Avalon is seeing double-digit growth following

TORONTO — Terri Burke, Avalon Waterways’ new Managing Director, Worldwide, has big shoes to fill. Taking over the reins from Patrick Clark, who’s retiring on Sept. 1, Burke credits her predecessor for pioneering the company’s award-winning Panorama Suite Ships, which currently make up 80% of its fleet.

Now six months into her new role, she’s intent on continuing the same tradition of excellence that Clark has set before her. What this entails, of course, is strengthening ties with retail agents and perfecting an already strong portfolio of river cruises around the world.

These two factors, coupled with the fact that Avalon has the power of the Globus brand behind it, have led to strong growth across the board. According to Burke, charters are up double the amount for 2018 over 2017, and specialty cruises are up 54% for 2018. Groups has been experiencing double-digit growth for years now, while singles is up 75% in 2017-2018 over last year, thanks in large part to Avalon’s first-ever offer to waive the single supplement on every Europe departure in 2018. As for ever-popular Christmas Market cruises, there’s only a handful of staterooms still up for grabs for 2017, which is particularly significant considering the company has made an effort to triple its holiday product for 2018.

In short, 2017 is turning out to be a much different story than last year. “2016 was a tough year for us but 2017 is a rebound year with double-digit growth. Even more, 2018 is trending ahead of 2017,” says Burke, who met with Canadian media yesterday at the Toronto head office of Globus family of brands.

Here’s a rundown of what’s new and exciting at Avalon for the 2017/2018 season:

Avalon’s Active Discovery Cruises have recently expanded to include eight new sailings on the Rhine, which doubles the capacity of these special nine-day cruises. Sailing between Amsterdam and Frankfurt, Active Discovery Cruises include such activities as biking, hiking, painting, touring an extinct volcano and visiting a coal mine. Each activity can be combined with Avalon’s complimentary tours at each port of call.
The new Avalon Saigon, sister ship to the Avalon Myanmar and Avalon Siem Reap, will debut in September 2018 with a new 18-day itinerary that will also include a two-night cruise in Halong Bay.
Created in conjunction with two of Europe’s rising culinary stars – the Wrenkh brothers – Avalon Fresh menus offer healthy dining options that include fresh ingredients from small farms and local producers. Menus now feature special icons that indicate which dishes have been made with local ingredients and reflect the cuisine of the destination.
New itineraries for 2018 include: the 21-day ‘Ultimate Southeast Asia & the Majestic Mekong (Bangkok to Hanoi, and reverse); the 16-day ‘Spirit of Myanmar & the Untouched Upper Irrawaddy’ (Yangon to Yangon); the eight-day ‘Tulip Time Cruise’ (Amsterdam to Amsterdam); and the eight-day ‘Active Discovery on the Rhine’ (Frankfurt to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Wiesbaden).
Regional wine and beer are now available with lunch and dinner, plus complimentary mimosas are included with breakfast.
Six complimentary bicycles are available to guests on each Europe ship sailing in 2018.
New special interest cruises in 2018 include Author and Garden cruises, plus there are 54% more themed departures for wine, music, history, beer and Christmas. Avalon’s Author Cruise with Diana Gabaldon, author of the bestselling ‘Outlander’ novels, sold out in just one week.
In light of recent terror attacks, Burke confirmed that enhanced security measures have been made onboard. In addition, this past April in Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, the company welcomed aboard local fire brigades, hospital staff and port authorities for a meet & greet. According to Burke, not only does this help build Avalon communities abroad, it helps streamline procedures in the event of an emergency.

To read more about what’s new at Avalon, check out the lead article in the June 22 issue of Travelweek! Canadian travel agents can subscribe for free to the magazine here.