AVALON Grand France April 2010

[thuyronald]

Hi everyone,

 

My husband and I will be going on our first Avalon Grand France river cruise trip starting April 26th and would like to know more information than what's in the brochure. We'll be on the Creativity and Scenery.

 

Wondering if anyone is on this same tour.

 

Has anyone been on this cruise before?

1)Where does the ship dock in Paris? We are doing our own airfare and arriving the day before so we will not use their transfer.

2)We would like to know the tours that Avalon offers and if there any optional tours worthwhile.

3) Any tips/suggestions/ feedback about this trip.

 

Thank you in advance for any feedback.

 

Thuy (Twee)

[webfoot]

We are also on Grand France but two weeks earlier than you are. We love Avalon river cruises.

 

Grand France is a new offering this year so you won't find much about the tour until closer time to go. In February or March they will post information on the optional tours.

 

In the documents that you get, you will get the name of your cruise director and where to meet. Often the cruise director doesn't know the exact location of the ship until right before leaving. Last year our ship was located at a different area of Amsterdam than the year before.

 

I am really getting excited about this trip!!!

[letsgo39]

Me too!! I am also getting excited. We are doing the Burgundy/Provence portion on the same dates as Webfoot.:D

[thuyronald]

I didn't realize this is the first year that they offer Grand France.

I guess I will have to wait until the documents come to see what optional tours are being offered.

 

We love France but have never been able to do a river cruise through this country due to the high price. We are also looking forward to going.

 

We have been only on the GCT Christmas along the Rhine so this would be our second river cruise. We are looking forward to sailing with Avalon especially since the ship is fairly new. Can hardly wait.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Thuy

[nbevins]

Are they offering any special prices?

[BigGuy25]

We were on the Scenery Nice to Paris trip (actually on the ship from Arles to Beaune) and absolutely loved it!! On that trip we sail the Rhone from Arles to Lyon and the the Seone from Lyon to Beaune.

[letsgo39]

We were on the Scenery Nice to Paris trip (actually on the ship from Arles to Beaune) and absolutely loved it!! On that trip we sail the Rhone from Arles to Lyon and the the Seone from Lyon to Beaune.

 

Did the ship sail at night or mostly during the day? I realize that the distance covered is not great. Did you post a review? Were there any cities where you docked overnight? Was there a lot of time in each city and was the docking near the city center?

 

Thanks for any info you can give me. We did the Budapest to Amsterdam cruise with Avalon a few years ago and it was the best vacation we have ever had.We have also taken several land tours with Globus which is why we originally booked with Avalon.They do such a good job.

[letsgo39]

Are they offering any special prices?

 

 

I just sent you an email. Special prices are being offered thru the online TA that we use.

[BigGuy25]

Did the ship sail at night or mostly during the day? I realize that the distance covered is not great. Did you post a review? Were there any cities where you docked overnight? Was there a lot of time in each city and was the docking near the city center?

 

Thanks for any info you can give me. We did the Budapest to Amsterdam cruise with Avalon a few years ago and it was the best vacation we have ever had.We have also taken several land tours with Globus which is why we originally booked with Avalon.They do such a good job.

 

The distance between cities was not great so the sailing time was not long. Sometimes only several hours. As I recall, we had only one afternoon sail. You would often sail late in the evening and dock at a fairly early hour in the morning. We did overnight in Arles on the first day.

 

Many of the fascinating towns you'll visit on the Scenery portion of your trip are charming and relatively small. The ship docks mostly in the center of the cities that you'll visit. My DW and I would take the ship's walking tour in the morning (you'll be up and on your way early each day). Sometimes a bus would take you to where the walking tour would begin ... other times the tour would begin right at the ship. My DW and I would often break away from the tour at the end (even when there was a bus involved) and stroll by ourselves back to the ship. It was always easy to find the river (just go "downhill!) and it allowed us time to experience the cities we stopped in and visit cafes, bakeries, bars, stores, etc.

 

We had an absolutely great time and can't wait for another Avalon trip. I didn't write a review ... but willing to attempt to answer any other questions.

[letsgo39]

Thank you. Do you recall what the optionals were and did you take any?

 

It sounds like you and your DW like to travel the same way we do. On our last river cruise we also always left the tour and did our own thing. We will be going to Paris a few days early so DH can see it. I have been there before but he has not. We have a reservation at a tiny hotel in the Rue Cler area.It only has 12 rooms and very good reviews on Tripadvisor and Fodors

[BigGuy25]

Mostly we did the ships tours that were part of our sailing ... and then explored on our own. We traveled with Burt Wolf (the PBS "Travels and Traditions" host) so I believe some of our included tours would have been optional on others. We really enjoyed the trip to the olive farm which included a fabulous "tasting" of oils in their tasting room. Many enjoyed the visit to Chateauneuf du Pape winery and, while we were docked in Avignon, a trip to the ancient aqueduct. We also took an optional dinner trip to Monte Carlo while we were in Nice.