Seine River in July and Avalon

[NMTraveller]

I am looking at booking an Avalon River cruise on the Seine in July.  Should I be concerned about water levels?  What are you comments on Avalon as I have never cruised them before.  All inclusive?

[Got2Cruise]

Avalon is a great cruiseline. Our first RC was in Avalon on the Seine and we loved it. The tours were excellent. Avalon is part of the Globus tours so they have very good guides.  The Normandy Landing excursion was outstanding. 
 

Avalon is not all inclusive, but you only need to add gratuities and alcoholic beverages. Wine with meals is included.
 

We recommend Avalon to some friends who were first time River Cruisers and wanted to visit Normandy Landing beaches. It exceeded their expectations. 
 

Definitely plan a pre or post stay in Paris on your own. 

[Canal archive]

We’ve cruised the Seine twice albeit with Scenic but in July no depth problems it’s a wonderful cruise.

[winegirl]

Uniworld's ship Joie de Vivre travels the Seine and it was a spectacular ship.  All inclusive. We loved it and will use Uniworld again.  

[JordanF]

I would worry more about heat than water levels.  I am sure it will be a great trip whenever you go, but if possible, perhaps give some consideration to going during the Spring or Fall?  My parents went on a river cruise in France in July 2022, and it was 105 degrees some days.  There was some pretty intense heat this summer as well, per the news.  

[Canal archive]

I can imagine approaching this temperature on the Rhône we’ve cruised it with temperatures in the very high 30’s, the air con on board worked extremely hard and the extremely hot weather ended with the mother & father of all thunderstorms. The Seine is in a bit more temperate area of France. This year has been just a bit warm across Europe we were on the Seine in early July and although over 30 on a few days certainly not oppressive. If it had been I’d have been prostate.

[franski]

We did the Seine with Avalon - 6 years ago now.  We have sailed the Seine twice --> the first time was with Uniworld.  We re-sailed with Avalon as they (usually) have more than 1 option for the included tour.  So - it was the same river - but a different trip.  We loved it...  The only place where they only had one option (and we had already done it) was in Rouen.  But - they had recently opened a Joan of Arc museum attached to the cathedral, so we went there on our own instead...

We found that Avalon suited us wonderfully....

 

Fran

 

[TMLAalum]

Just a note on Avalon's Happy Hour- for an hour before dinner many alcoholic beverages are now offered gratis! There is still a charge for some cocktails/premium liquors, but my daily Manhattan was free, strong and delicious!

[1of4]

Our first river cruise was on the Seine with Scenic for 11 days. We loved it!  We were told by someone before we booked that since the Seine isn’t land locked as it connects to the English Channel, low water is not an issue. We chose Scenic because it was a longer itinerary, it went to the WWI Somme battlefields and we spent overnight in Honfleur. 

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

We just did the Rhone and stayed pre-cruise in Paris.  I can't see the river levels there being an issue.  As pointed out I would be more concerned about July temps.  We lucked out in September as the temps had just dropped from the week before when they were in the 90's.  We felt lucky to have 80's during the day.  Avalon doesn't offer a "drink package" like the ocean ships.  But we drank our fair share during the not included hours.  The drinks from the bar (not top shelf) were very reasonable.  As I recall most were around $6-$8 and there was happy hour special just prior to when the "free" stuff started.  All in all our alcohol bill was cheap.  We loved the staff, ship was awesome, and excursions were excellent.  Our only complaint was the food seemed very bland for being in the gastronomical center of France.  Nothing was bad, but nothing was great as you would expect.         

Edited December 14, 2023 by ATSEAMYLIFE

[jsn55]

The summer months are always a question with European rivers.  A lot of luck is involved.  As far as the dining is concerned, ATSEAYLIFE, I am almost shocked to read that you thought it was bland ... in FRANCE???  I understand the criteria for preparing meals for large groups, but I'm used to eye-rolling-delicious French food.  I'll be cruising Provence to Normandy in ten days, and I do hope for at least a few eye-rolls!  

[The Traveling Man]

On 9/21/2023 at 5:46 PM, winegirl said:

Uniworld's ship Joie de Vivre travels the Seine and it was a spectacular ship.  All inclusive. We loved it and will use Uniworld again.  

I wholeheartedly agree.  We sailed on the Joie de Vivre along the Seine on a cruise chartered by the World War II Museum.  The Museum is located in New Orleans, but their travel department books tours all over Europe to visit important battle sites.  They usually charter Uniworld ships when river travel is involved, or Seabourn for ocean travel.  The service is impeccable and the overall experience is outstanding.

[knoxclone]

3 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

I wholeheartedly agree.  We sailed on the Joie de Vivre along the Seine on a cruise chartered by the World War II Museum.  The Museum is located in New Orleans, but their travel department books tours all over Europe to visit important battle sites.  They usually charter Uniworld ships when river travel is involved, or Seabourn for ocean travel.  The service is impeccable and the overall experience is outstanding.

We sailed w the WWII Museum last fall and the Joie de Vivre was fabulous - so wish we could have used it as our "base" for the entire tour!

[The Traveling Man]

32 minutes ago, knoxclone said:

We sailed w the WWII Museum last fall and the Joie de Vivre was fabulous - so wish we could have used it as our "base" for the entire tour!

Were you on the Paris to Normandy trip or the Normandy to Paris sailing?

[knoxclone]

Sailed from Paris