Avalon Poetry II Review
First Time On The River; Avalon Central European Experience - Eastboun
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While very experienced ocean cruisers this was my wife’s, mine and our traveling companion’s first river cruise. We chose the Avalon Poetry II because of the itinerary, it being a suite ship and the overall good reviews of Avalon. Avalon did not disappoint and provided a most wonderful river cruise/tour experience.
This cruise tour originated in Paris, sailed the Moselle, Rhine and Main, and finished in Prague. We chose to add 4 pre-nights in Paris to the 2 nights included in the cruise tour and 2 additional post nights in Prague to the 2 included in the cruise tour.
After an uneventful flight from the U.S. to Paris we were greeted by a driver prearranged by Avalon for transfer to our hotel in a modern minivan. Arriving at the Hotel du Collectionneur Arc de Triomphe Paris around 10:00 am we checked in and surprisingly given our rooms. After a quick trip to our room to freshen up we embarked on our 6 night stay in Paris. On day 4 our cruise director Jerome appeared as scheduled and provided the information required for the remaining part of our cruise tour. The Hotel du Collectionneur Arc de Triomphe is an outstanding 4-5 star hotel with very nice accommodations and located close to 2 metro stations as well as the Arc de Triomphe. The hotel staffs were great, polite and helpful in every respect. A very good buffet breakfast was provided each morning included in the Avalon cost. On day 3 a large number of passengers for both this cruise and others appeared so the ambiance of a nice quite beautiful hotel changed slightly but the service remained outstanding.
Cabin Review
Outside Stateroom with French Balcony
This cabin was very nice, centrally located on deck 3 port side. The room is spacious with twin sliding glass windows essentially turning the stateroom into a covered balcony when opened. This room was very quite even when sailing. The room steward kept the room immaculate. The bathroom is large and modern (larger than those on ocean going vessels). The toiletries provided were top of the line. The bed was king size and comfortable. Storage space was very ample and we had no problem storing our cloths and other items. All in all this is a very nice stateroom.