Just Back - Uniworld Parisian Holidays

[KarlS]

We just returned home last evening. We had a wonderful time. I'll write up a review once I recover from digging out of our northern VA Saturday snow we found when we got home. Suffice it to say we had another terrific cruise, even though we had a minor itinerary change caused by the threat of an indefinite-duration Seine river locks operators walkout. Paris is beeee-utiful when it's covered with snow!!

 

...Karl

[crule]

Karl:

 

Any problems with pickpockets on the Metro?

[webfoot]

Hi Karl .. sorry that you had to come back home to all of that snow. We had 23" down here in the Charlottesville area. My sons have sent us pictures of their snow in Herndon ... what a mess.

 

I'll be interested in your write-up. We are taking the Avalon Grand France in April. We go from Paris on the Seine up to the Normandy area and then back to Paris. Then we are moved to the Rhone River to do Burgundy and Provence.

 

Have a wonderful holiday!!!

[KarlS]

Any problems with pickpockets on the Metro?

 

We rode the RER and didn't have any problems. Our cruise manager asked the pickpocket question of the group at the end of the cruise, and nobody reported pickpocket problems for the week on the Metro or at any of the tourist spots like the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Champs Elysees, Concorde Square, Louvre, Notre Dame. Of course, our cruise manager did stress the issue at the beginning of the week to warn passengers of the high risk.

[crule]

Cool. We're doing the Uniworld burgundy/provence in mid October and finishing up with 4 days in Paris. I decided to be a cheapskate and not get a hotel in the core of Paris, rather, I'm going to stay just outside in the La Defense area.

 

I looked at the maps - I'm 2 air-miles to Champs Elysses, and only 5 or so from the Louvre. And, my hotel is right on the Metro 1 line, and short walk to RER A. Suffice to say, I'll be doing a significant amount of travel on the RATP system.

 

Like the others, I'm looking forward to your write up.

[shoshona2]

When we rode the Metro on one of our trips to Paris, my DH and I did NOT talk to each other. The pickpockets will target you if they know you are tourists and since we did not speak French, we kept our mouths closed. When it was time to get off the Metro, we just motioned to each other. Worked great and we have been to Paris many times. The last trip with our granddaughter two years ago, we took the buses since Paris is so awesome and who wants to be underground when you can experience the beautiful sights of the city.

 

Sheila

[opal21]

We were on The Uniworld Grand France last April/May and we had the misfortune of getting our wallets removed, but fortunately did get them back. As four of us were boarding the metro, I caught this young girl taking my wallet out of my purse which i was wearing across the chest. I grabbed it from her hand and yelled and with that she threw my husband's wallet down on the station floor. He was wearing it in his side jeans pocket. He grabbed her by the neck and we all got off the train, but there was not a soul to turn her in to. We're pretty well travelled and this was our first experience like this. Hopefully our last.

Highly recommend a pac safe purse like the one I left home on that trip.

Carol

[letsgo39]

When we rode the Metro on one of our trips to Paris, my DH and I did NOT talk to each other. The pickpockets will target you if they know you are tourists and since we did not speak French, we kept our mouths closed. When it was time to get off the Metro, we just motioned to each other. Worked great and we have been to Paris many times. The last trip with our granddaughter two years ago, we took the buses since Paris is so awesome and who wants to be underground when you can experience the beautiful sights of the city.

 

Sheila

 

Being a Chicago native I have taken the metro many times there but when traveling I prefer busses so as not to miss anything. I have taken the metro in Paris and had no problem.Just be careful as you would in any large city.

[KarlS]

I'll write up a review once I recover from digging out of our northern VA Saturday snow

 

I just submitted my review to CC's Uniworld review section. I'll come back here and provide a link once it's posted.

 

In the meantime, I also posted some of our pictures on our web site, along with links to our daily programs and daily supper menus. Check out http://www.hillrisefarm.us/Uniworld_2009.html.

 

Cheers!

 

...Karl

[npphotog]

Karl - Great photos. What camera did you use? Willard

[KarlS]

Karl - Great photos. What camera did you use? Willard

 

Thanks! I don't take my "big" DSLR camera with me on trips, so I was using my little digital Sony DSC-T30, which is the size of a deck of cards. Some of those pics were taken through the bus/coach window, too. It even takes video, which I don't usually post on our web site because the files are big and take too long to display online.

[KarlS]

I just submitted my review to CC's Uniworld review section. I'll come back here and provide a link once it's posted.

 

The link to my (rather lengthy, I'm afraid) review is now posted at http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=61085

[Jswen]

Thank you for the review of your trip, we will be doing almost the same itinerary in the fall( Avalon's Grand France Tour) so I was very interested in reading all of your details. Have you flown with Air France before? We are booked on Air France and the reviews are very mixed.

It was an interesting report, thanks again.

S

[shoshona2]

Hi Karl,

 

Haven't had time to read your review yet, but just loved your photos of Paris. I have a Sony DSC-T77 and just love the photos I took in recently in Egypt and Jordan. I love the size as I can put it into a jacket pocket and just pull it out to shoot photos. We will have a return trip to Paris with a granddaughter in 2011 and I can hardly wait.

 

Sheila

[KarlS]

Have you flown with Air France before? We are booked on Air France and the reviews are very mixed.

 

Hi,

 

No, this was our first round trip on Air France. Its business class was "okay", and although I hate to say it, the in-flight service wasn't as "good" as United's. The food in business class was pretty skimpy, and the flight attendants disappeared after the food service. The 777 on the outbound was nice, but the one on the return flight was pretty long in the tooth. (Seats were creaky, the overhead light didn't work, and one set of permanently attached headphones was broken). Our favorite has always been Austrian Air, since they fly just two-class planes, and their upgrade is very nice. Of course, we only fly across the Atlantic at most once a year, so don't go by our limited experience. As always, your mileage may vary. ;) Cheers!

 

...Karl