I received so much helpful information on Cruise Critic before we sailed that I want to share our recent experience on the Avalon Creativity in hope of helping others with their decisions. What follows is a general review of our very pleasant journey.
Embarkation: We chose to fly to Paris independently so we could use flyer miles. We arrived in Paris, boarded an Air France bus to the Gare Montparnasse and took a short walk to our hotel,the Concorde Montparnasse. We chose the hotel because it was close to the Pullman Montparnasse where we would be getting the bus to the ship the next day. We dropped our bags at the Pullman around noon the next day and took the metro to the Notre Dame area. We spent the afternoon in the Ile St Louis, where we had a pleasant lunch and returned to board the bus for a short trip to the Creativity. Boarding was easy, and within a few minutes we were in our cabin where our bags were waiting.
The Creativity: We loved the ship! It's 3 years old and shows absolutely no wear. The cabin is not large, but very cleverly designed with ample storage space.