Disembarking in Le Havre

[deb63]

My cruise is still pretty far away. But this is part of the fun, research, planning & budgeting. In doing so I've come across quite a few postings where people on the same cruise itinerary disembarked early in LeHavre in order to see Paris.

 

I was wondering for people who have done this, is it hard to arrange? Also how and when do you start to work on getting it approved?

 

My TA suggested a private tour from LeHavre to Paris & back so we could see more. But not knowing when we would be in Paris again, the idea of spending the night there & flying home from there the next day is more appealing to me.

 

Our cruise is the 12 day British Isle with Princess Cruise Line:

 

Sun Aug 03 - Embark (Southampton)

Mon Aug 04 - Guernsey 7:00 am - 2:00 pm

Tue Aug 05 - Cork (Cobh) 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Wed Aug 06 - Dublin 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

Thu Aug 07 - Belfast 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Fri Aug 08 - Glasgow 7:00 am - overnight

Sat Aug 09 - Glasgow Overnight - 1:00 am

Sun Aug 10 - Orkney Islands 7:00 am - 5:00 pm

Mon Aug 11 - Invergordon 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

Tue Aug 12 - Edinburgh 7:00 am - 7:00 pm

Wed Aug 13 - Sea Day

Thu Aug 14 - Paris/Normandy 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

Fri Aug 15 - disembark (Southampton)

 

Thank you for any advice, input you can share.

Edited March 27, 2013 by deb63

[Hlitner]

An absolutely good idea although we think that only 1 or 2 days in Paris is a crime.... If you can somehow extend your vacation some extra days you will not regret the decision. As to leaving the ship in LeHavre, you (or your TA) should contact Princess and tell them of your intention. There used to be a procedure they followed (including submitting a form) but not sure of the current procedure which could as easy as just notifying Guest Relations onboard.

 

Hank

[deb63]

Thank you Hank.

 

I had done a search on this board and didn't find a lot. But after I posted this I did a google search and found this question has come up a lot on the cruise line boards.

 

My husband doesn't have enough vacation time for us to do longer. And I agree, the more I read about Paris the more I want to see. My hopes are to revisit Paris at a later date with a land trip, tying in London. But I can't imagine being that close and not at least using our short time to see something I've read about

 

My daughters will be 10 next summer and they have the Eiffel Tower on their bucket lists, and I'd like to share crossing that off their lists with them.

Edited March 27, 2013 by deb63
Trying to fix my rambling. :)

[melody hounddog]

I see that you are planning this for Aug 2014. We are planning our BI trip for July 2014! I'm glad I'm not the only one planning out so far in advance.

 

We are taking our two children as well. We plan on flying into Paris and staying 4 nights. Then taking the Eurostar to London for 4 nights (we have family there). Then use Eddie Manning to take us to Southampton, stopping at Stonehenge and Windsor Castle on the way.

 

Have fun planning! Maybe we should share notes.

 

Mel

Edited March 27, 2013 by melody hounddog

[jj6961]

Hi, I'm doing the opposite joining the ship at it's first port in La Harve(it starts in Harwich) in order to spend some time in Paris pre-cruise. My T/A requested a change in embarkation, all Celebrity requested was my Passport info, and it was approved. I was still able to get the Choice air.

 

If you decide to disembark early you can grab a train from La Harve to Saint Lazare in Paris(some are direct, you can even purchase you train ticket on line from home). I would definitely skip the last day on board to spend the night in Paris :D. The ride to Paris is 2+ hours each way, it would make for a very LONG day with disembarkation in the morning.

 

Just ask your travel agent to contact Princess, I can only speak for what I know from Celebrity, but imagine it can be done fairly easily.

 

Paris is always a good idea

 

Jen

 

My cruise is still pretty far away. But this is part of the fun, research, planning & budgeting. In doing so I've come across quite a few postings where people on the same cruise itinerary disembarked early in LeHavre in order to see Paris.

 

I was wondering for people who have done this, is it hard to arrange? Also how and when do you start to work on getting it approved?

 

My TA suggested a private tour from LeHavre to Paris & back so we could see more. But not knowing when we would be in Paris again, the idea of spending the night there & flying home from there the next day is more appealing to me.

 

Our cruise is the 12 day British Isle with Princess Cruise Line:

 

Sun Aug 03 - Embark (Southampton)

Mon Aug 04 - Guernsey 7:00 am - 2:00 pm

Tue Aug 05 - Cork (Cobh) 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Wed Aug 06 - Dublin 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

Thu Aug 07 - Belfast 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Fri Aug 08 - Glasgow 7:00 am - overnight

Sat Aug 09 - Glasgow Overnight - 1:00 am

Sun Aug 10 - Orkney Islands 7:00 am - 5:00 pm

Mon Aug 11 - Invergordon 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

Tue Aug 12 - Edinburgh 7:00 am - 7:00 pm

Wed Aug 13 - Sea Day

Thu Aug 14 - Paris/Normandy 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

Fri Aug 15 - disembark (Southampton)

 

Thank you for any advice, input you can share.

[Hlitner]

Thank you Hank.

 

I had done a search on this board and didn't find a lot. But after I posted this I did a google search and found this question has come up a lot on the cruise line boards.

 

My husband doesn't have enough vacation time for us to do longer. And I agree, the more I read about Paris the more I want to see. My hopes are to revisit Paris at a later date with a land trip, tying in London. But I can't imagine being that close and not at least using our short time to see something I've read about

 

My daughters will be 10 next summer and they have the Eiffel Tower on their bucket lists, and I'd like to share crossing that off their lists with them.

 

Hmmm. I should have explained that Paris is DWs favorite city in the world. If it came down to her spending a few extra days in Paris or me getting back to a job (am retired now) she would have simply given me a hug, kiss, and a sweet "au revoir" and bid me farewell as I left for CDG ALONE! :)

 

Gabj

[deb63]

I see that you are planning this for Aug 2014. We are planning our BI trip for July 2014! I'm glad I'm not the only one planning out so far in advance.

 

We are taking our two children as well. We plan on flying into Paris and staying 4 nights. Then taking the Eurostar to London for 4 nights (we have family there). Then use Eddie Manning to take us to Southampton, stopping at Stonehenge and Windsor Castle on the way.

 

Have fun planning! Maybe we should share notes.

 

Mel

 

Hi! How nice to meet you. It is such an exciting route. And yes, I tend to plan pretty far out. It helps me with budgeting, and gives me something to read up on.

 

Have you figured out the excursions you are interested in? :) I know it's too early too book them - but Belfast is the only one I am sure what I want. Well, and Cork.

 

 

Hi, I'm doing the opposite joining the ship at it's first port in La Harve(it starts in Harwich) in order to spend some time in Paris pre-cruise. My T/A requested a change in embarkation, all Celebrity requested was my Passport info, and it was approved. I was still able to get the Choice air.

 

If you decide to disembark early you can grab a train from La Harve to Saint Lazare in Paris(some are direct, you can even purchase you train ticket on line from home). I would definitely skip the last day on board to spend the night in Paris :D. The ride to Paris is 2+ hours each way, it would make for a very LONG day with disembarkation in the morning.

 

Just ask your travel agent to contact Princess, I can only speak for what I know from Celebrity, but imagine it can be done fairly easily.

 

Paris is always a good idea

 

Jen

 

I sent Princess an email yesterday asking their procedures. My travel agent is great, but she said cruise lines generally frown on early departure. But from what I've read there are some UK ports that are part of an agreement (can't remember what it was called) that makes it more acceptable. Unlike a US cruise.

 

But in my google searches I did find some posts that stated Le Havre has been missed before due to bad weather. It supposedly doesn't happen often, but does happen. This is something I need to think more about, and read more about - as it would really be a problem if I booked our airfare from Le Havre home. But I would like more time in Paris than 4 hours.

[deb63]

Hmmm. I should have explained that Paris is DWs favorite city in the world. If it came down to her spending a few extra days in Paris or me getting back to a job (am retired now) she would have simply given me a hug, kiss, and a sweet "au revoir" and bid me farewell as I left for CDG ALONE! :)

 

Gabj

 

LOL

 

My husband is only allowed to take two consequtive weeks at a time. :) I will have to give the "sending him home early" idea some consideration! LOL

 

My daughters will be 10, and Paris is their big dream. One of them actually asked if we could visit Paris to celebrate when they get out of Elementary school - which would be 2015. I was hoping if we could at least see a few things next year, 2014, we could push a land/extended trip to Paris back to 2016 . . . so I could try to squeeze in Rome or the Baltic in between.

 

Travel/cruising is a new love of our's - and there are just so many new places to see!

[deb63]

I got a response from Princess - and forwarded it on to my Travel Agent. It doesn't sound like a big deal at all:

 

Thank you for your correspondence regarding your upcoming cruise onboard Ruby Princess. We appreciate the time you have taken to share your concerns, and we welcome the opportunity to respond at this time.

 

You will need to contact your travel agent to request a route sector change to disembark in Paris/Normandy (Le Havre), France on 14AUG14. Travel agents can call on behalf of their clients and request that they join the ship at a later port, disembark at an earlier port and/or sail interport; these are referred to as route sector changes. Upon receipt, the request will be reviewed and the travel agent will be notified if the request can be accommodated. Upon approval, the route sector will be updated accordingly.

I guess now I need to find out how often the port of Le Havre is missed. And with Princess Cruise line - if it is missed does it become a sea day or if they instead dock at a different port (Cherbourg).

 

Thanks everyone for your help! I will keep searching/googling.

[melody hounddog]

Hi Deb

 

I have not heard of Le Havre being missed due to weather. That would be awful for you. Let me know of anything you hear regarding this.

 

I do have most of our shore excursions picked out already. What am I going to do for the next year and 3 mos!

 

Here is what we have so far:

 

Guernsy - ride the local bus around the island and then tour St Petersport on our own. Find a nice outdoor place for lunch.

 

Cork - Blarney Castle Tour (Princess) and walk around Cobh on our own

 

Dublin - undecided

 

Liverpool - undecided

 

Belfast - Giants Causeway tour (Princess)

 

Glasgow - Stirling Castle (Princess), walk around Greenock on our own

 

Inverness- undecided

 

Edinburgh - Holyrood Palace, Royal Mile, Royal Yacht Britannica on our own

 

 

By the way, my husband does not know about this trip yet. I am planning on surprising him. We are celebrating our 20th on the cruise next year (Glasgow day) and this is my gift to us. I will try and keep this a secret till a month or two before the trip. I don't know how I will do it! It is killing me. My daughter is in on the secret but no one else knows, except CC!

 

Mel

[deb63]

Hi Deb

 

I have not heard of Le Havre being missed due to weather. That would be awful for you. Let me know of anything you hear regarding this.

 

I do have most of our shore excursions picked out already. What am I going to do for the next year and 3 mos!

 

Here is what we have so far:

 

Guernsy - ride the local bus around the island and then tour St Petersport on our own. Find a nice outdoor place for lunch.

 

Cork - Blarney Castle Tour (Princess) and walk around Cobh on our own

 

Dublin - undecided

 

Liverpool - undecided

 

Belfast - Giants Causeway tour (Princess)

 

Glasgow - Stirling Castle (Princess), walk around Greenock on our own

 

Inverness- undecided

 

Edinburgh - Holyrood Palace, Royal Mile, Royal Yacht Britannica on our own

 

 

By the way, my husband does not know about this trip yet. I am planning on surprising him. We are celebrating our 20th on the cruise next year (Glasgow day) and this is my gift to us. I will try and keep this a secret till a month or two before the trip. I don't know how I will do it! It is killing me. My daughter is in on the secret but no one else knows, except CC!

 

Mel

 

Our itinerary is slightly different.

 

Guernsey - Tour Castle Cornet (Princess tour)

 

Cork (Cobh) - walk around port. See memorials & the cathedral

 

Dublin - Princess's Irish for a day tour

 

Belfast - Hoping to do Susie Millar's Titanic Tour

 

Glasgow - The Military Tattoo

 

Orkney Islands - A tour to see the Ring of Brodgar

 

Invergordon - Loch Ness cruise

 

Edinburgh - Edinburgh Castle tour

 

Le Havre - hoping to disembark here and head to Paris instead of disembarking tomorrow at Southampton. :) If we do I'd like to see the Eiffel Tower/Sienne River today - and maybe Louvre or Versailles tomorrow before heading home.

 

Wow - I would have a hard time keeping this a secret that long. I hope you manage!! How will you work out him getting time off?

 

So far I've read that them missing Le Havre is very rare - but it still concerns me in planning around disembarking there. I wrote Princess back and asked how they handle it. They said they will try another port if one is available (like Cherbourg), but if nothing is available it will be another sea day.

 

LOL I started working on this vacation as my 2013 ones are pretty much all worked out, etc. Not sure what to do when this one is done. . .. too early for 2015.

[melody hounddog]

Hi Deb

 

Your itinerary sounds fantastic. Your girls will love the "Irish for a Day" tour. My two teens would kill me!

 

If you can, try and make it to Versailles. It is one of my favorite places. You can easily take the train there from Paris. Just buy tickets ahead of time and go early.

 

I found a Seine River cruise that runs at night. Its a dinner cruise and every table has a view. Paris is beautiful at night, with all the lights. We might try this.

 

My husband and I own a small company so taking time off shouldn't be a problem, if we have enough time to get orders out ahead of time. Summer tends to be slow anyway. As long as we have email to talk to customers, we are good.

 

The dog will stay with my trainer which will be expensive. He takes the dog whenever we travel. Its nice not having to worry about him.

[deb63]

Hi Melody!

 

I have an adult son (he is 28) he will come and house/dog sit for us while we are gone. It normally costs me groceries and some spending cash. He likes it as we have some items here he doesn't have in his apartment. So it is win-win for us.

 

My travel agent did contact Princess yesterday and got the paperwork going on allowing us to disembark in Le Havre. Princess told her it was a routine request and saw no reason for it not to be approved. So I'm excited by that.

 

Another poster here on cruise critic was kind enough to share recommendations for a tour guide in London and in Paris.

 

One of my DDs has been reading about Paris - her wish list is the Sienne River, the top of the Eiffel Tower and the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. So we will make Versailles a priority, thank you for confirming how wonderful it is!

 

I am excited by how this is all falling into place - however, I have no idea how I will contain myself for a whole year!

[boca7]

Thank you Hank.

 

I had done a search on this board and didn't find a lot. But after I posted this I did a google search and found this question has come up a lot on the cruise line boards.

 

My husband doesn't have enough vacation time for us to do longer. And I agree, the more I read about Paris the more I want to see. My hopes are to revisit Paris at a later date with a land trip, tying in London. But I can't imagine being that close and not at least using our short time to see something I've read about

 

My daughters will be 10 next summer and they have the Eiffel Tower on their bucket lists, and I'd like to share crossing that off their lists with them.

A note of caution, when I was in Paris a # of yrs ago they only allowed 3 to a cab, needed 2 cabs for my 2 children, this was not the problem in Cannes.

[deb63]

A note of caution, when I was in Paris a # of yrs ago they only allowed 3 to a cab, needed 2 cabs for my 2 children, this was not the problem in Cannes.

 

I had not realized that. I will keep it in mind, thank you.

 

I did get in writing from Princess that we can disembark in Le Havre. . .so now I think all I have left to work out is getting from Le Havre to Paris.

 

I was trying to find a guide that would/could pick us up in Le Havre, do a tour of Versailles and then be dropped off at a hotel in Paris. Someone here on cc was kind enough to recommend one guide - but he suggested a cab since there were only 4 of us - he vehicle holds more so he thought it would be out of our price range. So again, thank you for pointing out the cab sizes.

 

My TA suggested Shoretrips, I've not ruled them out since she states they are quite reliable - but they also seem to cost more than other tours. A great deal more.

 

On Tripadvisor I did find a tour company that could do what we are wanting, and in my price range. Their rating/feedback on Tripadvisor is good, but I was warned that sometimes the feedback is bogus to get the ratings up. So I've tried searching here on cc to see if anyone mentions them - and so far, nothing has turned up.

[Knolmom]

Can you please share the name and number of the tour company that you have from trip advisor. We found trip advisor to be most accurate and helpful when we traveled to Paris pre cruise last October. We now hope to do what you want to do...disembark one day early in LeHavre rather than travel on to Southampton and return to Paris. We had 4 days last year and we must return. Cannot imagine being so close( UK ) without a trip back.

[deb63]

Can you please share the name and number of the tour company that you have from trip advisor. We found trip advisor to be most accurate and helpful when we traveled to Paris pre cruise last October. We now hope to do what you want to do...disembark one day early in LeHavre rather than travel on to Southampton and return to Paris. We had 4 days last year and we must return. Cannot imagine being so close( UK ) without a trip back.

 

 

Of course. I'm glad to read you have found Tripadvisor as being accurate. Thank you for sharing that.

 

Someone that came recommended by others on CC is:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187147-d2365092-r124091543-Driver_Guide_France_Private_Tours-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

 

But Christophe told me it would not be a good value as there are only 4 of us. He recommended I get a cab into Paris or find two others to join us.

 

 

I didn't want to do a cab, as I wanted to incorporate a tour. The company I am leaning toward going with is:

 

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187147-d1488039-Reviews-Best_of_France_Tours-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

 

 

Their reviews are good, and when I wrote them they were able to provide what I wanted - pick up in Le Havre, a tour of Versailles, and then dropped off at a Paris Hotel.

[laughing husky]

I have seen no one mention that from London, Paris is only a couple of hrs away via the train, while La Harve is only a couple of hous away from Paris by train....why not go to Paris from London?

[melody hounddog]

I have seen no one mention that from London, Paris is only a couple of hrs away via the train, while La Harve is only a couple of hous away from Paris by train....why not go to Paris from London?

 

I guess because Princess docks in Southampton, not London. It is 2 hours from Southampton to London and then another 2 hrs from London to Paris.

 

Getting off the ship early in LeHavre saves you 2+ hrs in travel time. An those that have a limited number of vacation days, can spend that last day in Paris instead of on the ship sailing to Southampton.

[deb63]

Going to Paris from London is a great way to do it from what I've read. In our case, it worked better if we could add it at the end.

 

Our cruise is from a Sunday - Friday. So we will leave Texas on the Friday before to arrive a day early (Saturday). By getting off the ship a day early, at LeHavre, we can have Thursday, Friday & Saturday in Paris, without using more vacation days. My DH is limited as to how many consecutive days he can use at a time, so I'm trying to work within those limits.

 

I think if our cruise left later in the week, incorporating Paris before hand - like you mentioned - would be perfect.

[zogrand]

While I'm sure few stops at Le Havre are missed, on our Princess UK cruise in August 2009 our stop was cancelled due to weather. We had a sea day in its place. We took the cruise based on the stop at Le Havre since we wanted to see the Normandy D-Day sites. Needless to say we were disappointed. Since then we have taken a land trip rather than risk disappointment again. Have Plan B in place. You never know what the weather will bring.

Edited June 9, 2013 by zogrand

[3lups]

Hello! I just found this thread and we (group of 12) are doing the same thing.

 

We are going to disembark in Le Havre and would like to do a DDay beach tour visit then transfer directly to our hotel in Paris.

 

I have all of our port reservations complete except I cannot figure a way to make this cost effective! So far including the tour with a transfer is around $300pp which is a little too rich from my blood.

 

If anyone finds a private company - obviously we have the possibility of the train - please post it here or email me @ stephlupercio@gmail.com

 

Thanks!

Stephanie Lupercio

[deb63]

Hello! I just found this thread and we (group of 12) are doing the same thing.

 

We are going to disembark in Le Havre and would like to do a DDay beach tour visit then transfer directly to our hotel in Paris.

 

I have all of our port reservations complete except I cannot figure a way to make this cost effective! So far including the tour with a transfer is around $300pp which is a little too rich from my blood.

 

If anyone finds a private company - obviously we have the possibility of the train - please post it here or email me @ stephlupercio@gmail.com

 

Thanks!

Stephanie Lupercio

 

 

I ended up booking with http://www.private-tours-paris.com/

 

It would be cheaper to go with the taxi service, but with Private Tours you do get a certified guide that can do the tour (if they are not licensed they have to wait with the car). And the price they quoted me included all the tickets.

 

Our price came to over $300pp - however, there are only 4 of us. And our price includes a tour of Paris with the Eiffel Tower (tickets included).

 

The company was very quick to respond to every question I had, and they have a good rating on Tripadvisor. We have booked them for all 3 days we will be in France.

[Hlitner]

If we had your issue we would simply do a one-way car rental for pick-up in Le Havre and drop in Paris. The cost will vary but should be less then $100 (Europcar does not charge a one way drop fee) a day. This solves the problem of where to leave your luggage (although we are often reluctant to leave our luggage unattended in a car) and transportation. You can easily spend 1 or 2 days (or more) exploring the Normandy coast and perhaps stop at Giverny (on your way to Paris) to visit Monet's home. Once in Paris you would drop your luggage at the hotel and return the car (there are usually rental car locations near each train station in Paris). The drive would not be difficult except for those last few miles in Paris, but it is certainly doable. In fact, we will be picking up a car in Paris this coming May, so we do practice what we recommend.

 

Hank

[Miamitennismom]

I had not realized that. I will keep it in mind, thank you.

 

I did get in writing from Princess that we can disembark in Le Havre. . .so now I think all I have left to work out is getting from Le Havre to Paris.

 

I was trying to find a guide that would/could pick us up in Le Havre, do a tour of Versailles and then be dropped off at a hotel in Paris. Someone here on cc was kind enough to recommend one guide - but he suggested a cab since there were only 4 of us - he vehicle holds more so he thought it would be out of our price range. So again, thank you for pointing out the cab sizes.

 

My TA suggested Shoretrips, I've not ruled them out since she states they are quite reliable - but they also seem to cost more than other tours. A great deal more.

 

On Tripadvisor I did find a tour company that could do what we are wanting, and in my price range. Their rating/feedback on Tripadvisor is good, but I was warned that sometimes the feedback is bogus to get the ratings up. So I've tried searching here on cc to see if anyone mentions them - and so far, nothing has turned up.

Hi, Would you tell me the name recommended by TripAdvisers? i will check them out with Google search. If you used them, or another company you liked, please

let me know the name. We are also disembarking early in Le Havre (may 22,2014, Ruby Princess), and want to form a small group transfer/tour to Paris via Auvers (Van Gogh) and Giverny (Monet). I have found only 1 company so far that is semi-affordabe: Normandy Sightseeing Tours, by emailing FredericGuerin. Does anyone have experience with them? I also tried TaxiTours.com, but website is in chinese or japanese. I just posted today on our CC RCall site, as there seems to be about a dozen people disembarking early, but maybe people prefer a simple transfer to Paris? maureen, miamitennismom, mlinden4@bellsouth.net