We would highly recommend Avalon tours for river cruises. This itinerary gave us a nice glimpse of the countries we visited. It was unusually hot for August this year and next time we will book in a cooler month though. We have traveled with another company before and this cruise was much more affordable and was very consistent in what was offered. The rooms were larger on this ship and we liked how the beds faced the floor to ceiling windows so we could enjoy the view. The windows opened fully and rather than providing a balcony/veranda that isn't used, the rooms are larger and we still enjoyed the fresh air whenever we wanted to. All of the staff on the ship were very anxious to make our stay special and they worked together very well. One suggestion we would make would be to have several additional waitstaff as when the dining room and lounges are full they have to work very hard to accommodate everyone's needs in a timely manner. We will be repeat customers, we were a party of 11 so we able to cruise and have a family reunion at the same time. We actually were switched to the Avalon Illumination ship which was the sister ship of Passion. We would highly recommend our Cruise Director and he works on different Avalon ships.

The trip planning met expectations but we did encounter a few unexpected changes along the way. Our ship had to be docked before we could continue due to low water level in the Danube. Avalon did their utmost to schedule us a transfer to another ship with transportation to it with financial compensation. This worked out well and we were minimally inconvenienced by this. We are grateful that this was coordinated before we even knew what was going on. Even though we received a new crew aboard the Avalon Expression, we were able to maintain our activities coordinator, Michala, who went out of her way to make sure that we were taken care of and informed every step of the way. 

Accommodations were really great, service was very good, especially my cabin steward. The Tour descriptions were a bit misleading, one day we must’ve walked two or 3 miles, that was not to my expectation. The ship was very friendly; however, communications and information could have been better good morning.

We enjoyed the cruise but the food was a big disappointment. We will not be booking another Avalon cruise because of this.

Avalon Passion had the intimate atmosphere of small ship cruising. By the end of the trip there was a good family atmosphere on the boat. The ship was in great condition, crew and staff were pleasant and attentive and the Tour Director was great. Local guides were all passionate about their destinations, and since we were in four different countries in a week, we got interesting, and sometime startling, perspectives on Balkan history. The weather was very hot, and this made some of the walking tours rather grueling, but the Tour director and guides did their best to adapt tours to the heat, and make sure there was plenty of water, rest and shade. The shore based last three days were fascinating but tiring. All in all, a great experience.

Was a fabulous experience. Avalon, the boat, the staff, the tours, the airfare. Perfect!

This tour /cruise was fantastic. The pre-cruise extension in Transylvania was for me the highlight and anyone considering the cruise should definitely include this. Our Avalon cruise director and the entire crew were outstanding as were the local guides who were extremely knowledgeable and spoke perfect English.

Avalon River Cruises are a great vacation experience.

I would travel on valon only in the future. Cleaner, newer, more comfortable ships with a great stafff. Better than my previous river cruises with a high end ship! And the cruise director has to be the absolutely best in the industry!!!

Outstanding cruise,ship and crew were excellent.Cruise Director Simona is a delight,extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Will travel again with Avalon.

The ship is beautiful and the rooms very comfortable. Avalon seems to attract a very friendly and social group of travelers. It is also welcoming to the solo traveler.

This was probably the best cruise we have ever taken and we travel a lot. Autumn from Affordable is the best. She was always there when I needed her and so accommodating. The ship Passion was a 10 plus in every way from the rooms to the tours, food and staff. I liked that they had healthy choices at every meal.

The ship was lovely, and the staff were wonderful, but I had an unfortunate noise in my cabin that sounded like dragging furniture from the room above. Clearly not the case since it went on all night most nights. I mentioned it to one of the hotel management people and was told it was the sound of the ship beams adjusting as the ship was steered. The answer came so quickly that I assume this was not the first time he'd heard this complaint. There were a couple of mostly noise free nights, but mostly I slept with earplugs. That didn't make me happy. The meals were hit or miss. Some were wonderful and at least an equal number were meh.

Our Avalon cruise exceeded our expections. We had a great staff, great tours, and met wonderful people.

This river cruise to see the Christmas Markets and tour parts of Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic was a dream come true. Every part of it was amazing. From the organization of Affordable Tours pre-cruise to Avalon Waterways beautiful ship, great crew (especially cruise director Gusta) and the spectacular meals. The tours were marvelous and informative. Cant say enough about the great time we had.

Everything was exceptional. Unfortunately, the water level was too low for us to complete the itinerary. That was very disappointing, but Avalon did everything under their power to make the best of it, & we were reimbursed for part of the trip.

The package I booked was supposed to be a WINE LOVERS CRUISE. It was not, nobody ever talked about pairings. The two "tastings" were basically sales pitches to buy the wines being sampled. Not want I expected. Also, we had two problems on the cruise -- a broken engine part and a lack of water in the river. Avalon's response to the first problem was inadequate, in my opinion. The response to the second problem was good. The cruise director did a fine job, but was limited by the response from corporate.

As always the service on Avalon was excellent and the rooms wonderful. Missed the allergy notifications cards on buffet as my daughter had celiacs Did appriciate that after the third day the had made gluten fee desserts that she was able to have and the snacks provided at captains cocktail time. Would have been perfect if these items had been available the first few days also, as not having them made me feel my daughter was left out and me also feel guilty if I ate in front of her.

It was a wonderful trip and the person who made it really great was our Cruise Director, Monika. She was friendly, helpful and extremely kind. When I had a severe asthma attack in Venice, she made arrangements to get me to a hospital for necessary treatment and throughout the rest of the trip continued to check on me and make sure that I had whatever was needed to be comfortable. It can be a scary experience to be ill in a foreign country, but with Monika's help I made it through the rest of the trip without any more worries.

I thought the dinner meals were not as good as past cruise. Breakfast and lunch were fine. Service from staff was excellent

We had a great trip. This is our second river cruise with Avalon through Affordable Tours. We knew what to expect from our previous trip (Romantic Rhine a year ago). The day excursions are well-led, with lots of information from our capable guides. The food on board is very good, with buffet style (our preference) for breakfast and lunch. We're not gourmet food aficionados, honestly two-hour dinners every night are not our style, but we knew they were part of the package, so we weren't surprised.

Avalon staff and tours were excellent - enjoyed the many excursions.

The attention to detail is incredible. The tour director left nothing on the table. Everything was perfectly organized and described. The cruise was great and I would, and will, recommend this to all my friends and family. If you find yourself on this cruise, you are in for a great adventure. All arranged/included tours at each port were top notch.

Ship was in excellent condition and crew was very friendly and helpful. The cabin was clean and comfortable and the internet worked very reliably. The included tours were very educational and well-coordinated. The Tour Director did an outstanding job of keeping on schedule and solving any last minute problems. This was the 3rd river cruise line that we have traveled on and were somewhat disappointed in the available food selections and onboard coffee. The regular coffee had almost no taste and the only good coffee was the Espresso from the coffee machines. Was very disappointed in the variety of entrees offered, especially for the dinners. Their offerings leaned heavily on fish and seafood, so for someone who does not like these, the choices were somewhat limited. The grilled steak offered as an alternate was very good quality and cooked perfectly but got a little tiresome after a few days. The included wines were very good. Worst part of the trip was the high percentage of New Yorkers and people from the Northeast but we realize that the cruise company has no control over this but will try to avoid this on future trips.

The trip was an educational trip about the Balkan Region. It was wonderful!