Everything Viking France: Normandy, Paris, Provence

[dolllover]

15 hours ago, katie scarlette said:

Thank you Peregrina651 and Host Jazzbeau for your thoughts.  My companions and I plan to go to Versailles independently on Day 2, stay as long as we like and return to the ship or go to Paris, and then go to Paris on our own on Day 7.

 

While we were in Paris pre cruise we went to Versailles . We went on a Sunday with our pre bought timed entry tickets for 9 AM. Splurged and took a taxi for 50 euros and got there in 20 min around 8:30. We were near the front of the line. Have great pictures of us in the Hall of Mirrors with no else around. It was a rainy day but still very enjoyable. The palace was empty and it was great watching the fountain show with so few people around. Took the little train to see Marie Antoinette Petite Trianon. The day was fantastic. When we left the lines were miles long to get in.

[katie scarlette]

You are right, Peregrina651 - Day 7 is the included Paris tour.  We were going to take the RER into Paris, but your suggestion would get us to the desired geographic area and save time.  Thank you!

[Peregrina651]

7 hours ago, dolllover said:

Splurged and took a taxi for 50 euros and got there in 20 min

 

A bargain considering that the Viking tour to Versailles was $160 on our March, 2019 sailing.

[katie scarlette]

For anyone whose itinerary has Day 2 in Paris (LePecq), do you remember what time the ship leaves LePecq for Giverny?  Thanks for you time.  

Katie 

[Peregrina651]

I believe that the exact times will differ from cruise to cruise because of the locks on the river but you might figure that you won't sail before 5pm. Viking will have afternoon tours out until that time and the shuttle from Paris leaves at 4:30pm.

[katie scarlette]

Thank you, Peregrina651.  A conflict has just occurred to me: one of our companions has tickets to a soccer game in Paris that night - after the ship leaves LePecq.  I am now looking into accomodations for that night and will see about transportation to Vernon or Giverny the next morning.  It didn't occur to me that we would leave so early with such a short distance to the next port.  Shame on me!

[Peregrina651]

1 minute ago, katie scarlette said:

Thank you, Peregrina651.  A conflict has just occurred to me: one of our companions has tickets to a soccer game in Paris that night - after the ship leaves LePecq.  I am now looking into accomodations for that night and will see about transportation to Vernon or Giverny the next morning.  It didn't occur to me that we would leave so early with such a short distance to the next port.  Shame on me!

 

Before you go crazy making plans, write to the folks at tellus@vikingcruises.com. Explain your dilemma and ask them what information they can give you about timing. Include your booking number and a phone number.

[katie scarlette]

Thank you so very much, Peregrina651, for your thoughts.  I will contact Viking now.

[editor@cruisecritic]

First, a huge thank you for being a partner in support on these two stories about Seine River cruising. This is a link to our new Viking River Cruises'  hub, and then you can see there's a day-by-day story about our Seine River trip and also a port guide. I did 'em both and might have missed stuff you've discovered, so please don't be shy! And if you're considering other rivers -- Danube, Rhine, Rhone -- they're covered here, too. Thanks again -- and hope you'll share with your friends!

 

Carolyn

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/sponsored-content/viking-rivers-europe

 

Edited December 2, 2019 by editor@cruisecritic

[cruisegal#116]

We have just received notice from Viking River concerning a change of our Paris Hotel for our 3-night pre-cruise in July.   We were originally scheduled for the Le Meridien Etoile and now we are in the Hotel Rochester Champs Elysees.  Has anyone stayed in this property, and if so, what can you tell me about this hotel and its location.  I appreciate whatever information anyone might be able to share.

[lackcreativity]

On 12/4/2019 at 12:33 PM, cruisegal#116 said:

We have just received notice from Viking River concerning a change of our Paris Hotel for our 3-night pre-cruise in July.   We were originally scheduled for the Le Meridien Etoile and now we are in the Hotel Rochester Champs Elysees.  Has anyone stayed in this property, and if so, what can you tell me about this hotel and its location.  I appreciate whatever information anyone might be able to share.

I can't actually tell you about the Hotel Rochester based on experience, but based on a quick Google Maps search and view of the photos, I would be delighted if they move us there for our start to the Paris to the Swiss Alps cruise in April. It is much more central to the sights of Paris for walking, and still convenient to the Metro. Ratings on Tripadvisor are at 4.5 / 5 for 1200 reviews, so I think you will be fine.

[cruisegal#116]

Lackcreativity — Thank you for your response.  I too had looked at Trip Advisor and read the reviews on the Hotel Rochester and checked out its location.  I do feel it is a better option than our original hotel assignment.  I guess I was just hoping that someone on this board had stayed there already and could confirm my findings.  Perhaps someone will stay there before we go in July of 2020 and report back to this board.  Again, thank you for taking the time to look at this property and responding.  Happy Holidays!

[zitsky]

Would anyone have a copy of the cruise documents for Lyon & Provence they would be willing to share?  I did this a few years ago and wanted to review our trip.

[CharTrav]

21 hours ago, zitsky said:

Would anyone have a copy of the cruise documents for Lyon & Provence they would be willing to share?  I did this a few years ago and wanted to review our trip.

I posted a bunch of materials regarding France's Finest which includes Lyon & Provence to DropBox - excursion descriptions (with costs and schedules from July 2018), Viking Dailies, and a description of the Rhône route. Use this link -https://www.dropbox.com/sh/thqcbd09bdbtux5/AADkTyIVTozCaKPEc_QKtfi9a?dl=0.  Instructions for how to download the materials are provided in my signature block. Covers most of what was in our cruise docs and then some. 

 

[CharTrav]

On 6/16/2020 at 11:44 AM, zitsky said:

Would anyone have a copy of the cruise documents for Lyon & Provence they would be willing to share?  I did this a few years ago and wanted to review our trip.

Besides what I've already posted in Dropbox, is there anything else in our Cruise Docs you're particularly interested in? Docking locations etc? We have our docs still and I'd be happy to scan and post those pages to DropBox. 

[Peregrina651]

On 6/16/2020 at 11:44 AM, zitsky said:

wanted to review our trip

 

if you publish a review here on CC, please post a link to it here. Thanks.

[Respbj]

On 11/4/2019 at 9:35 AM, lackcreativity said:

Not to get too far off the track here, but you are so right. We are much closer to the Baltimore airport than the one in Phildelphia, but the available international flights from Philly are far more. So sometimes we choose to make that drive for a nonstop. That adds a two hour drive, plus extra for the terrible traffic,  plus extra time for the circling the constantly overcrowded long term parking lot there, just to arrive three hours before our flight!

 

I think that the drive back from the Philadelphia airport is the worst part of all. All the anticipation and fun are over, and only the traffic and the laundry remain!

There is a good long term parking just south of the Philly airport, Winner Parking, that we use as we come up from lower Delaware which is 2 hours away. You can usually get a coupon online to reduce the cost. We have always been happy with them plus we don't need to drive near the airport, they do, and it's easy on/ off of route 95.  We are equally as close to BWI but more direct flights from Philly and British Air is our preferred airline as we always stop in the U.K.

[lackcreativity]

3 hours ago, Respbj said:

There is a good long term parking just south of the Philly airport, Winner Parking, that we use as we come up from lower Delaware which is 2 hours away. You can usually get a coupon online to reduce the cost. We have always been happy with them plus we don't need to drive near the airport, they do, and it's easy on/ off of route 95.  We are equally as close to BWI but more direct flights from Philly and British Air is our preferred airline as we always stop in the U.K.

Sadly, the Paris to the Swiss Alps that kept me following this thread was canceled for this April. We replaced that one with an ocean cruise for next April. (fingers crossed) We do have a Lyon & Provence river cruise for next September, so I will have to reread this thread next year with that as my focus. (fingers still crossed)

 

On a side note, we also like to use Heathrow as our connecting point, and BWI does have flights to London, but not every day. We do use that when we can.