We wanted to tour Southern France. This was a wine cruise and we sampled the local wines, visited small villages and enjoyed The French countryside. We flew to Monaco and spent a day there at the Fairmont Monte Carlo Hotel. We were then bussed to Arles to embark on our cruise. The Poetry II is a smaller ship than other Avalon River ships. It was clean, and beautifully designed. Everything was so well organized. Our beautiful cruise director, Gayle Walters did an outstanding job keeping us informed of the next day’s activities and organizing everything. The walking tours were excellent. The guides did a wonderful job of teaching us local history, making sure we walked in the shade ( it was 95 to 100 degrees every day). Food aboard the ship was lovely and as an added bonus we had a wine expert aboard who educated us about the local wines, which we enjoyed immensely. Upon disembarkation, we boarded the TGV and headed to Paris for two nights. Our hotel, the Intercontinental, Paris Le Grand was opulent to say the least. This was our second Avalon cruise and we continue to be great Avalon fans. The crew on the ship were amazing, in particular, our Hungarian waiter, Axlos, saw to our every need.
We were never in our cabin. That said it had ample storage, a nice shower and perfectly suited our needs.