Onboard the Avalon Poetry II: Cote d'Azur to Paris

As the thread title says, we’re onboard the Poetry II. We’re currently sitting in Avignon enjoying a beautiful warm (low 70s F) day. It was warm yesterday in Arles as well, but the Mistral wind was blowing from the north. We'll be cruising to St. Jean du Losne and then traveling to Paris via coach and train. We like the fact that Avalon will take us up the Saone much farther than most lines cruise.

I’ll probably write a review with more detail after we got home, but I thought I’d make a few brief notes along the way. If you want descriptions of the stops along the Rhone with outstanding photos, I highly recommend jpalbany’s excellent review of his 2015 cruise on Uniworld’s Catherine.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2185546

I’ll try to focus on our experience with Avalon and a few highlights for us. First, this was an atypical cruise for us. DW, Vicki, broke her ankle chasing a runaway 2-year-old grandchild back in January and had to have surgery. The surgeon assured us that she’d be walking by cruise time. So she’s been walking without support (crutch/boot) for just over a week (as I write this, she’s in the cabin icing her ankle after a 2+ mile walk around Avignon). Also, the ship is far from full. Instead of a full complement of 128 passengers, we only have 73 cruisers on board. We’re a good mix if folks from the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and Canada.

The trip over went well with a Nashville-JFK flight followed by a direct JFK-Nice flight, arriving around 10:30 on Friday morning. We were met as we walked out of passport control and driven to Cannes (with two other couples from the flight). We had a leisurely afternoon in Cannes watching huge yachts and expensive supercars before Avalon’s reception/briefing at 6:00 p.m. We had Saturday morning free (optional excursion to Nice) before heading for the ship around 12:30 p.m.

The Arles walking tour was nice, and we even got to see Frenchmen voting as we passed through city hall Sunday morning. We walked around a little more Sunday afternoon before setting sail for Avignon around 5:00. This allowed us to get into town around 9:00—just after sunset. The captain took the ship past our docking location to let us see and photograph the famous Pont d’Avignon before docking.

This morning we did the optional tour to the Pont du Gard aqueduct and thoroughly loved it. Avalon had city walking tours in both morning and afternoon so that those taking the optional excursions got to do the walking tour.

One significant change from our Avalon tour last year is increased security. In both Arles and Avignon, we’ve had security monitoring the gangway at all times. Also the outside doors lock at 10:00 p.m. They can still be opened with room key cards.

We are rafted with the Viking Heimdal. The Croisieurope Van Gogh and the new Emerald LIberté are rafted behind us.

We did the Pont du Gard optional excursion this morning, our only optional so far, and it was great for a history buff like me.

I know that people are interested in timings, so I’ll try to post departure and arrival times. So far:

Timings so far:

Leave Cannes by bus: Saturday, 12:30

Arrive at ship in Arles: Saturday 14:30

Leave Arles: Sunday 17:00

Arrive Avignon: Sunday 21:00

Leave Avignon: Tuesday 4:45

Yes, we’re spend two nights in Avignon. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask!

Have a great trip. I will be following closely since we will be doing a similar trip in Oct.

Also, what hotel in Cannes were you in?

Thanks for doing a trip report. I'm looking forward to more.

Have a great trip. I will be following closely since we will be doing a similar trip in Oct.

 

Also, what hotel in Cannes were you in?

We were in the InterContinental Carlton. It's an older hotel, but very nice.

Have a great trip FS, and hope the weather holds with perfect temps for all the walking (also hope your DW's ankle holds up). How nice of the captain to tour down for everyone to see the bridge. Love your pics.

Thank you for your report. I also am doing a similar trip in October and will follow your posts with great interest.

Your photos are marvelous. Can you tell us what kind of camera and lens you are using.

Thank you for your report. I also am doing a similar trip in October and will follow your posts with great interest.

 

Your photos are marvelous. Can you tell us what kind of camera and lens you are using.

Thanks NewCruiser. It's a Panasonic Lumix FZ1000. It has a 25-400 mm zoom lens. I wanted a single lens camera with a large sensor. It's a little larger than I'd like, and it doesn't have GPS, but otherwise it's a great camera.

Below I've inserted a full resolution crop of one of the photos so you can see how the lens does.

Below I've inserted a full resolution crop of one of the photos so you can see how the lens does.

Thank you for the camera information. Your photos are absolutely stunning. I particularly admire your composition. I will be eager to read your future posts.

Have a wonderful trip!

Thank you for taking the time to report from your cruise. Love the photos of the Pont du Gard, would like to see it again live so much. When I was in Avignon it was raining by the bucketload, I did not stay long. And I so much enjoyed Arles.

Hope you have good weather for taking more excellent photographs.

notamermaid

Monday.

We’re docked next to the shore just south of the bridge, andas I write this (mid afternoon), we are rafted with the Viking Heimdal. TheCroisieurope Van Gogh, and Emerald Liberte are also just down river from us.They all showed up after we left this morning for our Pont du Gard excursion. Wenoticed this morning that as the Heimdal was unloading passengers for a busexcursion, one passenger came off in a wheel chair.

As I stated in my last post, we did the Pont du Gard optional tour in the morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. After lunch we started on the walking tour and stayed with it as far as the Palace of the Popes before striking out on our own. We walked around the square and enjoyed some of local color before walking to the gardens at the top of the hill. From there we walked back to the ship so that DW could ice her ankle.

Dinner was good. The service and food have both been fine for this cruise. Being a meat eater, I haven’t tried any of the Avalon Fresh items yet. Maybe tomorrow…

Tuesday

The morning was spent cruising up the Rhone. Apparently we went through two locks early before passing through the largest lock on the Rhone (23 meters rise) around 9:15. Since there were no tours this morning,breakfast didn’t start until 7:30. We went down around 8:00, and we were only the second couple to enter the room. At 10:00, cruise director Tony went through a PowerPoint presentation showing highlights of the rest of the cruise giving good descriptions of the optional tours. It’s actually a little complex,since some cruisers will go to Paris for the post cruise stay there, others will board another Avalon ship in Paris to cruise the Seine, and a few will head for Basel where they’ll join an Avalon Rhine cruise.

We also managed to pass under some very low bridges. Noticethat the wheel house has been completely lowered and the helmsman’s head issticking out the opening in the roof. Also the captain is squatting next to thewheelhouse. Had I been on one of the Viking longships, I probably wouldn’t havegotten these shots. Since the Avalon ships have a lower sundeck in front of thewheelhouse, some of us chose to stay topside. Crewmen were there to tell you tostay low and to prevent people from walking up as we go under the bridges.

We arrived in Viviers shortly after noon, and the includedwalking tour began at 1:30. Since the tours went to the cathedral at the highest point of the city and back, Avalon provided transport via minivan to thecathedral. At the cathedral—the smallest in France—we enjoyed a 30 minute organconcert, ending of course in Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

Cathedral Organ

 

It was a nice walk up the sycamore lined road from the Rhone(about 500 yards) to the town square, and then we enjoyed a slow walk up to the cathedral with the guide telling us about the town’s past and present.

Viviers is a very picturesque medieval town, and many of housesin the old city are unoccupied. They can be purchased fairly cheaply, but they are generally in need of extensive repairs. All repairs and modifications mustbe done to the specifications of an architect who oversees any work in Viviers.

View of the Town from Top of the Hill

 



 

House in Need of Repair

 

On returning to the ship around 4, we were treated to samples of local meats, sausages, cheeses, and sweets along with local rose and red wines before the ship left around 5:30.

Timings so far:

Leave Cannes by bus: Saturday, 12:30

Arrive at ship in Arles: Saturday 14:30

Leave Arles: Sunday 17:00

Arrive Avignon: Sunday 21:00

Leave Avignon: Tuesday 4:45

Arrive Viviers: Tuesday 12:15

Leave Viviers: Tuesday 17:30

Arrive Tournon: Wednesday 2:30

We did this cruise last May along with the Paris to Normandy one and loved it. Your photos are bringing back such wonderful memories! We leave next Friday for our 3rd Avalon cruise on the Rhine and Moselle. Can't wait!

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Great pictures and story, FS! Loved Viviers. If you're there overnight, go out walking then.

A shame about the house with no roof. It was like that 2 years ago.

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Thanks JP. The ship left around 5:30 p.m., so we didn't have time for an evening walk. Also, at that time, DW had only been putting full weight on her ankle for a week, so we didn't push it.

Viviers is sad in a way. There is at least one old home that's been up for sale for one Euro for years, but someone will have to restore it with an appointed architect's oversight, and there are no takers.

Arrival and Departure Times

I know that these are of interest, so I'll put them all here in one place. For more information, see the link to the dailies I've posted at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2494524

Leave Cannes by bus: Saturday, 12:30

Arrive at ship in Arles: Saturday 14:30

Leave Arles: Sunday 17:00

Arrive Avignon: Sunday 21:00

Leave Avignon: Tuesday 4:45

Arrive Viviers: Tuesday 12:15

Leave Viviers: Tuesday 17:30

Arrive Tournon-Tain: Wednesday 2:30

Leave Tournon-Tain: Wednesday 10:15

Arrive Vienne: Wednesday 16:15

Depart Vienne: Wednesday 19:00

Arrive Lyon: Wednesday 21:30

Depart Lyon: Thursday 7:00 p.m.

Arrive Tournus: Friday 4:30

Optional tours disembark and leave Tournus: Friday 8:30

Arrive Chacon: 11:15

Depart Chacon: 13:00:

Wednesday was an unusual day. We woke up in Touron-Tain l’Hermitage. Walking tours left the ship at 8:30 and returned by 10:00 for a 10:15 departure. We arrived in Vienne around 4:15 and had walking tours from 5:00 to 6:30. So we did two towns in a single day.

In Tournon I decided to skip the walking tour and go across the bridge into Tain l’Hermitage to visit the Valrhona chocolate shop while DW did the walking tour. The bridge was designed by Tournon’s favorite son, Marc Seugin, inventor of the wire cable suspension bridge.

Seguin's Bridge--Now Foot and Bike Traffic Only

 

Valrhona is rated as one of the top ten chocolatiers in the world. When you walk into the shop, there are samples everywhere. The most interesting was a series of 9 or 10 bins with chocolates ranging from white to dark, all labeled with the percent cocoa in each. It’s a real opportunity to test your chocolate taste buds. After eating a couple of samples (a little larger than two quarters stacked up), I realized that I needed to focus on the little broken chips of chocolate to avoid stuffing myself. The staff didn’t speak English, but we managed to communicate enough for me to find out that they don’t ship, and they don’t sell over the internet (although I found some of their stuff on Amazon.com). We’re traveling with carryon luggage only, so I bought as much as I dared. If it won’t fit, we’ll eat it here!

Valrhona Shop

 



 

 

According to DW, the walking tour was OK, but it was cold and a little rushed—maybe the proverbial ABC (another bloody church) visit.

We cruised out of Tournon on time at 10:15. There were wheelhouse tours in the morning and galley tours in the afternoon. I attended both. We were coming out of a lock as my wheelhouse tour began, so the ship was being controlled by the second captain at the “wing” control station on the side of the ship, so the wheelhouse controls were inactive. During our tour, the captain switched back to the wheelhouse and a couple of people got to sit in the captain’s chair and actually steer the ship.

We docked in Vienne around 4:30 and had our port talk for tomorrow in Lyon before starting walking tours at 5:00. We got back to the ship at 6:30 for a 7:00 p.m. departure. The highlight of the cruise for me was the temple of Augustus and Livia, built around 37 A.D., with restorations around 90 and 150 A.D. It’s an amazing temple.

Temple of Augustus and Livia

Today’s coach tours left the ship at 8:40 on a chilly and cloudy Thursday, and we were bused to the Fourviere hill where the Basilica of Notre Dame of Fouviere sits. After being shown the landmarks of Lyon from the overlook there, we had free time to go into the church before the bus left at 10:00.

I left the tour to visit the Roman museum down the street. Unfortunately, the museum didn’t open until 11:00, so I walked around the Roman theater and walked back to the church to take photos inside (mass was underway when we first visited and photography was not allowed).

 

 

 



 

 



 

 

Roman Theater

 



 

The museum was very good with lots of Roman artifacts and some beautiful large mosaics. After the visit I decided to walk back to the ship (about 2¼ miles) rather than taking the funicular and tram. I plugged the ship’s location into the phone and let Google Maps guide me down the hill to the Saone and to the ship. I was impressed that in the “pedestrian mode” it took me through parks and down stairways, getting me to the Rhone quickly.

As I was walking back to the ship the Avalon Affinity passed me heading south to dock alongside the Poetry II. As luck would have it, the Affinity rafted inside the Poetry II, so I had to wait dockside for about 10 minutes as the Poetry II pulled away to let the Affinity dock.

We had originally planned to visit the old city, but DW’s ankle was stiff and we were both tired, so we spent the afternoon relaxing on the ship. We were docked on the Saone, right beside a large modern shopping mall.

Confluence Shopping Mall

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Friday, Cruising to St. Jean de Losne

First, as we were leaving through Lyon last evening we wentvery slowly under a bridge just north of the A6 bridge over the Rhone. I sawthe captain this morning and asked how much clearance we had as we sailed underthe bridge, and he responded, “Five centimeters.” That’s only 2 inches betweenthe top deck and the bridge! No wonder we went slowly.

Responding to customer input, Avalon added this day ofsailing to its Rhone cruise. Instead of ending the cruise at Chalon sur Saoneas most ships do, the Poetry stopped there for lunch and picked up peoplereturning from excursions. We arrived around 11:45 with a 1:00 p.m. departure,so we had time to walk around the town and see a little of it. At one of the locksafter Chalon, a lady came on board and conducted a cheese and mustard tastingto go along with happy hour. The ship arrived St. Jean de Losne (population1,204) a little before 6:00 p.m. Avalon is the only line that sails that far,so our arrival drew a lot of attention from the locals.

Cheese & Mustard Tasting

 



 

Scenes from Cruising

 



 



 



 



 



 

If you are interested, there is an online company from Oregon that sells Valrhona chocolate, but not sure how the pricing compares. It's called Chocosphere. They ship by UPS or FedEx. Love your pics, they are fantastic!

Cheese & mustard tasting, now I could go for that!

Disembarkation went smoothly. Suitcases needed to be outside the staterooms at 7:00. The dining room opened at 6:30 and continued serving until the buses left for Beaune at 8:30. The process was a little complicated since we had four classes of travelers. Two individuals got a taxi for the St. Jean train station. Everyone else got onboard the buses for Beaune and Dijon. When we got to the Dijon train station, a few people transferred to another coach/van for transport to Basel where they’ll board another Avalon ship headed for Amsterdam. Everyone else is going to Paris on the train, although in Paris some will board another Avalon ship for a cruise on the Seine to Normandy and back. Most of us will go to the International Grand Hotel for a couple of nights or more in Paris before returning home.

As I said we left St. Jean around 8:30 and arrived in Beaune around 9:30 (pronounced bone) for a tour of the Hotel Dieu, built in the 14th century as a hospital for the poor. This was a nice visit. The tour was about an hour, but the guide told people that they were free to leave at any time and walk around Beaune. We had a real treat since it was Saturday, and there was a large market in the center of town where we were able to walk around, see the goods, and buy some food for the train ride to Paris. We left the square around 11:30 and the buses took us to Dijon where we caught the 1:35 p.m. train, arriving in Paris at 3:07 p.m.

The cruisers for next week arrived on a train from Paris shortly after we arrived and boarded our same buses for transport to St. Jean. Upon arrival in Paris we were greeted by two Avalon reps who took us to buses to our hotel or to the ship sailing the Seine. We made it to the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand Hotel--next door to the Opera--by 4:00 and our luggage was waiting for us in our room.

DW and I decided to make a trip to the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre before it got dark, so we jumped on the metro and headed for the Anvers stop to walk up to the funicular that goes to the top of the hill. We were stunned by the crowds! As we walked up toward the funicular, we were constantly being jostled by other pedestrians. It was even worse at the top. The steps in front of the basilica were covered with people, and people were 2-3 deep at the railings overlooking the city. The lines going into the church looked bad, so we didn’t bother going inside. Instead, we walked down to the Place du Tetre and found it to be almost as crowded. We’d planned to get a bite to eat there, but we decided to head back to the hotel rather than fight the crowds. So we walked down to the Abbesses metro station to head back. I’d considered using that station going to the Sacre Coeur, and I was glad I didn’t. We walked down around 200 steps to get from the entrance to the train level! DW’s recovering ankle barely made the walk down, and I don’t think she would have made it up all those steps.

Sunday we visited the Musee de l’Orangerie where several of Monet’s water lilies paintings are displayed.

We decided to walk back instead of taking the metro, but had to make multiple detours since they were shooting Mission Impossible 6 on the l’Avenue de l’Opera. We managed to see Tom Cruise roar by twice on a motorcydle and managed to get a photo (thanks 400 mm zoom lens!).

For Monday’s departure, we were the only two people flying through Orly, so Avalon provided a car and a driver for us. Orly was not a pleasant experience. First, no one at Air France had a clue about Global Entry and TSA PreCheck. So we had to go through normal security after changing terminals at JFK, where TSA is doing construction, making the waits even longer. Then, after waiting in the long line for passport control at Orly, we were ten feet from being admitted, and our line was stopped. We finally figured out that they were holding us up and letting people who’d showed up late for their flights go in front of us. So after about 20-30 minutes of waiting, a bilingual fellow managed to let us proceed to passport control. Once through passport control, security screening went very quickly. Finally, when it was time to board, it was a free-for-all. Even though we had zone numbers on our boarding passes, they just threw the gates open and everyone made a rush for it. That will be my last time to fly through Orly and my last time for Air France.

On arriving in New York, we found that our flight to Nashville had been cancelled due to weather. We managed to make it to Atlanta Monday night and got an early flight to Nashville on Tuesday morning after a night in a hotel at our own expense.

Despite the frustrations with the trip home, it was another great cruise with Avalon.

Thank you so much for the review and the photos to go along with it. And wow, a Tom Cruise photo :D.

BTW, TSA precheck and Global Entry are only for US airports.

BTW, TSA precheck and Global Entry are only for US airports.

I realize that. The problem was that we've always been able to get our boarding passes marked with TSA Precheck for our reentry. So that when we've passed through US passport control (with Global Entry) we have to go through security again. U.S. carriers have always given us boarding passes for our second flight (JFK to Nashville in this case) that allowed us to do TSA PreCheck. Air France didn't know what we were talking about.

I realize that. The problem was that we've always been able to get our boarding passes marked with TSA Precheck for our reentry. So that when we've passed through US passport control (with Global Entry) we have to go through security again. U.S. carriers have always given us boarding passes for our second flight (JFK to Nashville in this case) that allowed us to do TSA PreCheck. Air France didn't know what we were talking about.

Ahhh, I understand now. I misread your statement.

Also, you might be able to claim the price you paid for your hotel and any meals on your travel insurance.

We were stuck in Atlanta for two days, missed our connection, and our insurance paid for the two nights and our meals.

Also, you might be able to claim the price you paid for your hotel and any meals on your travel insurance. We were stuck in Atlanta for two days, missed our connection, and our insurance paid for the two nights and our meals.

Thanks, I'll look into it.