Avalon Visionary Review
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We chose this cruise because being from Canada we wanted a cruise over a week long and introduce us to Europe and river cruising. We have been on ocean cruises 4 times and wanted to try something different. We had a direct flight from Toronto to Zurich which was great not having to deal with connecting flights. We liked everything about Avalon and its all inclusiveness with meals, drinks and excursions. All stops had included excursions and/or optional extra ones that you had to pay for- there were also bicycles and walking sticks available. The guides all spoke English and were very informative of the history of the area. The atmosphere on board is very relaxed and friendly. Jost our cruise director was amazing, very helpful and made you feel at home. The average age of guests was in their 60s and 70s- we are in our early 60s. We even had an extraordinary 99 year old from Australia on our ship.
The breakfast and lunch are buffet and supper is sit down with server and four courses but you could also have supper buffet style in the upstairs lounge. We enjoyed all of our meals and the selection was more than adequate. I found that everything I tried was very tasteful and always lots of choices. We enjoyed the open sitting style as you could meet and talk to everyone through the 2 weeks. Staff is very friendly and helpful and if you have a problem they do their best to help. Several nights there were entertainers that came on board from the local area and they were all great.
Our cabin was on the second level with French balcony which was nice to have as you could sit or lie in bed with the doors open and watch the world go by- if you fell asleep you didn't have to worry about falling out of a chair. Room was a good size and had adequate storage areas for clothes. What is great is that nothing is far from any room and your not walking miles to get to the restaurant or lounge areas like on the larger cruise ships. There is a hot tub on top level but no pool. There are canopies over the lounge chairs which is nice for shade on the really hot days.