NORMANDY LANDING BEACHES

[CruiserBruce]

The last time I dealt with a "rental car rates half anybody else" the reason was all the  taxes fees weren't disclosed. And when they were, the price was about the same as everybody else.

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The last time I dealt with a "rental car rates half anybody else" the reason was all the  taxes fees weren't disclosed. And when they were, the price was about the same as everybody else.

 

That's what I was thinking, too. 

But I've checked.

Both direct with Enterprise and via Auto-Europe.

And the terms (insurance, excess, mileage, taxes,  fuel policy,  even GPS fee) are all very standard.

The only negative is their hours - 8.30am to 6pm, which wastes an hour or two because ships don't generally depart Le Havre until about 8.30pm.  But that's fairly typical in France.

Europcar, which we prefer when they're competitive,  are quoting more than double!!

 

We've booked elsewhere through Auto-Europe a number of times with no problem.

And as it happens, we have an Alamo car booked through them for Hawaii in Feb. 

 

JB 

[pizzalady1]

I have been looking at Overlord for 2020. While they reserved the date, they will not confirm it until full payment is made. I don't think I would want to put that much on a credit card now for a cruise in 20 months. Also, it kind of scares me to try to get people to pay me back, or who may want to back out and not have paid me or if paid, wants a refund. 

[Southern Cruise]

On 12/20/2018 at 2:46 PM, cruising in mn said:

We are in a private van for 6. No bus for us. 

I have no idea on crowds, but we are taking private to avoid them. Also Overlord I'm told, has access to areas other tours./tour groups do not. So I'm hoping it wont be crowded. 

 

Let us know how it goes since you go 2 months before we do!  Have fun!!

 

8 hours ago, pizzalady1 said:

I have been looking at Overlord for 2020. While they reserved the date, they will not confirm it until full payment is made. I don't think I would want to put that much on a credit card now for a cruise in 20 months. Also, it kind of scares me to try to get people to pay me back, or who may want to back out and not have paid me or if paid, wants a refund. 

Is your private van for 6 people with overlord and can you share the cost?

[pizzalady1]

14 hours ago, Southern Cruise said:

 

Is your private van for 6 people with overlord and can you share the cost?

My tour is for up to 8 people and yes, you can share the cost. However, Overloard  wants the full amount paid now, not closer to the date. Also they want a single payment, not multiple payments totaling the full amount.

[styme123]

On 10/19/2018 at 8:23 PM, Cindy said:

 

As of July 2018 they didn’t change it. I know Overlord recommends the organizer getting payment in advance because the price is €980 regardless of the number of people. It could get expensive fast at that price if people backed out at the last minute without fulfilling their obligation. That’s not something I ever thought too much about before, but after having two couples cancel a Dublin tour less than an hour before we left I may not be so trusting in the future. They caused the four of us who send to incur double costs for the day.🤬

I like the idea of getting groups together from your roll call but I'm worried about the same thing that happened to you in Dublin. I looked at the other Overlord tours quickly and there is one for a van of 16 that you pay for individually. I wonder if that's a safer route to go as I don't want to shell out 980 euro if people back out.

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, styme123 said:

I looked at the other Overlord tours quickly and there is one for a van of 16 that you pay for individually. I wonder if that's a safer route to go as I don't want to shell out 980 euro if people back out.

 

I'd be very concerned about being on the hook for so much money when you are depending on a group of strangers.  People can cancel a cruise at the last minute, or get sick, or just be a no-show.  It's very unfortunate that Overlord does not allow individuals to pay separately for a private tour. 

 

What's their cancellation policy now?   Depending on what it is, you might be able to do something along the lines of the following: When we used them back in 2012 for a private tour for 8 folks on our Roll Call, they required a credit card up front from one person to hold the tour (that turned out to be me), but they did have a cancellation policy that allowed cancellation several days before the tour. We were on an eastbound TA, and we all agreed that right after the Meet & Greet, everyone else would give me their share in cash.  If for some reason people did not pay up or had cancelled the cruise, or whatever, that gave me time to cancel the tour and not be charged. 

 

But if your card is going to be charged immediately for so much money, even if you can later cancel, I guess I'd think long and hard about that. 

[Lirio]

I am intereste in Normandy Landing Beaches as well, I will be on Cherbourg on May 9, 2019. I am looking for a private guide. I am travelling with my mon and she has mobility issues and sometimes she gets tired and we go back to the ship in the middle of the tour. For those reaons, we always have a private guide, so that we can manage our issues. I checked Overlod website and I could not find a private tour. I only found group tours starting with 8 persons, minimum and the fixed price would be 980 euros, that I consider very expensive. Any other suggestion?

[Cindy]

4 hours ago, styme123 said:

I like the idea of getting groups together from your roll call but I'm worried about the same thing that happened to you in Dublin. I looked at the other Overlord tours quickly and there is one for a van of 16 that you pay for individually. I wonder if that's a safer route to go as I don't want to shell out 980 euro if people back out.

 

I didn’t have to pay upfront...when I booked Overlord only required a credit card to guarantee the reservation. Since I knew 3 of the 5 people who joined us I felt comfortable guaranteeing the reservation.

 

I think 16 people in a mini bus would be manageable for a less risky option, and it might be more comfortable than 8 plus a driver/guide in a mini van! I wouldn’t recommend doing it by yourself...the port in Le Havre is a L-O-N-G way from the important war sites, with the potential for a lot to go wrong. I also thought our guide Rethro was integral to the experience. I learned a lot, and he really made history come alive.

 

As for the “Dublin Deadbeats,” I’m still stunned at their audacity. I’ve always had great luck and experiences filling tours on my roll calls, so I was just flabbergasted that they backed out at the 11th hour without offering to pay their share. I could tell they knew they were in the wrong by the way they tried to avoid me the rest of the cruise.

[styme123]

14 minutes ago, Cindy said:

 

I didn’t have to pay upfront...when I booked Overlord only required a credit card to guarantee the reservation. Since I knew 3 of the 5 people who joined us I felt comfortable guaranteeing the reservation.

 

I think 16 people in a mini bus would be manageable for a less risky option, and it might be more comfortable than 8 plus a driver/guide in a mini van! I wouldn’t recommend doing it by yourself...the port in Le Havre is a L-O-N-G way from the important war sites, with the potential for a lot to go wrong. I also thought our guide Rethro was integral to the experience. I learned a lot, and he really made history come alive.

 

As for the “Dublin Deadbeats,” I’m still stunned at their audacity. I’ve always had great luck and experiences filling tours on my roll calls, so I was just flabbergasted that they backed out at the 11th hour without offering to pay their share. I could tell they knew they were in the wrong by the way they tried to avoid me the rest of the cruise.

Do you remember the "name" of the tour you went on with Overlord? They have a few different types.

[kctwinmommy]

4 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I'd be very concerned about being on the hook for so much money when you are depending on a group of strangers.  People can cancel a cruise at the last minute, or get sick, or just be a no-show.  It's very unfortunate that Overlord does not allow individuals to pay separately for a private tour. 

 

What's their cancellation policy now?   Depending on what it is, you might be able to do something along the lines of the following: When we used them back in 2012 for a private tour for 8 folks on our Roll Call, they required a credit card up front from one person to hold the tour (that turned out to be me), but they did have a cancellation policy that allowed cancellation several days before the tour. We were on an eastbound TA, and we all agreed that right after the Meet & Greet, everyone else would give me their share in cash.  If for some reason people did not pay up or had cancelled the cruise, or whatever, that gave me time to cancel the tour and not be charged. 

 

But if your card is going to be charged immediately for so much money, even if you can later cancel, I guess I'd think long and hard about that. 

 

So our take on this... When we did it in 2017, like you, one person had to give a CC to hold it. Then if nobody showed, they would have been on the hook for the whole thing. I don't know how far in advance they had to cancel though, but I think there was still a penalty at a certain point. We had 3 "groups" on ours. The woman who started it (with her parents), another couple,  and then ourselves with our teenage son. We emailed back & forth several times (so off of cruise critic), and kind of made sure what we wanted, coordinated our plans, etc... It really gave us time to figure out if we wanted to do it, and gave you a little knowledge of who you're going with. Yes, I realize anyone can make things up, but we felt fine after emailing. Plus, it turned out the woman organizing it actually lived like 10 minutes from us! LOL! We didn't pay anything until we had our tour, but we did meet up before, on the ship.

 

Now, having said all this, if we had shown up, and nobody else did, we would have still put it on our own CC. Yes, it would have been a few hundred more than the ship's tour, but it would have been worth it for us. The private tour was wayyy.... better than the massive ship tour! We talked with people after who regretting being on the big tour for sure.

 

I just think people have to decide for themselves the "what if" factor, and make sure it works for them. If the others don't show up and you have to pay for it all, or if something changes, etc...

[kctwinmommy]

4 hours ago, Lirio said:

I am intereste in Normandy Landing Beaches as well, I will be on Cherbourg on May 9, 2019. I am looking for a private guide. I am travelling with my mon and she has mobility issues and sometimes she gets tired and we go back to the ship in the middle of the tour. For those reaons, we always have a private guide, so that we can manage our issues. I checked Overlod website and I could not find a private tour. I only found group tours starting with 8 persons, minimum and the fixed price would be 980 euros, that I consider very expensive. Any other suggestion?

 

We had 2 people in our group of 8 with a mobility issue.  I know one used a scooter, but there was another who also couldn't walk for a long time. It was nice being in the small group of 8 because they could handle that. Like when we went to the American cemetery, he gave us a certain amount of time there (so we could get to everything else), and then the 3 families broke up to do their own thing. We (not having any mobility issues) were the last ones back to the van. Some were there before us because they had done enough.

[Cindy]

17 hours ago, styme123 said:

Do you remember the "name" of the tour you went on with Overlord? They have a few different types.

 

I think it was just Tour 9 - From Port. The details of what we visited that day were up to us.

[styme123]

32 minutes ago, Cindy said:

 

I think it was just Tour 9 - From Port. The details of what we visited that day were up to us.

That's nice that you could decide where you wanted to go. I'm kind of apprehensive to be the primary booker for that and have someone cancel. I was thiking with the 16 person one, we are all individuals. On a side note, I'm spending the next 2 days off starting to research all the ports for the cruise. I've read and bookmarked your review a few months ago so I'll be reading through it again for ideas. Thanks again for posting it. Warning, I might have a few questions for you if you don't mind 😉     

[Cindy]

2 minutes ago, styme123 said:

That's nice that you could decide where you wanted to go. I'm kind of apprehensive to be the primary booker for that and have someone cancel. I was thiking with the 16 person one, we are all individuals. On a side note, I'm spending the next 2 days off starting to research all the ports for the cruise. I've read and bookmarked your review a few months ago so I'll be reading through it again for ideas. Thanks again for posting it. Warning, I might have a few questions for you if you don't mind 😉     

Not at all! 

 

I really need to finish...maybe that should be a goal for the first week of 2019!

[Turtles06]

One tip for folks visiting the D-Day sites: watch (or re-watch) “The Longest Day.”  It’s a little cheesy by today’s standards, but the history is spot on, and you’ll appreciate your visit even more.  (Plus every famous or soon to be famous male actor of the early 60s is in it.  )

[tillys mom]

I booked the Tour 9 with Overlord for our day in Le Havre in August 2019. I paid €980 with my credit card(no option), and as soon as it showed up on my statement I divided by 8 and told the group from our roll what they owed me. I collected by check and PayPal. The key is to have your 8 passengers lined up and have enough insurance to cover your personal cost if you can’t make it. If one couple doesn’t show up, the group continues on the tour. If something happens far enough out, I can try to fill the spots from the roll call and reimburse the ones having to drop out.

I have been organizing tours for years, and have never had anyone dump on me. I hate that you had a cruiser that was that irresponsible; the group tour organized on the roll call is one of the best parts of cruising. It does involve being able to trust your fellow cruisers.

[Host Bonjour]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful thread and not pointing out that this ought to have been moved to the France Ports board, I know 😜 

 

For the moment I’m unable to move posts around on Ports so if you see an errant thread or ask me to move one please know that I hear/see you but as we’re still phasing in small updates to our new software, these capabilities will be back soon.

 

For now, since Normandy is only across the Channel, the UK is still in the EU, and there’s the Eurostar or Ferry or plane (and the internet) between France and the UK..probably ok for now. 🇫🇷🇬🇧😊☮️

[XPRTSHPR]

On 10/18/2018 at 5:59 AM, traveler2100 said:

We are on the crown princess and arrive in Le Havre 5/24/2019

We only want to see the normandy beaches--nothing else

The Princess excursion is over $400 for 2 and is 10.5 hours which is in our opinion quite high and quite lengthy.

How far from the port are the beaches and can we just take local transportation to save some ?

anybody know of any local excursions that are shorter and less$

We will be on the Princess arriving in LeHavre on 6/5.  We have booked the Normandy excursion through Princess due to the distance from the ship.  All of the other tours I looked into were fully booked a long time ago as it is the anniversary year and will be very crowded.  Best to be safe on this one.  Our only Princess excursion.

 

[EllieinNJ]

I am on the Aug. 29, 2019 Princess British Isles cruise which has a nearly non-existent roll call.  While I was away on another cruise in February, the only people posting planned a private tour for 8 which filled up immediately. 

 

I researched all the websites where you can book individually.  Victory tours were sold out.  Bayeaux tours only leave from Bayeaux, which is difficult to get to from Le Havre.  They will pick you up for a private tour for around $1000 pp.  Tour 9 on the Overlord tours was discussed previously for one person booking a whole van and getting paid by the others on the tour.  (There are no others posting.)  Then they have a 9B tour for individual bookings in a 17 person van.  I contacted them immediately and they said there wasn't a tour lined up yet but if they get enough interest they will create one so put me on a waiting list.

 

I posted this last info on my roll call and on the roll call that leaves out of Dublin 3 days later on 9/1/19.  The only response I got was someone from the other roll call who said this happened to him two years ago on another cruise and he also was put on a waiting list.  Never got another response from Overlord.  Told me to have a back up plan.

 

Now it seems my only two choices is to book the cruise's excursion or rent a car.  Anyone know of another alternative?

[D C]

On 10/19/2018 at 7:30 PM, traveler2100 said:

I appreciate the many suggestions

I do like the idea of renting a car

So if I rent a car and just drive what kind of costs can I expect to visit the various areas in Beaches area?

 

Costs?  Not much at all, except for any museums you go to.  Figure $10-15 per museum, and those are the only places that charge.   Everything outdoor is at no cost.

 

Aside from the obvious need to drive, the major difference between a tour and self-driving is the lack of a narrative when on your own.  If you're comfortable looking and learning on your own, Normandy can be done very inexpensively.  A museum or two, lunch, and the car rental & gas should be it. 

 

[njkate]

Will be following this thread as I'm booked on the 04/19/20 TA from Brooklyn. My main reason for this TA was Normandy as I've been to London, Dublin and Cork, all though a revisit to those ports will be fine.

Seems like Overlord is the go to tour, as I don't want to be on a ships bus with 50 plus people.

[kctwinmommy]

10 minutes ago, njkate said:

Will be following this thread as I'm booked on the 04/19/20 TA from Brooklyn. My main reason for this TA was Normandy as I've been to London, Dublin and Cork, all though a revisit to those ports will be fine.

Seems like Overlord is the go to tour, as I don't want to be on a ships bus with 50 plus people.

 

It was the best decision we made, doing that tour. And I may have said it in this post, or another, that I would have paid extra if nobody else showed up just to have that tour. I hear they changed their process, and someone has to pay the full fee up front. So it's like 900 Euros I believe. When we went, there were 3 groups (a couple, a woman with her parents, and the 3 of us). So the one woman gave her CC to hold it and then we emailed in the months before. It also gave us a better feel for the people we'd be with. Then I just had the money set aside in an envelope, so we gave our portion to the tour guide. But again, I know now they require someone to charge the whole thing. I also wouldn't wait too long. There have been some people unable to get tours, although some were during the D-Day anniversary time. It's still worth every penny, IMO!

[njkate]

5 minutes ago, kctwinmommy said:

 

It was the best decision we made, doing that tour. And I may have said it in this post, or another, that I would have paid extra if nobody else showed up just to have that tour. I hear they changed their process, and someone has to pay the full fee up front. So it's like 900 Euros I believe. When we went, there were 3 groups (a couple, a woman with her parents, and the 3 of us). So the one woman gave her CC to hold it and then we emailed in the months before. It also gave us a better feel for the people we'd be with. Then I just had the money set aside in an envelope, so we gave our portion to the tour guide. But again, I know now they require someone to charge the whole thing. I also wouldn't wait too long. There have been some people unable to get tours, although some were during the D-Day anniversary time. It's still worth every penny, IMO!

Can I just book directly with them for 2 people, not caring if there are others rather than wait on a tour through the roll call? From what I've read these tours fill up fast? Guess I can email them to find out

[kctwinmommy]

27 minutes ago, njkate said:

Can I just book directly with them for 2 people, not caring if there are others rather than wait on a tour through the roll call? From what I've read these tours fill up fast? Guess I can email them to find out

 

It's best to contact them directly, but I'm not sure they take a tour for just 2 people. Ours was really nice, and it was good to be with a few other people. Plus, it's definitely cheaper. But you could book the tour for I think it's 9 people, and then reach out to your roll call for people to join you. But certainly get in touch with them. Although you're not sailing for almost a year, not sure how far out they book them. And that's not over any major holiday, so it shouldn't be a hug problem to book something.