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

[tulok]

Because you see a lot of the same thing. Leaving Paris, coming back to Paris, leaving Rouge, coming back to Rouge; Providence by far. My absolute favorite was the Rhein Castle with Viking for scenery but Providence was gorgeous with lavender blooming in the hills. I wanted to live in every town we visited it was so beautiful. 

We took a train from Paris to Lyon and I am so glad we did. The train ride was even beautiful.

[mlbcruiser]

We have been to thr far southern part of Provence once, but only once. It was for just a few hours wirh a driver on an independent day tour that I arranged for us and 4 others when in port on an ocean cruise. Were not on the river. Admittedly, did not see enough. Good point about seeing same going back to Paris. Thanks for posting. 

[tulok]

I found a couple of pictures from the cruise that were still in my phone. I know it’s not much and I wish I had a picture of the lavender fields. 

[Denise247]

6 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

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. 😬

I am scheduled for the Uniworld Sept. 5 departure.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will happen.  France seems amenable to US travelers, but there are a lot of grumblings in the EU about the lack of reciprocity for Europeans to travel to the US, particularly in light of their increased vaccination rates, and overall, lower covid rates.  It is only three more weeks to go, but a lot can happen in three weeks.  😞

 

[gnome12]

5 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

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

Since you generally sail at night this isn’t generally too relevant. 

[mlbcruiser]

Love the pictures, tutok! I’ve seen photos of the lavender fields. I assume the air smells like lavender,  which must be nice! 
 

gnome12,  not sailing more during daulight hours is a drawback. Then again, maybe there’s not that much nice scenery to see from the river.  
 

Hang in there, Denise. You have another 3 weeks for procedures to smooth out. Hopefully the EU won’t have to block US citizens due to the current spread of the virus in our country. That, to me, seems more likely to doom US visitors. I  wonder if some of the reason the U.S. is not yet letting EU citizens in is because hospitals and intensive care units are becoming quite full right now in a number of tegions and it’s getting worse. The delta varient is hitting children in large numbers, too. The CDC is not tracking how many vaccinated people have had breakthrough cases. (This happened to a relative of mine in another state on Monday. Typical Covid symptoms. Uncomfortable, cold- like symptoms but nothing severe.). I don’t know what that situation is like in France nor do I know their statistics in general regarding Covid. (Many tourists like to visit Florida, which has extreme numbers of new cases and many more everyday.) As announced about a week and a half ago, our government is trying to come up with a plan that requires all visitors to be vaccinated. I’ve heard reports that things are in the works to soon create and require some type of health pass similar to what some of the European countries are doing. Of course then there will be the usual confusion, similar to what has taken place in France, with regard to putting it into action so that the process runs smoothly. So it’s going to take a bit of time. At least if you get to go, in Sept., there will still likely be fewer crowds, lines, and other tourists getting in the way of your photos! Once all of this dies down, it will be back to normal - too crowded and more expensive!  Good luck! 

[Canal archive]

 

Lavender field from Vincent Van Gogh’s sanitarium window near St Remy Provance

[tulok]

4 hours ago, Canal archive said:

 

Lavender field from Vincent Van Gogh’s sanitarium window near St Remy Provance

Great picture.  I had to come back and get a Van Gogn painting for my bedroom upon my return. Wasn’t a fan before but I could see his vision after the trip.

 

MLbcruiser- We sailed quite a bit in the day on this cruise. We went through the deepest lock  (I believe in Europe) and many came out to watch it together. It was in the daytime.

[tulok]

Photo of the deep lock.

[caradara]

Viking Lyon to Avignon had lots of daylight sailing and lots of bridges and locks to go through.  

[Canal archive]

We actually stayed on board to see this lock, what a whopper the deepest on the canal I’m involved with The Kennet & Avon is nearly 20feet a mere baby. Here are two pictures of Giverney.

 

[notamermaid]

@Canal archive If those are the photos you are enabled to take by Scenic taking you to Giverny early, then it is worth getting up early in the morning ☺️. I have heard from a very dear person that it is crowded.  Exactly the place I would not aspire to go to although I like my Impressionists. But the Giverny gardens are a highlight on this itinerary, so I would do something else on that day. It is another reason I would not choose the Seine for a river cruise as crowded gardens and houses put me off. Also, - I know I am relatively alone in this - I am not interested in a full day trip to see the landing beaches. My river cruise would have to go to Honfleur and have an excursion to the Bayeux Tapestry. One of the most amazing textiles to have ever been embroidered.

 

notamermaid

 

[capriccio]

We did these two cruises back to back in 2016 and loved them both.  I'd do either or both again but If I was forced to rank them:

 

Best for History:  the Seine

Best for Scenery: the Rhone

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by capriccio

[Daisi]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

@Canal archive If those are the photos you are enabled to take by Scenic taking you to Giverny early, then it is worth getting up early in the morning ☺️. I have heard from a very dear person that it is crowded.  Exactly the place I would not aspire to go to although I like my Impressionists. But the Giverny gardens are a highlight on this itinerary, so I would do something else on that day. It is another reason I would not choose the Seine for a river cruise as crowded gardens and houses put me off. Also, - I know I am relatively alone in this - I am not interested in a full day trip to see the landing beaches. My river cruise would have to go to Honfleur and have an excursion to the Bayeux Tapestry. One of the most amazing textiles to have ever been embroidered.

 

notamermaid

 

 

@notamermaid, I am with you on the full day at the landing beaches.  Avalon has two tours out that day, one to the beaches, the other to Honfleur, so that will be the one we will take. I wouldn't mind going on my own, but to reflect and spend amount of time I wish to.

[Canal archive]

One of the reasons I would do this tour with Scenic again is that they now have the permission to moor in Honfluer, when we went the correct papers had not been signed we had a day trip there but then it was their first. I would also go to Bayeux I’ve seen the copy but must see the original. Giverney was interesting my husband is the Monet lover in our family and the tour ends with a look at the house, paintings all over the place your not supposed to be allowed to photograph in the house! Oops. When we left the queues were incredibly long and as with on another thread on Amsterdam I suspect people turned up without a ticket. Some of our compatriots on the boat had complained bitterly about the early start they actually apologised to our Cruise Director for their winging.

P.S. Being a navy brat and brought up in Portsmouth I had to see the Mulberry Harbours on the beaches. Aramaunch was interesting someone had been yarn bombing everywhere.

Edited August 16, 2021 by Canal archive

[CaroleLee]

On 8/12/2021 at 6:17 PM, 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!

Yes, Have done both+ pre& post with AMA. Both were outstanding. Mini summary- Normandy was historical( Richard the Lion Hearted, D-Day etc)+ very good food & wine+ beautiful country side. Lyon was more food & wine ( which were outstanding). I loved them both. Which ever you choose have a great time

Carole

[bnlweller]

On 8/14/2021 at 8:11 PM, Denise247 said:

I am scheduled for the Uniworld Sept. 5 departure.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will happen.  France seems amenable to US travelers, but there are a lot of grumblings in the EU about the lack of reciprocity for Europeans to travel to the US, particularly in light of their increased vaccination rates, and overall, lower covid rates.  It is only three more weeks to go, but a lot can happen in three weeks.  😞

 

Hi Denise247!  My wife and I will be on that same Uniworld cruise in a few weeks.  We have our fingers crossed that everything goes off as scheduled!!  This trip has been rescheduled 4 different times for us, but with it only being a few weeks away we are more excited but at the same time anxious that something will go wrong at the last minute.

[Denise247]

8 hours ago, bnlweller said:

Hi Denise247!  My wife and I will be on that same Uniworld cruise in a few weeks.  We have our fingers crossed that everything goes off as scheduled!!  This trip has been rescheduled 4 different times for us, but with it only being a few weeks away we are more excited but at the same time anxious that something will go wrong at the last minute.

Great!  I can't wait to meet you both.   This was rescheduled from an April 2020 cruise, when it was cancelled by Uniworld . . . originally as the Provence itinerary.  I am cautiously optimistic.  I hope we make it!  

[mlbcruiser]

bmlweller and Denise247, I certainly hope you both get to do your upcoming cruise. The most uncertain issue to me seems to be whether or not EU countries  will still be allowing people from the US to enter their countries ny then. Especially since we are seeing more and more vaccinated people who develop the delta variant version of Covid. My guess is that you will make it, but it wouldn’t be too surprising if some countries start shutting their borders again. It’s no fun to be on pins and needles, I know! 
 

Re the itineraries again, I know we are in the minority, but neither my husband nor I are that heavily interested in gardens.  Sure, we think landscaping and flowers are pretty. So I’m sure we’d like Giverny. Especially due to the ties to Monet, which  adds much interest. As for the Normandy excursion, it is labeled an all day excursion by Viking. (I kind of think I half day would be enough but perhaps it’s the distance we must be driven from the river that causes that. And I probably won’t mind because I just like to see how even every day things look when I am in a new place. However, they do not just spend all of that time at the beaches and cemetery. Although I think I would love to see the actual beaches and the cliffs. Definitely more than the cemeteries. Although people speak of how they were so affected by seeing them. Viking offers an alterative tour to Bayeau (tapestry), Juno Beach and the Pegasus Museum.   Unfortunately they do not visit Honfluer.   Both  ruise itineraries are obviously enjoyable based on the previous posts.  Decisions, decisions!  

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Several people have rated the Seine better for history than the Rhône.  That's true of history that those of us of a certain age have lived through or heard about from our [grand]parents [e.g. WWI and WWII] – but the Rhône is very strong on Roman history.  And Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France.  And the Rhône is the rare river that, because of its fierce currents, takes a masculine pronoun – so it feels more like a cruise than a float.  Three reasons that I would recommend it above the Seine for a first river cruise.

[mlbcruiser]

Interesting about the flow of the rivers, Jazzbeau. Our only other river cruise was on the Rhine. I love the way most of the cities and towns looked and especially the Rhine River Gorge. I have often seen it recommended on these boards as a good first river cruise. Thank you for the info and comparisons re the Seine and Rhone. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

38 minutes ago, mlbcruiser said:

Interesting about the flow of the rivers, Jazzbeau. Our only other river cruise was on the Rhine. I love the way most of the cities and towns looked and especially the Rhine River Gorge. I have often seen it recommended on these boards as a good first river cruise. Thank you for the info and comparisons re the Seine and Rhone. 

Yes, the Rhine is often recommended as best for a first cruise – and it was mine.  But you only asked about Seine vs. Rhône.  Thinking back, we liked the variety of countries/cultures from Amsterdam to Zurich and also liked the French immersion from Paris to Lyon to Marseilles.  And the Seine offers variety from big-city Paris to small towns along the river to Normandy beaches.  All good choices!

[Jeff in Torrance]

We too, as did Cpt Trips, cruised both the Seine and Rhone with Grand Circle.  I most enjoyed visiting the Camargue, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camargue , specifically at a ranch with wine tasting and seeing the local "cowboys" on their horses.  I had no idea that their were flamingos in France. Two nights in Nice wasn't too bad, either.  We also spent two nights at Honfleur on the Paris to Normandy trip.  Very special. 

Edited August 20, 2021 by Jeff in Torrance

[mlbcruiser]

Thanks, Jeff. I only wish Viking visited Honfleur!  The Provence cruise also does not visit Nice, although we have been there before.  

[bfamily9]

On 8/13/2021 at 9:32 AM, mlbcruiser said:

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? 
 

 

I have had to postpone three separate cruises until 2022. I am now doing the Avalon Seine, Saone, Rhone with my son in June. Then I have a solo Scenic Waterways Danube River plus Oberammergau Passion Play in July. Finally a solo European Waterways Caledonian Canal in August. I haven't done any of these before; only Main/Rhine and Irrawaddy River cruises. Thus my interest in this subject too. I'll have several weeks between the last two cruises, so I have rented a gite in France where hopefully my daughter will be able to visit. If all goes well I'll also be able to reschedule my flights on Aer Lingus to accommodate all these changes without additional charge.