Awards

Recognized as One of the World’s Best River Cruise Lines

Cruise Critic

USA Today 10Best

2019

• Avalon Waterways ranked in the top 10 River Cruise Lines in USA Today’s 10Best 2019 readers’ choice awards.
• Avalon Envision® ranked in the top 10 River Cruise Ships in USA Today’s 10Best 2019 readers’ choice awards.

2015 Avalon Waterways ranked in the top 10 River Cruise Lines in USA Today’s 10Best 2015 readers’ choice awards.

Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards

2011 Best River Cruise Ship (Avalon Panorama^SM)

Sherman’s Travel

2011 Best River Ship Debut (Avalon Panorama^SM)

Travel Weekly Magellan Awards

2011

• Silver Winner/Cruise Ship: Advertising/Marketing Campaign (Avalon Panorama^SM)
• Silver Winner/Cruise Ship: Overall River Cruise Ship (Avalon Panorama^SM)
• Silver Winner/Cruise Ship: Overall River Cruising (Avalon Waterways)

2009

• Gold Winner/Cruise Ship: Best Overall River Cruising
• Silver Winner/Cruise Ship: River Cruise Ship (Avalon Affinity®)
• Silver Winner/Cruise Ship: Marketing Campaign (Virtual Tours)

Conde Nast Traveler

2012

• Top 5 Best River Cruise Lines
• Top 40 Cruise Ships 2012 (Avalon Scenery®)

2011

• Top 5 Best River Cruise Lines

2010 Top Cruise Ships 2010 2009

• Gold List
• Top Cruise Ships 2009

2008 Voted a Top 10 Small-Ship Cruise Line in 2008 Reader’s Choice awards

Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel

2009 Best Value in River Cruising

Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards

Travel Age West WAVE Awards

• Best Trade Advertising Campaign
• “Editor’s Pick” for River Cruising

Avalon Traveler Icons: Cambodia Project

Kailyan Mith program Siem Reap; part of the ChildSafe Network Visiting Cambodia can be a life-changing experience. Two things that visitors remember are the amazing archaeological treasures and the Cambodian people. Their warm, friendly personalities truly leave a lasting impression-as do their touching stories. Today, there is no story more important to tell than the growing number of children living in poverty.

Siem Reap, with its proximity to the temples of Angkor, has developed into a major tourism center in Cambodia. In 2013, Cambodia saw 4.2 million tourists and over half of these visitors arrived through Siem Reap. This recent growth in tourism has brought a good deal of wealth to the city, which has led a growing number of impoverished families to move to the city from surrounding villages in hopes of a better life. Often unprepared and with few employable skills, the hope for economic opportunities has instead increased the number of children, families, and mothers with small babies begging or selling souvenirs to tourists on the streets and around the temples.

To respond to these challenges, Avalon, in partnership with Tourism Cares, is proud to help fund the ChildSafe Network. Initiated by Friends-International, this powerful, proven program enlists the tourism community, both local and international, to support the welfare, advancement, and safety of children.

In Siem Reap, the ChildSafe Network is run by the Friends-International program Kaliyan Mith, which offers a comprehensive range of services and projects. This includes outreach to children and youth living on the streets, providing a safe space for young people through drop-in centers, an educational center and school re-integration, vocational training and employment for youth and their parents, and the provision of temporary accommodation through a transitional home. The program also includes awareness-raising campaigns where child begging is especially prominent as well as a 24/7 ChildSafe Emergency Hotline.

Avalon is a firm believer in this mission. Education is the key-not only for the children but for all visitors, and we do all we can to ensure that the begging lifestyle is not promoted on our journeys that visit Siem Reap and the rest of Asia.