CarolandNate

10 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

This belongs on your cruise's roll call, not here.  Even if it were to stay posted on a port of call board it belongs on the Mexican Riviera board, not this board, which is the Panama Canal board.

Thought I posted this on the roll call.  My bad.  What did I do wrong?

Less than a month away and I am guessing that many, if not most, have booked their excursions.  I want to present something a bit different for our day in Huatulco.  It is called Wahaca Cooking.  It is an opportunity to not only eat some local food, but shop and cook it as well.  It is run by Alfredo Ramirez, who owns what Trip Advisor rates as the top restaurant in La Crucecita.

 

After getting picked up at 9:00 from the ship, we will go to La Crucecita to shop for the food we will prepare.  Then we head to his school near the Copalita River for the class.  In addition to cooking (and of course eating), Alfredo will tell us what it was like growing up there.  This will last until 1:30 or so, where we will be taken back to the ship.

 

So far, Carol and I, as far as we know, are the only ones signed up.  He can handle up to 12 people.  We got to pick the menu, so we opted for this shop and cook.  He will likely shop for some kind of seafood.  In the class we will make tortillas and moles as well as preparing the main dish and accompanying side dishes.

 

The cost is $95 per person and he does not charge until the day of the class.  He takes plastic.

 

Their website is: https://wahacacooking.mx/   Their email address is wahacacooking@hotmail.com

There is also a youtube video from 2018   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35XpZ2z2SnQ

So if  you are up for a little "work" and a cultural experience, we would love to have some people from the cruise join us.

On 9/17/2019 at 2:29 PM, CruiserBruce said:

Should this be on your Roll Call, per board rules? 

 

 

Is that a rule?  If so, I did not know that.  While I want to get it out there for people in my roll call, would others on the cruise, not necessarily in the roll call, be aware of these excursions.  Does posting in the roll call also capture those that are looking more generally

As we approach our cruise date in December, we are trying to get a better take on what we might expect on certain ports of call.  We are taking one via the ship, Princess, that begins with a drive to San Felipe Castle.  The itinerary says photo stop and further in, it says time at the suite is 15 minutes.  Taking that literally, that sounds like we get there, have time to walk around  for a few minutes or so, take pictures.  Certainly does not seem like enough time to climb to the top or is it.  Also how steep is the climb? 

 

After that it goes to Los Bovedas (10 minute drive?), but it appears to be drive by, as  the itinerary does not say anything about stopping.  Then it's 15 more to Casa Nunez, where we pick up a horse and carriage that will apparently take us around the old city for an hour.  Given that it is followed by a half hour of free time in the old city, I am assuming that the horse and carriage ride will end at Los Coches near the clock tower.  From there, the attractions look like they are very close to one another, the Gold Museum, Bolivar Statue, Inquisition Palace, etc.  Very much within walking distance.  Also I am guessing that the horse and carriage will go down streets and we will get a view of things that way.

 

I would like  to think there are people on Cruise Critic who know the city and these attractions.  Hopefully they can reply to this and advise us.  I did see some one who very specifically addressed this topic and I would like to reply to them.  But I cannot find a way to do so.  Perhaps I am missing something.  I am also not naming that person in this post, as I am not sure about the protocol on doing that.  So any help would be appreciated.

 

An additional part of this is as I said, is that this is a Princess excursion.  We are seriously thinking about expanding it and finishing up on our own.  The whole excursion is four hours and would get us back to the ship by 12:30.  We don't leave until 5:00.  Following the carriage ride there is 1/2 hour of free time and then it is another half hour of getting back to meeting point and the trip back to the ship by bus.  That sounds like it is about 11:30 when the carriage ride ends.  Our master plan is to let them know not to wait for us to get back to the ship.  We would use that hour (free time plus travel time) and stick around for an hour or two more and tour on our own, perhaps stop for lunch.  The old city is perhaps a mile and a half from the ship and I hear that cabs are plentiful and cheap.  I would imagine that as long as we left by 3:00, we would be back with plenty of time to spare.  That is also assuming that we could last that long.  And we still leave the option of not breaking from the tour and go back with them.

 

So can anyone help?

I have been involved with a roll call for my particular cruise, Panama Canal-LA to FtL and get emails and notifications when one of those people write in.  That part is fine.  I have also been getting emails and notifications for the one going the other way immediately following.  While I appreciate back and forth that I see, it is not quite so relevant.  How do I change things. so I don't get email notifications for that trip

19 minutes ago, Ombud said:

 

Just checked the website and although the order page states 15 the terms and conditions state as I highlighted so I guess I'll find out in 3 weeks. It's a short cruise so I'm fine & break even at 5 lg lattes & 5 lg hot chocolates. But November is longer and will use all 15+

 

It is confusing, isn't it?  I have a 15 day in December and I am really thinking that between the two of us, we are going to need more than one anyway.  If that's the case, we might just go ahead and order the second one ahead of time, so we each have one and there is no issue.  If we have a lot left towards the end, I guess we can indulge or we can treat our new found friends..  I really don't want to be thinking every day, should I or shouldn't I.  That's not the point of  a cruise. 

8 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

I did not make that comment.  ????

Sorry if that came out as if you made that comment.  I reworded my question using the Princess website info.

4 minutes ago, Expat Cruise said:

No if you are on a Medallion Ship the coffee card, drink Packages, etc are on the Medallion. If a regular ship they are on your room pass card. No more extra cards or stickers all done within the system.

 

Room pass card, medallion, but the same rules apply, right?  Ours BTW is not a medallion ship

On the Princess website it says

What is Included

• The package includes the pre-purchase of a specified number of specialty coffees (numbers vary by itinerary) during the voyage of purchase, as well as complimentary brewed coffee and hot chocolate.

Package Details and Qualifications

• Coffee packages cannot be sold or otherwise transferred to any individual. Pre-purchased specialty coffees may be shared, but complimentary brewed coffee, teas and hot chocolate continue to be limited to the purchaser.

I took that to mean that if my wife had a package in her name that she can get I can get her beloved chai latte, being a specialty drink and I can also get a drink, say a frappacino, or that package and each would count against the 15.  But that something like a fresh brewed coffee, only she could get, but I could not, since I am not the purchaser. Bottom line, that when we went to the IC to get her chai, I could not get a fresh brewed if we had only one package.  I was thinking that to be able to get unlimited fresh brewed, I would have to have my own package with a separate 15 specialties. 

Then the question would be, is it worth it to have a package for each of us, where we would have 30 specialties to work from.

 

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

Does not have to be a medallion cruise. It will be associated with your cruise card if the medallion does not exist.

So all passengers get medallions and they work off that

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

put the coffee package on your card/medallion ... you get all the free fresh brewed you want ... you can share the 15 ...

 

if, i'm reading your post correctly

I think you are reading the post correctly, given the answer.  You mention putting the package on the medallion.  Does everyone get a medallion to put it on.  Two years ago, as you know, there was a card that was punched and either of us could use it.  Pretty simple.  There appear to be new rules.  I want to be honest and not game the system.  I read that the specialty drinks count against the 15 and fresh brewed stuff is free to the person who has the card (account).  But that can't be shared.

 

So bottom line assuming there is a medallion.  She gets the card (account) in her name with 15 drinks.  I can, at the same as we get a specialty drink, get a fresh brewed for myself.  Is that what you are saying?

Trying to figure this out, while not skating the system.  My wife is a Chai Latte fan and will go through one a day.  Thus the package makes sense for her on a 15 day just by itself.  I will have a coffee in the morning with breakfast pretty much every day and probably one with dessert after dinner.

 

When we did a 7 day a couple of years ago, the rules were different.  She got her chais and I would get a fresh brewed while we were standing there on her card.  By the end of the trip, we still had three or four punches left, but that was only on a 7 day.

 

We got the coffee package when we got the breakfast lovers deal, but as I see there is no sharing on the complimentary part, coffee, herbal tea, etc.  I am surmising that, were we to go down and get her chai, which would be covered in the 15, I would not be able to get fresh brewed coffee on her card (account). 

 

While I am not so much of a coffee aficionado, that I won't drink the free stuff, the comments about dishwater, etc, give me pause.  That I might want to have a REAL coffee from time to time, might be enough of a rationale to just spring for it and spend the $36 for my own.  Then I just need to find  enough times over the 15 days and get frappacinos and things like that to use up the 15.  I don't want to keep score and say to myself I don't want to not get this when I'm in the mood because I am going to use up one of the 15. 

 

I am probably overthinking this, but am I missing something?

For our port of call.  in Huatulco on the Emerald Princess, December 3-18, we were seeking out potential private tours, as opposed to some from the ship.  I want to share some with people who may still be looking for an excursion. 

We are doing Wahaca Cooking, which is a three hour cooking class with restaurateur, Alfredo Ramirez.  An ideal way to immerse yourself in Mexican cuisine and culture.  In our hands-on classes you’ll learn the techniques to prepare ancestral delicacies that you can.  This experience is more then preparing a meal, it is a must activity while in Huatulco for foodies and anyone that loves to get involved in local culture.  Alfredo will share his stories and memories from growing up.  It is located near the Eco-Arqueológico Copalita Park.  It is $75 per person and they pick up at the ship at 9:15.  It is limited to 12 in a class.  Trip advisor lists it, but their calendar does not show Sunday.  If this interests you, let me know and I will get the contact information to you.

Our searches also brought out these and again let me know if you are interested and I will give you their email addresses.

City & Sightseeing Tour.  (w/ Arturo Martinez)    5 Hours    $100pp for 2; $50pp for 4-10; $40pp for 10+.   We visit some spectacular viewpoints for pictures, what we call the “backyard” of Huatulco; a place to see the elaboration of real corn tortillas, here you can have some quesadillas.  Then to Santa Maria, where we explore the town, walk on its main street to see a real Mexican town, visit the market and a 300 year old church, Parroquia de Santa María Huatulco.  Then it's back to downtown Huatulco (La Crucecita) to stop at the main square for walking and browsing.  Maybe we stop for a drink and a snack at a local restaurant. 

City Tour   (w/ Enrique Pinacho)   4-5 hours     $38.00   Up to 14 people  Bays and viewpoints, La Bocana beach, Copalita my little village, there we have lunch if you like,  La Crucecita town, there we visit the church, textiles, the market and mezcal taste and chocolate.

Town & Traditions Tour   (w/ Alfonso Gabriel)    5 Hours    $55.00pp; $45 Minimum four  Tour to Santa Maria Huatulco and visit Piedra de Moros (stone of Moors).  Visit a medicinal plant  garden where you will know and learn about several that the local people use to cure themselves, Then to a  craft workshop where local people make wool carpets on pedal looms and other crafts. Finish at a Mezcal Factory for tasting.  Learn to make tortillas and see the  brick making process.

We gave a lot of serious thought also to a ships tour, Rural Communities and Traditions, before settling on the cooking.  It had a lot of tastings and demos, but the cooking being more hands on was more our style.  This is $90 and I know they run two trips.  Theya lso appear to have a lot of openings even at this time.

Good luck

Last week I posted about a cooking excursion called Wahaca Cooking.  We are planning to do that.  I also mentioned Rural Communities and Traditions through Princess that is our back up.  There are some that I did not mention, that some may be interested in as well.  I had contacted them before settling on the Wahaca Cooking.

 

City & Sightseeing Tour.          (w/ Arturo Martinez)    5 Hours                        $100pp for 2; $50pp for 4-10; $40pp for 10+

We visit some spectacular viewpoints for pictures, what we call the “backyard” of Huatulco; a place to see the elaboration of real corn tortillas, here you can have some quesadillas.  Then to Santa Maria, where we explore the town, walk on its main street to see a real Mexican town, visit the market and a 300 year old church, Parroquia de Santa María Huatulco.  Then it's back to downtown Huatulco (La Crucecita) to stop at the main square for walking and browsing.  Maybe we stop for a drink and a snack at a local restaurant. 

City Tour         (w/ Enrique Pinacho)   4-5 hours         $38.00                         Up to 14 people

Bays and viewpoints, La Bocana beach, Copalita my little village, there we have lunch if you like,  La Crucecita town, there we visit the church, textiles, the market and mezcal taste and chocolate.

Town & Traditions Tour          (w/ Alfonso Gabriel)    5 Hours                        $55.00pp; $45 Minimum four

Tour to Santa Maria Huatulco and visit Piedra de Moros (stone of Moors).  Visit a medicinal plant  garden where you will know and learn about several that the local people use to cure themselves, Then to a  craft workshop where local people make wool carpets on pedal looms and other crafts. Finish at a Mezcal Factory for tasting.  Learn to make tortillas and see the  brick making process.

 

1 hour ago, travelerchris said:

Yes, we live in Coronado Panama. About 80 miles from the city, that takes 1 1/2 hrs on a good day. We do mostly Regent and in Alaska we went to the dog camp on the glacier on a helicopter. Just before we got ready to leave the fog moved in. We were on a ship tour and as we left,  the Captain arrived to do the same tour. The fog got so bad, no further helicopters were allowed in or out. The Captain was STUCK! Many of the helicopter pilots are former military and 1 volunteered to take the chance and fly the Captain back to the ship! They made it! But we all thought we'd be there another night. 

You did a helicopter to a glacier?  Which one?  We did as well at Knik River.  We were going to stay in Anchorage our last night after driving from Healy just north of Denali.  Then we saw a BOGO for a helicopter ride onto the glacier.  We called they gave us a break if we stayed at their lodge and the BOGO.  So we canceled the Comfort Inn in Anchorage.  The copter stayed on the glacier for 45 minutes, but what a great experience !!   We also took a plane right up to Denali, not just a fly by but maybe 10 miles straight on.  It was fly out, see the mountain fly to Kantishnu and take the shuttle back. 

5 minutes ago, travelerchris said:

I totally agree on doing a tour through the ship. You are protected against all eventualities that way. Believe it or not. We did the Embera tour off a ship from Colon, instead of driving there from home! 

 

I assume home means you have a place there.  Looking back at Alaska, we actually did all of our tours privately.  In Skagway, we went on a 6 1/2 hour private tour to the Yukon.  In retrospect, we were probably taking a big chance, had something gone wrong and we got stuck somewhere.  It turned out that we got back with hours to spare.   And we had the Chef's Table that night.  That said, I'm not sure what we were thinking when we set it up.

12 minutes ago, travelerchris said:

I would do a private tour. Traffic in Panama is horrific. Especially on Fridays. We don't go into town on Fridays and make sure we're back across the bridge by 3pm on any given day. 

That would seem to be a good reason to do a tour through the ship.  At least you are guaranteed to get back in time, if traffic is bad.  The rule of thumb that we are using is that if we are going into the countryside in any port, that we are going to use the ship's tour.  In our case that means PV, SJDS, Puntarenas and Panama.  If we are close enough like a mile or so, then private or go on our own might work.  That would be Cartagena and Huatulco.  Then also we leave with hours to spare.

 

When we did Alaska, anywhere we were in Ketchikan, we were within sight of the ship, basically a 10 minute walk.  In Juneau, we got back from the Glacier with more than three hours before the ship was leaving and went to the tram, which was basically across the street from the ship.

 

In Panama, we are doing the Embera Indians through the ship.  I gets back by 2:30 (ship leaves at 6:00).  Even if there were some issues, we have the protection of having done it through the ship.

We are booked for the Discovery Family Las Caletas Private Beach Getaway at Puerto Vallarta on our Princess Panama Canal cruise in December. knowing that local companies are actually running these excursions, I found one on Vallarta Adventures that sounded exactly like the getaway.  Except for the price, but in a good sense.  Through the ship, it's $104pp, while through PA, it is $139pp.  Yet everything else is the same.

 

Does anyone know for sure if it is VA running the Princess excursion?  Has anyone done it?  We want to do one beach day in our trip and do some activities around a beach and PV sounded like the best bet for that.  I like that you travel an hour by cat to the beach, stay for about four hours and then travel back an hour.  That all of the activities seem self contained in one area means no wasted time traveling from place to place. 

 

We like to kayak  and do  some around rivers and lakes at home.  I realize this is ocean (lagoon), but it is something we want to do.  Haven't snorkeled in 40 years, so that should be interesting.  I assume those are things where one has to sign up and when the equipment is available, off you go.  I am am guessing that the demos and hikes are also sign up and likely available at certain times during the day.  And I hear that the food is non stop. 

 

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has done this one as to how they liked it.

6 hours ago, scottca075 said:

Sorry no one ever answered this.

 

There is a new tour, Copalita Archaeological Exploration, that sounds fascinating. As to the two you are asking about, the Rural Communities & Traditions tour sounds like it does a bit more. We didn't do a tour there. I went surfing and my DW sat by the pool at Dreams Huatulco Resort & Spa on a day pass while I surfed.

No problem.  As it was, we were locking in on the Rural Communities because of the food part.   What we really wanted was a cooking lesson and while RC&T did not actually do that, they did demos and lots of sampling at various stops.  Then someone did get back and told us about a class that was offered for three plus hours by a local restaurateur.  My concern was that no one would be offering that on a Sunday.  Turns out this guy will do it.  Max of 12 people and he picks up at the ship.  Demo is nice, actual cooking is better.  And then we eat what we cook.  If there is time, he'll drop us off in La Crucecita where we can walk a round a bit a get a cab back.  Just as a back up, in case something goes wrong, I booked the RC&T through the ship, but as long as we cancel that within five days of the excursion, we get a full refund.  Oh and the cook doesn't charge until the day of.

 

I will likely put it out on CC after Labor Day to see if anyone from our cruise would like to do this as well.  I didn't want to be too aggressive, because some people have put together various groups for other things and I did want to step on their toes.  I figure, after Labor Day, now that we are in double digits, people may be thinking more about excursions.

 

But thanks anyway

9 minutes ago, ell52 said:

We stayed at a small boutique hotel called  Hotel Louvre Sainte Anne - very central - a few blocks to Le Louvre, walking distance to Jardin de Tuilleries, Notre Dame, Pont Neuf, even Champs Elysee /Arc de Triomphe if you're walkers -- and close to Metro if needed.  We actually walked to most places.

 

On the first day, we did a small group walking tour that ended up being a private tour for just the 2 of us because a family of 5 cancelled last-minute. It was a good way to get our bearings and feel confident about walking around on our own. Interesting city with lots to see especially if you like art, history, and museums.  

That's never a bad thing when you book for a group and it winds up being just two.  Pay for a group and get private.  That happened to us in Alaska when we wanted to  do a wildlife tour in Ketchikan and it open to as many as 10.  Good price.  Morning of, we get to the meeting spot early and we get a call from the owner and he wants see if we can do it later, like 1:00.  I said no, ship leaves at 2:00.  Then he says what about 11:00. no again.  The point was to get there early and do ouyr thing ands leave ourselves some free time to walk around near the ship.  He says I'll see what I can do.  Calls back and says he has someone and they will honor the tour as scheduled.  And we were it.  Poof private tour for somehting like $40 per.

 

A couple years later we're Florida and we wanted to go kayaking.  We had not been in one for five years, so we wanted to go with a group and get a tour, not to mention that a private trip with the owner would have been a lot more expensive.  When we got there, we were it.  No problem, he said and he took us out, so it was just us in the tandem and him in his single.  It was supposed to be about two hours ended up closer to three.

 

I love when that happens.

 

I like what you have to say.  We are looking at options as far as working in extra days in Paris and London.  Is it best to split them up like start with London, do the cruise, then go to Paris or visa versa.  or should we piggyback the city stuff then cruise or cruise then do city stuff.   Dceisions, decisions

 

I would like to keep in touch with once we get some more info and process it, some months down the line.  Would you be amenable to corresponding by email.   Mine is ncrose  at   comcast   dot   net

2 hours ago, waiting2retire said:

 

We stayed 4 nights in Paris at Les Tournelles in Le Marais section of Paris.  It is a small boutique hotel but in a pretty good location.  Paris has a great underground transportation system and is also very walkable.  We hit most of the highlights and even got out to Versailles for a day!  

 

We did get off the ship in Le Havre, along with many others who were doing the same.  We booked directly through Princess, so my daughter called the consultant we were working with a couple of months prior to departure and requested the route deviation.  We got the confirmed approval by email within 48 hours.  No cost involved.

 

We also stayed in London for 3 nights pre-cruise at the Hub by Premier Inn in Westminster.  Great location, lots of great stuff to do in London, depending on your interests.  We had a lot of pre-planning time, having booked almost a year in advance, so we booked most things we wanted to do and pre-paid online.  Again, walked a lot and took the Tube when needed.  We took a transfer to Southampton that included a visit to Stonehenge.

 

Had a great time researching and planning everything!!

 

 

 

This is exactly what I wanted to hear.  it sounds like this was not all that difficult to pull together.  My wife and I are looking at the British Isles Tour in the spring or summer of 2021 and want to do the the one that goes through Liverpool (for obvious reasons given our age.)  While I know it is early and 2021 cruises aren't even available yet, some general ideas have kind of cropped up, like adding on at the beginning and end.

 

I have found there are several ways to do London, possibly through something like International Friends or London Toolkit.  They have some interesting packages for three nights, which include transfer from Heathrow, hotel, a day of touring, a discount on a hop on/hop off for the free day and a transfer including Stonehenge (which is really important) to Southampton.  Seems like you did an a la carte approach, which is what we do pretty much anytime we do a vacation.  When we did Alaska two years ago, we cruised and then built our own for five days on land to Denali.

 

BTW.  On this Southampton via Stonehenge, was that private?  How long di you visit Stonehenge.  Most places seem to be 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  I assume that ius enough to make it worthwhile..

 

The France end seems a little bit more on one's own.  But what you have said just makes me that much more interested in making it work. 

 

We live in Western Mass, so we are close to Hartford for flying.  We can also do Boston or New York.  We did EZ Air for Alaska and were pleased.  If the EZ Air works better for Europe, we are all in.  We were even going to use it for a leg of our upcoming Panama Canal cruise in December, but points at Southwest and American prevailed.

 

Like I said, it's early, but not crazy early.  We booked the PC a year and a half in advance.  We plan to take advatage of the early booking on board when we do the PC in December.  By that time it will be about a year and a half away from our projected BI.  It would be good to have some ideas.

 

I am going to explore what you have told me over the next couple of months.  Like the hotels.  We have points at Choice and Marriott and probabdly get a credit card to get something for Hiltons, but that's down the line.

 

I would like to get back to you at some point when I have more information and when we get a bit closer to make making definitive plans.  If you don't mind, I would like to do so by email.  Mine is ncrose   at    comcast    dot   net.

 

Thanks again for your time.  Look forward to reaching out again.

 

Nate

51 minutes ago, waiting2retire said:

 

We wanted to go directly to Paris, so the train was the most economical transportation available.  We booked in advance and paid 30 Euros for the two of us combined (one senior, one adult).  I really enjoyed the train; found it comfortable and and scenic.  Neither of us had ever been to France, and wanted to maximize our time in Paris rather than using a more expensive driver to sightsee along the way.

 

We were very happy with the experience!

 

Enjoy!

 

This is good stuff.  30 euros is about $50, right.  That's not bad.  I have heard good things about the train.  Now all I have to do is convince my wife.  Two to three hours Le Havre to Paris ansd with that, you get a good part of the day and night in Paris. 

 

How long did you stay in Paris?  We are thinking two nights.  Did you you stay in the center?  I know it is more more expensive the closer to some of the biggies.  

 

So I assume you got off the ship at Le Havre, rather than go back to Southampton and then double back the next day.  But then you gain the day for spending time in Paris by not staying the day in Le Havre and then the next day when you might have headed back to France from Southampton taking more time, you've already spent a night in Paris and are working on your second day (first full day).

 

How difficult was the process getting the cruise line to let you off early.  Was the a fee involved.  How long in advance did you have to let them know.  Were there a lot of people on your ship doing the same thing.

 

Did you come early and stay in London pre-cruise.  If so, I would like to pick your brain on that.  We are planning to do that and have seen some packages that are pretty straightforward.

We are planning to go to the British Isles in 2021 (the one with Liverpool).  The master plan is to fly from Hartford (or Boston or New York) to London a couple of days before.  Then do the cruise.  At the end, we want to stay in Paris for a couple more and fly home from there.

 I am not going to deal with the pre cruise in this posting, as that is pretty straightforward.  The post cruise part seems like it could get a little tricky.

 Again the plan is to start in Southampton, UK, which round trips back to Southampton after a day in Le Havre.  If we are going to Paris, it seems a bit silly to finish the trip on the ship only to go back to France the next day.  I have heard that it is possible and actually pretty common to end the trip early, meaning getting off in Le Havre.  It is a process, but the cruise lines will do it.  In fact, I have seen that as many as 200-300 will disembark at Le Havre and head to Paris.

What I do know is that there are a couple of ways to get to Paris.  The train is the least expensive.  A bit more is something called get transfers which is putting bids out there for drivers who are willing to take one from point A to point B or even do it by the hour which leaves room for side trips on the way.  Ubers or taxis are possibilities as well.  I mentioned side trip, because what we would really like to do is stop in Normandy while we are on the coast and then head to Paris.

If there is a way to do this without spending a small fortune, it seems like we could get top Paris at a reasonable hour after an early morning docking in Le Havre and then spend two or three nights in Paris.

 

So that brings up the next question.  Where in Paris?  I have no idea of what is where.  I see by some of the maps, that the closer to the center of the city, the hotels get more expensive.  It is a matter of priorities as to whether we would want to be able to walk out our door and go to a restaurant or cafe and not be too far from some of the bigger attractions.  In the end, we will likely be amenable to spending a little more for convenience, especially if we can find a hotel where we can use our points.  For that the more time we have to build up points, the better.

 

We had looked for packages (like London), but I have had difficulty in finding them.

 

Any ideas, thoughts, etc would be greatly appreciated.

42 minutes ago, deladane said:

 

As pd7277 and Cotswold suggested, I too would recommend that you go ahead with your original plan and post this in the general forum where people with experience cruising from Southampton and Le Harve can see it.  The one thing I can help you with is the Paris geography question...

 

If you look at a map of the city of Paris, you can see a large circular road that encompasses the city.  99% of the tourist attractions are within the confines of that circle so as long as you stay somewhere in there, you should be good to go.  I picked my hotel based on it's close location to a metro station so we could get anywhere else in the city quickly and easily, even if it meant transferring lines.  I also made a list of all the touristy things we wanted to do and plotted that on a map to learn the city a little better and understand where things are located, and picked a hotel not too far from those places.  Sure, if I wanted to be super close to the Seine or the Eiffel Tower, it would have been extremely convenient, but also extremely expensive.  I opted for a happy medium and picked a hotel about a mile walk from the Louvre (to the south) and Montmarte (to the north), and saved a lot of money knowing I wasn't too far into the outskirts but also not smack in the middle of all the action.  Hope that helps, and that someone else on the forums can answer your other questions!

 

Actually what you said is very helpful.  I will post to a general forum with specific questions and hope that someone will pick up on it.  Although they said to do it with a Princess forum.  At this point, I want to just get a general idea about how such a process might work.  I am still almost two years away, so anything specific to Princess can wait.  Of course, if I don't get much response on a general forum, I can always get more specific.

 

The Paris info was very good as well.  Stuff I have read, basically said the same thing.  The big question will be how far is too far and what are talking about when it comes to difference in price.  Thanks again.

32 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I would use a thread title along the lines of: “Has anyone disembarked in Le Havre rather than in final port of Southampton?” and then explain in detail in your first post the information you are seeking. 

 

Good luck! 

That sounds good.  Would that work as a general topic or should I go specifically to a Princess forum.  I am guessing the general, since the idea is pretty generic.  Thanks.