Paris-Normandy & Lyon-Provence: If you have cruised both itineraries - ?s

[mlbcruiser]

For anyone who has done both a Paris to Normandy itinerary & also a Lyon to Provence itinerary, did you prefer one itinerary to the other? If so, why? 
Hoping for some experienced replies. Please don’t hesitate to include details!

[Canal archive]

Yes with Scenic what do you want to know? I’ve done the south of France twice and will do the Seine again I’d also do the south of France yet again there is so much to see. I’ve also done their Bordeaux cruise. I am not a Francophile don’t forget I’m English. 

[mlbcruiser]

Well I was interested to hear opinions on the itineraries. Which one you liked the most, did you like them the same, what you liked about each one, what you didn’t like.  I know some people lean  toward seeing nice scenery and quaint, medieval style towns. Others prefer larger cities and lots of museums. Sharing your preferences along that line would be helpful as well. 

[Canal archive]

Midnight so just off to bed will answer in full tomorrow.

[mlbcruiser]

👍

[Wings55]

3 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

For anyone who has done both a Paris to Normandy itinerary & also a Lyon to Provence itinerary, did you prefer one itinerary to the other? If so, why? 
Hoping for some experienced replies. Please don’t hesitate to include details!

Give me about three weeks and I'll be able to report back on both. 😉

Have you decided on a cruise line or is that part of the discussion at this point? 

Paul

[mlbcruiser]

26 minutes ago, Wings55 said:

Give me about three weeks and I'll be able to report back on both. 😉

Have you decided on a cruise line or is that part of the discussion at this point? 

Paul

No, the cruise line is not part of the discussion because we just canceled a Paris to Normandy cruise last week. We now have a credit that we will use to rebook another one. At least I’ll have more time to plan for our travel itinerary snd time post cruise for next time. Unfortunately,  we canceled, even though it was allowed within two weeks of the original cruise, we lose the new cruiser discount and the referral discount. 😠 I still think both of those things should not have been taken away. Plus the cost of the cruises that we are picking from have gone up in price. (Of course!  The number of frequent flyer miles around the likely timeframe of the cruise we will do, as well as no doubt accommodation costs, assuming Covid is better controlled by then, will make it a more expensive trip putting the squeeze on additional things we can do on our trip the other side of the pond!) 

 

We have until the end of the month to keep the ability to cancel within two weeks of whichever cruise we book. Having said that, sometimes I’ve noticed certain offers are renewed the following month but there’s no way to tell ahead of time if that will happen. We’ve only been on one other river cruise and that was on the Rhine, which I loved because of the Rhine River Gorge and the mix of German/French towns in route. We also really liked our ship and the cruise line but it wasn’t going to be up and running with regard to French itineraries at the time we initially had planned to go. I’d do do the Rhine one again. Plus we’d save a little money! But my husband wants to stick with France.

 

Just the same,  still post to comparisons because even if we do end up booking by the end of the month, who knows? We might have to cancel again or we might decide to cancel just because we want to switch the itinerary!

 

Thanks for replying. I will

Be sure to watch for your comments.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Based on her posting history it seems the cruise line in question is Viking Rivers.  That would make prior experience on Viking more relevant because of the particular ports and excursions, although many aspects are common to most cruises on these itineraries.

[mlbcruiser]

Yes, indeed, Jazzbeau. However I primarily am interested in the ports, their “looks”, history scenery, and even things unrelated to the ship experience or the lines’ own excursions with this partucular query. Thanks, as some may have been more ready to share their experiences based on their cruise line. 

[caradara]

We did both on Viking and enjoyed them both.  Normandy beaches were really impressive so I would choose that one first.  It was our first river cruise in Europe and on Viking so sometimes that makes it seem more wonderful just because you don't know what to expect.  Some people combined those 2 and Viking arranged for the train between Paris and Lyon.  We did not dock in Paris but enjoy small town wandering better anyway.  They bussed us to Paris even at night to see the Eiffel Tower lit up.  With Covid I don't know how much wandering will be allowed.

We have taken several more Viking river cruise since so they are a good fit for us but, of course, not for everyone.

[Canal archive]

I’m stuck with Scenic as I’ve yet to run out of itinerary options. (Such a terrible state to be in)  I can go twice and not double up on excursions. I don’t have a favourite as in scenery or history I enjoy both I also enjoy the odd wine, port, cider, cognac, brandy or fizz tour. Meeting people from different countries is special.

[mlbcruiser]

Thank you very much for replying, caradara. The itinerary information is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for. I’ve seen pictures of the coast in beaches in Normandy and they do look stunning.  (I especially like good scenery. The Rhine gorge was my favorite part of our Rhine cruise.) wish we could afford a back to back but we simply cannot. We were going to spend About 48 hours in Paris on the front end of the cruise only because that was the departure city. We have been to Paris although it was very long ago. With more time we probably would have rented a car and driven to other areas of France. We already planned to do that for a couple of days on the back end but wouldn’t have had enough time to do that extensively. (Our dd is having a baby I didn’t want to cut it too close to the due date!) 

 

Surely there must be somebody out there who can say what they liked (or didn’t) about the Lyon - Provence cruise? 
 

 

[mlbcruiser]

Canal archive, it appears you posted when I was writing my last post.
We were on Emerald, Scenic’s sister line,  for our Rhine cruise. Absolutely loved it! With regard to ships, I wish all of them had a relaxing pool with a small bar at the rear as Emerald’s  do. (Scenic is out of our price range, unfortunately.) We also like meeting people on our cruises. Emerald had a strong UK presence il, some Canadians and Americans, some Germans, and a couple of other nationalities on board. Looking forward to trying Viking, however I have read that pax are predominantly Americans on their ships. I’m sure there will be nice people to me no matter what. We don’t care about the alcohol. My husband is a teetotaler for health reasons although I a cocktail or glass of wine at times. We do like looking at hilly vinyards, though! (We live 35 minutes from a hilly area with several wineries of very strong German heritage along the Missouri River. The area used to be called the Missouri Rhine and a bit over a century ago the area was the third largest wine producer in the world. Prohibition ended that! Although it still produces a good amount of wine today. Actually,  I just learned that fact last night on public television since it had a program on our state’s bicentennial this year ) 

 

Can you comment on the scenery or other reasons why you liked these itineraries?

[notamermaid]

8 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

Surely there must be somebody out there who can say what they liked (or didn’t) about the Lyon - Provence cruise? 

I only know the area from a land trip, but perhaps I can encourage people to talk about the Rhone: I love the old Roman buildings which there do not seem that many of on the Seine to experience from what I have gathered here on CC. When I posted some time ago that I love the Pont du Gard, others have also said they loved it. It is part of many itineraries as an excursion.

 

The Seine and the Rhone are quite different from each other it seems and out of the two I would choose the Rhone. But I would love to see Honfleur in Normandy, a port that is only sailed to by some as it is the maritime Seine that apparently has some restrictions, ship size if I remember correctly.

 

notamermaid

 

[mlbcruiser]

notamermaid, I have seen a few pictures of Honfleur and communicated with someone in the UK who visits the Normandy area on land now and then. This person mentioned Honfluer. When we rebook a cruise, if we stick with the Paris to Normandy itinerary, we may drive back up to that area to see some of the sites on our own. Mont St. Michel, for one. We ‘be often taking ocean cruises on that side of the world and always, always end up driving around on one or both ends of our cruise.   
 

Thanks a bunch for chiming in and offering an opinion. That’s what I’m after!

[CPT Trips]

It’s a real tossup. DDay beaches, Jeanne D’Arc, cider and brandy, and Monet and Van Gogh versus Van Gogh, French Popes, the Resistance, and wine. 
 

Just want to note that Grand Circle spends two days/nights in Honfleur. One day for DDay tour, the other for DIY or one of their optional (extra cost). Also three nights two days in Paris on the ship.

 

 

We also did The Rhône with them. We loved Lyon, Avignon, and Arles. Overnights in hotel with a full day in Paris, overnight and two full days in Lyon, two hotel overnights and a full day in Nice.

Both those trips are longer than a week, and only one way on the river.

 

[notamermaid]

5 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

We do like looking at hilly vinyards, though!

I am sure Canalarchive can tell you more about this, but the Rhone certainly is good for vineyards, I do not know details. For wine and countryside there is Burgundy which I believe is part of some transfers from Paris to Lyon. Beaune is supposed to be great.

 

I have got some glasses in my cabinet to remind me of lovely days along the Rhone sipping red wine.

 

21 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

Mont St. Michel

Now that is an amazing place! Highly recommended.

 

Perhaps something on the rivers themselves. If I may make a general comparison, the Rhone appeared to me similar to the Rhine in that it is a commercial waterway and fast-flowing river, my impressions when I was there. The Seine is known to have wide meanders and although that is true for a small part of the Rhine, the Seine comes closer to the Moselle perhaps in meandering. Not sure about the vineyards on the Seine!

 

Again from land trips and what people have told me of Normandy, if I was supposed to characterize the areas in terms of old stones, very generalized, I would say Seine - cathedral, Rhone - Roman arena.

 

Hope this helps and others tell you more about both rivers.

 

notamermaid

 

[mlbcruiser]

Good luck hilly vineyards from the ship or driving to and from them if the train is really pretty. Plus causing a while, as you would like, to have a glass of wine overlooking Vinyard area if the vendor area was kind of a pie with a nice view. I don’t ask for much, do ? Lol!  
we’ve been through Lyon and Avignon once went on a train. I don’t remember them being that spectacular looking but of course couldn’t see much. We should do a longer river cruise. When we are you do a lot of time between ports, 

at least when there is good scenery. We live 30 minutes from the Mississippi river and believe me that is industrialized around this part of the world! Our daughter lives in New Orleans and that is also industrialized. Now we don’t have any nice river gorges with castles around here, though. There actually is a ruin of a small one on a cliff  just to the south of the city of St. Louis on the Mississippi, though! Some guy started to build it for his wife but she passes or somthing. It’s called Hillcrest (Just mentioning that in case anyone does a Viking Mississippi itinerary, lol.)  It’s not much to see but I enjoyed it as a child when my family would do a river cruise that only lasted about three hours once each summer from downtown Saint Louis.) Do you go through any fairly hilly areas on the Lyon to Provence cruise?

We loved Strasbourg and Cologne on our last cruise and they are not tiny towns. It was another, smaller place but I can’t recall the name off hand. I also liked the trip to the Black Forest a lot.

[Canal archive]

Honfluer must be the original sit by the side of the port with a glass of excellent wine and watch the world go by, sublime. Arriving at Giverney before anyone else and get that once in lifetime photograph of the lily pond and bridge with not a body in site. (Must find the pic for you) going to Pont du Hoc and then the American cemetery. Spending a full day going to the Australian cemetery at Villers-Bretonneux and the museum in the local school. Visiting the grandure that is Thiepval. Scenic gave all of us poppies which most of us placed on the graves of those known unto God, so worth while. If I did the cruise that included Pont du Hoc again I would go to the Bayeux Tapestry. So yet another reason to visit France.

[mlbcruiser]

Thanks for sharing these thoughts. Always helpful to find out ahead of time about what’s to see and do in an unfamiliar area from others who have first hand experience.

[Denise247]

I recently made the choice between these two itineraries, and what sold me on the Paris one is the fact that you arrive and depart from CDG with a non-stop flight from the US. I just returned from Italy two weeks ago, through Frankfurt to Florence.  We nearly missed our connecting flight because of the long lines for international arrivals to have their paperwork reviewed (vaccination cards, Covid test results,  EU travel paperwork for specific countries, etc.) before you can proceed to a connecting flight.  So I decided to go with the itinerary that would offer the easiest arrival and departure options for me, and which did not require transiting through an additional country.  However, with our rising Covid levels, I fear that we may not be welcome in the EU at all.  So it may be moot point.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

The Rhone trip can also be done rt CDG, using TGV connections from Paris to Lyon and from Avignon to Paris.  But it is more complicated than the Seine cruise with a simple taxi ride from CDG to a hotel or the ship.

[mlbcruiser]

Denise, 247, when do you plan to cruise? I guess you are on top of airfares at that time. We were using frequent flyer miles to fly into and out of Paris and would have only had one change of planes in the US. No biggie. Length of the entire trip was not bad at all. However, now that that cruise, which would have started this week, is canceled, I have looked at flights for next year. I would like to go sooner than August. I only booked the flights In late June, and the amount of FF miles required  has almost tripled! We could still get (lousy) flights for about the same number of miles, however the stops with changes are always at least two, and the total flight times are much longer. Have my fingers crossed as required miles go up and down to some extent, but at this point many are hoping to be able to travel next year so required miles may stay high. (no doubt there will still be a number of restrictions put into place for a long while as I doubt Covid will totally disappear anytime soon. We would likely fly into Paris even if we did the cruise from Lyon. We had plans to drive down to the Loire Valley after disembarking, so would likely do that on the way to Lyon and visit other areas after the cruise. We will roam around afyer either cruise, most likely, even if flying home from CDG. 
 

Thanks for posting your experience having to change planes. Definitely something to think about!  About 15 years or so ago I flew to Malpensa airport near Milan. Had to change planes in Paris. It was in early June and the airport was absolutely packed,  and I do mean packed! Huge groups of students and I barely made my flight. At that time there was no security checks or health form checks as there are now, either. 😬

[tulok]

Just got back from Paris-Normandy last month. We were on Lyon-Avignon two years ago. Both on Uniworld. I have been on Viking and enjoyed them and would go on them again so if you don’t mind a Uniworld perspective, I enjoyed the Providence cruise much more. The towns were gorgeous, and it was so much to see each day. I enjoyed the Normandy cruise but next time I would go to that area myself and rent a car. I am sure you will enjoy both so I would think it is what you are looking for in the trip. The docking in Providence are right in towns so it wasn’t a lot of bus rides for the excursions. In fact in Lyon we went to a french cooking school for the morning. 

If you have any specific questions, please let me know.

[mlbcruiser]

O.K., tutok, which itinerary had the best scenery along the riverbanks?