Avalon Waterways’ new river
cruise ship has debuted with
an Australian godmother
and 99% Australian guests.
THE WATER LEVELS OF THE RHINE MAY BE LOW,
but Avalon’s popularity among Australasians
is exceptionally high.
All but two of the passengers on
tomorrow’s maiden voyage of Avalon
Panorama – and more than 50% of guests
booked for the rest of the year – are from
Australia, with one from New Zealand and
another from the US.
The modern hotel-style ship was christened
on the weekend in Mainz, Germany, by
Aussie Today show host Lisa Wilkinson.
Moments before the traditional smashing
of a champagne bottle against the bow,
Wilkinson announced: “The deal is, if it
doesn’t break, I have to skull the reserve
bottle – but I’ve decided that even if it does
break, I’m going to skull it anyway.”
It was a fitting Aussie toast to the new
vessel, equipped with a rooftop BBQ and
spa, a 24-hour cappuccino machine, Wii
games console and 30% more cabin space
than the industry standard.
Named after the 64 ‘panoramic suites’
with wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows,
which slide open to create an open-air
viewing area, Panorama also has two larger
‘royal suites’ and 17 staterooms.
Other features include a restaurant, two
lounges, hair salon, gym, free wi-fi internet
and marble bathrooms stocked with
L’Occitane products.
“This is the new standard, a new class of
ship, and the response has been
phenomenal,” said Patrick Clark, Avalon
Waterways’ global managing director.
“It’s 97% booked for 2011 and about 55%
of passengers are Australian.”
Panorama is operating 15-day
‘Magnificent Europe’ cruises on the Rhine
and Danube between Amsterdam and
Budapest, priced from $4526pp twin-share.
A limited number of cabins are still
available this year on the five-night and
seven-night ‘Christmas Markets’ sailings in
November.
For details, contact a travel agent.
