Avalon Waterways is a

river cruise A river cruise is a voyage along inland waterways, often stopping at multiple ports along the way. Since cities and towns often grew up around rivers, river cruise ships frequently dock in the center of cities and towns. Descriptions River d ...

company owned by the Globus family of brands and offers cruises in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

."New Kid on the River,"
''Vacation Agent Magazine'' The company became a member of

Cruise Lines International Association Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is a cruise line trade association. It merged with International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) in 2006, forming an expanded organization incorporating the existing functions of both organizations. The ...

(CLIA) in August 2009.

History and ship design

Avalon Waterways started operations in 2004 with just one initial ship, called ''Avalon Artistry''. The following year, the company added the ''Avalon Poetry'' to its fleet. As of 2019, the company operates ships on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

, Rhone,

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

and Saone in Europe; The

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

, as well as on the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

(in China), the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

(in India) and the Amazon River (in Peru). Avalon Waterways has earned river cruise operator awards including "Best European river line" in 2019."Sail Away: These Are the Most Popular Cruise Destinations," CNN
/ref>

Fleet

Since its launch in 2004, Avalon Waterways has christened 23 new ships in

and three new ships in Southeast Asia."The River Cruise Boom: Cruising through Europe,"
''Miami Herald''

Special interest cruises

Avalon has offered a range of special interest cruises including culinary-, beer- and Christmas-themed itineraries.

Godmothers

Godmothers of its ships in Europe have included TV personality

Meredith Vieira Meredith Louise Vieira (born December 30, 1953) is an American broadcast journalist and Celebrity, television personality. She is best known as the original moderator of the daytime talk show ''The View (talk show), The View'' (1997–2006), the ...

, '' Eat, Pray, Love'' author

Elizabeth Gilbert Elizabeth Gilbert (born July 18, 1969) is an American journalist and author. She is best known for her 2006 memoir '' Eat, Pray, Love'', which has sold over 30 million copies and has been translated into over 30 languages. The book was also mad ...

, '' Outlander'' author

Diana Gabaldon Diana J. Gabaldon (; born January 11, 1952) is an American author and television writer. She is best known for the book series ''Outlander''. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventu ...

, singer/songwriter

Jann Arden Jann Arden (born Jann Arden Anne Richards; March 27, 1962) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, author and actress. She is best known for her signature ballads, " Could I Be Your Girl" and " Insensitive", which is her biggest hit to date, as well ...

, ''

1,000 Places to See Before You Die ''1,000 Places to See Before You Die'' is a 2003 travel book by Patricia Schultz, published by Workman. A revised edition was published in November 2011. The new edition is in color. An iPad app debuted in December 2011. According to Schultz, ...

'' author

Patricia Schultz Patricia Schultz (born is an American travel writer and author. Her books include the bestseller ''1,000 Places to See Before You Die'', which had over three million copies in print as of 2019. Early life Schultz was born and raised in Beaco ...

and U.S. Women’s National Team coach

Jill Ellis Jillian Anne Ellis (born 6 September 1966) is an English-American football manager and executive who is the Chief Football Officer of FIFA and will serve as part of the world governing body's executive management team, driving the development an ...

.“New Avalon Waterways Ship Christened in Europe,”
''USA Today'', April 13, 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Avalon Waterways Avalon Waterways Group Voyagers Cruise lines River cruise ships Hospitality companies of Switzerland Hospitality companies established in 2004 Swiss companies established in 2004