Vantage French Waterways - a wonderful first river cruise

As suggested by others on CC, I am posting a link to my review of our recent river cruise with Vantage in southern France.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=256996

If anyone has further questions, I will try to answer them.

-Rose

Glad to hear you have enjoyed youf cruise.

I enjoy reading your review :)

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for taking the time to write this review.

Keith

Again… thank you so much for your review! Can you tell me some more about the ports? Was there much leisure or "on your own" time to walk around and explore? Were you docked where you could walk around or did you need to take a bus/shuttle ? thanks! pat/pbnj

Thanks for the report!

Enjoyed your review! Sounds like it was a great trip! Just curious-how did the fellow passenger lose her neck wallet? I have one that goes under my clothes and now I am wondering if it is so safe???

Enjoyed your review! Sounds like it was a great trip! Just curious-how did the fellow passenger lose her neck wallet? I have one that goes under my clothes and now I am wondering if it is so safe???

She took her neck wallet off and placed it in her purse. She was fearful that someone was going to come up behind her and cut it off and take it (she is short in stature). She did this at the airport in Marseille so she didn't know if it fell out of her purse on the airplane or when she fell at the airport in Barcelona or if it was taken from her when she fell or during the walking to the transport bus in Barcelona. The Iberian airline took forever to respond to the Barcelona City Host re: the possibility of it falling out of her purse on the plane. After multiple calls, their response was it was probably in Lost & Found, but no one was going to check!!:mad: The city host was frustrated to say the least! The fellow passenger was told by the city host and the hotel concierge to report it stolen since there was that possibility and to get more action from the police in Barcelona. I think she wished she left it on.

It sounded like there is a worse pick pocket problem in Barcelona than in Paris. Two other fellow passengers had their pockets picked on La Rambla (just pocket change) the day we arrived.

-Rose

Again… thank you so much for your review! Can you tell me some more about the ports? Was there much leisure or "on your own" time to walk around and explore? Were you docked where you could walk around or did you need to take a bus/shuttle ? thanks! pat/pbnj

Hi Pat!

Guess you are starting to pack. May you have a great trip!

It was a mixture of taking shuttle buses and also walking. We were intent on taking the tours that were included but not everyone participate; some did things on their own. Towns I remember being able to walk on our own was Lyon, Avignon, Vienne & Viviers. I don't remember about Macon & Tournus. At Chateauneuf du Pape, we docked at a pretty little dock by a field - no walking there! But at least it wasn't at an industrial dock.

Lyon - 2nd largest city after Paris. That is where we had a great lunch on our own after the tour. It was easy to get back to the boat. The boat was docked at a great spot on the river. We later went to the French Resistance museum that day - was easy to find and near where the ship was docked. The river access was like Paris - you could walk or ride a bicycle along it's banks in Lyon. As you can tell, we must have liked Lyon. When we cruised into Lyon (this is where the Saone joins the Rhone), it was at the tail end of dinner. It was lit up and very interesting! Probably my DH's favorite memory. Many of us stood outside in front of the lounge area and took in the lights of Lyon. Guess it made up for the "Illuminations of Paris" LOL!;)

Vienne & Viviers are little towns and we met our tour guides right on shore so after the tour, you could walk around on your own - or not take the tour and do your own. We figured we wanted to learn about the various places and the tours were included in the price of the cruise.

Avignon - We were docked right out of the walled city for 2 days. Since we opted out of the extra cost of Les Baux-de-Provence & St. Remy tour on the second day, we walked back into Avignon on our own to explore and shop.

I think of the extra cost tours - the Medieval Village of Perouges was the best.

-Rose

We did this tour a year or so ago in a smaller ship with Vantage. The cruise became so popular they brought over a larger river boat. The story and pictures are on our website. We are always happy to answer any questions.

Thanks, Rose! Your comments are so helpful! I'm beginning to "pre-pack" (pile things on the bed in guest bedroom!) I'm headed to DisneyWorld for a week with the grandkids and will have 5 days in between to do wash and pack (and panic!)

Interesting about the "neck wallet". I'm trying to decide between that and my hidden waist wallet. I would think it would be pretty hard to cut and then take the neck wallet since it's under your clothes (I've even put the string part around my bra!) Seems likely that it was stolen from her purse. Barcelona is notorious for pickpockets. My husband caught strangers hands in his pockets more than once!

On some other thread I found these pickpocket-proof pants:

http://normthompson.blair.com/p/mens-10-pocket-wallet-safe-pants/42760.uts

It took a while to figure out how to use all 10 pockets in a way that protected my valuables while still keeping some stuff handy, but once I did they are really great for travel. Don't guess they would work for women too well -- but you could have DH carry the expensive stuff for you!

On some other thread I found these pickpocket-proof pants:

http://normthompson.blair.com/p/mens-10-pocket-wallet-safe-pants/42760.uts

 

It took a while to figure out how to use all 10 pockets in a way that protected my valuables while still keeping some stuff handy, but once I did they are really great for travel. Don't guess they would work for women too well -- but you could have DH carry the expensive stuff for you!

Actually DH & I bought these wonderful Ex Officio vests. Labeled pockets on the inside of the vest - not a bunch of pockets on the outside. They worked great! Someone would have to unzip the vest in the front to reach in to get to a pocket. And DH is not carrying anything for me; usually I end up carrying something for him! LOL!

- Rose

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

As suggested by others on CC, I am posting a link to my review of our recent river cruise with Vantage in southern France.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=256996

 

If anyone has further questions, I will try to answer them.

 

-Rose

We enjoyed our Vantage river cruise in Myanmar (Burma). The one thing with which we were uncomfortable was all the different added gratuities. We don't mind paying, but factoring in one amount for the Program Manager who stayed with us for the entire trip, another for the local guide who was on the entire river boat portion, another for the daily guide they added for the two bus tours in cities, and all the bus drivers, etc. got to be a hassle. It would be more convenient to include this in the price or in a daily charge on your bill. How was this handled on your trip?

And, do other River Boat companies add gratuities in a similar manner?

Thanks,

Barb

Thank you for your review. Can you give an idea of what the cabins were like, please?

We enjoyed our Vantage river cruise in Myanmar (Burma). The one thing with which we were uncomfortable was all the different added gratuities. We don't mind paying, but factoring in one amount for the Program Manager who stayed with us for the entire trip, another for the local guide who was on the entire river boat portion, another for the daily guide they added for the two bus tours in cities, and all the bus drivers, etc. got to be a hassle. It would be more convenient to include this in the price or in a daily charge on your bill. How was this handled on your trip?

 

And, do other River Boat companies add gratuities in a similar manner?

 

Thanks,

 

Barb

In the documents they sent us before the trip was a section on suggested tipping guidelines. So then we knew what was expected for city tour guides (and drivers). On the boat we had a cruise director & a concierge (no program manager). The gratuity for the two of them was charged to our credit card & appeared on our final bill. We could amend this amount if we wanted to. In addition, there was a guideline for what to tip for the ship staff & crew which could also be charged to your account.

As far as I know from talking to others (this was our first river cruise), this seemed to be similar to other river boat companies. The only company I am aware of that includes all this in their price up front is Tauck.

Hope this answered your question.

- Rose

Thank you for your review. Can you give an idea of what the cabins were like, please?

We had a French balcony which is a large window that you can slide open if you want to (no actual balcony to step out on). There is a rail on the open part of the window - so you don't fall out. We were able to unpack everything & slip the suitcases under the bed, which was 2 twins pushed together - felt like a large queen.

There was a little table with two chairs by the French balcony window. There was 3 drawers & a cupboard to put your things away besides the closet to hang things. A desk & little stands on either side of the bed to put a few things on.

The bathroom was bigger than I expected - a cabinet under the sink (you usually don't see that on the ocean cruiser's balcony cabins) and the shower was larger too. The shower head could be handheld & there was a clothes line you could use for personal laundry.

You can see pictures of the rooms on their website. The boat was fairly new.

- Rose

Thank you. We've been in a French Balcony cabin on Viking and I really like that type of cabin. I've had a look on the Vantage website and the amenities look broadly similar, so we'll certainly consider Vantage if we feel like a change from Viking.

In the documents they sent us before the trip was a section on suggested tipping guidelines. So then we knew what was expected for city tour guides (and drivers). On the boat we had a cruise director & a concierge (no program manager). The gratuity for the two of them was charged to our credit card & appeared on our final bill. We could amend this amount if we wanted to. In addition, there was a guideline for what to tip for the ship staff & crew which could also be charged to your account.

As far as I know from talking to others (this was our first river cruise), this seemed to be similar to other river boat companies. The only company I am aware of that includes all this in their price up front is Tauck.

Hope this answered your question.

 

- Rose

Thanks, Rose. We too had the published guidelines and had thought we had planned ahead, but were unaware of how many guides and drivers we would eventually have to pay. Oh well, we learned. :D We did have a wonderful trip and would travel with Vantage again.

Thanks again for answering our question.

Barb

Thanks, Rose. We too had the published guidelines and had thought we had planned ahead, but were unaware of how many guides and drivers we would eventually have to pay. Oh well, we learned. :D We did have a wonderful trip and would travel with Vantage again.

 

Thanks again for answering our question.

 

Barb

Glad to hear you enjoyed your Vantage trip. We always figure the tips BEFORE we leave home. (Helps to have some local currency ) Really like the idea that they can now be placed on a credit card. In the past our program manager has often got his/her tips in various currencies as we have moved from country to country! (at least in Europe it will all be in Euros)