NORMANDY LANDING BEACHES

[traveler2100]

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$

[Cruise Junky]

L'Havre is a two hour drive to Omaha Beach and 146 km. You will need a tour of some kind.  Your roll call may have some tours open that you could join.

[releck97]

10.5 hours is barely enough. There are some good companies that offer tours, but they sell out quickly. None are cheap. 75th anniversary next June. Definitely a no brainer in my book.

[nukesubsailor]

We took the Princess excursion to the American Normandy invasion beaches.  It was great---even the lunch---- and worth every penny in my opinion.  (My opinion may be biased as I am retired military)

If you cannot find an independent tour that you like and trust to get you back to the ship in time, I would encourage you to book the Princess excursion rather than not visiting the invasion area.

[capriccio]

Should you decide to do a full day tour, we wholeheartedly recommend Overlord Tours  https://www.overlordtour.com/product-category/tour-from-ports/

Many times someone on your Roll Call will organize one.  I'd check your Roll Call for ideas if you haven't already.

Edited October 18, 2018 by capriccio

[ChattTenn]

We were on Royal Princess this past May.  Normandy was the last stop with a late departure.  It will take time to go to the American cemetery and a visit to Omaha beach.  We were on a private tour and it was not cheap either.  If nobody in your roll call has any open you might go ahead reserve the space and cancel later because on our sailing the tour with American cemetery was sold out.  With a 75th anniversary comes around it will be place to go.

Good luck.

 

[ggprincess2004]

I second the recommendation for Overlord tours. Smaller group, great guide, one of those experiences you will never forget. But, if they are sold out, bite the bullet and do it through Princess. You will not regret doing it, one way or another. 

[spny84]

We are on the same trip with you.  I booked through http://www.bayeuxshuttle.com/summer-service/7.htm   Smaller group.  And can cancel with refund a week before.  I will have trip insurance in for worse case scenario of us not stopping in Le Havre.

 

Be sure to visit our roll call.

Edited October 18, 2018 by spny84
reminder about roll call

[Cindy]

I also highly recommend Overlord Tours. I put together a group from our roll call, and we were able to see Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery, Pont du Hoc, Ste. Mer Eglise, and Utah Beach. It was a very long day, but I would have really regretted missing it.

Our guide was exceptional and very, very knowledgeable. Our day was enhanced because of the tour — it Isn’t something I would have wanted to attempt on my own.

[satxdiver]

On out shore excursion a group of us went with Overlord Tours which was a bit cheaper than the ship's tour and not nearly as crowded.  We would do it again in a heart beat.  We went to Omaha Beach, the American cemetery and a WWII museum.  It was nice not having to deal with a large group and the guide was quite knowledgeable.  

[sandyoftheseas]

We also went with Overlord Tours. We went on our roll call and joined another person's tour.  We like the private tours with the smaller groups you can see more things or stay longer because the larger groups in a bus take longer to load and unload.   

[Bdnclc]

For those that did a private tour how long were you away for day?  And did you only visit American cemetaries?  

[capriccio]

Take a look at the information on the Overlord Tours website:  https://www.overlordtour.com/product/tours-from-cruise-ports-9/.

 

" Most of our cruise line clients are American/British/Canadian, and desire to focus their tour on the American/British/Canadian Battlefields of Normandy. If this is so, below is a suggested itinerary from your cruise port...  The tour is from 8 am to 6 pm."

 

I would definitely email them if you have specific locations you want to visit to get more information.

[georgiacat]

I joined a group from our roll call for a tour with Spearhead tours to the Normandy Beach area this past August.  It is a one man operation, but he was very good.  There were six of us, organized by someone other than myself.  Check you roll call, or start a tour yourself and post on roll call.  I forget the guide's name and the exact price, but cheaper than Princess.  I recommend him.  He will tailor the tour to your specifications.  Enjoy your cruise.

[antsp]

We rented a car right next to the ship,cost about 65 euros for the day, we had our route all planed out.  We were probably of the ship about 9 hours

[Roatanfans]

We spent a few days in Normandy on our own and there is a lot to see and do- I can't imagine trying to cram it into a port stop- not without a tour that takes care of the transportation for you (if you try to rent a car and drive yourself I can tell you that it's not always easy to get to the sites- Utah Beach was a little tricky if you missed a sign).  We spent one whole day and went to the Bayeux D Day museum, Pointe Du Hoc (very small building with a movie then lots of walking around to the different emplacements).  Then we went to Utah Beach where there is a big museum, the Roosevelt Hotel (really a bar/tourist trap with a store) and the beach itself.  We also visited the cute town of Carentan. We did not go to any of the cemeteries and we did spend a long time at Pointe Du Hoc walking on all the trails.  It was a full day, but it kind of depends on what you really want to see and how much time you really want to spend in any one place 

 

[Cindy]

1 hour ago, Bdnclc said:

For those that did a private tour how long were you away for day?  And did you only visit American cemetaries?  

 

Ours was a very long day...we left the ship at 8;00, and we got back to port between 5-5:30 if I remember correctly.

 

If you are on a private, small group Overlord tour what you see is up to you. My group focused on the US sites, but others formed groups to visit the British sites and the Canadian sites.

[uncleah]

We did a tour from Paris the last time we were there.  It is absolutely worth doing. 

 

When you stand on Omaha and look up at the hill that had to be breached it is hard to believe that anyone was able to survive.  The American Cemetery was extraordinarily moving.  We also got to visit  Pont du Hoc and the Peace Museum in Caen. 

 

If there is anyway for you to visit, it is well worth it.  

[kctwinmommy]

I agree with Overlord tours! We joined with 2 other parties, for a total of 8. It was so worth it!! We did Omaha Beach, stopping at some monuments along the way, American cemetery, Pointe du Hoc, then Bayeux where we had lunch and saw the cathedral and tapestries! It was worth every penny!! We were gone from basically right after the ship docked until around 5-5:30. He was cautious on getting us back on time too. It was Bastille day holiday, and a Friday, so he said there can be heavy traffic with people heading to the coast. We appreciated him being aware of that. It was the highlight of our cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by kctwinmommy

[Hlitner]

One solution for the OP is to simply rent a car and drive themselves to where they please, stay as long as they please, and return to Le Havre when they please :).  This is one reason, among many, that we normally do our own thing and avoid tours.  Because of the distance from the beaches, 10 1/2 hours is not even enough time.  With your own rental car you can certainly shorten your tour time...perhaps by just focusing on Omaha Beach and the nearby American Cemetery (not to be missed).

 

Hank

[caripoo]

OVERLORD....My husband planned our own Band of Brothers tour and for 4 of us....it was fantastic...Taking some newbies back again and will use them.

[Bdnclc]

How long were you gone for?  And do you mind indicating rough cost was?  I looked at their webpage and looks great the tours offered plus the customization.  I started to research where a relative was buried and distance wise looks possible with a customized tour from where ship ports.