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Ship comparison

Avalon Illumination vs S.S. Clara

The verdict

Which should you choose?

Avalon Illumination is an intimate Avalon Waterways ship carrying 166 passengers, in service since 2014. S.S. Clara is an intimate Uniworld River Cruises ship carrying 154 passengers, due to enter service in 2028.

Choose Avalon Illumination if you want a more active cruise or more cruises to choose from: it outscores S.S. Clara for active (7.0 vs 5.8) in Cruiseable’s Bliss scores and it has 56 cruises on sale (vs none).

Choose S.S. Clara if you want a newer ship, more adventure and nature or better-rated dining: it outscores Avalon Illumination for adventure & nature (5.0 vs 3.0) and dining (8.5 vs 7.0) in Cruiseable’s Bliss scores and its maiden voyage was in 2028 (vs 2014).

Side by side

Specifications

marks the better figure where more, or less, is plainly better.

Avalon IlluminationS.S. Clara
Cruise line Avalon Waterways Uniworld River Cruises
Ship size Intimate Intimate
Maiden voyagenewer highlighted 2014 2028 (better)
Gross tonnage 5,000 5,000
Passengers 166 154
Crew 47 57
Passengers per crew memberfewer is better 3.5 2.7 (better)
Space per passengergross tons per passenger; more is roomier 30.1 32.5 (better)
Decks 4 4
Length 361 ft 443 ft
Beam 37 ft 39 ft
Speed 9 mph 14 mph
Cruiseable ratingout of 10 8 / 10 9 / 10 (better)
Cruises on sale 56 —
Upcoming sailings 216 —
Cruise lengths 4–24 nights —
Fares fromlower highlighted $2,406 —

Bliss scores

How they rate, out of 10

Cruiseable rates ships out of 10 on ten parts of a cruise holiday. Avalon Illumination leads on 3 of the ten, S.S. Clara on 5, with 2 level.

  • Active Avalon Illumination: 7.0 S.S. Clara: 5.8
  • Adventure & nature Avalon Illumination: 3.0 S.S. Clara: 5.0
  • Cultural Avalon Illumination: 8.0 S.S. Clara: 9.0
  • Dining Avalon Illumination: 7.0 S.S. Clara: 8.5
  • Entertainment Avalon Illumination: 5.0 S.S. Clara: 5.0
  • Family friendly Avalon Illumination: 4.0 S.S. Clara: 3.5
  • Party Avalon Illumination: 3.0 S.S. Clara: 3.0
  • Romantic Avalon Illumination: 8.0 S.S. Clara: 8.8
  • Spa & fitness Avalon Illumination: 7.0 S.S. Clara: 6.5
  • Staterooms Avalon Illumination: 8.0 S.S. Clara: 8.3

Avalon Waterways

Avalon Illumination

There’s both serenity and a measure of adventure when cruising Central Europe’s famed waterways aboard Avalon Illumination.

Highlights

  • Wall-to-Wall Panoramic Windows
  • Sky Deck with premium lounge chairs
  • Panorama bistro
  • Expanded fitness center

Sailing now

56 cruises on sale, from $2,406.

Questions

Avalon Illumination or S.S. Clara?

Which is bigger, Avalon Illumination or S.S. Clara?

They are the same size, 5,000 gross tons each. Avalon Illumination carries 166 passengers and S.S. Clara carries 154.

Which has more space per passenger?

S.S. Clara, with 32.5 gross tons per passenger against 30.1 on Avalon Illumination. The higher the figure, the more ship there is for each guest.

Which has more crew per passenger?

S.S. Clara, with one crew member for every 2.7 passengers against one for every 3.5 on Avalon Illumination.

Which is better for families?

Avalon Illumination scores higher for family friendliness in Cruiseable’s Bliss scores: 4.0 out of 10, against 3.5 for S.S. Clara.

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