Anyone back from new River Royale yet?

[imisseurope]

Hi,

Is anyone back from Uniworld's "Burgundy/Provence" on the refurbished River Royale yet? Would love details. Also if extension in Paris was done,

how was the Le Meridien Etoile?

thank you!

[cole]

I am not sure when the refurbish was done, but we were on the Royale last spring and it was beautiful then! Did south to north and totally enjoyed the trip. Staff was great, food wonderful and accommodations top notch. Any questions that you might have for someone who did the trip last year, would be glad to answer. Did not do the extended trip to Paris. Did it on our own.

B. Cole

[imisseurope]

thank you! I did read your older posts about the trip and it sounds great!

I have a question for you on the flights if you came from the states and started the trip in Arles (flying into Marseille).

We are flying AirFrance from Los Angeles to Marseille with a change of planes in Charles de Gaulle. Do we have to recheck bags in Charles de Gaulle, or will we not see our bags until Marseille?

[cole]

We stopped for one night in Paris, so we retrieved our bags, but if you are flying Air France all the way through - I would imagine the bags will be booked through and you will not have to re-check them. Maybe if you post the question on this board someone who did the same trip will respond.

B. Cole

[Fairfield Nana]

Dear "Imisseurope"--Looking forward to any replies you get to your question about baggage/Air France?CDG/Marseille. We are doing the same itenerary --departing May 8 and connecting on to MRS next day for a May 13 sailing from Arles on the River Royale. Plan to stay 3-4 nights in Aix-en-Provence and Arles pre-cruise. I posted a similar question on the "airlines" link on this site and got some good feedback. Good luck and hope we all have a great time.:)

[imisseurope]

Hi, for some reason I can't find the "airlines" link on this site. Where should I look?

Have been looking forward to a review by Lotsacruising. Have you found it? Maybe they are not back yet.

Thank you!!

[Fairfield Nana]

It's under "Cruise Discussion TOpics". subcategory "Cruise Air". So far nothing on this seasons Rhone cruise or the recent remodeling of the RIver Royale. Hope to hear more soon.

[Yggdrasil98]

I was on the Royale, doing the Grand France but as I don't know what she was like before I couldn't say what the differences are.

 

There was a refit as mentioned, and some issues with my bathroom (noise in the ceiling intermittently) and they were going to take that portion of floor out above and fix it before the next trip. The decor was much nicer than the Baroness IMO. But the Baroness was far superior in crew camaraderie and atmosphere, and food choices/preparation.

 

In comparison to the Baroness, she was far nicer and more spacious in the staterooms, but though we had the corporate chef on both trips, for me, the quality and variety of food was inferior on the Royale. The staff tried to please, but they still have some fine tuning to to.

 

Can't help with any flight info as I did my flights independently, flew in and I caught the train out.

[Lotsacruising]

we returned on Sunday and it was amazing. I am happy to answer questions