2021 Danube Dreams River Cruise: Avalon Envision Dining Review

Destinations/Ports Series: 2021 Danube Dreams River Cruise

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I really liked the food on Avalon. Probably the aspect I enjoyed the most was that most meals featured several options that were local cuisine like Goulash in Hungary, Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna, and Bavarian sausages in Germany. Avalon also embraces the concept of fresh, locally procured provision with their Avalon Fresh concept. Avalon partners with the Wrenk brothers who own a gourmet vegetarian restaurant in Vienna to curate the Avalon Fresh menu and concept. While each meal does feature an offering of their vegetarian specialties like savory pumpkin strudel, they offer one or two options for beef or pork, fish, our fowl like chicken or duck.

Dinner is a sit down affair in the Panorama Dining room with full service and at least 4 courses. With a wider variety of options on the different every night menu, guest can enjoy a different taste every night. For those guests who are unable to find an option on the changing menu, there are always standard chicken, fish and beef options. Food was fresh tasting and always served at the correct temperatures. Here are a few pictures of the evening meals we enjoyed.

Breakfast was served buffet style every morning. It was pretty similar every day with a wide variety of meats, egg dishes, potato dishes, breads, cheese and fruit.

Lunch offered a wide varitety of continental food, regional cuisine and even Asian noodle soup was offered one day.

I was completely remiss in remembering to photograph the wines, but I thought they were all excellent. Each night they had a featured red and white wine, but there was also an option for rose or to choose a different one from their list. Premium wines were also available, but we stuck with the featured wine which was not swill, but wines that would retail for about $20 to $40 a bottle. We also brought our own bottle of Hungarian dessert wine one night and they didn’t charge us corkage. The service was excellent and I think a true reflection of the kind of service guests might get on a full ship. They were carrying a full nautical crew but the hospitality staff was reduced due to the reduced occupancy of the ship. We found the service to be attentive, personalized and friendly.

There were a couple of times that the ship hosted a pre-dinner reception and toast including embarkation day and farewell day. On those occasions, they served light appetizers and champagne for toasting. The rest of the time in the main bar the drinks were on a pay per glass basis. They had some different wines, a variety of beers, and they were usually able to also bring guests the same regional wines that were served with meals. In the afternoons, they offered tea and pasties in the Panorama lounge.

Suzanne Klasen

Suzanne Klasen is the Owner / Travel Advisor of CruiseOne Suzanne Klasen. We have combined our love of cruising with computer skills to bring you a very informative and entertaining site that follows my cruising travels and thoughts. I hope that you will let me help plan your next vacation.