Cruises from Paris to Western Europe to see Euro Disney?

[Travel R]

A quick question to confirm my research: I am looking for a cruise with ports in Western Europe, but either begins or ends in/around Paris/Le Havre. I could not find anything (only river cruises leaving out of the Paris area).

 

Note: If we are in port for the one day, and although it will only be a teaser, I am taking the kids into to the city of Paris. Yes, my DW and I had spent some time in Paris a few years ago, and would like my children to enjoy more of the city than the few hours as well.

 

We will be travelling with teens whom would like to go to Euro Disney while we are in Europe (I admit, I also would like to go there too), so would like to stay a few days prior/after the cruise in France.

 

My other option is travelling from Southhampton (which seems to be the beginning/end port for many of the loops) - although that will kill a day of travelling (the train, I believe takes about 5 hours), and extra $ if we leave out of a French airport.

 

Any suggestions, or information, would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

 

Travel R

[CruiserBruce]

Need to start on the geography a bit here. Paris is 2 +hours in-land from Le Havre by train. From London to Paris on the very high speed Eurostar train it is a similar time frame. But those are both to downtown Paris, then you have to get out to Disneyland. So not a one day trip from the ship.

[marazul]

Paris is about 200 km from the ocean at Le Havre. The Seine is a fairly shallow and winding river, so no ocean cruises. It takes a little over two hours by train or by car (with no traffic - ha, ha!) to go from Le Havre to Paris.

 

If you are in port one day and want to go to Paris, make sure it is a long port stop to make it worthwhile.

A train from Le Havre to Euro Disney (Marne la Vallee) requires a train change and takes, at best, 3 and a half hours. So that is best during a stay in Paris, not from Le Havre.

 

And do consider a river cruise with a few days stay in Paris before or after. You could cruise on the Loire or the Rhone. River cruise companies usually include or have an option of a stay in Paris and transportation from Paris to the river port. This would be a great option to an ocean cruise.

Edited May 23, 2016 by marazul

[Hlitner]

Many cruises will spend a day at Le Havre and then continue on to Southampton to end their cruise. In most cases, it is possible to end your cruise a day or two early and disembark in Le Havre. In fact, we did this two years ago while on a 26 day Ruby Princess cruise (we got off on the 25th day). In order to debark early, you need to notify the cruise line (in advance) and receive permission (not normally a problem. With a family we would suggest getting off in Le Havre and renting a car. You can then drive yourselves to Euro Disney, Paris or wherever else you please.

 

Hank

[John Bull]

Many cruises will spend a day at Le Havre and then continue on to Southampton to end their cruise. In most cases, it is possible to end your cruise a day or two early and disembark in Le Havre. In fact, we did this two years ago while on a 26 day Ruby Princess cruise (we got off on the 25th day). In order to debark early, you need to notify the cruise line (in advance) and receive permission (not normally a problem. With a family we would suggest getting off in Le Havre and renting a car. You can then drive yourselves to Euro Disney, Paris or wherever else you please.

 

Hank

 

You beat me to it, Hank :)

 

Hank is not alone in jumping-ship in Le Havre on the last full day, quite a few cruisers do the same thing in order to see Paris properly.

 

Flying into London & returning home from Paris should cost little-to-nothing extra on an open-jaw return ticket using the same airline (or air alliance) for both ways.

And that avoids a long & expensive day travelling from Southampton to London, crossing central London, & taking the Eurostar train to Paris.

 

If you're only going to Paris (& Disney) before flying home, I'd disagree with Hank about renting a car.

Hourly train service from Le Havre to Paris, journey time a little over 2 hours - guaranteed to be at least as quick as a car.

In central Paris a car is a handicap, and the metro, buses & river boats are an excellent way to get around. And a frequent & speedy train service Paris to Disney (including Eurostar though I don't know whether Eurostar is available or economically-viable for that short hop).

But don't expect too much of EuroDisney - IMHO it's a fairly poor copy of its cousin in Florida.

 

Be aware that Mediterranean cruises out of Southampton include more sea days.

 

Merely as a BTW, smaller ocean cruise ships do navigate the Seine as far as Rouen, about half-way to Paris. But that's no great advantage to you & its very doubtful you'd find an itinerary, ship & price that suits you.

 

JB :)

Edited May 23, 2016 by John Bull

[elaine5]

adding on to others, I suggest you find 2 or 3 cruises that would suit your taste and budget, then see if there are low cost airlines to/from Paris and there. We flew from after a cruise from Rome to Paris on Easyjet for $85PP and then stayed at DLP for a few days. We are flying this year from Copenhagen to Paris for $50 PP.

[GrJ Berkshire]

Also the Eurostar from UK goes to euro Disney direct without the need to go to central Paris and out, you may have to change at Lille from Eurostar to TGV but its quicker than Le Havre which is the wrong side of Paris. Also lots of accommodation at Marne-Le-valley(where Disneyland is) and easy to get train in/out of Paris and close 1 stop on TGV from CdeG airport.

Other options here.

[Travel R]

Need to start on the geography a bit here. Paris is 2 +hours in-land from Le Havre by train. From London to Paris on the very high speed Eurostar train it is a similar time frame. But those are both to downtown Paris, then you have to get out to Disneyland. So not a one day trip from the ship.

 

Thanks, that is also another reason why the one day excursion from Le Havre to Disney is not really a great option. The bullet trains from Southhampton (where many cruises begin/end) is about 5 - 5.5 hours, and Disney is another 30-60 minutes (depending on how you get there).

 

Thanks again,

 

Travel R

[Travel R]

Paris is about 200 km from the ocean at Le Havre. The Seine is a fairly shallow and winding river, so no ocean cruises. It takes a little over two hours by train or by car (with no traffic - ha, ha!) to go from Le Havre to Paris.

 

If you are in port one day and want to go to Paris, make sure it is a long port stop to make it worthwhile.

A train from Le Havre to Euro Disney (Marne la Vallee) requires a train change and takes, at best, 3 and a half hours. So that is best during a stay in Paris, not from Le Havre.

 

And do consider a river cruise with a few days stay in Paris before or after. You could cruise on the Loire or the Rhone. River cruise companies usually include or have an option of a stay in Paris and transportation from Paris to the river port. This would be a great option to an ocean cruise.

 

Thank you. A Disney excursion from Le Havre is becoming less of an option (having been to Disney in Orlando many a time, I would never consider doing the Disney excursion, and that is only about 1 - 1/2 hours away, depending on traffic).

 

I would love a river cruise, but we have to be considerate of time (our work schedules and the kid's schools schedule) - also it is something that I would rather do with just the DW when we return in a few years.

 

Thanks again,

 

Travel R

[Travel R]

Many cruises will spend a day at Le Havre and then continue on to Southampton to end their cruise. In most cases, it is possible to end your cruise a day or two early and disembark in Le Havre. In fact, we did this two years ago while on a 26 day Ruby Princess cruise (we got off on the 25th day). In order to debark early, you need to notify the cruise line (in advance) and receive permission (not normally a problem. With a family we would suggest getting off in Le Havre and renting a car. You can then drive yourselves to Euro Disney, Paris or wherever else you please.

 

Hank

 

Hank - that sounds like it may be an option. I will admit, I thought that it would be an issue to disembark prior to completing the "closed loop." I will definitely consider this option.

 

[FYI: Wow, a 25/26 day cruise sounds fantastic! One day . . . .]

 

Thanks again,

 

Travel R

[Travel R]

You beat me to it, Hank :)

 

Hank is not alone in jumping-ship in Le Havre on the last full day, quite a few cruisers do the same thing in order to see Paris properly.

 

Flying into London & returning home from Paris should cost little-to-nothing extra on an open-jaw return ticket using the same airline (or air alliance) for both ways.

And that avoids a long & expensive day travelling from Southampton to London, crossing central London, & taking the Eurostar train to Paris.

 

If you're only going to Paris (& Disney) before flying home, I'd disagree with Hank about renting a car.

Hourly train service from Le Havre to Paris, journey time a little over 2 hours - guaranteed to be at least as quick as a car.

In central Paris a car is a handicap, and the metro, buses & river boats are an excellent way to get around. And a frequent & speedy train service Paris to Disney (including Eurostar though I don't know whether Eurostar is available or economically-viable for that short hop).

But don't expect too much of EuroDisney - IMHO it's a fairly poor copy of its cousin in Florida.

 

Be aware that Mediterranean cruises out of Southampton include more sea days.

 

Merely as a BTW, smaller ocean cruise ships do navigate the Seine as far as Rouen, about half-way to Paris. But that's no great advantage to you & its very doubtful you'd find an itinerary, ship & price that suits you.

 

JB :)

 

Thank you.

 

We probably will not rent a car - it has been a few years, but I do remember Paris having a fairly decent metro system (just as I would advise against renting a car if someone was staying in NYC).

 

From people I have spoken to (or read their reviews), most would agree with your opinion of Euro Disney compared to Disney World (or even Disneyland). Disney is a place my entire family enjoys, so this would be a great addition to a European vacation.

 

We did the Western Med a few years ago, so trying to stay in Western Europe for this trip - a fantastic family trip - we also sailed on the smallest of RCI's ships at the time - Legend (which I chose over the larger Liberty, which was sailing at the same time with a very similar itinerary).

 

Right now, with the kids, I would rather less sea days so they can get a taste of the different countries. When they get older, hopefully they will be able to go back and enjoy the various countries on longer vacations. If we do an extended stay in France post-cruise, it will give them a better appreciation of the country than the short stops at port we will have on this cruise (and in the past).

 

Thanks again,

 

Lon

[Travel R]

adding on to others, I suggest you find 2 or 3 cruises that would suit your taste and budget, then see if there are low cost airlines to/from Paris and there. We flew from after a cruise from Rome to Paris on Easyjet for $85PP and then stayed at DLP for a few days. We are flying this year from Copenhagen to Paris for $50 PP.

 

Thanks - that sounds like another great option. I will take a look into it once we solidify the exact dates of our cruise.

 

[i am not looking forward to seeing what the cost from the US to London is going to be for this trip.]

[Travel R]

Also the Eurostar from UK goes to euro Disney direct without the need to go to central Paris and out, you may have to change at Lille from Eurostar to TGV but its quicker than Le Havre which is the wrong side of Paris. Also lots of accommodation at Marne-Le-valley(where Disneyland is) and easy to get train in/out of Paris and close 1 stop on TGV from CdeG airport.

Other options here.

 

thank you - another great idea!

 

Maybe spend a day/evening at Disney, come back to Paris for 2-3 days, then fly out of there.

 

I know that Disney has their own hotels nearby as well (IMHO staying at a Disney hotel while visiting their parks is worth the little extra $). I will take a look into that as well.

[Travel R]

Thanks again to everyone that offered their suggestions.

 

Cruise Critic has always been a great resource with amazing people.

 

Thanks again!

 

Travel R