Avalon Waterways River Cruise Line lived up to its reputation as an excellent tour company with their client's best interests at heart. Our trip was called Grand France Northbound and we experienced two different Avalon ships: Poetry 11 and Tapestry 11. We flew from Toronto and landed in Nice, France. Avalon picked us up at the airport and from this point all our needs were taken care of. Our excursion started in Monaco, Monte Carlo. Since jet lag is always an issue with us, we booked an extra day at the Fairmont Hotel in Monte Carlo. I recommend more days if you can, just to explore the area. I wrote a complimentary review on Trip Advisor for you to read about this hotel. From there, we had a rather long bus ride to Arles where we picked up our Avalon ship, the Poetry 11. The highlight for us was the suite rooms which introduced a new innovative concept with the larger balcony. Having experienced a lot of rain on this excursion, the sliding door balcony was an added touch because we still had a beautiful visual of our river travel. The staff were outstanding, very accommodating and friendly. Boris the Maitre de was amazing. Thomas, Mariska, Bogdan, Gabriel and Iyu, our waiters, went out of their way to make our stay perfect. Working those long hours I don't know how they maintained their upbeat personality and attentiveness to our every need. Our Cruise Director, Yvette, was always on the go making sure all our excursions went smoothly. Our cabin boy, Jerry, kept the cabin immaculate and greeted us with a smile and a hello every day. We booked the Grand France Northbound so this was the first half of our trip. The second half would be with the Tapestry 11. Personally, I found this portion of the trip the most interesting. Even though we had some rain, I thought the attractions were more noteworthy on this route. Also, we had some unforeseeable events happen during the Tapestry 11 sailing which I will discuss separately in another review. For us, it is important that the staff are friendly and helpful. The Poetry 11 crew were excellent at their job and made our voyage very memorable.