mimmy52 Posted November 23, 2017 #26 Share Posted November 23, 2017 I always appreciate trip reports more when they include photos, and yours are stunning! The Paris portion brought back many happy memories, even though Paris is the only place I've ever been pick-pocketed (and I thought I was being so careful with my backpack). Hope there's more to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 23, 2017 Author #27 Share Posted November 23, 2017 I always appreciate trip reports more when they include photos, and yours are stunning! The Paris portion brought back many happy memories, even though Paris is the only place I've ever been pick-pocketed (and I thought I was being so careful with my backpack). Hope there's more to come. Sorry to hear about your bad experience with a pick-pocketor. They must be really bad in Paris for our guide at Versailles told us that even she fell victim to one. Its such a shame one has to be so wary of thieves. You are trying to pick your jaw up from the ground (Looking at all the magnificence), take photos, navigate crowds, pay attention to the guide AND keep your valuables safe. My husband lost his new coat at Versailles. He was carrying it and put it down for just a minute to pay for a soda at the café and poof! It was gone, that fast. There is more to come :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 23, 2017 Author #28 Share Posted November 23, 2017 Day Seven-Vienne Our day in Vienne happened to be a Saturday, and the farmers market was opened that day. Our tour director mentioned that its the second largest open-market in France. When we heard that we decided to ditch the included walking tour and go off on our own. We got a map at the desk, and armed with that and a poor sense of direction we set out. Vienne has some impressive Roman ruins, and some fine medieval buildings. I was really glad we DIY as we didn't get lost and had plenty of time to wander in the market. One of my favorite photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 23, 2017 Author #29 Share Posted November 23, 2017 Day Seven-Vienne cont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 25, 2017 Author #30 Share Posted November 25, 2017 Cats of France Need to pull some notes together to finish my write up, but I thought I would share an observation regarding cats. I think the French really like cats. I myself am quite partial having four myself, but I noticed a lot of cats. Every cat I saw appeared well fed, and so many were down right friendly. I am more likely to take a photo of a cat then food, so these are my "food" photos. Vive le Chats! Saw this statue of a cat on a building in Lyon Friendly cat of Lyon Cat on a roof in Perouges The Chateau de Flecheres had a number of cats, some were sunning themselves on window sills, and this sweet, super affectionate feline follow us all around the garden. Café Cat in Arles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 26, 2017 Author #31 Share Posted November 26, 2017 Day Seven-Scenic Cruising in the afternoon After leaving Vienne we had scenic cruising. However, we soon came to a lock, and had to wait awhile for our turn. Got sleepy, so I took a nap. Every time I looked out the window of our cabin we appeared to be in a lock, so for me, the scenic cruising was a bit of a bust. Day Eight-Tournon My husband is a huge rail fan, so I knew today's excursion would be of particular interest to him, a ride on the Train de l'Ardeche. I kind of wish my husband hadn't been so keen to ride the rails because there was an optional excursion to Ardeche region that sounded pretty wonderful, but it was an all day trip, and would not have been fair for me to ask DH to skip a ride behind a steam engine. Before leaving by bus we tool a quick walk around Tournon on our own. I believe they did have a guided walk, which we skipped. This castle was very close to where the boat docked. The large white marble monument was to French Soldiers that fought in WWI I loved how the castle and the rock upon which it was built were as one I didn't realize it when I took this photo, but this man had something to do with the railroad being built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 26, 2017 Author #32 Share Posted November 26, 2017 The Tournon Steam Train I had read some reviews before our trip that didn't have much good to say about the train excursion. Granted, I get dragged to a number of excursion trains and I like trains, and while some are definitely better than others. I thought this one wasn't too bad. It was just the right length, not too long or too short of a trip, pretty views, and historic, if a tad uncomfortable carriages to ride in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 26, 2017 Author #33 Share Posted November 26, 2017 Day Eight-Viviers After the train trip the boat took off for scenic cruising, stopping around 5 to pick up the passengers that had gone on the Charming Ardeche excursion. During dinner the boat docked at Viviers, and after dinner a walking tour of the town was offered. It was really dark, but what I could see it appeared to be a charming village. Its famous for having the smallest cathedral in France. To get to the village one had to walk along this avenue, lined with sycamore trees Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted November 26, 2017 #34 Share Posted November 26, 2017 Viviers! As charming as I remember from our Rhône cruise. We also docked here after dinner, but no guided tours were offered until the next day. So we went around on our own that night. Definitely a highlight. Rhône-Allée (the cool street lined with trees) is so picturesque at night. Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 26, 2017 Author #35 Share Posted November 26, 2017 Day Nine-Avignon Although the sky was a bright blue, and the sun was shinning, a cold wind, the Mistral, was blowing fiercely when we woke up, docked in Avignon. The included walking tour sounded like it might be too daunting for my husband, the program director Christine said there were 500 steps alone in the Pope's Palace. We had decided to forgo the walk, and instead head down to the famous remains of a bridge, and then decide from there if we wanted to go into town. We hadn't gone very far when I noticed a man with a golf cart, offering tours for 25 euro's per cart. That seem like a fair price to us and off we went. He took us first to the bridge, and then into the walled city of Avignon, pointing out various sites, stopping at a few places so I could take photos. The city seemed very quiet for a Monday, and our guide told us that many stores are closed on Monday. The tour lasted about an hour and he dropped us off right at the boat. There were three optional excursions offered; Flavors of Provence, a trip to the Pont du Gard Aqueduct and a wine tasting at the Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but we didn't sign up for any of them. Pope's Palace Famous Bridge Our guide only spoke French, and my French is rather limited, but he told me quite a lot about the trees in this courtyard, I thought the trees were lovely, but not sure what made them special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 26, 2017 Author #36 Share Posted November 26, 2017 Day 10-Arles Our final full day found us in the town of Arles (Pronounced "Arl"). We were actually docked a good half hour or more drive from there and had to take a bus. I was therefore surprised that Viking doesn't dock there because Arles is on the river, and I saw at least two other river cruise ships docked where the bus let us off. This was my favorite day because the town was charming, we had plenty of free time to wander, and I finally got some real shopping in. There were a number of options; take the bus in, go on the included waking tour with gave about 45-50 minutes of free time and take the bus back at around 11:30, or take a shuttle back at 3:00 or 5:00, or go back to the boat and come back to town on a 2:00 shuttle coming back on the 5:00 shuttle, which is what we ended up doing. Arles has a strong connection to Vincent van Gogh, it was here that he became completely insane, but prolific. Many of the buildings he painted still stand. There are a few Roman ruins (I saw more Roman ruins in the south of France then I saw in Rome), including an impressive amphitheater. Overall a charming, walkable town. Tiny Sidewalk Café The amphitheater The café with the friendly cat Never seen a doorway quite like this before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 26, 2017 Author #37 Share Posted November 26, 2017 This courtyard looks very much today as in did when van Gogh painted it. van Gogh's interpretation of the courtyard I was completely enchanted by this little house; the blue shutters, faded blue & white stripe awnings, flower boxes, and the way the afternoon sun bathed it in sunlight. Liked this building too This was inside City Hall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 27, 2017 Author #38 Share Posted November 27, 2017 A Few more photos of Arles Church of St. Trophime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted November 27, 2017 Author #39 Share Posted November 27, 2017 The next morning found us back in Avignon where Viking would transfer us by bus to the Marseilles airport. We were told the ride was about an hour by car or 1.5 hours by bus. At 6:15 am (For a 10 am flight) we left the Heimdal. At the airport the bus dropped us off quite a distance to the main terminal. I am thinking for security reasons they don't allow large vehicles near the terminal??? Anyway, a Viking representative went with us to make sure we all got our boarding passes and were on our way. We had a 2 hour flight on Air France to Amsterdam (Very pleasant) and an 8 hour flight on KLM back to Dulles. It was my first time on KLM and I really liked it. Granted, we had upgraded to premium economy, and the flight wasn't full so we were able to spread out a more which was nice. It was one of our better trans-Atlantic flights. This was taken when docked outside of Arles. The Rhone was a very pretty river, very blue A castle, high on a hill, across the river we were docked. Lastly, I will write about the Heimdal and my overall impression of the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ural guy Posted December 3, 2017 #40 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Thanks for taking the time to write all this up and include pictures. I'm very interested in this route, and your reporting has only added to that. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted December 3, 2017 Author #41 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Thanks for taking the time to write all this up and include pictures. I'm very interested in this route, and your reporting has only added to that. :) Thank you for taking the time to read what I wrote. I am now inspired to finish :) (Very rough week at work) The Heimdal and Thoughts on Viking Service Our sailing was very close to the end of the season. We sailed the first week of November, and there were only two sailings after ours. Not sure how many boats Viking runs on the Rhone, but at least one other Viking ship was on the Rhone, but out of service for the season. I think Viking sails a little later then the other major players on the Rhone as it seemed we had the river to ourselves. I did see a couple other boats, but they appeared to be devoid of passengers. We had a full sailing. Every cabin was occupied (One solo traveler). The majority of travelers were from the USA, with the rest from United Kingdom and Canada. I was a little surprised there were no Australians on board. I think its my first cruise in Europe (River or big ship) that didn't include a few travelers from Down Under. We had a really great group overall, everyone we met were friendly and outgoing. We even met several couples that we have stayed in touch with. The Heimdal was very clean and ship shape. No signs of wear. The staff overall was friendly and helpful. We had a standard cabin on the lowest level (i.e. cheap). It was comfortable and our room stewardess kept it very clean and neat. The only downside to these cabins is the elevator does not go to the lowest floor, so if stairs are difficult one should consider upgrading to at least a French Balcony (We are doing that on our next cruise). Which brings me to the bad news. This cruise is probably not a good idea for those with mobility issues. We did have some fellow travelers that walked with the assistance of canes, and they appeared to struggle. Where we were docked in Lyon (For three days), one, after leaving the boat had to walk the length of a city block, to a set of stone stairs just to get to the area where the buses were. Many areas we toured had cobblestone streets that were very rough underfoot. Even with thick rubber soled shoes my feet ached after a couple of excursions. The Pope's Palace in Avignon has over 500 steps. I write this not to discourage anyone, but just to make people aware that there could be challenges. One area that I think Viking really excels at are their transfers; picking you up at airports, hotels to trains, trains to ships, and ships to airport. They make is so easy that even the most nervous of traveler can rest assured they will make it to their destination. There was one area that at times seemed off, and that was the dining room. Breakfast was always fine, no issues with service, but lunch and dinner were hit or miss. At lunch the dining room opened at 12:30, and that may have been part of the issue. The doors opened and just about everyone rushed in, and I think they struggled having everyone come at once. If you ordered off the menu the food usually came quickly, but not always, and if you had an afternoon excursion there just wasn't always enough time. Twice we had to leave without getting everything we ordered because we had a bus to catch. I think they need to rethink opening the dining room at 12:30. Dinner was sometimes slow. I didn't mind most of the time, because it wasn't like I had anywhere to go, and we always had interesting dinning companions. However, the last night was a bit of a farce. I realize that one table will have to be last, and I guess we were it, but our waits between courses was agonizing. We still had our dirty dished from our main course on the table (Where they had been sitting for at least 20-30 minutes) while others were done and leaving the dining room. Our waiter ran back and forth, always avoiding eye contact with anyone at our table (I waitressed through high school & college-I know that trick). When we finally did get his attention and said something he got a little snippy. The whole wait staff seemed so stressed I wonder if they were short-staffed the week we were on? Food was usually good, but the Farwell Dinner was a little disappointing. They had three starters, two entrees and one dessert to choose from. Every other night they had three entrée choices; a fish, vegetarian and meat (Poultry, beef or pork) option. The always available was salmon, chicken breast or strip steak (? I think, I know it was beef). One change from our Danube cruise in 2014 that I did not care for was the Aquavit Terrace menu. Back in 2014 you could get a cheeseburger, Caesar salad, or some other light fare if you wanted a smaller meal then being served in the dining room, or you just wanted a cheeseburger. Our ship offered a light fare, but it was only one item, no choice, and it was salmon. Salmon was available in the dining room, why even bother to have the Aquavit opened if you are only going to offer the one item? There was a piano player on board that was very nice, that played before and after dinner. I think they must have the Viking Piano Play Book because I heard most of the same songs I've heard on other ships. One night some singers came on board and they sang songs from French opera and cabaret standards. Another night there was a musical trivia game that was fun. We were really lucky with the weather. Except for the day we arrived in Paris we had sunny or partly cloudy skies the entire time. If it did rain, it rained at night. Overall an excellent trip, very happy we did it. Have already booked our next Viking cruise; Rhine Getaway (Amsterdam to Basel w/Lucerne extension) for March 2019. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturmin Posted December 3, 2017 #42 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Thank you for taking the time and effort to do this review. We almost did this cruise last year, but found great deal on Viking, Empires of Mediterranean (Athens to Venice.) Interesting to see what we missed. Now onto the Douro in just over a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted December 3, 2017 Author #43 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Thank you for taking the time and effort to do this review. We almost did this cruise last year, but found great deal on Viking, Empires of Mediterranean (Athens to Venice.) Interesting to see what we missed. Now onto the Douro in just over a week. We did the Douro in December 2015 and really enjoyed it. If interested, below is my review of our Douro cruise. I believe they have tweak the itinerary a bit since we sailed. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2291857 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw1776 Posted December 3, 2017 #44 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Interesting note about the Aquavit dinner. Ate there on our Bordeaux cruise and we could have whatever we wanted. May vary as a function of the crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalibooNewYork Posted December 4, 2017 #45 Share Posted December 4, 2017 Thank you, Rosethorn. Job well done. When I began reading your report I posted that this cruise was No 1 on my wish list. Because of your astute observations this may no longer be so. I also walk with a cane due to arthritis and balance issues; very rough pavement (cobblestones) and lots of stairs are my bete noir. For me, 500 steps to see the palace? Not gonna' happen. Forewarned is forearmed. There was a very heavy woman with walking problems on my Danube cruise. She was in aquarium class as we were but did not realize that the elevator didn't go to our floor. She found the excursion into Passau extremely difficult and had to take a cab back. I felt terrible for her as she hadn't known about the obstacles. That's why CC and posts like yours are so important. Again, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFS517 Posted December 4, 2017 #46 Share Posted December 4, 2017 For me, 500 steps to see the palace? Not gonna' happen. Forewarned is forearmed. We were on the Viking Heimdal Rhone cruise in April 2017. Our "leisurely" group walking tour did not go into the palace in Avignon specifically because of the number of steps. We have found the slow or gentle walking groups on the Viking cruises are very accommodating for those of us with some mobility issues. We usually sign up at the reception desk on the first day and they put us in the slower group for the entire cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosethorn40 Posted December 5, 2017 Author #47 Share Posted December 5, 2017 We were on the Viking Heimdal Rhone cruise in April 2017. Our "leisurely" group walking tour did not go into the palace in Avignon specifically because of the number of steps. We have found the slow or gentle walking groups on the Viking cruises are very accommodating for those of us with some mobility issues. We usually sign up at the reception desk on the first day and they put us in the slower group for the entire cruise. That is a good point, Viking does offer a leisurely tour on most of their walking tours. It was just my observation that those with noticeable mobility issues struggled at times. My husband doesn't use a cane, but walks slow and stairs can be troublesome. We probably would have skipped Avignon altogether if we hadn't stumbled across the tour guide with the golf cart, if anyone wants his information to pre-book him I can give it. At 25 euro for the two of us I thought it a fair price. Also, you can always check with the program director, they may have tour guides in the various towns that can, for a fee, give you a tour that minimizes walking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms SailAway Posted January 14, 2018 #48 Share Posted January 14, 2018 We are booked on this Rhone trip as the second leg of Viking's France's Finest cruise in November this year. Loved looking at your pictures and reading your reviews. Thanks for taking the time to share all your impressions of your trip. We have been on three other Viking river cruises and one Viking ocean cruise so we are familiar with the Viking way. Really looking forward to our trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cary Cruiser Posted January 15, 2018 #49 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Great review. We did a similar trip with Grand Circle, April of last year, starting in Paris and ending up in Nice. Having been down the Danube (with Viking), and to Italy and Spain, we thought Paris, and our cruise down the Rhone was our best trip ever. I really enjoyed seeing your pictures - Viviers was a very special place and really seemed to typify Provence, but Avignon and Arles were something too. I would recommend this trip to anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms SailAway Posted February 11, 2018 #50 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Definitely interested in your day in Vienne and the visit to the farmers market now that I see we will also be there on a Saturday. How far from the docking point was it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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