Bordeaux, France Oceania Cruises

[MehlSchneider]

Hi everyone!

I’ll be cruising on the Oceania Riveria, spending an overnight in Bordeaux, France.
Does anyone have any suggestions for excursions, other than what Oceania offers?
Any experience with tours or local guides?  Thanks much and Happy Cruising!

[ColeThornton]

17 minutes ago, MehlSchneider said:

Hi everyone!

I’ll be cruising on the Oceania Riveria, spending an overnight in Bordeaux, France.
Does anyone have any suggestions for excursions, other than what Oceania offers?
Any experience with tours or local guides?  Thanks much and Happy Cruising!

 

 

Welcome to CC.   Check out the France ports of call forum.  Lots of good info on things to do, places to see, transportation, etc.    Here is the link for you:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/462-france-ports/

[edinburgher]

And will you be docking in Bordeaux city centre, or at  Bassens or Le Verdon as the location will make a huge difference to your plans.

[Hlitner]

Wish we could help with the "tours" but we are DIY folks.  In Bordeaux, with a rental car, one can visit multiple villages (old, charming, and beautiful) and also tour some wineries (some of the better wineries require advance reservations).   Villages like St Emillion (on everyone's list), Blaye, and just driving through (perhaps with a very short stop) places like Cadillac, and other tiny villages make a day's drive quite rewarding.  I assume that there are some local tour companies that arrange similar village visits along with some wineries, but we have always preferred having a car and being able to maintain lots of flexibility.  

 

In Bordeaux, itself, there are plenty of decent restaurants and a fairly lively neighborhood down by the river.  When we did an overnight on HAL's Prinsendam, there were only a few passengers who ate dinner on the vessel.  Most took advantage of the many excellent restaurants/cafes to be found throughout the city.  When visiting on an extended driving tour, just deciding where to eat can be a daunting problem since there are so many good options in and around Bordeaux. I just looked and saw that Michelin lists 42 restaurants in the area and there are many good spots not even in their guide.

 

Hank

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I just answered someone's question on Le Verdon wine tours.  You might want to look for that, although I forget if it was in this section or another.   And just for your info, Riviera will very likely tie up along the river in Bordeaux around "Quinconces" area, with the Bourse and Miroir de L'eau (spelling?) right there. Marina tied up there this summer/fall, as well as a couple other ocean cruise ships.  If you google the tourism office for Bordeaux, you'll see that they offer to arrange tours to wine lodges.  They may not be private, though.

 

I'll be in Le Verdon and Bordeaux on Sirena in April.  If there's any way I can help, let me know.

 

[edinburgher]

For sighseeing in Bordeaux itself, I really don't think a guide is necessary.  The city is well served by public transport and most of the main sights are easily walkable from the  very central docking location.  One of the main transport hubs (Quinconces) is only a 5 minute walk from the usual cruise docking area, as is Place de la Bourse,  the park with the monumental fountain is almost across the street and the botanical garden only a few minutes walk in the opposite direction. There is also a little tourist train which does a circuit with commentary. You could do that to get your bearings and an overall impression of the city, then follow your own walking tour.

 

Suggest you spend some time looking at the official Bordeaux Tourist Info website which has much  helpful info on it. Top right corner of the home page to select your preferred language. There is also  a section on it about wine tours and private tours..

 

And look at other info sites such as tripadvisor  for inspiration.

Edited March 3, 2023 by edinburgher

[aqua]

We were on Oceania last June.  We visited some vineyards and also took a private walking tour. Here is a link to the info I posted  We loved Bordeaux!
 

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by aqua

[slidergirl]

I spent a few days in Bordeaux last Summer.  It is a wonderful city to wander in and sightsee.  Walk along the River - it's a nice promenade.   The Cite du Vin was actually very good and instructive and you get a free glass of wine at the end up on the top of the building (wonderful sights).  If you want to pick up some wine "to go" they have an amazing wine store as well as a fun souvenir shop with lots of wine accessories.   

[Harters]

I agree that there's no need for a guide for the city centre. We had planned to be on an Oceania cruise last year but were cancelled as we both had Covid a couple of days before boarding.

 

I used this website to work out   where I wanted to visit and it works out your own walking tour.

https://www.gpsmycity.com/gps-tour-guides/bordeaux-2703.html

 

I am actually thinking of booking the Riviera cruise mentioned by the OP which does appear to be berthing in the city centre.

 

 

[MehlSchneider]

Thank  you all for the information you posted.  It's very much appreciated.

Happy cruising!

[gbits]

On 2/3/2023 at 2:26 PM, MehlSchneider said:

Hi everyone!

I’ll be cruising on the Oceania Riveria, spending an overnight in Bordeaux, France.
Does anyone have any suggestions for excursions, other than what Oceania offers?
Any experience with tours or local guides?  Thanks much and Happy Cruising!

We were on the Oceania Marina last September that overnighted in Bordeaux. I used Ophorus for tours each day, one to the Dordogne and the Lescaux Caves and the other to St Emilion with wine tastings. I formed groups using my roll call and wound up with 4 vans of 6-8. Nancy was fabulous in helping me plan and all 4 guides were terrific.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

If you still need info on Bordeaux, docking on the Garonne River, on Oceania, I can probably answer some questions.  We did this in late April (2023) on Sirena.  I had a great time in Bordeaux, just doing things on my own.  Where Oceania ships have been docking the past year (berth 24 I believe, Quinconces area) is wonderful. I have some photos and info.

[sunfan03]

On 4/14/2023 at 9:51 PM, gbits said:

We were on the Oceania Marina last September that overnighted in Bordeaux. I used Ophorus for tours each day, one to the Dordogne and the Lescaux Caves and the other to St Emilion with wine tastings. I formed groups using my roll call and wound up with 4 vans of 6-8. Nancy was fabulous in helping me plan and all 4 guides were terrific.

@gbits, thanks for reviewing Ophorus. I'm thinking of using them when we're in port in Le Verdon. They've suggested a visit to a chateau in Pauillac (about 1 hour drive from port) for wine-tasting...I'm not a connoisseur, but seems like the Pauillac wine would suit my palate. If you have other suggestions/thoughts, please let me know. 

[Hlitner]

11 hours ago, sunfan03 said:

@gbits, thanks for reviewing Ophorus. I'm thinking of using them when we're in port in Le Verdon. They've suggested a visit to a chateau in Pauillac (about 1 hour drive from port) for wine-tasting...I'm not a connoisseur, but seems like the Pauillac wine would suit my palate. If you have other suggestions/thoughts, please let me know. 

The entire region is dotted with attractive small villages and a car/driver should be able to show you a decent sampling.  St Emillion is a must and there are also many attractive places in the Grionde area.  When we are in the area with a rental car it is not an issue of "what to do" or "where to go" but more like a battle of "how many places can we visit in the allotted time."  We really enjoy this part of France :).

 

Hank

[gbits]

On 7/10/2023 at 10:02 PM, sunfan03 said:

@gbits, thanks for reviewing Ophorus. I'm thinking of using them when we're in port in Le Verdon. They've suggested a visit to a chateau in Pauillac (about 1 hour drive from port) for wine-tasting...I'm not a connoisseur, but seems like the Pauillac wine would suit my palate. If you have other suggestions/thoughts, please let me know. 

The ship does not get to LeVerdon until 2pm and all aboard will be at 6:30. If there is an hour drive there and an hour drive back that only leaves you a vist of about 2 hours.  

 

I am still looking for one more couple for my Bordeaux tour of the Medoc area that will pick us up at the port in Bordeaux and drop us off at the port in Le Verdon.  It is full day and the cost is 300 euro for a couple plust tasting fees.  Please email me at gbits[@]optonline[.]net if you would like to fill that spot. 

[sunfan03]

4 hours ago, gbits said:

The ship does not get to LeVerdon until 2pm and all aboard will be at 6:30. If there is an hour drive there and an hour drive back that only leaves you a vist of about 2 hours.  

 

I am still looking for one more couple for my Bordeaux tour of the Medoc area that will pick us up at the port in Bordeaux and drop us off at the port in Le Verdon.  It is full day and the cost is 300 euro for a couple plust tasting fees.  Please email me at gbits[@]optonline[.]net if you would like to fill that spot. 

@gbits, thanks for the invitation, but I think we’re in a different boat. We’re traveling on Norwegian Star in October

[NilaS]

Hi! Am I correct in assuming that you are on the Oceania Cruise (Marina Ship) that leaves Portsmouth, GB on 9/17/2023?  If so, if you still have two spots available we might be interested in joining the group.  I currently have the full day tour booked on Oceania's OS-Bordeaux & Medoc Vineyards (BOD-017A), which will pick us up in Bordeaux and drop us off in Le Verdon, however the first half of the excursion is Bordeaux and 3 hours of "free" time (to have lunch, shop, etc.) . Since we will be doing that the previous day, we would be interested in a tour that would immerse in vineyards, chateaus etc. for the full day. Please let me know the particulars.

 

Thank you!