I had never been on a river cruise, and had never been to eastern Europe, so this cruise ticked all the boxes for a new adventure. Avalon did not disappoint. The boat was meticulous, I loved that my bed faced the river and I could open my sliding glass door fully, the bathroom was surprisingly big and the marble tile was an unexpected nice feature, the staff were exceptionally friendly, attentive, engaging, and helpful, the food and wine were outstanding (the soups, I'd book another cruise just for the soups! They should seriously make a recipe book just with the soups alone.), our cruise director Tony was delightfully funny and insightful, and our captain made the best of a very low river. No rain in Europe this year did cause our cruise to be adjusted as we went farther North, but Avalon went out of its way to make the adjustments equal or better to the original itinerary, including offering free excursions. Those travelling with me all agreed that the adjustments to our itinerary were better than the original and we were very appreciative at the effort Avalon took to make sure our river cruise experience was exceptional. The guides on the excursions were all very knowledgeable and friendly. The pace of some of the excursions was a tad slow, but as I was the youngest person on the cruise (40s), I understood the pace was designed for the overall group demographic (60s-80s). Would definitely book another Avalon cruise again!