THE AVALON WAY Avalon Waterways scores high with its cruise directors

Posted on 06/13/2016

Being a tour director is not the easy ‘glam’ job that passengers and others often perceive it to be. As Nancy Paredes, a cruise director for Avalon Waterways, who was in Toronto recently, said, “there’s no manual to river cruising. I’m a concierge first and a cruise director next.”

Paredes had actually left river cruising when Avalon persuaded her to come back, giving her a free cruise to try out their new product and service. She loved it and she was hooked.
“I love Avalon,” she said passionately, “there’s always a back-up plan and I know I have a support system behind me – it is after all the Globus Family of Brands.”
And of course, in spite of everything, things can go wrong. On a river cruise the river is always a factor. “High water, low water, no water, lock break!” she rhymes off. These things happen says Paredes, but, “but the bottom line is The Globus Family of Brands has clout. If something goes wrong try to find 100 rooms in Vienna, or in packed Prague.”
Not many companies can, but Avalon can and it always has a back-up plan.
They have carefully chosen the rivers on which they sail as ones that have the least issues, Avalon’s itineraries don’t include the Po, the Douro or the Elbe rivers, which, according to Paredes, can only be navigated 50 to 60 percent of the time.
“We do rivers we can sail 99 percent of the time,” says Paredes, “Travel agents sell river cruises and that’s what we deliver.”
“We are Swiss,” she says, “you buy a Swiss watch for precision and functionality. That’s what you get with us – Swiss functionality - it’s what allows me to do my job.”
The Ships
Avalon’s ships are all purpose built “from scratch.” They don’t refurbish other ships Paredes says, and they have taken the time to carefully think the process through and consult customers. That led to Avalon’s decision to provide guests with the largest most comfortable living space within the restrictions of length and width dictated by the locks the ships must navigate along Europe’s waterways.
Consequently Avalon’s angled walls create more space and its scrapping of narrow balconies in favour of larger staterooms with innovative 11 foot glass panels that open to create a 7 foot floor to ceiling window facing the bed, virtually brings the outside in and are hugely popular with guests.
aval_suite
It’s not ocean cruising
While more and more river cruise passengers come from ocean cruising, Paredes, says passengers must understand that the two are not the same. There are no ocean amenities on river ships – no Broadway shows, no water slides, no climbing walls, no swimming pools and water slides, no movies - it makes no sense to have such things on a river cruise.
One other misconception is the fact that some passengers expect an all-inclusive experience. Consumers don’t understand the price point she says. What you can expect on Avalon is good fresh food, a choice of European wines with dinner and local entertainment in the evenings.
River cruising is not ocean cruising. On river cruising - especially when it comes to capacity – less is more.
“I like the intimacy,” says Paredes, “it’s my little rose coloured world.”
Exotic destinations
Clearly cruising the Irrawaddy and the Mekong are special adventures. Unlike other cruise ships in Vietnam, The Avalon Siem Reap has just 18 cabins and was specifically designed to offer the best cruise experience on the Mekong River. Its size allows it to sail from Ho Chi Min city to Saigon, eliminating the need to bus that portion of the trip, as other cruises must do.

The Irrawaddy says Paredes is the last pristine river in the world, and you have about five years left to experience the beauty of it.
The cruise from Bagan To Mandalay in Myanmar on the Irrawaddy goes through some very shallow areas, even necessitating the use of metre sticks, but getting stuck on a sandbank is part of the adventure.
Travellers, Paredes says, find Asia irresistible. “True travellers have long left Europe. They’re in Asia.”
But she notes, some agents are reluctant to sell Asia because they are unfamiliar with the product.
“It really helps to study it,” she said and suggests travel agents check the courses that Avalon offers on www.agentlingo.ca.
She is a keen advocate of booking through a travel agent as opposed to using the internet.
“If your vacation falls apart the internet has no solution. ”

Making a difference
“Travel, says Paredes, “is all about expectation, and our job is to meet that expectation.”
Avalon cruise directors are fully briefed and are knowledgeable, “across the board – it’s The Avalon Way,” she says.
Paredes says the cruise directors are in agreement that they have never been with a company like Avalon that listens and works with their staff, “and we’re all alphas” she laughs.
The Avalon executive she says will seek the advice of cruise directors on changes or innovations and will act on their suggestions as to the implementation.
“It’s the Avalon Way,” reiterates Paredes.