The Moselle needs a short hull, and that is measurable
The Avalon Tranquility II carries yard number 3540 from Den Breejen, which
delivered her in 2015. That is the best-sourced figure in this whole fleet: it
comes from the builder, not from a cruise database. One hundred and twenty-eight
travellers, 65 staterooms, one hundred and ten metres. Refurbished in 2025.
Her 2026 calendar covers the Danube, the Rhine, the Moselle, the Main and the
Dutch and Belgian waterways. The Moselle is the reason this format exists: its
locks and its bends do not take hundred-and-thirty-five-metre hulls, and a ship
too long simply does not reach Trier.
What the Moselle gives in return
A narrow river, vineyards planted at forty-five degrees, villages on the
hillside and closely spaced locks. Navigation is slow and the landscape passes at
eye level rather than on the horizon. It is the opposite of the lower Danube:
here everything is close.
The other ships in the fleet
The Avalon Imagery II covers almost the same rivers. The Avalon Visionary holds the Danube and the Main.
The Avalon Illumination runs down to the lower Danube. The Avalon Passion covers the lower Danube and the
upper Rhine.
What is included, and what is not
The fare covers life aboard: the stateroom, three meals, wine and beer at the
two main meals, morning sparkling wine, self-service coffee, tea and snacks,
and a happy hour each evening. It also covers guided excursions, one per port,
chosen among three formats of differing effort, and access to the bicycles on
the European ships.
Three items stay outside, and one of them surprises people. Air travel is
not included. Optional excursions and spa treatments are paid aboard. And
gratuities are not included in the contract, contrary to what many third-party
pages claim: the line leaves them to your judgement. Time-limited offers cover
them on selected departures. Treat that as a possible bonus, never as a feature
of the product.
Satellite Wi-Fi is provided aboard in Europe. The line's terms guarantee
nothing about its quality, and experience agrees: the link weakens in locks and
under low bridges. A traveller who must stay reachable should carry a local
solution as well.
The stateroom, measured
The category the line is known for occupies two entire decks. Its outside
wall is a glass panel running floor to ceiling and wall to wall. It slides open
across about two thirds of the room's width. A second glazed panel rises from
the floor, with a handrail, to serve as a guardrail. The bed faces the view.
It is worth saying what this is not. It is not a balcony: no outdoor space
exists, you do not leave the room. It is a very wide opening window in the
French balcony tradition, at a larger scale. A reader comparing brochures from
competing lines needs that distinction, because the word balcony sometimes means
a real terrace there.
On the lower deck, the entry stateroom has neither sliding wall nor opening:
two fixed windows, set high, at water level. It suits someone who sleeps aboard
and lives ashore, and suits far less anyone dreaming of falling asleep to the
sound of the river.
Also worth knowing: shower without bathtub, European current at 220 volts,
and a lift that stops short of the sun deck.
What this trip asks of you from Montreal
A transatlantic flight, not included in the fare. Some embarkation cities are
reachable non-stop in high season, others need a connection. Total door-to-door
time often exceeds what the brochure suggests, and that has to be planned
for.
Arrive the day before at the very least. It is the only margin that absorbs a
delay, a lost bag or a sleepless flight. Many of our clients take two nights in
the city before embarking and have never regretted the expense.
Our advisors bring flight, cruise, hotels, transfers and insurance into a
single file protected by Quebec's compensation fund for travel agency customers.
Write to us: we will verify the real dates before anything is booked.
