Avalon Poetry II Review
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We chose this cruise because we went on Avalon Tranquility 2 in July and loved it so much. We booked this cruise for some late Summer sun - unfortunately we chose the wrong week for this. The two nights in Paris allowed us to make the most of a great location near the Champs Elysee. A magnificent hotel and a good room made this a great start for the holiday. The TGV ride to Dijon was also enjoyable with booked seats. We enjoyed a visit to Beaune despite the rain and onto embarkation. We were really looking forward to this trip in the sister ship enjoyed in July. Our stateroom was again on the Royal Deck even though we booked it very late (maybe a cancellation). This time 304 - more about that later!!!
The cruise down the river on the Sunday was behind a rainy window but nevertheless in comfort. We made the most of the excursions provided and enjoyed exploring the towns and cities. A highlight for us was Lyon, Arles and Avignon. We had been before and it was good to spend more time there with experienced guides. The weather improved by the time we reached Avignon and we knew this was what we had been missing. The boat is not quite as well managed as the Tranquility 2, the cruise director was efficient and good, the people on the cruise were great but many more less active guests than last time. We made some very good friends again in Australian and USA as well as more UK people this time. The food was good and service again for dinner, except for the disappointing night we had a buffet Asian evening - not what we ordered!! Avalon are introducing this on all their trips and it is definitely not a good thing - as the restaurant is not designed for so many people to be served at once. I ate less that night as it was so difficult to work out what to have and to queue up. The lunches were good and the tasting menu again enjoyed. Overall we ate more and the dinners always included soup and the portions were heavier and more. We loved the afternoon tea and twice they served crepes with ice cream - as speciality but really too much before our dinner... I should not have been tempted but they were good. We will go again with Avalon and I think the rain spoilt our trip and the ambience wasn't as good on Poetry compared with Tranquility for some reason I find hard to explain.
Cabin Review
Outside Stateroom with French Balcony
304 has already been reviewed in August. WE also had a problem with a smell in our stateroom and I now wish I had made more comments. We also found that when the window was open (rare on this cruise as it rained), we were near the food preparation and there was a smell of food. We loved being near the lounge and amenities however so a great place next to the royal suites. I mentioned the smell early on - it was mostly in the bathroom and smelt worst in the cupboard. I also complained about the gurgling water noise which was explained as the air conditioning below the grill. This was not always present and did not really present a problem. The bathroom smell never disappeared and bugged me but I did not want it to spoil the trip so made no further comment. I did wipe out the cupboard and definitely there were something on the cupboard shelves & it improved a bit. The sewage smell did appear but not bad and we knew from a previous trip that when anchored up there can be smells but they soon disappear. Loved the stateroom otherwise and the maid was great and good fun.
Port Reviews
Avignon
Really great place to visit. Here we also found the sun!
Arles
Very interesting tour of arena and town and asylum building where Van Gogh was taken when he cut off his ear... portrayed in one of his paintings.