Budget Considerations

[hattack]

This will be our first ever River Cruise and we are on the Princesse de Provence on April 11th We both are in our early 50's,( my travel companion has never been to Europe, I've cruised in Europe alot but never been to France)...done alot (25) of caribbean cruises which from a budget perspective is easy to plan, but need some help with this one...we know Peter Deilmann has a pre paid optional shore execursion package for $299 p/p..we are debating to just "pick and choose" once we are onboard..for those that have been on this cruise could you recommend some 'don't miss execursions?...also how much is wine/alcohol?...and are there any other items that we should budget for?

Also, on our return we are spending saturday afternoon thru tuesday morning in Paris (we are flying direct to Lyon on the way in, taking the GTV high speed train (restricted 1st class seats) from Lyon to Paris..my travel companion is in charge of planning this part..besides the "usual stuff" can anyone give her any insight on unique things to see and do in Paris ?

we are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited and this is like our first "real date"..thanks in advance

[steamboats]

hattack,

I haven´t been on the Princesse de Provence but on the Mozart and Dresden. In my signature you´ll find links to my reviews. I´ve listed beverage prices there too.

steamboats