Kate Little

In June I joined a River Cruise along the Danube from Budapest, Hungary to Regensburg, Germany via Austria, with Avalon Waterways.   I had heard a lot about River Cruising and wanted to try it for myself to better understand its popularity.

On arrival I was so impressed with the size and layout of the cabin, and the quality of the bedding/towels etc.   It was a small space but very well thought out, from the full wall mirror on one side of the room giving the feeling of a larger space, to the sliding doors that pushed completely over to one side bringing the outdoors in. The beds on Avalon face the window which I found was a fabulous feature as you could sit in bed with your morning coffee and watch the beautiful countryside pass by, it really was an unexpected bonus.   Also, the fact that you are on a river and not on the ocean the views are constantly changing and as you’re so close to the banks of the river you feel as though you are right there and can enjoy the smell of the wild flowers and freshly cut grass.  

We visited Vienna, the 'City of Music' and culture which was magnificent.     Leaving the ship to join one of the 3 groups with various walking speeds to accommodate everyone, was so easy and fast, quite unlike leaving an Ocean Cruise.   The tour guides were very knowledgeable, and we also had free time to enjoy how we wanted.    In Salzburg we went on a ‘Sound of Music’ tour, I can’t tell you how wonderful that was as we broke into a chorus of ‘the hills are alive…’.    One day a group of us took the bicycles provided on board and rode through a beautiful forest in Germany to a small town for the afternoon.   It was nice to be able to do your own thing after going on several tours. 

The staff were amazing and attentive and being only just over 100 guests, it was a much more personal cruise than I had expected.  Also, the demographics of the guest was younger that I had thought it would be.    A lot of the river cruise companies are now doing specialised cruises such as Wellness, Wine tasting or Active cruises, so I think the age of the river cruiser is becoming lower.    

The food was fabulous, and I being English I really enjoyed the afternoon tea everyday and rushed back from whatever excursion I was on so that I didn’t miss it.    One evening we had a beer tasting event, and another we had wine tasting and learned a lot about both and the local area where the products had been produced.  

I definitely enjoyed the cruise and I hope to do another one soon.