.
Source: http://leisuretravelreports.info/go/2012/12/river-cruising-with-avalon-waterways/
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