Avalon 101: Planning and Booking

Welcome to Avalon 101 – a beginner’s guide to all things Avalon! In this series, Bethany Explores several different aspects of planning, booking, and (most importantly) enjoying an Avalon River Cruise.

I am getting ready to embark on my sixth Avalon River Cruise in a few short weeks, and this series documents my experiences before and during the cruise. This post explores the initial planning and booking process. If you are new to river cruising in general, or are new to the Avalon family, welcome aboard!

Planning a River Cruise

The first step on your river cruise journey will be planning your cruise. I always use my trusty Travel Advisor (TA) Bob to help me get everything organized and booked. He is wonderful at ensuring all of the i’s are dotted and all of the t’s are crossed. Bob is a lifesaver on the rare occasions where things may go a bit awry, and a quick change of plans is required! Even though I use a TA, I do my own general research and planning ahead of time. But if you need some help researching and deciding on a cruise, a TA can also help you with that step as well.

Research

My first step in researching which cruise to take is to start on the Avalon Waterways website: Avalon Waterways® River Cruises – Europe River Cruises. Their website is very intuitive and easy to use. I start by navigating to the ‘Cruises’ section. This page has several different ways to start a search: by river, by country, or by special interest.

To start this search, I selected ‘Active and Discovery’ under the Special Interest category on the main Cruises page above. Once on the Active and Discovery page, there are many different filters (on the left) and sorting options (at the top) that you can apply if you want to narrow down by specific locations, dates, ships, durations, prices, and/or promotions.

I set three filters to narrow my search:

• River = Danube
• Date = June 2024
• Promotions = Single supplement waived (cheers to all my fellow solo travelers out there!)

Cruise Details

Each cruise that meets the filter criteria is displayed in a tile, with some general information on the main tile. Hovering over a tile will display a few more options. Click the ‘Cruise Details’ button when hovering over a tile to see more information about that particular cruise.

The cruise details page provides a wealth of information about that cruise. There is a description of the cruise at the top. Below the description text is the section with the details of the cruise. Here you can see the cruise overview, a day-by-day itinerary, pre- and/or post-cruise add-on packages, general information about Avalon’s ‘Cruising Elevated’ options, the ship details, and the hotel(s) used (if applicable). This section also gives options to get a quote or to see the specific dates and prices available. Finally, within the day-by-day itinerary, you can expand one or more of the days to see the details of those days.

Day-to-Day Itinerary

I love exploring the details of the day-to-day itinerary section. Once you expand a day, you will see an overview of the included excursions. Avalon offers three types of excursions: Active, Discovery, and Classic. Any given day on any given cruise will offer a few included excursions of various types. Each passenger gets to select one included excursion in each port, free of charge. Avalon also offers optional excursions in select ports. There is an additional fee to purchase an optional excursion. Booking and paying for all excursions, included and optional, is available approximately three months prior to sailing and once the final balance is paid. More information on booking excursions is outlined in a later section in this post.

Other useful information available here is the general sailing time (if applicable). This can help determine how long the ship is in port in a given day. While specific times are not provided, the sailing information is indicated as ‘afternoon,’ ‘evening/overnight,’ or ‘overnight’. Alternately, if the ship is docked overnight, that will be indicated with ‘overnight docking in <port>’ instead of a cruise time.

Finally, included meals are indicated here. The example below is an embarkation day on a cruise with an included pre-cruise day in Bucharest, so only breakfast and dinner are included. Once you embark the ship, all three meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are included through the full day prior to disembarking.

Dates and Prices

Clicking on the ‘Dates & Prices’ button on the cruise details page will open a new page with information about dates, prices, and any special offers available.

Availability

I like to click the ‘Reserve Now’ button to see which rooms are still available on a cruise. After answering a few general questions on the initial ‘Planner’ page, you will see the room and deck selection page. This particular cruise is already very full, with only a few remaining rooms to choose from! Booking early will provide a much better selection of rooms.

Room Selection

I see a lot of people ask about which rooms are best, which side of the ship is best, etc. I have only ever sailed in a Panorama Suite, so I cannot speak to what the Deluxe Staterooms or the Royal Suites are like. For me, I love having the large sliding windows. I have stayed on both the Royal Deck (top deck) and the Sapphire Deck (middle deck), and honestly did not notice much if any difference between the two.

I have also stayed on both the port side (left side) and the starboard side (right side) of the ship. Here as well, I generally do not notice a difference either way. Since most, if not all, of the sailing is done in the evening or overnight hours, the question of ‘which side is better for views?’ is mainly irrelevant. Also, there is often concern about which side of the ship may be tied up to other ships (a process called ‘rafting’ or ‘abreast docking’) while in ports…this can happen on either side of the ship and will often vary side to side and from port to port.

For me, the only difference I have experienced in room location is forward (front of the ship) vs. aft (back of the ship). I did experience a slight bit more engine noise when staying in an aft room…mind you, it was certainly not unbearable by any means, but it was more noticeable to me here than when I stayed in a forward room.

Booking Confirmation and Next Steps

Once I have narrowed down my search and decided on a cruise, I give my TA the information so he can make the booking for me. If you are making the booking yourself, simply follow the process in the ‘Reserve Now’ page above. Once your deposit is paid and your booking is confirmed, you will receive a couple of different emails from Avalon.

The first confirmation email is sent immediately upon confirmation, the ‘You’re All Set’ email pictured below. This email contains a few important pieces of information, including:

• Reservation Number: a 6-digit code you will need to access both the MyAvalon website and the AvalonGO app)
• Client Invoice: a breakdown of charges, the deposit paid, the remaining balance due, and the date the balance is due
• Travel Packet: a summary of your cruise, a day-by-day itinerary, and important advisements and reminders

A second email will be sent a few days later, the “Next step – Guest Acknowledgement” email pictured below. This email directs you to complete the guest acknowledgement form required from each guest.

MyAvalon Website

Once your booking is confirmed and you receive your 6-digit Reservation Number, you have access to the MyAvalon website: Welcome to MyAvalon (avalonwaterways.com). This site provides information about your cruise.

Once you have logged in to MyAvalon, there are several features available in the menu on the left side of the screen. Some key ones for the time between booking and final payment include:

• My Documentation – includes links to both the Travel Packet (also included in the confirmation email) and to Traveler Documents (these are not available until approximately 2-3 weeks prior to sailing)
• My Accommodations – provides information on the ship as well as any hotels you may be staying in before or after the cruise
• Reservation Communication – provide your email and phone number for communication before and during the cruise
• Passenger Registration – includes your general passenger details such as name, date of birth, passport information and mailing address. This is also the place where you can set your bed preference, either together (one large bed) or separate (two separate beds).

Three Months Prior to Sail Date

The final balance for your cruise is due approximately three months prior to sail date. Once that date arrives and your final payment is received, you will get an email with some further information. The exciting part about this email is being able to start reviewing and booking excursions! This email will also indicate if any of the required information is missing (such as flight information if transfers are booked with Avalon, guest acknowledgement, on trip contact, passport information, or emergency contacts).

Booking Excursions

To book excursions, log into your MyAvalon account and select the ‘Excursions & Packages’ link in the menu. The excursions will be listed by city/port. Each location will include a few different included excursions to choose from (notated with ‘Included Choice Offered’). Also, any optional excursions available will also be displayed here (notated with the price of the excursion).

Excursions can also be booked once you are on the cruise itself, but I like to book mine early to ensure I get the ones I want. The Classic excursions typically have a larger capacity limit so those rarely, if ever, get fully booked. However, some of the Active and/or Discovery excursions may have smaller capacity limits, so it is best to book those early to avoid the disappointment of it not being available once on the ship.

Excursion Details

Click on ‘View Excursions’ to see details about that excursion. Here you will see what type of excursion it is (Active, Discovery, or Classic) along with a description of the excursion. Other details like exertion level, what is included, and duration are also provided here. The ‘Additional Information’ section provides valuable information about any requirements or restrictions.

Finally, the ‘Pricing and Availability’ section at the bottom confirms the date(s) and time(s) the excursion is available. If more than one date and/or timeslot is available, they will be displayed by clicking the date or time section. You’ll note that the times are not specific, but rather are parts of the day such as ‘morning,’ ‘late morning,’ ‘afternoon,’ ‘late afternoon,’ or ‘evening.’ Once you start booking excursions, the system will warn you if an excursion conflicts with another one you have already selected. In the example below, I have already booked something else for the morning of June 19, which is why I have a warning message displayed here above the ‘Add to Cart’ button. But if it’s an excursion you want to book and you don’t have any conflicts, simply click the ‘Add to Cart’ button to book it!

Managing Excursions

Once you have selected your excursions, you will see a summary of all of the items you have selected. If you have selected any optional excursions, payment is required at this time. Any excursions, whether included or optional, can easily be changed or cancelled prior to sailing. In the picture below, for example, you will see that I have several in the ‘Cancelled’ status (yes, I have a hard time deciding!). This summary view is available at any time by navigating to the ‘Excursions & Packages’ section and selecting ‘Manage.’ You will also get a confirmation email for every booking and/or cancellation you do online. I like to print a final version of the summary page and bring it with me, as reference on the cruise.

A Few Weeks Prior to Sail Date

The final piece of the planning puzzle is the AvalonGO app. This, as well as well as your final Traveler Documents, is available approximately 2-3 weeks prior to sail date. I received my Traveler Documents and AvalonGO access approximately 4 weeks prior to this cruise, so the timing may vary. Avalon sent me an email with my Traveler Documents attached, and these were also added to my account on the MyAvalon website.

AvalonGO App

The AvalonGO app is a handy app to have on your mobile device before and during the cruise. An overview of what is available here is provided below.

After logging in to the AvalonGO app, you will find your cruise in the ‘Upcoming Trips’ section. Any past trips that used the app are available in the ‘Past Trips’ section. I am not sure how long these past trips stay there, but my Christmas Markets Cruise from December 2021 is still there for me! The home screen displays once you click on the cruise page. Here you can see flight information (if you provided it for any Avalon transfers), and a day-by-day view of the cruise.

There are a few other options available on the home screen, including:

• Documents – shown in the left picture, below. Includes your Travel Packet and Travel Document, with an option to add any other documents you want
• Journal – shown in the middle picture, below. You can take pictures, import pictures, and write notes here. A detailed ‘how to’ guide is available in the ‘More’ section.
• Contact – provides contact information for tech support
• More – shown in the right picture, below. Several options are available here.

There are also several options available for each individual day on the home page.

• Visits – shown in the left picture, below. Includes a summary of all excursions (included and optional).
• Guide – shown in the middle picture, below. Provides general and practical information about the location. The upper section includes links to things to see, do, and eat. Below these links are other important local information on topics such as weather, currency conversion, electricity, emergency phone numbers, and vaccinations/health.
• Map – shown in the right picture, below. An interactive map of the location.

Conclusion

Planning and booking a first river cruise, or a first Avalon cruise, can be very daunting. However, Avalon makes everything very easy and provides all of the information you need along the way. Tools such as the general website, MyAvalon website, AvalonGO app, and informative emails ensure you have the information you need, when you need it. Working with a trusted Travel Advisor (TA) can also make this process much easier and much less stressful. Whichever path you choose, whichever cruise you book…know that you are in amazing hands with the full Avalon team. From the initial steps of planning and booking and through the cruise itself, the caring and helpful Avalon team are with you every step of the way.

Links

Click the buttons below to read other posts in this Avalon 101 series, check out details of my past Avalon cruises, or visit the Avalon website.