X Excursions France/Spain - Silhouette

[Alushar]

Hi All hope everybody is keeping well.

 

In these strange times we were trying to look forward to happier times and our cruise on Silhouette at end April next year.

 

We thought we’d look at excursions Celeb to start does anybody recommend any of the trips esp the Beaches or Versailles. Our mobility isn’t great so looking for low impact.

 

Thanks in advance 

[4774Papa]

12 minutes ago, Alushar said:

Hi All hope everybody is keeping well.

 

In these strange times we were trying to look forward to happier times and our cruise on Silhouette at end April next year.

 

We thought we’d look at excursions Celeb to start does anybody recommend any of the trips esp the Beaches or Versailles. Our mobility isn’t great so looking for low impact.

 

Thanks in advance 

We have done cruises that stopped in Normandy (British Isles cruise) as well as in the Med.

 

Versailles is a few miles west of Paris and easily accessible by the RER from downtown Paris.  If you port in Le Harve, you have the option to take an excursion to Paris that might include Versailles.

 

We did a wonderful excursion from Le Harve that visited Normandy.  We normally do private tours, but this excursion was a long one and its price was pretty reasonable.  We visited Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery, Arramanches and Gold Beach as well as Bayeux with it Cathedral and amazing Bayeux Tapestry (900 year old) that tells the story of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. I strongly recommend taking a tour or excursion of Normandy, instead of the long trip to Paris.  Paris is a city that needs more than a half day tour.  

 

As for the Med, we did cruises out of Barcelona, which is a great place to spent 3-4 days prior to a cruise.  If you only have one day there, don't miss Sangrada Familia, the Gaudi designed cathedral that you must see.  Also, there is an ancient cathedral, old olympic park and much more.

 

If you port in Malaga, I strongly recommend an excursion or tour to Granada to see the Alhambra.

 

Sorry, but I was not impressed with the beaches in the MED.  Perhaps Mallorca has nice beaches.

 

In France, Marseilles is often a port, it is a bit seedy and I recommend going to visit Arles, Avignon or Aix-en-Provence.   

 

 https://about-france.com/regions/south-of-france.htm

 

Toulon is east of Marseilles and you could visit those same places as well as others.

Nice, Monte Carlo and Cannes are other possible ports.  If you haven't been to Monte Carlo, it is a good place to see.  Also, there are other great places.  One of my favorite is a small village called St. Paul de Vence.

 

 

[frteach]

Could you give more information about your cruise and the ports you will be visiting, please?  I have done both ship sponsored tours, privately arranged tours, and sometimes arranged my own walking tours, not that I am as knowledgeable as many on here, but I am a planner.

[hawkesbaynz]

I imagine that this is the identical cruise that we were going on next Friday😥. La Coruna, Vigo, Bilbao and Le Havre. We booked some good trips to vineyards in Spain although all the towns are convenient for the port and would have been easy to walk around for a meal/tapas/wine.

 

Paris and Versailles are quiet a distance from Le Havre. The Normandy Beaches and Bayeux are closer and there are good independent tours. As we have been to Paris & Normandy a few times we arranged a trip to a local seaside town.

 

I looked at the Cruise Planner today and found I could still book trips although it is cancelled and the Sihouette is bobbing around off Florida rather than crossing the Atlantic.

 

I recommend you look at the Roll Call for this years cruise to get ideas whilst it is still easily accessible on Cruise Critic.

[NantahalaCruiser]

In Bilbao, if you are into cooking classes, I highly recommend an independent tour to take a class on cooking Pintos (the Basque version of tapas.)  We took this class with Irene, the owner of Northern Spain Gastronomy, last September and thoroughly enjoyed it.  They pick you up and drop you back at the Cruise Terminal.

 

Here's a link to their website: https://www.northernspaingastronomy.com/private-basque-cooking-bilbao

 

Have a wonderful cruise

Edited April 26, 2020 by NantahalaCruiser

[Alushar]

On 4/23/2020 at 7:28 PM, frteach said:

Could you give more information about your cruise and the ports you will be visiting, please?  I have done both ship sponsored tours, privately arranged tours, and sometimes arranged my own walking tours, not that I am as knowledgeable as many on here, but I am a planner.

Thanks for your reply the itinerary is Bilbao overnight, Vigo, La Coruna and Le Harve

 

We spent 5 days in Bilbao for rugby a couple of years ago and know Paris well so choice would probably be Normandy or Versailles

[4774Papa]

On 4/22/2020 at 12:36 PM, 4774Papa said:

We have done cruises that stopped in Normandy (British Isles cruise) as well as in the Med.

 

Versailles is a few miles west of Paris and easily accessible by the RER from downtown Paris.  If you port in Le Harve, you have the option to take an excursion to Paris that might include Versailles.

 

We did a wonderful excursion from Le Harve that visited Normandy.  We normally do private tours, but this excursion was a long one and its price was pretty reasonable.  We visited Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery, Arramanches and Gold Beach as well as Bayeux with it Cathedral and amazing Bayeux Tapestry (900 year old) that tells the story of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. I strongly recommend taking a tour or excursion of Normandy, instead of the long trip to Paris.  Paris is a city that needs more than a half day tour.  

 

As for the Med, we did cruises out of Barcelona, which is a great place to spent 3-4 days prior to a cruise.  If you only have one day there, don't miss Sangrada Familia, the Gaudi designed cathedral that you must see.  Also, there is an ancient cathedral, old olympic park and much more.

 

If you port in Malaga, I strongly recommend an excursion or tour to Granada to see the Alhambra.

 

Sorry, but I was not impressed with the beaches in the MED.  Perhaps Mallorca has nice beaches.

 

In France, Marseilles is often a port, it is a bit seedy and I recommend going to visit Arles, Avignon or Aix-en-Provence.   

 

 https://about-france.com/regions/south-of-france.htm

 

Toulon is east of Marseilles and you could visit those same places as well as others.

Nice, Monte Carlo and Cannes are other possible ports.  If you haven't been to Monte Carlo, it is a good place to see.  Also, there are other great places.  One of my favorite is a small village called St. Paul de Vence.

 

 

British Isles

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=221137

 

AMA Rhone River

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=103733

W. Med  NCL Epic

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=103808

[4774Papa]

If you are going to Vigo, the consider taking a tour to Santiago de Compostela.  It is a very historical side, well worth visiting.  We did a day trip from Porto, Portugal to Santiago after a Douro River Cruise.