dsfischer

We ate dinner at Le Casse Noix near the Eiffel Tower then walked the few blocks to see the light on the Tower sparkle at 9:55 (or 10:55, etc.). It's a small restaurant that opened at 7:00 and was full by 8:00 (we had reservations). They have a menu to start choosing your "courses," then you can substitute with items from a blackboard. Maybe the blackboard items change weekly? You can read reviews on TripAdvisor. Our group agreed that it was the best meal we had on our trip and being able to walk over to the Eiffel Tower to see the lights was a bonus!

Jpalbny - thank you for your nice words! The bus ride from Paris to Trier started at 7:30 a.m. and we had a stop in Luxembourg for a walking tour, lunch, then a visit to the American Cemetery. We arrived at the ship in Trier in time for dinner. At the other end, the bus drove us past some of the sights then dropped us for an additional walking tour in Nuremberg. We temporarily deserted the tour for lunch and a little independent look around, then met them to get back on the bus. We didn't arrive in Prague until dinner time. If people believe that they actually start in Paris and end in Prague by boat, they're in for a surprise! Those were long days, but would've been much more interesting in an Audi S6!

Sorry for the delay responding!

We added a few days at the beginning of our trip to spend some time driving around Normandy. We got to Paris the same day as the Paris portion of the itinerary started (we had been to Paris before so we decided to see other parts of France). Other than checking in at the Viking desk, nothing was organized for that day. The following morning there was a bus tour of some of the sights, with time for pictures at the Eiffel Tower. The rest of the day was free time. We left early the next morning for Luxembourg and boarded the ship in Trier at dinner time. If your friends want to see more of Paris than a quick drive by, they should probably go a day or two early. Considering Viking's cost for the pre and post cruise days, I suggest they book their hotels themselves.

There was limited free time on this itinerary. Most days the ship moved while we were on a tour, so we caught up with it by bus. The tours are optional, but the only other choice would be to stay on the ship. While the drives were pretty, I wouldn't say there was anything remarkable (no ruins, castles, etc.). I would guess we averaged 1 1/2 hours each way on the bus rides except for the first and last days. For us, it was too much time on a bus or waiting around, which can't be avoided when you have a bus of 40 people. Bathroom breaks at convenience stores seemed to take forever, etc. However, as I said earlier, this type of travel is perfect for a lot of people, but we tend to be more independent than this allows.

We also spent an extra day in Prague. We were late arriving at our port because of engine trouble and didn't get to Prague until late. There was a walking tour of Prague the next day which we (and many others in our group) left in Old Town so that we could have lunch and see the things we were interested in seeing (we walked back to the hotel afterwards). I imagine the remaining part of the day was free time if you stayed with the tour to the end. The following day was departure day for most people. So, if your friends don't add days themselves, they really won't have time for much sightseeing in Paris or Prague.

I hope this info is helpful to your friends in making their decision. If you have other questions, I'll be happy to try to help!

Debbie

Debbie

 

Thank you so much for providing this information. You willingness to share is greatly appreciated. Need to tell me where your next trip is and you can be my "scout". LOL

 

Cheers!

Haha! Any time! I'm the family travel planner. If you ever do a Mediterranean cruise or Scotland, I can give you contact info for some great guides!

Enjoy your trip! 😃

Debbie

About as well accepted as Euros would be in your local stores at home :)

I was trying to be diplomatic. It was a reasonable question depending on where you travel. People were happy to have U.S. dollars in Turkey last summer. 😀

We had been to Paris before, so our pre-cruise stay was one night in Giverny and three nights in Bayeux at the Noble Tardiff Guesthouse (wonderful place!) before the two nights in Paris. For our extra night in Prague, we just booked the Marriott Courtyard at the airport so it would be convenient for our flight home.

Either way, when we saw the price Viking was charging for the extra days we knew we could book our own rooms for a much more reasonable price. It's a disadvantage not to know the exact hotels Viking is using until 10 days before the trip, but I would suggest staying wherever was convenient and within your price range and move to Viking's hotel for the land/cruise nights. Their hotel in Paris (for our trip) was Le Meridien Etoile and in Prague it was the Hilton Probrezni, but I don't think they always use those two.

We used Euros everywhere except Prague and took Czech korunas for Prague. We never tried to use U.S. dollars, but heard people being directed to ATMs to withdraw local currency. I would guess that U.S. dollars are not widely accepted. The only time we had a problem using our non-chip and pin credit card was at unmanned toll booths while driving in France.

I've tried to answer your questions as best I can from my notes and memory! After awhile the castles and little towns seem similar when you're doing the same thing every day with a walking tour giving way too many names and dates to remember! Our guide in Cochem stands out in our minds because she was more of a storyteller, rather than just repeating facts.

We got to Bernkastel about 5:30. Our friends did the optional wine tasting and enjoyed it while we walked with Chef Andreas to a local spot for sausage tasting before dinner. Dinner was at 7:30 and we departed for Cochem shortly after we finished eating.

As far as Koblenz, we were actually docked in Winningen right before dinner. The excursion to Koblenz (Marksburg Castle) was the next morning and it was recommended that "for safety and enjoyment" you be in "very good physical condition" to participate. Our husbands have back problems, so we decided to stay on the boat to experience traveling through the locks and leaving the Moselle River and entering the Rhine (if you didn't see it, you would never know anything happened!). We considered this our day to pretend we were experiencing a Viking River cruise TV ad....

We got to Rudesheim about 5:30 (along with several other boats) and dashed into town for quick shopping for nutcrackers and snow globes before taking the shuttle bus at 7:00 to meet the boat in Wiesbaden. In Rudesheim, our boat was docked in the berth furthest from town and we practically ran to have any time there. Our friends decided against doing the wine tasting excursion, thinking it would be similar wines to the ones they had earlier.

We skipped the student lunch in Heidelberg, and wandered around town and had lunch on our own. We told the program director a day earlier so they knew not to count us in the number having lunch and asked when and where to meet the group later.

We traveled by bus from Eltmann to Bamberg, leaving the boat at 1:45. By this day, the Odin was having engine trouble and was moving slowly. We had a walking tour of Bamberg, then had a meeting place at a market square to walk as a group back to the buses. There was at least one other Viking ship in Bamberg, and we noted that people began gathering long before the meeting time. We managed to find a place to sit and have a drink while we waited, but most people weren't as lucky. Once we got back to the bus, we drove through town to an industrial looking area where we were supposed to meet the boat. We sat on the bus or stood outside for almost 2 hours waiting for the boat to arrive (between the engine and the locks, they were very late). The program director managed to bring fresh strawberries, water, and ice cream to everyone while we waited, and most people took the delay in stride. However, this experience underlined why it would be difficult to try to do anything on our own on a river cruise - the schedule just wasn't always predictable.

About Paris - we rented a car from Hertz at CDG and drove to Giverny for the night. We walked to Monet's Garden when it opened the next morning, then drove on to Bayeux. That was our base for seeing some of the D Day sites (Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery and Arromanches), Mont St. Michel, Honfleur, etc. (3 nights). We drove to Versailles on our way back to Paris. If you rent a car, I would suggest that you have someone program your GPS in English before you start and have a chip and PIN credit card (we came across unmanned toll booths and needed to use ours). The only problem we had while driving was coming back into Paris to return the car 2 blocks from the hotel. Having done it, I'd suggest returning the car before you get to Paris and take the train the rest of the way...unless you have nerves of steel and fast reflexes. Versailles was only about 20-30 minutes from Paris and we could've returned the car there. I'm not sure how long it takes to get up to the D Day beach area by train, but you might be able to catch a very early train, rent a car to see your places of interest, then return the car and catch a late train back. If you're looking for a restaurant suggestion in Paris, we ate at Le Casse Noix near the Eiffel Tower, then walked over to watch the Tower lights "twinkle" at 9:55. It was a great tiny restaurant that filled up quickly (we had 7:00 reservations so we would be out in time to see the lights).

I hope this information is helpful with your planning!

Debbie

I've hesitated to post updates because I don't want to discourage anyone, so let me start by saying that I'm not sure that river cruising is right for me. The ship was lovely and the food was wonderful. I asked my friends before we booked if they realized how much time we would be spending on buses traveling to the various cities, so if you're aware that in most instances you aren't going to walk off the boat and do your own thing you might be fine. We thought we might be able to do some independent exploring, but since the boat moves while you're on a bus or walking tour, you don't have many options. We never actually knew what was going to happen (schedule-wise) until the daily briefing the afternoon before each stop so it was impossible to plan ahead. It's probably a perfect trip for someone who doesn't have the time or inclination to plan day trips, and who has serious interest in the detailed history of each stop.

Our guide in Luxembourg was interesting and the American Cemetery was peaceful and beautiful. We had a great guide in Cochem for our tour of Reichsburg Castle, and I believe that she was the difference in making the history come alive or feeling like it was just another castle tour. One of our favorite stops was the all day optional tour to Rothenburg with a walking tour, lunch, and free time. Nuremberg was a disappointment because it was a drive-by of the better known places and many people on the bus complained because they thought we would be stopping and touring some of the sites. I'm not sure what Viking could do differently on this itinerary, but I would've appreciated having a tentative schedule for the week when we got on the boat.

Our favorite days were the ones we planned on our own driving through Normandy before going to Paris and our extra day in Prague. We left our Prague walking tour before it was over to have lunch and explore on our own, and it was a great choice for us. We stayed an extra day and did an "Eating Prague" tour, which we thought was a unique and fun afternoon.

I hope everyone doing this itinerary has a wonderful time! The weather was beautiful and much warmer than we expected. I was very interested in visiting Germany, so I'm glad that I was able to spend a little time there. It was a great way to get a glimpse of what Germany has to offer, and a way to tempt people to come back on their own for another look. :-)

We're on the Viking Odin right now and I understand and sympathize with your situation. We're traveling with another couple and people seem to figure out their dining companions fairly quickly. We have been 4 people at a table for 6 a majority of the nights. On the other nights it has usually been fine to exchange polite conversation. (I'm not nearly as outgoing as my husband. He knows no strangers, but is able to recognize when people don't want to chat!)

Thanks for the map, Notamermaid! We are currently stopped at Oberwesel to offload garbage and pick up some supplies. I have a perfect seat (and map!) to see and identify castles. The weather is sunny and gorgeous.

Yes, the Odin is a longboat. Even though we "began" our cruise in Paris, that was a land portion of the trip. We actually took a bus to Luxembourg to visit the American cemetery, then on to Trier, Germany to board the boat. The same is true with the end of our trip. We leave the boat in Bamberg and take a bus to Prague.

We are currently on the Viking Odin traveling from Paris to Prague. Except for a light rain today, our weather has been beautiful.

We rented a car and spent several days driving around Normandy seeing Mont St. Michel, visiting D Day sites, touring Versailles, and cider tasting before arriving in Paris and returning our car. No problem with the driving until we were a block from our hotel and caught in the worst traffic EVER! We took part in the morning tour of Paris the day after we arrived, then spent the afternoon exploring on our own. We had a wonderful dinner at Le Casse Noix, blocks from the Eiffel Tower, then walked over to see the Tower light up with twinkling lights at 9:55. The next morning we were off for a full day of riding on a bus to meet our boat.

The days have been busy with minimal free time. We opted to stay onboard today so we could experience leaving the Moselle and entering the Rhine River. Part of the passengers took the bus for a castle tour, but we did one yesterday and this was a more strenuous tour. Considering the description of the tour and the light rain today, we're happy with our choice. Steep steps with no handrails reminded me of a previous trip where I embarrassed my children by declaring I might bump down on my bottom rather than try to walk down slick, steep steps!

We'll stop briefly in Rudesheim and hop off the boat for a few hours at 5:00, then take a shuttle to catch up with the boat at its next stop. Figuring out the logistics of having some time to explore without being on an organized tour, yet finding the boat when it moves, has been a little challenging. We're usually a little more independent in our traveling, but we're adapting.

The food has been excellent, the staff is very friendly and helpful, and we have no complaints about our Viking experience. Our Aquarium class cabin is fine for our needs (I can see out the window and I'm only 5'4") and the public areas are bright and comfortable. I hope this info is helpful to anyone with an upcoming Viking trip. Internet is sporadic, so I may post an update toward the end of our journey!