Best cruise line for beaches of Normandy tour?

[JsEscape2]

It is a bucket list for us to tour the D-day beaches of Normandy.  Any recommendations on which river cruise line does the best job of a comprehensive tour?  Are they all about the same?  

Thanks in advance

J & J 

[tony s]

We did it with Vantage and it was wonderful 

[CruiserBruce]

I would recommend an add on trip of 2 or 3 nights to explore Normandy...we did that about 10 years, and will be returning for the same idea next June. 

 

In either case, I would suggest looking into Overlord tours, mentioned here frequently, whether it be from your river boat, or while on a land trip. They are awesome, offer a number of tours.  We used them for an 8 hour tour 10 years ago, and plan on using them for an 8 hour and a 6 hour tour next June.

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

I would recommend an add on trip of 2 or 3 nights to explore Normandy...we did that about 10 years, and will be returning for the same idea next June. 

 

In either case, I would suggest looking into Overlord tours, mentioned here frequently, whether it be from your river boat, or while on a land trip. They are awesome, offer a number of tours.  We used them for an 8 hour tour 10 years ago, and plan on using them for an 8 hour and a 6 hour tour next June.

 

 

I concur with Bruce about Overlord Tours , but that's a bit problematic if you're on a river cruise.

Overlord offer seat-in-van for a selection of tours from Bayeux, and for those on ocean cruise ships porting at Le Havre - but river cruisers normally stop at Honfleur, on the opposite side of the Seine estuary so you're relying on either the cruise boat offering a D-Day tour or you booking a van (8 seats, I think) from Overlord or their competitors and finding sharers.

 

Le Havre and Cherbourg are the most-convenient ports, Cherbourg is significantly closer to the American sights but some stop for only half a day, ships calling at Le Havre tend to depart later in the evening.

 

If you have the time, consider Bruce's suggestion of two or three nights in Normandy (between Arromanches les Bains and Vierville-sur-Mer would be the most convenient if you rent a car, or Bayeux if you booked tour's with Overlord. 

https://www.overlordtour.com/

 

JB 🙂

 

[caripoo]

None of them really for the beaches.....Best to fly in and explore the area BEFORE getting on a cruise....Otherwise you will miss so much of the area you want to explore. You will spend enormous times on busses. We have done this area a couple of times now. There are also wonderful things to see on the day the busses go to the beaches. This area IS the reason people pick these cruises, and so much is missed because one day really is not near enough......

[Hlitner]

I think the question is all wrong.  Any cruise line that gives you a long port day in an area port will make it possible to go to some of the D-Day beaches.  But you are going to be limited by time (and possibly distance).  If you truly want to tour the various beaches, some of the nearby towns, etc. you need to go up to the Northern part of Normandy and spend a couple or three days.  We did this on one of our independent driving trips and it was a truly amazing experience.  Rather than rushing to an from a cruise ship we were able to take our time, explore some important villages (i.e. St Malo), spend time at the amazing Peace Museum in Caen, explore all the D-Day beaches, etc.  On a return trip which was on a major anniversary of D-Day we saw lots of US soldiers in Sainte Mere-Eglise area (where the American paratrooper famously got stuck on the church roof, many German D-Day clubs (they dress as Americans and have all kinds of old US vehicles such as Jeeps, etc.  We spoke to several American Airborne guys who were flown over to re-enact the paratrooper drop (it was to happen the day after we were in the area), etc.  It was wild to be driving on country roads around Normandy and pass WWII Jeeps and trucks full of soliders in perfect period uniforms (they were all from the German clubs).

 

Cruises are great, and we have been avid cruisers for about 50 years.  But cruises are also very limiting because of time and port constraints.  If you want to really see and experience an area you need to go on a land trip (or do it pre or post cruise).  Normandy is an expansive area with much to see and do and it is best seen with a rental car and several days.

 

Hank

[WESTEAST]

We too love cruising however, we opt for land tours in areas we feel we need/want more time e.g., Normandy, Brittany and the Loire Valley.  That said, if you only have one day with a shore excursion it is better than never setting foot on the hallowed beaches. 

[Coral]

This is the company we used for our port in Cherbourg. If you want to do it independently before the cruise - I would go with Mike in a heart beat again:

 

https://alliedvictorytours.com 

 

https://www.toursbylocals.com/Bayeux-privateguide 

Edited December 26, 2022 by Coral