With sweet views and well-organised stops, this Seine cruise is a winner

The ship: Avalon Tapestry II

• The cruise Le Havre to Paris on the Seine with lots of port time (nine days)
• The ship Built 2014
• Passengers 128
• Crew 37
• Decks 4
• Cabins 64
• Length 110 metres

Avalon Waterways’ Tapestry II departs from Paris, destination Le Havre.

The ship

If you’ve seen one of Avalon Waterways’ 14 suite ships, you’ve seen them all. Most aspects are identical, from cabin layout to lobby, lounge, coffee machines and the procedures to make shore excursions smooth and rewarding. This is received positively by an older demographic (and, er … a younger yet travel-weary cohort) who don’t want to spend their holiday relearning everything they just got the hang of on the previous cruise. Who cares if the ship’s the same when the Seine scenery unfurls afresh every day? The handy uniformity extends to the lounge, restaurant, bistro and most suites, all prefixed “Panorama”, sparing guests the naff names.

Boarding

“I didn’t know I could say ‘bonjour!’ so many times in a row,” I say. The entire crew lines the lobby to greet us and our single-file parade is so feel-good goofy that I forgive the fact the welcome bubbles are not French but German. Our Romanian cruise director’s opening address introduces us to her marvellously firm yet friendly hand. Tips on the cabin televisions help us unpack intelligently, pointing out under-bed storage for suitcases. We’re warned about “double docking” when, at busy ports, we may wake to find a ship alongside. The rule? Keep your pants on until you peek out.

The design

One of the 50 Panorama suites on Tapestry II, dispensing with a balcony to extend the floor space.

European river ships have evolved as a species into a sleek, utilitarian design that respects the fact they sail through eminent public spaces and cannot be an eyesore or needlessly extravagant. From the outside, then, Avalon Tapestry II differs little. Its interiors are not particularly glam, but one person’s glam is another’s gaudy – so that’s a tick. The design strengths are the unphotographable kind, such as extremely comfortable beds (with adjustable firmness), plentiful water stations, uncomplicated light switches and quiet air-conditioning.

The spaces

There’s one of everything on the four-deck ship: restaurant, bar, cafe, lounge, sun deck and lobby. Easy! The common spaces are only crowded pre-excursion, when everyone’s in a tizz.

Cool weather turns passengers off the top deck, so I fetch my in-room picnic blanket for some prized alone time with the swans and chalky cliffed Norman countryside. A herb garden, a hot tub and the Sky Grill are up there too. A wall of wine upscales the entry to the Panorama Restaurant. It has side views only, but the bistro upstairs has wrap-around glass.

Avalon democratised the boat’s rear (occupied by the fanciest suites on many ships) for its leafy Club Lounge cafe with books, games, coffee and a snack station. Bearings-wise, the only possible confusion is taking the wrong (identical) hallway to reach your suite. Smart people would note a visual cue. Mellowed by long days of #cruiselife, I opt for “Whoops wrong floor! Having too much fun again!”

The stateroom

Avalon’s Royal Suites take onboard views to another level.

The bulk of the 64 cabins are Panorama Suites (about 19 square metres) and there are two Royal Suites and 12 small Deluxe Staterooms. Avalon’s tagline, “A view with a room,” is accurate. Figuring that cruisers liked the idea of a balcony more than actually using it, Avalon ditched them for rooms it claims are 30 per cent larger than average.

The extra centimetres were used to position beds facing the “widest-opening windows in cruising”. The move paid off – sitting on your lounge with the entire wall open is indeed superior to having your hat blown off on a breezy balcony perch. L’Occitane amenities are a luxe perk.

Light sleepers should request a room at the rear for less foot traffic and high-spirited “bonne nuits” in the hallway.

The food

Tapestry II’s common areas are anything but, with luxe features and broad views.

Avalon’s daily happy hour has free beer, wine, house spirits and an abridged cocktail list. When it was trialled in 2023, the company discovered it wasn’t so much the saved money that made it a hit, but the daily drawing-together of guests.

The Panorama Restaurant serves three-course meals with crisp white menus and napkins, with local dishes such frog legs, duck consomme and pork terrine mostly pulled off with panache.

Upstairs in the Panorama Bistro’s light buffet, soups and salads are highlights. The wine list is of excellent provenance and is fun and funky too. It changes daily, as it should in France. The buffet breakfast has an omelette chef and daily specials such as waffles and crepes.

Wellness

Ashore, Avalon’s Active program covers energetic cycle touring as well as dawdling through gardens.

Avalon’s “Active” branded trips acknowledge that cruising folk still come with diverse fitness levels and approaches to adventure. Some dawdle through countryside gardens as others kayak down the River Epte.

Hikes to hillside chateaus, brisk urban bike tours and cooking classes give passengers plenty to discuss over dinner. Avalon Fresh is the healthy meal option, and the small gym has basic equipment. A self-service water machine has therapeutic fizzy drinks, including a mineralised magnesium water that helps me stave off a migraine.

The cutest touch? A stack of reading glasses in the restaurant for diners who forgot their specs.

Entertainment

Proximity to the Normandy coastline, sire of the D-Day landings, warrants a WWII lecture by a hop on/hop off academic, though all other history and culture spiels are left to port excursions. Our cruise director sticks to operations and entertainment only. Oh, and jokes. She tells a thigh-slapper every night, to hoots and hollers for another.

With the exception of a saucy can-can show in Paris, entertainment is DIY: dancing, trivia and karaoke. Personally, I prefer the dag-factor bonding of busting moves with strangers over golf-clapping my way through entertainment any day. Or night.

The crew

Two commendable efforts by the Switzerland-based company make a huge difference aboard. First, the 3:1 guest-to-crew ratio, which means you never feel as if you’re hassling employees too harried to help. Our unflappable cruise director seems capable of everything, everywhere, all at once. Second, in 2019 all of Avalon’s European crew were guaranteed fair working conditions under a pioneering agreement with the Nautilus International trade union, including fair wages, reasonable hours and time off. Happy crew, happy passengers. Simple as that.

The verdict

It starts with the sound sleep and sweet views. Add to that a wickedly well-organised and well-treated team, port stops with regulation sightseeing, through to bikes, hikes and cooking classes, and you’re onto a winner.

The details

Avalon Waterways’ nine-day Active & Discovery on the Seine (WHPP) sails from May to September. It includes a coach transfer from Paris to Le Havre on the first day. Fares from $5510 a person for 2025 departures. The 11-day Paris to Normandy with a three-night London extension (WPP1) costs from $5973. See avalonwaterways.com.au

Our rating out of five

★★★★

Swell

Our crew is majority Eastern European, so they gel well and are culturally simpatico. Their positivity ripples out to guests and the ship’s vibe is consistently merry.

Not so swell

Paperless ship operations are to be applauded but the app could be more user-friendly.

The writer travelled as a guest of Avalon Waterways.