Travelmarvel Premium Cruise and Tours Avis 

We had a wonderful time on our River Cruise , the schedule and quality was excellent , it was our first River Cruise , beautiful tranquility .

Ship was comfortable and exemplary clean , room was functional , shower was excellent , food choices were very good , wine selection limited but what we had was adequate and affordable. Dining room was very noisey when well descended at the same time ( not pleasant )

Getting on and off the ship was not very good . Stairs were very steep on our return to Port , not easy for people with limited movement.

Staff were excellent in all departments

We left Amsterdam on 20th July 2026 and just reached Budapest.we have been on buses, lost 3 days of our holiday on the road due to very low levels of water in the Rhine and Danube. We have been on 4 different boats!!!
Our cruise should have been cancelled.

Utterly professional, efficient and reliable. Prompt response where required. Would highly recommend.

The ship was wonderful.the staff very friendly and helpful. The food was nice. The trips were good. Everything went to plan. Super trip. Eat some wonderful Australians

The ship and crew were really friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. The food was ‘plentiful’ and of an excellent quality.
Our only concern relates to changing ship at the halfway point due to low water issues connected with the exceptional heatwave, but that was not the fault of anyone. It was frustrating to have to repack again, but the crew handled everything as best as they could. 😊

Cruise Director was outstanding and staff helpful and friendly, + an excellent itinerary with great support and organisation, despite a transfer between ships because of low water levels!

Great trip in all respect. Will definitely do another river cruise with Travelmarvel.

A cruise of two halves, we had to change ships mid cruise due to low river levels. Whilst the ships were sister ships, the experience was completely different, the first ship was very good to excellent, but the second ship was distinctly average. Notwithstanding this the overall experience was good with plenty of interesting but similar off ship excursions.

Service and quality as always front and centre at Travelmarvel. The accommodation and comfort is excellent. Cruising on the Douro is spectacular and scenic. However the off ship excursions often involved lengthy coach journeys which then left time at the location visited shorter than desirable. The start and finish location at the marina across the river from Porto was also a disappointment as would have been nice to have had the chance to walk into Porto and experience the city at our own pace.
Despite this, looking forward to our next Travelmarvel experience . Thanks to the crew and all aboard the Estrella.

This was our first river cruise ever so there was some apprehension on our part as to what we would experience. The ship's crew, front and back of house staff and last but not least the housekeeping team were all outstanding. Trips on land were organised, informative and always done with due care and attention to the guests safety. All of this was done with a smile at whatever time of day or night. Thank you to everyone for giving us a really great holiday.

Well organised, from being collected from home to return.
Our tour director, Ana, was excellent. Friendly, knowledgable, well organised and happy to help with any unforeseen problems. Without her help (and a friend she happened to know in the airport ‘Lost & Found’) I don’t know when we would have finally been reunited with our lost luggage!
The Croatian coast was beautiful. Because of the size of ship we visited some fascinating places, not accessible to larger cruiseliners , with the benefit also of having opportunity to explore the various towns more in the evenings, as always in port overnight.

From start to finish holiday was fantastic. Everything was on time and staff were all amazing. Tour guides were very knowledgable and friendly. Ship was fantastic and couldn’t fault food or staff.

Super comfortable boat with really delightful staff. Headed by Artur who looked after every detail. Food plentiful & delicious. We commended Aung our steward and Ry our waitress. The daily trips were well organised and interesting, our guide Rubin was patient and clear with excellent clear English. Elizabeth was a super coach driver. If I have one suggestion, on the guided tour around Porto. Please think of renting open topped buses and giving an overview of the whole city. The tour we had was very limited, there is so much more to see than our short walking tour. Travelmarvel are very unusual in allowing guests with later flights to stay on board until early afternoon at the end of the cruise. Most appreciated.

Food on board was truly excellent, and all the crew were fantastic, service was faultless. One item that felt wanting was the coffee - only a hot drinks machine was available, despite an unused barista machine being behind the bar.

Excellent staff! We felt we were the only cruise that year the attention was so good. This is housekeeping, restaurant and nautical crew plus the management. I didn’t meet the laundry staff but their work was first class.

Artur and his team made this a memorable trip where we made some great friends.
The cabin was spacious with lots of storage space and room under the bed for unpacked cases. Lots of plugs and charging points. The bathroom was well configured and the complimentary shampoo, body wash etc were of a good quality. The bed was really comfortable with two huge pillows! Our housekeeper was invisible in a good way! The bedroom was always well cleaned and there were options for frequency of change of towels.
The food was delicious with a great deal of choice and options. Desert pastries were freshly made and snacks provided throughout the day, including fresh fruit. Wines served were of a good quality.
The guides were very knowledgeable and stayed throughout the trip.
Entertainment was at the right level, a couple of nights with traditional groups, a night of a very competitive general knowledge quiz and an hilarious karaoke night. It is clear that Artur is a great team leader and brings out the best in his team and so much goes on behind the scenes.
Salamanca was a lovely excursion but would suggest the guided tour is first before free time as there are definitely places you would want to revisit. The port wine tasting was the standout. We went on the optional tour to Guimaraes which we paid for. I was disappointed that there were no entries to places of interest and it was effectively a coach trip with a 30 minute walking tour which I didn’t think was particularly good value for money. The other two visits, one to the Mateus Palace was interesting although a lot of the gardens were overgrown, not sure that the Castelo Rodrigo was really worth the journey or the walking over the cobblestones.
The trip to Porto gave you the option of remaining in the city and catching the shuttle bus back.
The scenery was beautiful but if you were expecting the charm of the Rhine or the Danube you would be disappointed.
We had an issue with the pricing of this trip but settled it with the head office.

A really good holiday from start to finish. Excellent ship. Local guides onboard were brilliant especially Rita. Food excellent. Onboard entertainment good.

The staff were fantastic so helpful and friendly-all we came into contact with
The food was excellent- not one bad meal and the ship was superb

Overall the cruise was very good value but we were disappointed with the length of time in some towns. We were particularly keen to see Nuremberg but a quick bus tour and some spare time failed to deliver. The day was shared with Regensburg which was also very attractive and worthy of a longer stay. Conversely we spent almost a day and a half in Passau which wasn’t that interesting. A large number of passengers opted to take trips to Salzburg and the Czech Republic while the rest of us sailed to Linz. This bit of the journey was spoiled for us by the non stop inane piano music in the lounge - lift music is the best description. We were lucky however to get to Linz by early afternoon. A beautiful town worthy of a day to itself. The passengers who had gone off on trips arrived around 5pm and had little time to appreciate it.
We had to change ships halfway due to low water levels. That was very well handled by the staff. Our cruise direct, Andrew, was outstanding.Although the ships are identical, and you retain the same room number etc , our bed onboard the second ship wasn’t particularly comfortable due to a soft mattress.
I informed reception but I’m not convinced they did change it as it remained uncomfortable.
Staff on both ships were great , food was excellent, very good value overall and would certainly recommend. We had to walk through Viking ships a couple of times which is normal on river cruises as the ships berth side by side. The interior looked a bit more elegant and there appeared to be a quiet area , but I believe Viking are significantly more expensive.
If you’re new to river cruises, as we were, I would certainly give Travelmarvel a go.
The majority of your fellow travellers will be from Australia or New Zealand as the company is Australian owned.