This cruise was the best I have ever taken. The staff called you by name and was there for all your needs, The food and wine were gourmet and the waiters were awesome. Our room was big and the bathrooms were big. The woman who took care of our stateroom was great. The entertainment was small and cozy but the artists were very professional. We had a French singer with a guitar player one night and another night were 2 concert violinist with pianio. On the other nights we had a piano player and we would request songs. In the lounge you could go and get a cappuccino and pastry. We were late for our first excursion to the Black Forrest but they brought us back Black Forest cake from it, The excursions with the tour guides were small with electronic ear pieces so we did not miss any thing they said. We traveled in December and hit all of the Christmas markets. I would do another cruise with Avalon again.