woofas
July 10th, 2008, 08:55 AM
This year (June 7/14th) we went on the Princesse de Provence, our first time with Peter Deilmann. Our general impression of the holiday was very good - pity about the weather for the first few days, but spectacular lightning!
In particular, the food was fantastic and the crew excellent. A nice gesture to present us with the week's menus at the end of the trip, it makes bragging so much easier. The tours were very interesting and reasonably priced although we were disappointed that the trip on the Vivarais railway was cancelled due to the line being washed away.
A few niggles: On previous cruises, the lounge was at the front of the boat with large windows so that you could see what was coming and on each side. The lounge on the Princesse is in the centre and has small windows and a lot of dark wood which means that it is difficult to see out and gives the lounge a very gloomy atmosphere. Not only were you allocated a table on arrival but also a specific seat. We prefer the open seating arrangement which allows you to meet and talk to other passengers. (not that we did not enjoy the company of Fred & Marybeth from Milwaukee!) The cabins are very small, especially when the beds are down - but we did not spend much time in the cabin anyway.
One major lesson we did learn - it is probably better to travel out the day before the boat sails. Our return flight was cancelled and we were delayed 6 hours. If that had happened on the way out, the boat would have left without us and we would have been playing catch-up!
Finally I have put a few photos on www.flickr.com/photos/7843592@N08 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7843592@N08)
In particular, the food was fantastic and the crew excellent. A nice gesture to present us with the week's menus at the end of the trip, it makes bragging so much easier. The tours were very interesting and reasonably priced although we were disappointed that the trip on the Vivarais railway was cancelled due to the line being washed away.
A few niggles: On previous cruises, the lounge was at the front of the boat with large windows so that you could see what was coming and on each side. The lounge on the Princesse is in the centre and has small windows and a lot of dark wood which means that it is difficult to see out and gives the lounge a very gloomy atmosphere. Not only were you allocated a table on arrival but also a specific seat. We prefer the open seating arrangement which allows you to meet and talk to other passengers. (not that we did not enjoy the company of Fred & Marybeth from Milwaukee!) The cabins are very small, especially when the beds are down - but we did not spend much time in the cabin anyway.
One major lesson we did learn - it is probably better to travel out the day before the boat sails. Our return flight was cancelled and we were delayed 6 hours. If that had happened on the way out, the boat would have left without us and we would have been playing catch-up!
Finally I have put a few photos on www.flickr.com/photos/7843592@N08 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/7843592@N08)