Viking Hermod on the Rhône, October 2023

[BikeTreker]

Happy New Year everyone.  My wife and I recently sailed on Viking Hermod, starting with a stay in Paris, and then sailing from Lyon to Avignon.  I thought you might enjoy taking a look at my blog where I posted photos and commentary.  It was a wonderful trip through Provence.  You can find my blog at http://www.travelswithcappy.com.  I hope you enjoy our trip as much as we did.  Feel free to leave a comment on the blog if you are so inclined and don’t hesitate to let me know what you think here at Cruise Critic.

[VikgKruzer]

That's pretty awesome. i just finished the grand European with Viking and loved it.

water levels became an issue but Viking stood tall and took care of us.

 

do you know if the lyon to Avignon trip ever has water level issues?

[BikeTreker]

Thanks for the response.  The water levels were great from Lyon to Avignon for our trip.  If you are considering the itinerary I suggest you check weather and water conditions for the time you would like to travel.  It’s a great trip.

[VikgKruzer]

ok, thanks, what you are saying is water levels CAN  be an issue on that route?

 

I know the Rhine has water level issues , the Porto cruise and the Bordeaux cruises do not (as they empty into the ocean, but Bordeaux can actually suffer tidal issues that cause the itinerary to change).

 

i am just trying to understand if it's even a need for consideration on this particular river. i spent time on line and it wasn't very definitive

Edited January 1 by VikgKruzer

[BikeTreker]

The Rhine and Danube are more problematic but, to my knowledge, any of the rivers can be difficult at times; the Rhône less so than the other two.  Hope this helps.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The only problem I have heard of on Rhône cruises is high water on the Saône – there is a low bridge as you leave Lyon heading north, which many cruises do at least for a day trip to the Pays d'Or and Beaujolais region.  We squeaked by with seemingly inches to spare.  

 

But Le Rhône is a mighty river, so high water also means even stronger currents than normal – which could affect northbound itineraries (and make the captain work extra hard docking on all itineraries).

[Canal archive]

Scenic used to cruise the Saone from Challon to the Rhône at Lyon at the conjunction (they now start at Lyon and go up and back )of the two rivers so that particular bridge could not be missed. At one time we had to wait for a vessel coming upstream to squeak under and the clearance was infinitesimal, before we could progress downstream (I must find the picture I took). On the twice we’ve taken this cruise we’ve never had a challenge with the flow but it is the Ardeche so there’s only one place for any exes water to go and that’s into the Rhône.

[Canal archive]

Wow there was a dip into the deep dark depths of older photos here is Amadeus Symphony squeezing under the bridge in Lyon, sorry photos are not up to scratch but you can see how close to the underside of the bridge it was and the Captain crept under.