Avalon Waterways Panorama Full Review - Our FIRST river cruise - Let's Talk Ship

Lets Talk Ship about Avalon Waterways Panorama - here we give you our full review of our first ever river cruise on the beautiful suite class ship, Avalon Panorama.
00:00 Intro
00:55 Romantic Rhine River Cruise Ports
05:29 Avalon Panorama Overview
10:15 Embarkation
12:23 Panorama Suite Stateroom
14:14 Food / Dining options
18:10 Bars and Entertainment
21:18 Fitness and Wellbeing
23:50 Open Deck areas
27:30 Our final thoughts
We joined Avalon Panorama in Amsterdam and spent the following 7 nights making our way down to Basel on a Romantic Rhine river cruise.
We explored the canals of Amsterdam, discovered the highlights of Cologne, explored the cobblestone lanes of Rüdesheim, spend the day at Heidelberg, immersed ourselves in the blend of French, German and Jewish cultures in Strasbourg, went wine tasting in Breisach and ended our journey in Basel.
We hope you enjoy this Avalon Waterways video, any questions, please drop them in the comments section below!
Paid Promotion: We've were kindly invited on this trip by Avalon Waterways. The UK Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) consider an invite like this as form of payment or paid promotion - this is why you'll see 'paid promotion' at the beginning of the video. We still have full control over the content and can't wait to bring you along on our first trip of this kind since we started KZread 8 years ago.
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🚢 About Avalon Waterways Avalon Panorama
"The Avalon Panorama led the way as the first of its kind in the industry to feature two full decks of Panorama Suites complete with wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows. You'll cruise in river cruising's only Open-Air Balcony in a 200-square-foot suite that's 30% larger than the industry standard. Exciting onboard amenities include complimentary computer use in public areas and Wi-Fi access, a well-stocked library, a Fitness Center, and a spacious Sky Deck with premium lounge chairs, shade system, whirlpool, and delightful Sky Bistro. There's no better way to take in the view than cruising in Europe in the spacious comfort of the Avalon Panorama.".
Avalon Waterways Panorama stats:
Guests: 166 max
Launched: 2011
Class: Suite Ship
Crew: 47
Length: 135 m / 443 ft
🐒🍌🚢 About Us - Who are the Cruise Monkeys?
We are bananas about cruising! We started cruising in 2014 by doing a mini cruise on P&O Aurora. Making videos of our cruises and sharing our experiences has become our hobby - the complete video is filmed and edited on an iPhone. The videos are our opinions and experiences while on board - really they are us having fun and brining you along with us!
We may not be the youngest cruisers but we are trying to break the stereotype that cruising is for retired people. On a cruise you will normally find us wondering around the ship taking in the atmosphere (and working our way through the cocktails).
We have sailed on P&O Cruises, Cunard Line, Princess Cruises, MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Avalon Waterways. We'd love to try Ambassador Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), Fred Olsen, Holland America (HAL), Celebrity, Disney Cruises, Carnival Cruises, Costa, Aida, Marella and Celestyal.
#Avalonwaterways #AvalonPanorama #cruise #cruisemonkeys #cruising #vlogs #vloggers #bloggers #cruisereview #review #rivercruise #rivercruises #rhineriver

Пікірлер: 83

  • @CruiseMonkeys
    @CruiseMonkeys Жыл бұрын

    If you are looking at booking an Avalon Waterways cruise, take a look at the World of Cruising website where you can see what deals are available! Click here to head over there tidd.ly/3X0txdQ

  • @LindaLee-ft6wj

    @LindaLee-ft6wj

    Жыл бұрын

    Wish I could. It looks so lovely. Much more my style than a big ship.

  • @lisabroucekmattson1039

    @lisabroucekmattson1039

    Жыл бұрын

    Just did this cruise in Oct/Nov 2021! Wasn’t it great??❤❤

  • @LindaLee-ft6wj
    @LindaLee-ft6wj Жыл бұрын

    This condensed recap of what to expect on the Avalon River Cruise is great.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Yes we make these review style videos to give as much info as possible because if we put them into the vlogs they’d be too long and might get a bit boring. The vlogs are more for the experiences and memories, usually a bit more fun too. ❤️

  • @marcwaldron1686
    @marcwaldron1686 Жыл бұрын

    Just watched video. Probably one of the best River cruising review I’ve seen. Completely informative. Great job guys

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you so much, we really appreciate that!

  • @LindaLee-ft6wj

    @LindaLee-ft6wj

    Жыл бұрын

    I had no idea that one would be at water level. So great.

  • @patmccullough5885
    @patmccullough588511 ай бұрын

    Thank you for these vlogs about your Avalon river cruise. I just returned from Avalon’s Active and Discovery Rhine cruise. Your videos were so accurate and informative. Our itinerary was somewhat different, but still very useful as many stops were identical. We selected many of the active excursion options, including kayaking in the canals of Amsterdam for 2 hours (quite a paddle), eBikes in the Black Forest, and a Heidelberg hike (the Philosopher’s Way). We were lucky to have nearly perfect weather. There were quite a few passengers in their 20s, including my son. I was surprised at the high level of activity with the excursions available to passengers looking for more activity than river cruises are known to provide. Thank you again.

  • @johnbarton8574
    @johnbarton8574 Жыл бұрын

    "They forced me to drink wine". 😂 Great video, looking forward to the series. 👍👋

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    🤣 Glad you enjoyed and hope you enjoy the upcoming cabin tours and vlogs!

  • @_gregc
    @_gregc Жыл бұрын

    I’m glad you had a good river cruise. It was interesting to see. Always happy to find a video from you guys waiting to brighten my day.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Awww thank you ☺️

  • @Mister_H
    @Mister_H Жыл бұрын

    Great thorough review guys 👍. Look forward to the vlogs 😃

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you ☺️

  • @82566
    @82566 Жыл бұрын

    Wow what an amazing adventure, I was so excited watching ur experiences . Thank you & safe travels 🎉🛳

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to comment 🙏😀

  • @FraserAtSea
    @FraserAtSea Жыл бұрын

    I’m not convinced I’d be able to happily pass the time on a river ship, but think I’ll try giving it a go next year. Those rooms that open out onto the water just look absolutely spectacular!

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Rooms are stunning - very relaxing to lie there watching the scenery go by. It’s definitely all about the destinations on a river ship, you’ll be surprised how busy you can make it, we’ll we were 😀

  • @lorenadugan6355
    @lorenadugan6355 Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for the detail, all in one place. We sail mid-May, 15 days. Sooo excited.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Hope you enjoy it as much as we did 😀

  • @TWSmith42
    @TWSmith422 ай бұрын

    Great review. I love how you organized the review. Thanks!

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    2 ай бұрын

    Thank you very much

  • @LindaLee-ft6wj
    @LindaLee-ft6wj Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for showing us the lock system filling with water. I loved seeing you go through the locks.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    It was a fantastic experience and really interesting to watch!

  • @stevehartman3096
    @stevehartman3096 Жыл бұрын

    I've never done a river cruise (but many transatlantic crossings and large ship cruises), but your video makes the ship and itinerary look fantastic! The Avalon Panorama looks especially nice so I will look into booking a trip! Thanks for opening my eyes!

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Oh fab, always nice to hear our videos are helping people explore different options. It really was a fab cruise, with a very good selection of excursions included the days fly by and at night you can relax and enjoy some fabulous food. :)

  • @lindaedge6674
    @lindaedge667411 ай бұрын

    A really great insight into River Cruising ❤ and in the Rhine to of all place’s Beautiful. Maybe one Day

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    11 ай бұрын

    Lovely to hear you found it a great insight. It’s a lovely experience and worth a try 😀

  • @katiewaller9512
    @katiewaller9512 Жыл бұрын

    Fantastic video! Thank you! I am taking this cruise in October of 2024 and was happy to see the beautiful weather you had on yours! Hoping it will be the same for ours. Cheers!

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it! Have a fabulous cruise, we'll keep our fingers crossed you get some good weather too!

  • @cherifurr3935
    @cherifurr3935 Жыл бұрын

    Really happy to see you give Avalon River Cruising a thumbs up! Cracked me up that you woke up with a hangover but “forced” yourself to have some more wine after they kept asking you if you wanted some!😆I’m booked 4/24 (I know…a year away!) on the Impression in the same category of cabin from Prague to Passau, 8 countries & 3 rivers! This helped me a lot, and great to see the different areas of the ship, that food was good, drinks, whirlpool, etc. Glad to see that collection from the airport, embarkation and disembarkation were so easy and great to know the app worked and you could get wi-fi from the Whisper head sets, even forming a hotspot on the bus! Feeling much better about this. Different than ocean, but think it will be a nice change of pace. Also glad to hear the crew were so good! Also, I’m doing Basel to Amsterdam on Viking this September, so would love to hear your impression of the airports. Really loved this video.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Really glad to hear this video was useful and informative. We had a fantastic time on the cruise, the food was fab, the ship spotless and the service top notch! Little things like the Whisper acting as a personal hotspot was nice too. We hope you have a fantastic time on your cruise! We Arrived in Amsterdam and then on the way home connected there too, its a big airport but easy to navigate and lots of shops/food stall so you can grab a bite to eat or coffee.

  • @janemayhew1442
    @janemayhew1442 Жыл бұрын

    Hi both, Great video, food looks excellent, Like you think kettle in cabin essential ! Hope to try one day , the places you visited very nice. Take care.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you, it really was fab! The coffee machine wasn’t far away so we do apologies to those that saw us walking to get one looking like zombies 😂

  • @ErrolJ
    @ErrolJ Жыл бұрын

    A nice teaser trailer for your next series. Looking forward to seeing how long it takes before you give in on the wine tasting 😄

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed - never that long 🍷

  • @brigidconroy2111
    @brigidconroy2111 Жыл бұрын

    Oh my monkeys you are so much fun to watch That was a cool bit of Titanic info about the size of the ship

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks! We’re glad you enjoyed the video and thank you so much for taking the time to comment and say so! Yes it’s crazy to think that the Avalon Panorama is literally half the length of Titanic, I don’t know if I’m shocked at how long the Panorama is or shocked at how small the Titanic was? But then Cruise ships these days are enormous so it’s no surprise I guess! ❤️

  • @danielintheantipodes6741
    @danielintheantipodes6741 Жыл бұрын

    It looks like it was a beautiful ship. And the cuisine looked first class. Wonderful ports. But how wicked of them to force that wine on you! Hahahahaaaa! A major benefit, I am guessing, would be that the ship on a river would usually be more stable than an ocean cruise? Thank you for the video! It was epic!

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it! They knew we couldn’t say no to yummy wine! Yes, very stable and we didn’t notice any movement as it’s flat calm. Thanks for watching

  • @BevPyfer
    @BevPyfer5 ай бұрын

    Sounds like Avalon Waterways Panorama knows how to wine and dine their guests...literally! 🍷😄

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    4 ай бұрын

    They sure do 👍

  • @darreng0611
    @darreng06115 ай бұрын

    I too have been hesitant on booking a River cruise but after watching this I will be booking, such a great informative video lads 😀 Avalon looks great and that room was stunning👍.......I need that view and room in my life, S*d it I am booking it. 😜

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    5 ай бұрын

    Glad it was helpful! We genuinely had a fantastic time, relaxed evening and busy days exploring! The room is amazing 😍

  • @chrisonYTtour
    @chrisonYTtour Жыл бұрын

    Great review… there’s definitely a lot to love about this style of cruising, but I’m still not convinced it’s for me… I’m a single, ready to mingle kinda solo cruiser lol and also very much a night owl, not sure how I’d go without evening entertainment…

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    The single aspect is fine as lots of singles river cruise and it’s very sociable - but the evenings do lack entertainment as most are early to bed etc. like you mentions, with a group it would suit better!

  • @GinMcNaughton
    @GinMcNaughton7 ай бұрын

    Just watched your entire Rhine River series - so much fun. Do you mind me asking if the final bar bill was a heart attack? My husband and I are in our mid 40s and have always gotten the drink package on our ocean cruises. We're not super heavy drinkers but I think I would enjoy a cocktail or two in the evenings before/after dinner. Considering a 10 day river tour and trying to budget. Thanks - great channel!

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    7 ай бұрын

    Oh fabulous- you must try it, it’s such a different experience to ocean cruising, it’s really nice! We’d love to do another, maybe Christmas markets as that would be perfect. Different river lines have different packages so research them, for Avalon we had beer and wine included at lunch and dinner. They had a happy hour each night with cocktails at half price, so they were only around €5. For a week our bar bill was around €200. Drinks prices on this cruise were far more reasonable than any other ocean cruise, guess with a higher up front cost they don’t need to make as much money on the bar/lounge?

  • @emilymanhart368
    @emilymanhart36811 ай бұрын

    I just booked a cruise on this ship for 2025. Thank you for confirming I made a good choice.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    11 ай бұрын

    Oh brill, you will have a fantastic time - we thoroughly enjoyed it :)

  • @joycesmith8354
    @joycesmith8354 Жыл бұрын

    All looked beautiful especially the cabin.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you, it was a lovely ship.

  • @heidibeechuk9203
    @heidibeechuk9203Ай бұрын

    Great vlog! What is the dress code on Avalon? We are jeans people and wondered if you had to dress up for meals.😊 also wanted to know if meals are like ocean cruises where you can order multiple items for starters or desert.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Ай бұрын

    They are a casual cruise line, some do dress up but you don’t need to, smart jeans and T-shirt are fine! We didn’t try more than one dish but we’re sure it wouldn’t be a problem.

  • @karenpatel7983
    @karenpatel7983 Жыл бұрын

    Thank you for the amazing review. Not sure if I can ask questions here but I’m looking to go on this cruise as a solo late 40’s traveller. We’re most of the guests seniors?

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Thank you. We are mid to late 30’s and we’re some of the youngest. While the majority are, there is a mix of ages onboard from. River cruise lines are trying to attract the younger crowd, Avalon do an Active & Discovery which might be worth a look at. Hope that helps 😀

  • @mckenzied4238
    @mckenzied42386 ай бұрын

    We head out on this trip in Sept 24’. We’ve watched so many videos trying to choose but we made the jump. One thing we notice on all reviews is there is NEVER anyone in the whirlpool, on the top deck, etc. I cannot imagine that being realistic - so how “crowded” do we need to expect it?

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    6 ай бұрын

    Ohhh fantastic, have an amazing time!!! During our 7 nights we saw one other couple use it and also a mother and daughter chill out in there! It was October so some said it was too cold to go in but the water was hot so once in it was a lovely way to relax, so pack the swimwear as unlike an ocean cruise ship, the whirlpool is not packed out all the time!

  • @renof2505
    @renof2505 Жыл бұрын

    What time of year did you take this cruise?

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    This cruise was taken towards the end on October last year (2022)

  • @janehoward5245
    @janehoward5245 Жыл бұрын

    What were the options for dessert? Thx

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    A few choices, looking at some menus, these were some of our evening choices: Apple-caramel tart, ‘old Amsterdam’ icecream, cheese board, fruit plate. Raspberry mousse with chocolate, Oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts with raisins), ice cream, cheese board. Dark and white chocolate mousse duo, "Dutch" ice cream cup, Orange ricotta and berries with pistachio crunch, cheese board, fruit plate. Crème brûlée, "Wild Forest" mango yogurt cup, Soaked dried fruit compote, cheese board, fruit plate. Mango mousse with passion fruit sauce, banana cake with vanilla-rum sauce, Hazelnut and stracciatella ice cream with chocolate and fruit sauce, whipped cream, condiments and cones, cheese board.

  • @janehoward5245

    @janehoward5245

    Жыл бұрын

    @@CruiseMonkeys thanks so much!!

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Very welcome

  • @willstegall2527
    @willstegall2527 Жыл бұрын

    Did you feel pressure to dress up more on this style cruising? I feel like I would need to dress a bit nicer than on a traditional cruise ship.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Not at all, in-fact it’s the complete opposite, most of the time we felt overdressed just wearing a shirt and jeans, we could have easily got away with trainers and t-shirts. It was very informal and relaxed. Maybe one shirt for the gala evening but certainly not a suit or tux or anything. 👍🏻

  • @jacksonbritton4436
    @jacksonbritton4436 Жыл бұрын

    Can you cruise on Ventura

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    We’ve done Ventura twice in the past but the videos are done in our old style, just music. We will be doing Ventura & Azura again at some point, not sure when but hopefully one of them in the next year I’d have thought.

  • @bobcochran2890
    @bobcochran28902 ай бұрын

    It’s too bad Avalon has no verandas, which we’ve found to be heavenly on our many river cruises. The French balconies are just not a good option for us. That’s the only reason we’ve not cruised with them.

  • @tonyhayes8298
    @tonyhayes8298 Жыл бұрын

    Hi Lads , I have an apology to make to you both I made a comment that your vlogs would be much better if one of you didn’t get drunk all the time although I really enjoy your videos . I thought later and after watching many of your videos I was being the arsehole not you , why shouldn’t you let go when you want . Again I apologise. 🍹🍺🍾🍸🍷😘

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    No worries! Our vlogs are 'us being us' on our holidays and bringing you along, we understand they are not everyone's cup of tea. This is also why we also have other videos such as reviews, stateroom tours and etc on our channel. Hope you enjoy the vlog Avalon vlog series that we'll have going out this month and January, then later in the new year we'll be bringing you Caribbean sunshine :D

  • @tonyhayes8298

    @tonyhayes8298

    Жыл бұрын

    @@CruiseMonkeys I see you are on the Beyond in January. We are on it next September so I’m looking forward to see what you think .

  • @LindaLee-ft6wj

    @LindaLee-ft6wj

    Жыл бұрын

    @@CruiseMonkeys I don't drink and I love their journey on cruises. Feels so authentic.

  • @noname-JS
    @noname-JS Жыл бұрын

    Viking has Michelin rated chefs and has been ranked the higher. Bigger rooms, better food. It also handled the pandemic the best. Uniworld includes personal butlers and is allegedly exceptional. Did the older cruiser couples accept a same gender younger couple well?

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    We had a fabulous time on Avalon, so sounds like the others would be super posh! Not sure why you need a butler on a river cruise though, seems a bit over the top, but each to their own. Yes, we felt welcome by everyone, passengers and staff :)

  • @Bobsyerunkle

    @Bobsyerunkle

    2 ай бұрын

    From what I see the Viking ships hold more people and the rooms are smaller .. ships are all the same size to fit in the locks

  • @haroldcarlson7668
    @haroldcarlson7668 Жыл бұрын

    Cruising during a pandemic? Are you nuts??

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    Жыл бұрын

    Nuts? No. We in fact feel safer on cruise ships than we do at our local supermarkets, shopping centres and workplaces as they all have no restrictions. We were on the first cruise out of the UK in May 2021 and have since done 9 more cruises. We follow local restrictions and practice good hygiene as well as using some common sense. We totally understand some people still don’t feel safe about travelling and that is a personal decision. We can only share our experiences and hope they help everyone who loves travelling.

  • @lisabroucekmattson1039

    @lisabroucekmattson1039

    Жыл бұрын

    When I was on Panarama there were only 44 passengers with 41 crew! It was awesome (Oct 2021)!!!

  • @patmccullough5885
    @patmccullough588511 ай бұрын

    Thank you for these vlogs about your Avalon river cruise. I just returned from Avalon’s Active and Discovery Rhine cruise. Your videos were so accurate and informative. Our itinerary was somewhat different, but still very useful as many stops were identical. We selected many of the active excursion options, including kayaking in the canals of Amsterdam for 2 hours (quite a paddle), eBikes in the Black Forest, and a Heidelberg hike (the Philosopher’s Way). We were lucky to have nearly perfect weather. There were quite a few passengers in their 20s, including my son. I was surprised at the high level of activity with the excursions available to passengers looking for more activity than river cruises are known to provide. Thank you again.

  • @CruiseMonkeys

    @CruiseMonkeys

    11 ай бұрын

    We are so glad you found these videos useful and informative. As it was our first river cruise, we wanted to get as much info over as we count and share our genuine experiences, comments like this mean a lot to us, so thank you! It sounds like you had a truly fabulous time too. What surprised us to was how even on our cruise, if you wanted to be active you could, or if you just wanted to relax, that was fine too - we think river cruising really is underrated! Thanks again for the comment and for watching.