Lynniepoo

everyone has been mentioning Overlord so thanks to all!  I think that's our best bet.

Hey y'all, we are booked on a round trip Southampton trip in August that will stop in LeHavre, France the day before disembarkation day.  We plan to disembark 1 day early to (1) tour Normandy and (2) take the train to Paris and stay there for a day or two.  We tried to book the ship's excursion to Normandy but they will not allow it since we are disembarking.  Does anyone have recommendations for good tour guides that will take us there and back to LeHavre, or even better, that will take us to Normandy and then provide transport to Paris?  Viewing US memorials is our interest (vs. Canada) although we are interested in all of them.  Thanks!

On 1/6/2020 at 7:48 PM, John Bull said:

Hi,

 

Yes, train from Paris to Le Havre can make sense. About a 2-hour train ride then a ten-minute taxi to the port.

 

But visiting the D-Day sights is going to cost you a chunk of time. Or a chunk of money. Or a chunk of both.

Lots of options,  but all bar one involve your last night's stay being in Normandy rather than Paris...........

 

Train to Le Havre, & overnight in Le Havre to join Overlord's tour from the cruise port.

https://www.overlordtour.com/product/tours-from-cruise-ports-9b/

This tour is designed for those on a port-of-call visit.

If, as I believe, this is a cruise with embarkations at both Le Havre and Southampton, the tour will be running that day but others on the tour will actually be on the previous cruise to yours, with Le Havre as their last port-of-call before disembarking at Southampton next day.

If available, this would probably be the most economical on your time and wallet.

 

Alternatively, also by overniting in Le Havre,  you could book a ship's tour or (preferably) a shared private tour via the RollCall.

Bear in mind that both the ship-sponsored tour and that RollCall would actually be for the cruise which ends next day in Southampton, not for the cruise which you start and which others join next day in Southampton

 

Paris - Normandy - Paris day-trip with Overlord Tours https://www.overlordtour.com/product/tour-2fs-omaha-utah-full-day-tour-week-days-only/

You are responsible for getting yourselves from Paris to Bayeux (about 2 1/2 hours) by train, this shared tour is specifically designed to meet the train from Paris. Tour is in a 16-seat van, is pretty comprehensive, and Overlord have an excellent reputation. The tour finishes back at Bayeux and you then take the train back to Paris.

 

The tour as above, but rather than returning to Paris you could lodge in Bayeux and head for Le Havre next morning.

It's only 63 kilometres (38 miles) but slow & complicated by public transport.

- By train it's Bayeux to Caen, change to a train to Rouen, change to a train to Le Havre. Total journey time 4 to 5.5 hours depending on connection times.

- Or take a train to Caen, then bus to Le Havre. Much simpler, cheaper & quicker, but infrequent service.

- Simplest but most expensive is to pre-book a private transfer from Bayeux hotel to ship (about an hour minimum).  If you're feeling a little flush you could include other sights in that transfer -  Arromanches & the remains of the Mulberry Harbour (British sector), Juno beach (Canadian sector), Pegasus Bridge (British Parachute Regt), even stop for a beer at the pretty fishing/tourist port of Honfleur.

The train from Paris to Bayeux, Overlord tour, hotel in Bayeux, and private transfer next morning to Le Havre would probably give you the best Normandy experience.

 

Alternatively you could arrange to rent a car, or car plus driver, from Le Havre. You can get by without a guide, there's plenty of staff & signage at the sights.  Self-drive means a bit more research on sights and routing, but th driving is pretty easy.

 

Brew a large pot of coffee, then re-read and check out the tours & places mentioned.

 

JB 

 

This is extremely helpful.  I think the overlord tour in Le Havre you mention will be perfect for us.  We have discussed staying one or two nights in Paris and then heading over to Le Havre one or two days before the cruise departs.  In Paris, we've been told everything is pretty easy to get to via metro (assuming there is no strike), so we might just hit an AirBnB for a few days and get ourselves around that way.  Thank you!! 😀

6 minutes ago, tanyaewa said:

My Princess cruise could do without:

pillow chocolates - but I love the turndown service.  Maybe a carafe of water?

the sales pitches that keep me away from the spa. I once had a massage and got totally overcharged and lied to.  It would be nice to actually just get a treatment and walk out like at a land-based spa

the “art” auctions and “art” gallery 

the walls of already printed photos.  Go digital already 

On the Sky, you used your medallion to bring up your digital pictures on a computer.  There were no rows of pictures to go through.  Hopefully they will launch that fleet wide someday.

44 minutes ago, I Love Cruising 3 said:

You don't actually believe that, do you?

With all the cutbacks I've seen in the crew personal they have only the people who they need & if a job function isn't required they simply cut it. 

I have not seen anything indicating there have been layoffs, especially considering they are building new ships non-stop. Of course I don't want to see anyone get laid off.  

However, I would not have said what I said if I didn't believe it, but way to take  a fun thread and make it into something it didn't need to be. 

18 minutes ago, CruiseVA said:

Dear lord - Effy!!!  Ugghh Sweet Caroline pullezzz!

Could do without the elevator rusher's! Slamming doors (but that can happen), loud talkers in the hallway late night or early morning, hmm, sounds like pablo222 in post #15- LOL. 

Go ahead Trak - click on the link, it's not what you think...

On my last cruise a man in a wheelchair and his wife were waiting for an elevator and TWO times a bunch of people got in front of him (they all arrived later) and jumped on.  I had more than a few cuss words for them but I kept them on the inside.  

I know not exactly what we are talking about the "elevator rushers" made me think about it.  I guess I can do without rude selfish people who think a vacation is an excuse to stop being a human being.  Ok. Rant over!!  😀

Just now, Renmar said:

At a boy, we all have to do what DW (Suggests) says. 😉

 

Theo

Happy wife, happy life (just ask DH!!)  

Hi everyone!  DH and I just booked a cruise leaving Le Havre and sailing the UK. Since we are flying into Charles DeGaulle in Paris (or at least I assume so, I think Orly is only a domestic airport?), we would like to stay one or two nights in Paris to see:

Eiffel Tower

L'arc de Triomphe

Louvre (just the building from outside is ok - we are not huge art people)

your recommendation - we love being active and doing stuff

- We thought it might be best to hire a tour guide.  Can anyone recommend someone for 2 people that is not astronomical?  we love to walk and bike ride, but would hate being on a bus for a long period of time.

- Also looks like we will be there on the weekend, are these places closed? (haven't looked on line yet)

- On traveling to Le Havre, would you recommend taking the train?  How easy is it to get to the WWII sites in Normandy from there?  (and does anyone know if you can actually walk on the beach in Normandy?)

- A good restaurant (we like everything except Mexican and Indian) in Paris?

Thanks to all!!!!!!   Lynn + Stew

😀

1 minute ago, I Love Cruising 3 said:

So if they got rid of them they might not have a job at all? 

 

no, they would have a job at the fitness center/photography center/spa handling customers who actually came to them.  It's once out of a hundred times I actually see a person talking to them or taking advantage of what they are offering. 

also, how about getting rid of making the poor employees stand for hours by the elevators, stairwells, etc. trolling for "free" mini- massages, pictures, tests on how good your feet are, etc?  I feel bad for these people, but it also irks me that the up-sell is everywhere.

On 1/3/2020 at 5:36 PM, jennybenny said:

 

The formal night dress is for the MDR.  You can do buffet and specialty dining in less formal clothes and no one bats an eye. This last Christmas Eve on the Royal was the first time I've seen people in jeans turned away from the MDR on Formal night (we had 3 instead of 2 for a 7 day cruise).  It was a port day and they were recommended to change and come back. Not sure if they did.  They had a large family and it was the men who were dressed in Jeans and T shirts. There have been inconsistencies in the application of policy, but it's best to just follow Princess Guidelines.  

 

We always dress up for formal nights. There are nights on cruises we stay in our formal attire all night and some that we change right after dinner and go back out.  The kids always change after dinner.

We just disembarked the Sky after a 12-19 - 1-4 sailing and we were in the MDR.  Throughout the cruise, some people (on smart casual nights) were arriving in shorts, jeans, sweatpants, and tshirts and were being admitted

16 minutes ago, CruiseVA said:

Ditto on the Sky last December, hardly any paper inserts. I don't think I've gotten a towel animal on a Princess ship, although, I'm sure it depends on the steward.

We renewed our vows on the Sky and got two towel animals shaped like swans facing each other (so like a heart).  That's the first time we've gotten one and a really nice surprise.

I think paper inserts were less on this cruise as well, but still too many.  Off topic, but the hijacking half the menu in the main dining room for upcharge items you could order from the Crown Grill was a HUGE turnoff for me.  I could live without that.

On 12/12/2019 at 3:28 PM, teseo said:

Thanks everybody for the responses. Great to know. Will bring some pods.

 

We bring a small bag of Tide Pods and a ziploc bag of dryer sheets.  

Do you mean at lunch time when you first board?  If I recall correctly, they have a pretty diverse menu of hot and cold.  But its also crazy busy.  DH and I have had more fun sitting down at having a bite at the IC instead.

On 11/16/2019 at 11:24 AM, cathycruise said:

Hi

This may sound silly, but it is nonetheless important for me, so I'm asking 😊.  Would I be allowed to bring a small carton of Lactaid® milk on board? I know the ship offers you "lactose free" milk, which is powder milk mixed with water because on our last cruise I requested for a lactose intolerance diet, and our waiters always brought me a glass of powdered milk mixed with water. I was grateful for it, but unfortunately such milk is not really ideal to be added a cup of tea.  So, if the ship allows, I would like to buy a small carton of Lactaid milk and bring it with me. I think it may be a very long shot, and the answer is probably no, but I would like to check just in case. Thank you.

We are super picky about our coffee and bring our own sugar (agave nectar) and half and half on board.  It's not a problem.   

we always request the biggest table available.  Once, we had requested a table of 8 and found out we were at a table for 2, and we asked to be switched!  The Maitre'd laughed about it because usually its in reverse.

We love sitting with people and hearing about their experiences.  Most of the people we met with were lovely.  We did have one couple that spoke pretty vehemently about politics (not something I care to discuss on vacation, and especially with table mates on a cruise ship), and eventually figured out that everyone else at the table was on the other side of the aisle.  They switched tables afterwards.  Oh well. 

On 9/4/2019 at 12:01 PM, jmadams said:

Thanks everyone for your responses. When I go to a Disney park, I make some thank you envelopes and pre-stuff them with tips before I leave home.  I’ll do the same thing this time!   I will also grab a bunch of thank you cards for my family and I to fill out.

This is very nice of you.  I always like seeing OP's posts where they show kindness and respect for people who are working very hard to make sure you have a good time.  Bravo.  If I may make a suggestion, instead of thank you cards, fill out the staff appreciation cards that will be available towards the end of the cruise.  I've had several cruise employees tell me that in some ways, those cards are just as important (if not more so) than their tips.  

Regarding cash tips, we do the auto gratuities and usually leave a cash tip for the room steward and our main and assistant waiter at the MDR.  For the room steward, we generally tip about $40 US, $15-20 for the main waiter and $5 - 10 for the assistant waiter.  There have been times when we have not tipped extra at all for sub-par service.  There have also been times where we've tipped other staff because their service was so darn excellent - a super friendly bartender, for example.  

Regarding bringing cash, I would definitely bring some with you.  Even though we generally use our credit card while in port, there are times when having a little cash is good, e.g., tipping at a restaurant in port, or buying something at a cash only (yes they still exist!) location.  

we took an Uber.  Cost about $20 maybe?  

On 10/26/2019 at 12:02 PM, tovin said:

We've done about 7 cruises, all 7 days, except 1 4 day, as our honeymoon back in 2006. We've done Royal, Princess, Carnival, and Holland.

 

We know we want to do a Panama Canal cruise one day - but for our next big vacation, we're considering the 28 day round trip LA to Hawaii, Tahiti & Samoa. The port in LA is only a 4 hour drive, so we don't have to worry about the logistics of flying and luggage, and all that. Which is a HUGE relief to my husband, so it makes traveling 99% easier.

 

But, we have some concerns, and figured we'd start asking. We will probably try to take this trip in 2022 (yeah, I like to plan ahead!). 

 

1. Could someone point me in the direction of patters (are they still called that?) for a longer cruise, just so I can kinda get an idea of what the multiple sea day schedules look like? 4 days at the start and 8 at the end are kinda scaring me. But there's NO way I could get my husband on a flight to Australia for the 29 day from Sydney to LA.

 

2. I've been looking for some trip reports of month long cruises, particularly in the prep area. Housing concerns, mail, cat care, etc., Logistics of this kind of length. If you've done this - what were things you wish you would have known beforehand that would have made life easier?

 

3. Specifically for longer cruises, do you get tired of the entree repeats? Are there show repeats? Do you get tired of your table mates if you're not a 100% match? We're very much not super social people but we're also not big fans of anytime dining, so this scares me quite a bit. Are there interesting onboard activities that are somewhat cost effective some or most of the time on such a long string of sea days?

 

4. Are there some sea days that are better than others for doing laundry? Or some excerpts of the cruise where there will be more activities regarding the locales we are about to visit (like lei making around Hawaii, is, I'm assuming, a thing they do)? 

 

If a few folks could share their first long cruise thoughts, things we're not considering, or things they were particularly pleased with. It would help us immensely!

 

Thanks all! Off to do a bunch of research on how Princess has changed since we last cruise with them in 2014 (SO MUCH!!)

 

[Edit: Spelling!]

Congrats Tovin!  Our longest was 16 days (the absolute longest I can be gone and still have a job afterwards) to Tahiti and Hawaii. 

Regarding the sea days, the ship you are on will have a say in how many activities.  I think that's already been covered a bit in this thread.  We were on the Pacific, which was too small to have much going on and didn't have an Atrium.  We found that without any structured activity, we were getting pretty listless.  But if you have a great book to read or don't mind down time, that won't be a problem for you.

We have a precious 4 legged child too, (cat) and we have done several things over the years.  We boarded him once, but found that the barking and sounds from the other animals traumatized him a bit, so we now use a cat sitting company that comes to our house 1x or 2x per day for food, water, a clean litter box and love.  We hire the same sitters who are familiar with our baby and know just how to handle him, and they send us pictures of him everyday with notes on how he is doing.  I recommend you look into some of these services and even interview them first.  We are in SC, otherwise I would recommend the one we use for you.

We look forward to sitting at big table with lots of people and getting to know them, but you can do anytime dining or even hit the buffet if you are not looking for lots of conversation.  You need to do what works for you, but if you want my advice:  go for a big table of 10 or 12!  With that many people, its hard to have a long break in the conversation, especially with new things to talk about everyday (experiences in Port, etc.).  We've also really enjoyed talking with people from all over the US and different parts of the world.'

Activities on board will be ukelele training, lei making, and (I think) Hula lessons.  They generally have a nominal charge anywhere from about $5 to $20 per person or so.  

I hope you enjoy!!!!

On 11/8/2019 at 8:24 PM, tere247 said:

We've done 2 Christmas cruises in the Caribbean.  On Christmas Eve, the CD read "The Night Before Christmas" in the Piazza. It's also shown on the TV in the stateroom. Christmas Eve mass from Rome as well as Christmas morning mass was shown on the TV.  On Christmas Eve we got little red Christmas stockings with a candy cane with our pillow chocolates inside.  Once when we first boarded, we witnessed "snow" falling in the atrium while the costumed carolers were singing Christmas carols.   There were gingerbread houses displayed in the atrium as well as the buffet.

I think they do it very nice. 

They read "Twas the night before Christmas" on ours also.  It was just wonderful.  It's been mentioned, but I want to add that the decoration and Christmas music playing (both festive songs and Christian songs) on the speakers was exquisite.  DH and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. So much so, that we will by on the Sky for Christmas and New Years this year!!  

We stayed at the Hollywood Beach Marriott on North Ocean Drive.  It's an older hotel, but clean.  It is on the beach with direct access, and  a great restaurant on the beach, great for breakfast and coffee or a glass of wine in the evening.  We are sailing in December and staying there again.

awesome!  Thanks.  I need lots of minutes to keep in touch with work, so I'll check out the IC on day 1.

Hello cruisers,

DH and I are Platinum and heading on the Sky Princess in December (Caribbean).  Can anyone tell me how they are structuring the internet plans on (fully operational) OM sailings and what perks a Platinum guest has?  I'm wondering if I should order something in advance.  Thanks!!

The spinach/mushroom salad is extra!  I also love the shrimp and fennel dish.

DH and I go there on many mornings for a breakfast sandwich.  What's nice about the IC (for us anyway) is we can have a good meal and not overindulge too much.  The buffet has so many choices that we end up overeating.

We received one free upgrade on our first cruise back in 2009.  It was (if memory serves) from a balcony midship to a mini-suite aft. DH and I were so green that I didn't figure it out until after the cruise was over.

We now mark our cruise as do not upgrade, because we look for a specific area of the ship (mid, as I have seasickness issues otherwise) and don't want to have it messed with.

We've also gotten those emails saying we can upgrade to a mini-suite for $100/day.  We ignore them.

The one time we kicked ourselves was when we had a booked the Diamond for a trip to Asia, which must have been overbooked.  We received a call asking us if we would downgrade to an oceanview from a balcony, and if we agreed we would get what we paid as a credit towards another cruise.  DH and I said no, then realized how stupid that was right afterwards (but it was too late).  If I could turn back time...