Expression River Cruises Reviews

Avalon River Cruises are GREAT!!! It is even more wonderful than Ocean Cruising. We will do this again.

OUr cruise was exactly as described and actually exceeded our expectations. Everything was so well done. Ship was great. Staff wonderful. Food excellennt. Couldn't have asked for moore.

Very pleasant and helpful and resulted in significant savings versus booking directly.

AVALON did NOT disappoint again--- this was our third Riverboat trip with Avalon. Ship was beautiful -- staff was excellent --- food was absolutely amazing. Entertainment was great -- guides for the off boat tours were very knowledgeable and personal.

I was a bit skeptical when I booked but that went away the first day. Everyone was very helpful and everything was fabulous, hope we can do another trip soon.

Our Avalon Waterways river cruise was phenomenal! So much fun! The cruise director was wonderful! The staff and the wait service are going to be missed! The excursions kept us up and moving everyday, which was expected. The local guides were all great! It was a dream vacation for sure! A guided tour of Europe was our best decision. Very happy indeed!

The cabin and service were good.

Our vacation with Avalon Waterways was fantastic. The Tour Guide, Tony was the best person we have ever met for this type of tour. We are excited to look at other river cruises and will book with them again

All was good EXCEPT the optional tours were not worth it. The places were beautiful by the guides were not helpful.

We paid for first class accommodations and, for the most part, received them. But the hotel in Prague for the last three nights was a real problem in that regard. It was far from the downtown area, low quality, and poor attitude of the staff. The sunglasses I left on al bus were turned in to the front desk and the folks there lost them for two days. We had to take subway or tram to see any of the sites, unlike Budapest where we were in the midst of the action and could walk out of our hotel and be in the center of things. I feel as though, at the end of our trip, we got stiffed by Avalon because we were placed there.

Aga is the best. She responded to you promptly and goes out of her way to answer your questions. I had a complication situation in which the Avalon itinerary did not match and thus had arranged for buisiness in one city when indeed the ship was in another city. She call operations for the company found out the exact time things would occur and made a great recommendation for when i could have my business meeting. I encourage management to recognize her efforts!

Very nice and very scenic trip. The service staff was excellent. Everything about the trip met my expectations, except the fitness center was grossly inadequate. It was open limited hours and only two of three machines were working.

Avalon vs. Viking: I would probably go back to Viking, but each has it's favorable points and room for improvement. The Avalon ship was spotless and the staff was quite good. The food was fine. The Cruise Director was the best I have experienced anywhere. The cabin was spacious, but I missed having the lanai. The guides were great and timing was spot-on. The onboard entertainer was mediocre at best, though, and that really was a downer. On our Viking cruise two years ago, the onboard entertainer was awesome and a good part of our social time was spent enjoying him in the lounge. This guy on Avalon could not sing and his music was intended for the 80 year old+ audience. No one danced or sang along. Disappointing. One of the special music guests was incredibly good, and the other was incredibly bad.

The Hilton Hotel in Prague is currently not able to handle so many passengers from Avalon and Viking at one time, probably mainly because of the renovations they are doing on the third floor (perhaps in future on other floors as well). Several problems arose including room not ready at 3 pm, door handle of room falling off, very loud noise in our room from 3rd floor construction, etc. We suggest another hotel should be used until renovations are complete. Our cabin on the Avalon Expression was good.

River water issues, our of their control. They made a lot of changes to the itinerary.

The cruise ship, Avalon Expression, was as advertised: a great way to spend a week on the Danube River. One suggestion I have is that better arrangements need to be made for accommodations upon arrival in Budapest (if you start from there). After spending 25 hours on planes, at airports, and being shuttled, all a person wants is a room, a shower, and bed. None of these were available for over 3 hours once we arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel. That being said, the hotel is in a great location for the first time traveler to the area; close to shops, restaurants, right on the Danube, and a great place to stay! We made this trip in early October when the weather was a bit cool, wet and dreary. The water level on the river was low, though we did not experience any problem until near the end of the cruise. The weather was reminiscent of that in northern New England this time of year. The folks at Avalon and on board the vessel wasted no time in making suitable arrangements for alternate bus tours. Food on board was very good and plentiful. Some old-timers found the late dinner hour (7-9pm) difficult to adjust to, but welcomed the meal once it arrived. The wait staff was exceptional, better than most we have experienced on major cruise lines. Although we included tipping in our cruise booking, I do not believe this is the way to go. Some of the crew we never came in contact with, even in the dining room. This means the tips are divided more or less evenly, and our waiter and cabin attendant were in the "pool" when they deserved a more personal gratuity if one is inclined to do so. There are several cruise lines offering adventures on the Danube. Our choice of Avalon was made primarily from reviews of other's experiences and we have no regrets!

We had a change in boats due to water level. It seemed that this crew was not as motivated as the other trips he had with Avalon. The food though good did not give alternated to offer myself and my sister. Staff was not as good as previous trips, had this been our first trip we would not return as the others were outstanding.

Service was extremely slow in the dining room and some of the excursions (included and optional) were a total waste. Royal Waltz Concert and the Dinner and Folklore Show were excellent. Tour Director was very good and the staff for the most part were courteous and efficient.