We love river cruising and some friends had recently toured with Avalon and raved about it, so we decided to try this cruise. We were not disappointed. The tour itself was well organized and included a nice variety of things to see and do. Local guides were above average, and our tour director was fantastic! It was her last cruise with Avalon and she will certainly leave them poorer for her absence. She was on top of everything and was always friendly and helpful, even supervising the final bus trip to the airport. The entire staff on board was excellent, quick to help in any way needed.

We really enjoyed the small size of this ship. Due to a number of single rooms being sold, we only had 113 guests on this ship, and it was so lovely to be in such a small group. The food was great and we appreciated that while there were many courses from which we could choose, the portions were a reasonable size so one could order according to your appetite and not waste food you couldn't eat.

My only complaint (and it is a very small one) is with the optional food tour in Lyon. We went several places but most of our sampling was of sweets. We would have enjoyed more cheese and bread or other choices that were not sugar treats.