Avalon or UniWorld for Paris & Normandy?

[hmcrn]

Hi everyone! We have narrowed our spreadsheet down to two companies for a Seine River Cruise - Avalon or Uniworld. Several questions that I can't find answers for.

1. The room size difference is immense - 128 sq feet for Uniworld, and 200 sq feet for Avalon. How much will that matter? We don't spend too much time in the room, however if the weather is not good,(rainy or too humid) we will go and read instead of fighting for lounge space.

2. Weather - should we go in late May or late June/early July? We want sun, but don't want it to be too hot to walk/hike around. I hate humidity as well.

3. How bad/good is the wine on each ship? I don't care if it's free flowing or not. I just want some good wine. Do I have to pay for something decent? What about the beer? My husband likes Microbrews.

4. Can we bring on our own wine? Water? Beer? I can't find this on their websites.

5. One ship includes Bikes and bike tours. Has anyone been on one? Is it worth making that a deciding factor?

6. How much are the gratuities? Is it worth taking the cruise with them included?

 

So sorry for the multitude of questions! I hope you can help me out here!

Thanks!!!

[cbb]

I've only traveled with Avalon on the Paris to Normandy so can't answer many of your questions....but I really, really think you should travel in May.

 

Most of the places you will visit will be far less crowded then because the tourists tend to come in the summer months due to the schools schedule.

 

The towns you will visit will be lovely that time of year. Try not to visit in the summer.

 

as for the bikes I can't think of any place on that itinerary that they would be wonderful to have since some of the towns are perched in the hills. Mass transit in Lyon is excellent and walking the cobblestones would be easier in those Provencal towns than biking I'd think!

 

Be sure and go to Pont du Gard---unbelievable!

[Ritabob]

I can only speak for Uniworld in France....Go in May...springtime in Paris is delightful.

 

Cabin size is a bit squishy but very well laid out. If you are going to spend time in your cabin reading are you apt to do it lying in bed or sitting on a chair? Bed is comfy, small chairs are not. With a maximum of passengers around 130, we never felt the lounge was crowded on those damp or cool days.

 

Bicycles are available and a great way to tour around a bit to work off your dinner and the wine and the beers. Don't remember there being an organized bike tour, though.

 

We were pleased with the wines served with meals, but not much selection in beer.

There was no problem bringing your own beverages on board. I believe they would serve it to you at dinner for a nominal fee, and keep it chilled if required. We kept ours in our cabin for consumption there. (And discreetly elsewhere on board)

 

Gratuities are now included with Uniworld, so no need to worry about that.

 

Have a great trip no matter which line you chose, just enjoy!

[AttilaTheFun]

I agree with the late May recommendation.

 

For Uniworld, before they were all-inclusive, they suggested around 14 euros in gratuities per person, per day, excluding daily tour guides and drivers. Not sure if Avalon follows the same range, but that's all baked into the price of Uniworld now.

 

You can bring any beverage onboard Uniworld. They used to charge corkage fee for wine consumed in the lounge, but I assume they've done away with that as they are open-bar for the entire cruise now. I enjoyed the beers they offered onboard, but we were in Austria and Germany.

 

I would recommend Uniworld highly. I had a friend sail Avalon and she was disappointed with the pace of tours/time in port - feeling there wasn't enough time. Uniworld always impressed us with the quality of tours and balancing free time to explore ports on your own.

[peterdkiwi]

Will try to answer each of you questions

Have been to Paris, in April, May, June & July, weather has been good on each visit. Either time will be good, May would be cooler, but possibly a little less busy ( would not consider that a factor, ourselves)

We did Avalon Rhine Basel to Amsterdam early July 2013, weather was perfect, sunny everyday temps 26 to 30C

Avalon all suites except lowest deck 200 sqft with French Balcony, it was so nice to have the extra space and open the sliders on some warm days. Enough room to have guests in for a drink. Enough room that DW and myself were not falling over each other.

Wine selection - 6 of us Kiwis/Aussies, we have wine cellar at home with over 300 bottles, we found the wines excellent. One women in our group is very particular on the Sav Blanc she likes, Our wine Waiter found one to her liking and ensured that, he had that brand available every night for her. They usually have different wines each night from local region.

Yes we also brought some wines on the shore and had them in our room and also on the upper deck after Dinner, very pleasant at 10.00pm

Bike were not available, we were very keen prior to the trip to have bikes, but during trip decided that we would not have had time, enjoyed walking in each local town.

Gratuities - these can be prepaid (cheaper than cash payment recommendation at end of tour)Check Avalon Website in the booking section

Overall the 6 of us were very please with the timing of tours, arrival and departure times from each port and the amount of free time. I think this is a very personal choice, and what some are happy with other will either find to too tight or too much time.

We are traveling again with Avalon this July Prague to Budapest

Hope this helps, you will enjoy it so much you will want to do another one or two

Edited May 13, 2014 by peterdkiwi

[alexandra cruiser]

Besides those two,can also compare with AMA and Scenic for more hi end experience.I just put a hold on a Scenic for same area(next May)because I did a cost comparison and for ME it was a better deal.

If forced to make the other choice,would go with Uniworld just because my 2 experience on that line have been better than the one on Avalon.In every respect,better food,service,entertainment,etc.

But remember every SHIP in every LINE can be different in many respects.Also, ea.country seems to effect cruise experience too.

[hmcrn]

Thanks so much everyone! This has really helped!