Paris and Normandy on a single hull
The Avalon Tapestry II is a 110-metre hull delivered by Den Breejen in 2015.
One hundred and twenty-eight travellers, 64 staterooms. Refurbished in 2025. The
line states her ground without ambiguity: from Paris to Normandy, meaning the
Seine.
Some resellers also credit her with the Rhine, the Rhone, the Saone and
Bordeaux. Those lists are search filters by cruise line, not ship assignments.
Our departure calendar, measured on our own inventory, shows only itineraries
leaving from Paris.
What the Seine gives, and what it asks
The Seine is slow and winding. Between Paris and Honfleur it meanders so much
that the navigable distance nearly doubles the straight-line one. That leaves
time aboard and makes the days less dense than on the Danube.
Port calls combine Rouen, Les Andelys, Vernon for Giverny, Caudebec and the
landing beaches. The last of these have to be earned: several hours by coach,
cemeteries, gun batteries, a museum. It is an emotionally heavy day, and many
travellers underestimate that. Some departures add London, Mont-Saint-Michel or
Saint-Malo, which are land segments rather than river ones.
The other ships in the fleet
The Avalon Poetry II holds the Rhone and the Saone. The Avalon Artistry II holds Bordeaux. The Avalon Envision links the
Rhine to the Seine on one calendar product. The Avalon Alegria is the Douro ship.
The fare, line by line
Included: the stateroom, every meal aboard, wine and beer at lunch and
dinner, sparkling wine in the morning, the lounge's all-day self-service, a
daily happy hour, guided excursions in each port, and use of the bicycles on
the European ships.
Not included: air travel, gratuities, optional excursions and the spa. On
gratuities, be careful. The contract leaves them to your discretion.
Promotional offers cover them on chosen departures, never across a whole
season: an agency page that presents them as a standing feature of the line is
wrong, and you would find out when the invoice arrives.
Included excursions come at three effort levels. Active means walking a long
time, often uphill and on cobbles. Classic exists for good reasons and nobody
will judge you for taking it. You choose the evening before, port by port,
which leaves time to read the weather and your own legs.
Satellite Wi-Fi is provided in Europe with no contractual service
commitment. The link drops under bridges, inside locks and in closed
valleys.
What the glass wall does, and what it does not
Across two full decks, the stateroom opens through a full-height glass panel
more than three metres wide that slides back about two. A second pane rises from
the floor as a guardrail. The bed looks at the river. The line calls this an
open-air balcony; a specialist in the trade describes it more accurately as a
French balcony at large scale, and that description is the right one.
In practice you gain air, sound and light across the full width of the room,
and a view from the bed that few competitors offer. You lose private outdoor
space. To take a coffee outside you climb to the sun deck, which is shared. A
traveller attached to a personal patch of terrace should know that before
booking, not after.
The lower-deck stateroom is a different category rather than a smaller
version of the same thing: two fixed windows high on the wall, which do not
open. It costs less for exactly that reason.
The rest of life aboard is quickly told. Shower only, no bathtub. European
outlets, so bring an adapter. A lift serves the cabin decks and the public
rooms, never the sun deck, which is reached by stairs.
Leaving from Quebec
This trip really starts at the airport, and the flight is not part of the
cruise fare. Depending on the embarkation city and the season, the trip from
Montreal is either direct or routed through one European connection.
One simple rule, learned the hard way: arrive at least a day before
embarkation. Jet lag does not clear in a few hours, and a late bag needs a day
to catch up with you. On the way home, keep the day free.
We put the flight, the cruise, the hotel nights, the transfers and the
insurance into one file, with the protection of Quebec's compensation fund for
travel agency customers. Tell us about the trip before you pick the date.
