We chose this cruise as a part of an educational package. Generally the trips have been excellent with this educational tour company so I did not hesitate to book with them on Avalon. This was a newer ship and I was happy to see what river cruising had to offer as compared to ocean cruising. As a comparison we have sailed Celebrity Aqua Class for two longer cruises in the past and have always bought the specialty Dining packages as well as Premium drinks package.

Overall I would say we had an enjoyable trip and the staff were friendly and the rooms comfortable. The ports of call were interesting (for the most part) and the tours were well run. The guides were able to add life to the locations.

One of the optional tours we booked had a long bus ride that was not included in the description of the trip so we had to skip this and loose our pre-paid fee. It would be nicer if this element of the excursion was provided in the description of the trip. Read more