Our cruise upstream on the Rhone was perfect. It is a part of France that is less known but the off ship excursions were consistently interesting and the local guides very knowledgeable and also added many personal anecdotes to add to the official history. In particular we enjoyed the tours of Perouges and Beanne, but all were worthwhile.
On the ship we were spoiled by consistently high quality food and the room was well maintained by Anna our housekeeper.
The focal point of the cruise was our cruise director John Lupe who managed all of the off ship excursions and also provided information on each locality before we arrived. Jean Lupe set a high standard from the moment we met him in Monaco until our final farewell in Dijon. The entire crew of the Avalon Poetry II are a credit to Avalon and I would not hesitate to do the whole cruise again.
Surprisingly spacious. We enjoyed the ability to slide back the large windows in the Autumn sun which turned the whole cabin space into a balcony. The room attendant tidied the room twice a day, and was always discrete and efficient.
The Roman Ruins were interesting and we really enjoyed hearing about the Van Gogh history in the town.
Great tour of the popes palace and a pleasant walk back to the ship through the old town.
Morning tour of the old city. No spectacular buildings but great stories from our guide.