a taste of normandy

[pully8]

anyone able to give a review and details of how the optional tour is structured? looks to be a long tour/day 10 hours?

this optional is on the same day as the Normandy beaches with Avalon waterways. any opinions or tips welcome. most seem to be the beaches rather than this 1.

[pully8]

no one has responded so far. only read 1 review about the Normandy excursion but many for the beaches. can anyone elaborate please about how the day trip is structured? perhaps both groups follow the same path, leave at the same time from the ship? wondering how long is spent on the buses as it looks a long day.

hopeful for any experiences.

[cruiseryyc]

It might help if you gave us some more information - in particular, which cruise line you are travelling on. Hard to give comments or reviews if we don't know which cruise you will be going on.

[pully8]

Normandy beaches with Avalon waterways. thanks for your reply.

[JVilleGal]

Have you asked Avalon??

[cruiseryyc]

Just went online and found the description of the tour offers. From this below I would suggest it depends on what you really want to see - either the landing beaches or the region with no visit to the beaches; both will be long days with time spent on buses.

 

"Make your choice today between an included full-day excursion to the historic NORMANDY LANDING BEACHES—with poignant sites such as Omaha Beach, the Pointe du Hoc monument, and the American Cemetery—or a “TASTE OF NORMANDY” for an in-depth look at this picturesque, mainly agricultural region."

[ikesyd]

Found this review from tassietraveller who did this trip last year:

We didn’t do the included Normandy Beaches excursion, but opted for the Taste of Normandy option, we visited the magnificent Bayeux Tapestry, had a 4 course local meal with cider in a lovely little town, went to a Calvados tasting which included a slice each of the best apple pie I’d ever tasted and we travelled through some beautiful countryside as well, a very relaxing day.

We are planning on doing the Taste of Normandy on our trip in September, as I think the Normandy Beaches may be more suitable for the passengers from the US. If you search for more posts/reviews from tassietraveller there may be some more information.

[Granny DI]

We visited the Normandy beaches as a ship excursion. It was a long trip but worth the visit. See "Saving Private Ryan" before you go. The trip was so emotional that I can't do it again. My children and grandchildren went last year and didn't get the sense of history. The grandchildren were too young and our kids hadn't seen "Saving Private Ryan" even though i told them it was a must see to understand the cemetery and the beaches. It was just another place to them.

[hiccups]

I can't speak for the tours offered, but I've seen the Bayeux tapestry and honestly didn't think much of it. In fact, I'd forgotten I'd seen it until I heard it mentioned here in a few threads. Maybe it was my age (late 20s). On that same trip I went to Normandy and that has stayed with me until this day--unforgettable. I'd see Normandy again in a heartbeat.

[BeagleOne]

I've been to the D-Day beaches and environs twice, for several days each time, and am planning to go back. I would go every year if I could. Seen the Bayeux Tapestry once, and while I found it very impressive, the beaches are more impressive.

 

I guess which excursion you select will depend largely on your interests. I personally feel that everyone should see the landing beaches in their lifetime. IMO, one day is not enough, but if that is the only option you have to see them, you should take it. To see the places where thousands of people died, and whose sacrifices are among the reasons we are free to travel today, and to walk among the grave markers...well, I just think everyone should visit, no matter their nationality, if they have the chance.

 

And I agree with watching Saving Private Ryan before you go. There are also a lot of excellent documentaries and books about D-Day. I was very encouraged to see a lot of American college students at Pointe du Hoc, and French school children at the American cemetery. The French in that area have NOT forgotten.

[Suzanne123]

We are planning on doing the Taste of Normandy on our trip in September, as I think the Normandy Beaches may be more suitable for the passengers from the US. If you search for more posts/reviews from tassietraveller there may be some more information.

 

We did the Normandy beaches with Avalon last summer. We were split into two groups going to either the US or the Canadian beaches and cemeteries. All the excursions on that cruise were great, but that tour was really special.

 

We also spent some time in Bayeux prior to the cruise and saw the Bayeux tapestry. I thought it was really interesting, and I loved the little town, so IMO, just do the one that is most interesting to you.

 

I think if you would go out of your way to visit Gettysburg or Arlington, you would probably appreciate the Normandy beaches tour more.

[pully8]

thanks for the replies. yes have read some of the reviews and the only 1 found about the alternative tour to the beaches. plus the description in the promotional material from Avalon.

 

always value reports from people who have gone on the tours. we like to make the best of our time and are mindful of things not always going to plan. we have done 6 river cruises so know the experience well. but Normandy is new.

 

do doubt the area could be best experienced over several days, given the places of interest, distances and traffic no doubt.

 

we will make the best of our time and like to seek feedback from others as well as our own research. thanks again.

[sharkster77]

The opening scenes from Saving Private Ryan are definitely worth watching/rewatching, but I would also recommend The Longest Day. It was filmed on location in Normandy, so you'd get a preview of what you'll see in person.

[Granny DI]

The opening scenes from Saving Private Ryan are definitely worth watching/rewatching, but I would also recommend The Longest Day. It was filmed on location in Normandy, so you'd get a preview of what you'll see in person.

 

 

Agree!!

[BeagleOne]

The Longest Day is my favorite film! Last summer we had lunch in Port-en-Bessin, which stood in for Ouistreham in the film. We also enjoyed seeing the cafe at Pegasus Bridge, both of which appear in the film.

[sammiedawg]

We did a beaches Tour of the Normandy coast from an ocean cruise. We rarely take ocean cruise ship tours but Normandy was a last minute substitute port. It was so impressive and humbling to visit this area. I still get goose bumps thinking of the unforgettable American cemetery and the landing beaches, it was a privilege to retrace the steps of the greatest generation.

[sassyw]

We did a beaches Tour of the Normandy coast from an ocean cruise. We rarely take ocean cruise ship tours but Normandy was a last minute substitute port. It was so impressive and humbling to visit this area. I still get goose bumps thinking of the unforgettable American cemetery and the landing beaches, it was a privilege to retrace the steps of the greatest generation.

 

We will be on the Seabourn this May and will do Normandy Beaches from Cherbourg. My husband is so excited as he is a history buff and I am sure I will get emotional!

[tassietravellers]

Found this review from tassietraveller who did this trip last year:

We didn’t do the included Normandy Beaches excursion, but opted for the Taste of Normandy option, we visited the magnificent Bayeux Tapestry, had a 4 course local meal with cider in a lovely little town, went to a Calvados tasting which included a slice each of the best apple pie I’d ever tasted and we travelled through some beautiful countryside as well, a very relaxing day.

We are planning on doing the Taste of Normandy on our trip in September, as I think the Normandy Beaches may be more suitable for the passengers from the US. If you search for more posts/reviews from tassietraveller there may be some more information.

 

 

Hi Pully8,

Yes we did the Taste of Normandy tour, from what I heard from other passengers our tour was alot more relaxed than their's, they were on the go the whole time with short sops, they had so much to see in their 10 hours. We would have been on a couch about 2 hours each way, but there were regular stops, we both really enjoyed our day, as I'm sure everyone else did, whichever t8ur they chose. There were 3 options that day, the one we took, US landing beaches and the other was probably aimed at Canadians and English.

we had around 40 people on our tour, so its a popular choice as well.

Feel free to ask any questions, hope I have been a little help, Deb

[pully8]

thanks for your reply deb. yes we are after some details if possible, albeit we realise it will depend on the cruise director and maybe river conditions.

 

10 hrs is certainly a long day trip but worth it? what time did the bus depart and return? where did they take you for lunch? were there any choices? have read your review which was informative. the description taste of Normandy sounded an alternative to the war graves?

 

we did Nice to Paris last time, but could not progress from Lyon, water too high. bussed from there to Paris, think trains are used now. that year we also did the tulip time cruise but there were issues with strikes, think it was, so missed out on Maastricht, lovely place, luckily we had stopped there independently prior to the cruise.

 

we are happy to do things ourselves if possible, we try to avoid being herded. hence looking for details of that tour on this cruise.

thanks for your help.

[tassietravellers]

Hi Pully8

 

our tour started at 8.15am, both of the Landing beaches trips had left at 8am, so breakfast was from 6.30am on that day.

Our trip was on a friday, we had arrived in Rouen on the wednesday evening, so had all day thursday where there was an included city tour in the morning, which we thought was one of the better tours. In the afternoon there was an optional tour to Honfleur, we didnt do this, but had another lovely afternoon looking around the city on our own, coffee in local cafe etc, we like the tours but equally if not more we like to explore on our own.

Make sure walk up to Rouen Cathedral of a night for the light show, think it was around 11pm, we went both wed and thursday nights, its absolutely beautiful.

ok so to the Taste of Normandy tour, like I said we left at 8.15am, stopped for a toilet stop at a highway service station about an hour later, then onto Bayeaux Museum to see the Tapestry, then around an hour to look around this lovely town. Then onto Beuvron-en-Auge for lunch, it was in a covered outdoor eating area in a private garden, probsbly a b&b or something similar, it looked like it was all family run, food was ver nice, we had 3 courses, dont remember there being choices, but loads of bread too, and locally made cider, didnt hear anything but praise for the meal. We then had time to walk around this quaint french village, very pretty.

From there we went to Pierre Huet Calvados, to tour the cellars and seeing the making of calvados, along with tastings and a pieceof delicious apple tart, wouldnt have eaten so much at lunch if we realised we had this waiting :-)

After this we made our way back to the ship through some lovely countryside, it was 10 hours but we saw so much and I thought it was well worth the time we spent on the coach. I know many had an afternoon nap , with full stomachs, a couple of alcholic of not drinks snd the sun and warmth of the coach.

During dinner we sailed towards Les Andelys.

Deb

Edited April 25, 2015 by tassietravellers

[pully8]

thank you so much for all of those details. sounds very good and just the info we wanted. no doubt it will assist others too.

 

we really enjoy river cruising in Europe and love the research etc prior. thanks again for your information.

[robdur]

Just returned from tapestry II. We did the Normandy Landing Beaches. It is a 10hr day but flows rather well. Lunch was in town. Travel time from the boat is less than 2 hours. Went to several of the beaches and the museum. No one in our group did the taste of Normandy.

[ikesyd]

Just returned from tapestry II. We did the Normandy Landing Beaches. It is a 10hr day but flows rather well. Lunch was in town. Travel time from the boat is less than 2 hours. Went to several of the beaches and the museum. No one in our group did the taste of Normandy.

 

Robdur we are going on TapestryII in September would be great to hear how the trip/boat was like. Did anyone do the optional tour to Honfleur?

[robdur]

Sorry no. The only additional excursion we took was to Versailles.

[robdur]

Boat and crew were excellent. This was our second cruise with Avalon. We did the Danube last year. Panorama cabins are small but comfortable. This cruise kept us busy and there was not much daytime cruising so we elected not to go to Honfleur.