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Danube Dreams (Eastbound) 2023

From Vilshofen, Germany to Budapest, Hungary
Length: 8 Days - Departs: Wed, Oct 18, 2023

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Special Offers

LOW UNPUBLISHED PRICES ON AVALON WATERWAYS (GLOBUS) CRUISES
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$2,500 Off per couple on select Europe cruises for groups of 8 or more

Mention Promo Code: PT2969
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$2,500 Off per couple on select Europe cruises for groups of 8 or more

$2,500 Off per couple on select Europe cruises for groups of 8 or more

Promotion Details
Book a select 2022 or 2023 Avalon Waterways Europe river cruise for 8 or more people to receive $2500 off per ouple ($1250 off per person) on the cruise/land or cruise only price.
Combinable with Welcome Back Credit, Peace of Mind Credit and Group Advantage Program.
Must Book By Fri, Jun 30, 2023
View Promotion Terms & Conditions ›

*Book a select 2023 Avalon Waterways Europe river cruise for 8 or more people to receive $1250 off per person on the cruise/land or cruise only price. Group Booking must be made, under deposit and discount applied between January 4, 2022 and June 30, 2023 for travel on select 2023 departures. Offer reliant on space availability and may be withdrawn at any time. Combinable with Welcome Back Credit, Peace of Mind Credit and Group Advantage Program. Promotional discount will apply to Groups of 8 or more who provide their Group Block Deposit within the promotion's booking dates and will apply to all individual members of the Group until the due date of the passenger names/non-refundable individual deposits. Cannot be used in conjunction with any air promotion. Applies to new group bookings only and will not be applied to pre-existing group bookings. Full cancellation penalties will apply. Additional restrictions may apply; see Travel Terms & Conditions for details. Offer applies to participating GFOB offices only. PRMW0933 PRMW0933


River Cruise Itinerary

Cruise along the peaceful Danube River through Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary—stopping at some of Central Europe’s most splendid capitals and charming towns along the way. Visit Passau, Germany—called the “City of Three Rivers” at the confluence of the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers. Take a guided walking tour to admire the Patrician houses and baroque St. Stephen’s Cathedral. In Linz, Austria, walk around the Hauptplatz, Austria’s largest medieval square. Enjoy the magnificent views as your Danube River cruise takes you through the picturesque wine region of the Wachau Valley. Stops include Melk to visit the magnificent Benedictine Abbey and Dürnstein to see the famous blue and white Stiftskirche and taste some of the local wines. Vienna, the “City of Music,” makes an immediate impression with its lavish Hofburg Imperial Palace and neo-renaissance Vienna Opera House. Enjoy a guided tour of this magical city and take time to explore on your own. In Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, take a guided walk through the delightful Old Town and to the Gothic St. Martin’s Cathedral. In Budapest, the vibrant capital of Hungary, a local expert shows you all the must-see sights. Then to round out this timeless European river cruise, take a stroll along Váci utca—the main shopping street, or take pictures from Fishermen’s Bastion for the best panoramic views of Budapest. This Danube River cruise explores the legendary beauty and remarkable destinations you’ll never forget.

  1. Day 1
    VILSHOFEN, GERMANY (EMBARKATION)
    Wed, Oct 18, 2023
    Welcome to Germany. Your Suite Ship® is Ready for Boarding.Flights into Munich must arrive by 2 pm. Guests must be on board ship by 5 pm.Explore your ship and enjoy dinner on your first evening on board.EVENING CRUISE TO PASSAU(D)
  2. Day 2
    PASSAU–SCHLÖGEN OXBOW
    Thu, Oct 19, 2023
    Where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz Rivers Meet ACTIVE Follow your Avalon Adventure Host for Hiking from Oberhaus along a trail down to the valley and along Ilz River, OR:CLASSIC Join a Guided City Walk to learn more about this beautiful “City of Three Rivers".Before sailing to Linz, take a little free time to explore Passau’s cobblestone streets and galleries of Artists’ Alley. Maybe stop at St. Stephen’s Cathedral to catch a concert rehearsal. This afternoon, cruise to Linz through the Danube’s dramatic horseshoe bend called Schlögen Oxbow.Later, enjoy live entertainment on board. OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN LINZ (B,L,D)
  3. Day 3
    LINZ, AUSTRIA
    Fri, Oct 20, 2023
    Legendary and Lovely LinzVisit the Adventure Center for today’s activities with your Adventure Host. CLASSIC Take a Guided Walk through the city’s historic and beautiful sites along the shore of the Danube and see Hauptplatz—Austria’s largest medieval square—and the towering white-marble Trinity Column.Consider a full-day Guided Optional Excursion to Salzburg—the city of Mozart, or to the picturesque Bohemian town of Cesky Krumlov. You may otherwise spend the afternoon on a biking picnic along the banks of the Danube or hike through Linz’s beautiful nature trails to Pöstlingberg for a bird’s-eye view of the city and river below. EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO YBBS(B,L,D)
  4. Day 4
    YBBS. EXCURSION TO MELK–WACHAU VALLEY
    Sat, Oct 21, 2023
    Frescoes Above and Vineyards Below CLASSIC Visit the Lower Austrian little town of Ybbs. Walk through the doors of Austrian history with a guided sightseeing tour of Artstetten Castle. OR: CLASSIC Take a Guided Tour of Melk’s magnificent Benedictine Abbey to marvel at its frescoed ceilings, statues, incredible library, and ornate pipe organ.Later, stretch out on the Sky Deck as you sail through the Wachau Valley past vineyards, castles, and charming villages on your way to Dürnstein.DÜRNSTEIN A King’s Ransom and Castle Ruins ACTIVE Join a Guided Hike up to the castle ruins to take in the spectacular view of the village, Danube, and the Wachau Valley below, OR: CLASSIC Join a Guided Walk, and hear the legendary tale of King Richard the Lionheart—who was imprisoned in the castle here during the Crusades.Later, enjoy live entertainment on board your ship. OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO VIENNA (B,L,D)
  5. Day 5
    VIENNA
    Sun, Oct 22, 2023
    Viennese Waltzes on the Blue DanubeACTIVE Explore Vienna's Danube Island by bike with your Adventure Host, OR: CLASSIC Explore the Habsburg empire with a morning Guided City Tour of Vienna’s gilded landmarks. See the Imperial Palace complex—the winter residence of the Imperial Family, the iconic Vienna Opera House and stunning St. Stephen’s Cathedral.Join a Guided Optional Excursion to Schönbrunn Palace—summer home of the Habsburg monarchy. Spend free time strolling on the pedestrian Kärntnerstrasse—the most famous shopping avenue in central Vienna. Take a bike ride through the city and stop in a local café to enjoy Sachertorte or Apfelstrudel.This evening, enjoy an unforgettable musical performance with an Optional Excursion to attend a Royal Waltz Concert in an elegant hall.OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN VIENNA(B,L,D)
  6. Day 6
    BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA
    Mon, Oct 23, 2023
    Cathedral Coronations and a Crowning Castle ACTIVE Follow your Avalon Adventure Host on a hike to lofty Bratislava Castle, OR: CLASSIC Take a Guided City Walk, including the quaint streets of Old Town, Town Hall, and the sight of royal coronations at St. Martin’s Cathedral.Enjoy free time to discover on your own Bratislava, the beautiful capital of Slovakia, rich in history and culture, but also a green city with its forests and parks just a hop away from the city center. OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO BUDAPEST(B,L,D)
  7. Day 7
    BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
    Tue, Oct 24, 2023
    War Heroes and Hot WaterACTIVE Hike up to a magnificent viewpoint in Budapest with your Adventure Host, OR:CLASSIC Enjoy a Guided City Sightseeing, including the iconic Heroes’ Square.This afternoon choose among a wide offer of Optional Guided Excursions or take in the beauty of Budapest while enjoying some free time exploring such famous sights as the Chain Bridge. Get to know the city’s cafés and pubs, or take a hike through the hills above the Danube.OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN BUDAPEST(B,L,D)
  8. Day 8
    BUDAPEST (DISEMBARKATION)
    Wed, Oct 25, 2023
    Your cruise ends with breakfast this morning.(B)

Countries Visited

Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia

Rivers Visited

Danube

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Inclusions

  • In the event of technical or water level issues, it may be necessary to operate the itinerary by motorcoach or alter the program, including hotel overnight when necessary.
  • Guided Tours, Optional Excursions, activities, sailing and docking schedules may be contingent on weather conditions or other issues outside of our control and could therefore be subject to change at any time.
  • Please check visa requirements with your local consulate(s); responsibility for obtaining visas rests with the traveler.


Accommodation Information

Gateway city for arrivals is Munich.

Port charges:
$210

Gratuities to Local Guides & Excursion Drivers are included.

Avalon offers the opportunity for solo travelers to sail with no single supplement (subject to availability).

Please call for single accommodation details and prices. Triples not available.

Health and Safety Protocols for Avalon Waterways

Today's world has changed, but what remains certain is Avalon Waterways' commitment to guest safety, comfort and peace-of-mind while traveling with us. To that end, Avalon Waterways has established a worldwide Assurance program, with enhanced on-trip protocols and procedures, to ensure the health – and happiness – of guests throughout their travels with us.

It all starts with Avalon Waterways' Global Health & Safety Team, dedicated to ensuring that cleanliness of all operations exceeds today’s travel standards—from start to finish. The following areas address Avalon Waterways' commitment to providing a safe and clean environment for guests.

WELCOME ABOARD

New embarkation procedures to offer guests a safe start to their journey, including:

  • Social distancing throughout embarkation
  • Mandatory health screening, including touch-free temperature-check, for all guests and crew
  • Luggage disinfection prior to onboarding (with crew wearing gloves and masks)

FRESH AIR, INSIDE AND OUT:

In addition to Avalon Waterways' Open-Air staterooms, the air in the ships is not circulated between staterooms; only within an individual stateroom and mixed with fresh, outside air.

BLENDING CULTURAL PROXIMITY WITH SOCIAL DISTANCE:

New social distancing guidelines for guests throughout their Avalon cruise include:

  • Reducing ship capacity as required for more space on board per guest
  • Introducing more dining venues for more dining space per person
  • Crew wearing masks for the duration of the cruise during any guest interaction
  • Providing masks for guests to wear during any event where social proximity could become an issue, including disembarkation for excursions and safety drills
  • Adjusting ratio of guides and coaches for excursions, as required

NEW TECHNOLOGY TO ENSURE CLEANLINESS:

  • Electrostatic disinfecting systems
  • UV disinfecting systems

TOUCHING HEARTS, NOT HANDS:

Reducing risk with hands-free service, including:

  • More hand-sanitizing stations throughout the ship
  • Required use of hand-sanitizing stations when leaving the ship, returning to the ship and entering dining venues as well as entering each public/common space
  • Self-serve stations, including buffets, drinks, specialty coffees and snacks have been replaced with crew service
  • All buffets (breakfast and lunch) replaced by a full range of á la carte menu choices
  • Hourly (or more frequent) disinfection of all public areas

COMMITMENT TO THE CLEANEST SHIPS:

Enhanced cleaning procedures throughout each ship, including these additional steps that go above-and-beyond Avalon’s already strict procedures:

  • Deep disinfection of each stateroom between cruises, including:
    • Use of disinfectants and cleaning materials that meet the highest standards
    • Soft goods in each stateroom (mattress, sofa, window coverings, chairs, etc.) disinfected between cruises
  • Disinfection of all dining areas between meals
  • Disinfection of all shared items like umbrellas, bicycles and other Adventure Center items
  • Disinfection of all goods prior to loading on the ship
  • Ongoing crew training in protective equipment use and hygiene

FOCUS ON CREW HEALTH:

Ensuring a healthy crew, including:

  • Medical certificate required prior to start of contract
  • Daily temperature checks
  • Social distancing in crew living quarters
  • Regular health screenings

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Ship Information

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Cabins

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Life on Board

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Questions & Answers

Question: Will the day-by-day itinerary change?

Yes, the river cruise itineraries may change due to reasons such as inclement weather or unforeseen events. Your safety is the number one concern aboard and all precautions necessary will be taken in order to ensure passenger safety, including changing itineraries. Please note that when itineraries do change, the ship staff will do their best to substitute any missed port with an alternative destination.

Question: In what language is the river cruise conducted?

The river cruise will be conducted in English only.

Customer Reviews

Overall Rating
4.3
Accommodations
4.4
Itinerary
4.2
Professional Staff
4.6
Repeat with Operator
4.1
Value for Money
3.9

Ratings based off 86 reviews - currently showing 19 reviews with comments only

We had an excellent time! Avalon was so accommodating...will definitely book with them in the future. Thank you, Richard for all your help in making this trip happen.

Lost this trip two years in a row. Third time was a charm. Timing was perfect to see Keukenhof Gardens in full bloom. History of the Cologne region and The Black Forest in Germany was spectacular. An added bonus was wine tasting in the Alsace region in France. Everything was perfect. Looking forward to another trip in a different location. As far as an "all inclusive", this is a great value. Would highly recommend.

Avalon River Cruise was wonderful. Accommodations, meals and crew were all amazing. The only negative was the bus tours to the Christmas Markets which falls on the tour guides. They did not take into consideration the passengers ability to keep up with the tour and spent too much time on other aspects of the tour and rushed us through the markets. Would be better if the bus dropped us off and the markets and let us walk around and tell us up front a meeting place to return to the ship.

My granddaughter and I had a great time. We enjoyed everything from flight to and flight back home. The staff on board the ship were very pleasant, food service and entertainments were fantastic and the cruise excursions were super. 5 star all the way..Very organized vacation.

Avalon provides different levels of activities and even provides a guide for " gentle walkers", those that others always have to wait for, which makes for a better experience.

We loved the entire trip and accommodations!

Eric was very informative and we felt confident in his knowledge.

Because of low water issues, we did not sale on the Visionary and were not told of the change until we arrived in Prague. We sailed on the Inpression for three days and then were bussed to Passau where we changed to another ship, the Artistry II. Because of low water problems we were bussed to the Marriott to complete our trip. Avalon did a good job making the changes and will be making an adjustment of the cost of he trip because of he low water issues. All of the packing and unpacking was an inconvenience but Avalon did a great job making it all work.

Water was too low because of severe drought. Ship was notified that we couldn.t go upstream from Koblenz thru the Rhine George to Rudesheim and return to Koblenz. Our cruise director was able to make arrangements for us to go by coach to the river and get on a smaller boat and take us to Budesteim and back. Then had a coach pick us up and takes us back to Koblenz to where our ship was anchored. The crew and cruise director went above and beyond to make sure that we were able to see everything that was contained in our vacation package.

The Avalon Romantic Rhine trip was pleasant and relaxed. Additional options were available before, during and after the trip. We even rode bikes (supplied by the ship) at one of the ports one afternoon. I did miss seeing an arrival day option in advance, until taking my luggage to the ship but we had planned to arrive a day early to do this one (windmills) ourselves anyway. My biggest concern was knowing where the ship would dock and how we might get to it; this turned out to be not only a convenient location, but I received an email with a map two days in advance.

we had a wonderful time. Loved everywhere we went. the guides we wonderful. Food best I ever had. Staff 5 diamond service. State Room beautiful and comfortable. Best Time Ever Had will come again and try a different package.

I would strongly recommend Avalon River Cruises to anyone. Even though a barge sinking blocked our progress to Budapest, Avalon did a great job of making to remaining 4 days of the trip very enjoyable.

I was happily satisfied with the entire experience, especially Nico the manager of the trip. My only negative is that I think the gym could have been a bit bigger as it was filled (3machines) each time I went and I had to come back to find a spot. Nice work !

The river cruise was fantastic and met our expectations. However, the flight itinerary coming back to the US was not convenient and poorly arranged. We had a direct flight from Prague to JFK and then a 4 hour lay over before our flight to Washington DC left. With we got back to our home airport around 4:30 am. The return day was totally exhausting. We were surprised that our flight wasn't more convenient as we had booked the trip in November 2017.

The crew on the ship were first class, everything was very good.

We were extremely pleased with the efficiency and friendliness of all the staff and arrangements. Everything was wonderful!

My first river boat cruise was wonderful. We experienced complications due to Europe flooding. Even with many changes, further needs etc, we were assisted and guided through it all.

The overall experience was very professional. Avalon Tours made the transition from airport to the vessel seamless and supportive. Staff aboard the Avalon Visionary was exceptional. The guides were knowledgeable and very helpful. Great tour.

My first river cruise was an excellent experience. It was well-planned and exceeded my expectations. I look forward to booking another cruise through Affordable Tours in the future.

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AffordableTours.com is a travel agent for Avalon Waterways. Brochure Price is based on the itinerary's highest brochure price. Our price reflects our base price for the same departure as Brochure Price. All prices, itineraries, accommodations and dates are subject to change without notice and at any time. All prices are USD per person and based on double occupancy. Availability is limited and must be reconfirmed at time of booking. All prices change frequently and our website prices are not guaranteed until a deposit has been received by us. The prices on our website are intended to serve as a guide only and may not accurately reflect current prices. We are not responsible for errors, omissions, or changes in these prices until a booking has been confirmed by one of our agents. Please call us toll free at 1-800-342-0019 to confirm current prices and availability. Prices listed are per person, cruise only, and based on double occupancy.

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