Car-Stan

Hey Car-Stan, we were in cabin 324!!!!!!

Did I by any chance leave a soft blue nite lite there, shaped like a lighthouse????

Also a tiny bottle of eye drops?

Searched our bags many times and not to be found.

Hi,

I am sorry, but we have checked everywhere and could not find you light or eye drops. I once thought I left a very light jacket, then found it in a side pocket of a bag the next time I was packing to travel...after hours of going throu everything I could think of! I hope you find them.

Stan

Cruising Quilter (Malcolm and Karen) and Iluv10is,

I hope you guys see this!

We would like to meet you during the cruise, but have not so far. Carolyn and I are in cabin 324. You can call us or leave a note on our door.

Hope to connect with you soon!

Stan

Sharon, Thanks for the good wishes. We are getting more excited by the minute! I hope you made it thru Matthew with little or no damage.

CPT Trips, See you at the airport. We should be able to recognize fairly easily. And thanks for the favorable weather forecast!

I may check here one more time tomorrow, Sunday, before we get picked up for the airport.

Iluv10is and Cruising Quilter, see you in Lyon!!

Stan

Well, we arrived in Delaware yesterday, now resting up (?) for the big trip!

Weather here is fantastic...just like we want in France...sunny, cool in the morning, then about 70 during the day.

We think we have everything we need...check bags all set and not to be opened here...carry-ones hopefully have all we want them to.

Limo coming tomorrow...hopefully by 2:45, to allow ample time for leisurely check-in.

Looking forward to a great trip, and to meeting lots of very nice people!

Again, thanks to everyone who provided info to help us plan and anticipate our adventure!

Stan

Stan

Did you get the welcome email from the CD/concierge?

You packed already? We are just getting clothes, and stuff, together . . .

Hi,

Yes, we did get the e-mail. We are each packing 3 bags - carry-on, check and overnite for our daughter's house. Trying to go light...tho that hasn't worked yet... I am not taking a sport jacket, just a few sweaters for party nites.

Looking forward to meeting you all at the airport. We are getting picked up about 2:40 on Sunday by the limo service. I have not missed a plane yet...but came awful close a few times. When we are together, I can tell you about the time I almost missed a flight in Paris, and about my one prior visit to Lyon.

Back to figuring out what paperwork to bring - maps we already have, CC info, etc. Until tomorrow - au revoir!

Stan

Carol & Rich,

Glad you had such a great experience...and that you are recovering from the bugs. We had heard about a mouth spray called "Halo" that we tried last time we flew to Europe, and I did not get anything on the flight home as I often do. I just read some reviews of this on Amazon and some people swear by this stuff. We are taking it to try again.

We are almost packed and everything. We drive to our daughter's to fly from Philly, so we are leaving home earlier than we would if flying directly from NC.

We received the luggage tags from Vantage, and, as someone had previously mentioned, they are utilitarian, not fancy.

I happened to find a free pass to any Admiral's Club that I guess I got in 1999 or so. It has no expiration date, so I called and they said I may be able to use it at Heathrow...which would be great, as we have 5 or so hours there. Heathrow is huge, and I don't know if we want to walk too far to the club on the chance we might be able to get in. We'll decide when we get there on the way home.

We are getting very excited now. Had lunch with friends who live in Cannes, and they showed us lots of great pictures of Lyon they had taken. Since we have spent time in Avignon, we know what a beautiful and walkable place that is.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed on this and the other Vantage site. It always amazes me how helpful everyone is...and how many people who know about CC but don't bother to engage on it.

Maybe more later...

Stan

There was a pub crawl scheduled for tonite at 9:30 but we opted out. Between the Captain,s champagne party and the wine with dinner, we were almost ready to crawl to bed....besides it started drizzling as we watched our ship raft up with another. Much smoother than our sailboat raft ups on the Chesapeake!!!

Sounds like your trip is off to a great start! Hope it continues like this!

Share what you ken. No one iz giving gradz for speling heer, enyway!! Sew due not worrie about yer typing!!

sTan

I called them today with a few questions and wondering when our luggage tags would arrive. They had a record of the e-mail re the luggage tags and said they had been sent, but would re-send to be sure we get them before we head to DE.

I also got the phone numbers to call if we have trouble with our flights

(in US, call Vantage at 1-800-843-9876; other: 001-617-878-6000) and the number someone here can call if there is an emergency (Vantage Customer Service at 1-888-982-6824).

The fellow I spoke with in Customer had to look up or ask someone for all the info he provided, but it was quick and I feel satisfied that I got all my questions and concerns addressed.

I know you have had numerous problems, and I hope we have such a good trip that you feel they were just tiny bumps on the road to a great time!

Stan

Stan - heads up on air.

I just noticed that the equipment MAD to LYS changed since I last looked, which was some tie ago. Went from a Regional Jet with 2-2 seating to an Airbus with 3-3 seating. It might be worth double checking you assignments.

Thanks for the heads-up! I am hoping we are ok, as the flight info I got when we signed on last month shows we go from Madrid to Lyon on an Airbus A320.

Looks like our plane from Philly is an Airbus A330. We are in 11A and B to Madrid and 8 B and C to Lyon.

On return, I show an Airbus A320 to Heathrow, and a Boeing 777 to Philly.

Since we paid to select our seats early, I really don't want to see any changes!

We just booked our rides to and from the airport...$114 round trip. Not too bad...a real hassle doing this on-line to get a 20% discount.

Have started picking out clothes, etc. My very least part of traveling.

Stan

It worked and check your mail. It's deja vu all over again.

Yes, we remember the evening Paris cruise very well. We had a beautiful night for it!

Thanks for the pictures.

Stan

We were going to post a "mug shot" for airport ID purposes but I don't have any that worked. Email me if you want one. r983b at AOL dot com

Hi, If you can get a picture easily, that would be helpful. I am looking for one of us to send you to your e-mail.

Stan

Zogrand,

Thank you so much for your posts. I was so happy to find this thread just now. My husband and I will be on the trip starting on Oct 30 as well. This will be our first trip to Europe and our first river cruise as well. We have been on ocean cruises before and feel comfortable about those but this is totally new to us. We have been trying to plan what to pack, so any tips will be appreciated. Can you tell us what most people are wearing during the day and in the evening?

My husband is Malcolm and I am Karen. We live in Lincoln, NE and will be flying from Omaha. Our flight is scheduled to go through Paris before Lyon and we are somewhat apprehensive about the connection. Vantage booked our flights and so we are hoping the time will be adequate. Is there anything we should be researching ahead of time like things to do on our own at any of the stops? I t is somewhat hard to tell from the itinerary as no times are provided. (We are used to ocean cruises which publish the arrival and departure times at each port).

I hope you continue to have a good time! We will be watching for future posts and are looking forward to meeting other travelers on our trip. Thanks again.

Hi, Karen and Malcolm,

There are now 9 of us on this river cruise leaving 10/30. This seems like an amazing number of CCers on the same river cruise, because usually I have not found more than one other couple, if that!

I posted a question on a new thread I started on the CC Cruise Air boards and got some very specific information for our transfer of flights in Madrid. You may want to do the same re your change in Paris. This may address any concerns you have about making the second flight to Lyon.

Looking forward to meeting you in Lyon!

Stan

Zogrand,

Thanks for taking the time to check and respond.

 

Stan,

JerseyGem is with me ;).

Cool. My wife's name is Carolyn. We are looking forward to meeting you at the airport. I am about 5'10" with graying hair and she is 5'1" with white hair. One of us may be carrying a Vantage sign or logo I can print off.

We are probably taking a limo, and will probably be there a bit early.

Stan

yes, thank you for taking the time.

I am finally getting excited about our trip, which starts on the 20th.

Just today we got a cabin assignment.

I had read stories about some of these ships overbooking and people getting bumped at the last minute.......but thankfully, that worry has been resolved.

Glad you are all set and getting excited. Hope you have a fantastic time!!

Be sure to save some wine and beer for us poor folk who follow you on the 30th!

Stan

Carol & Rich,

Thanks for the update!

Keep having a great time!

Stan

Thank you for posting (keep it up, if possible!). We are doing this cruise in just a few weeks- our first with Vantage, although we've had many with GCT.

 

 

Thanks again, Lynn

JerseyGem,

When are you going on this? There are 7 of us (3 groups) going on the October 30 sailing, and 5 of us flying from Philly and one couple going from JFK.

Stan

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to provide your travelogue...very interesting and informative.

We are on this starting 10/30, and are interested in the weather you are experiencing - especially the temperature, so we know what to pack (still about 80 degrees today in NC - shorts and t-shirt weather for me!).

Also anything you might share about evening activities on the ship.

Thanks and keep having a great time!

Stan

I e-mailed Vantage to ask about tags and being met in Lyon. Here is their reply:

We will be mailing luggage tags prior to the tour. Name tags are not provided prior, only available on board. Please note you will be met for the transfer in your final destination after you have passed customs and the baggage claim area. You will see a representative who will have a Vantage sign, and your names will be on a list with them. You may have to wait up to an hour for other passengers flights’ to arrive before your transfer leaves.

This seems reasonable to me.

Stan

Here is a video of Perogue... not from Vantage but will give you an idea of the town.

pbnjrockette,

Thanks for the info and the video. A very pretty village...reminded us of Lucca in Italy a little bit.

Where are you in NJ? We used to live near Summit for years before moving down here to NC.

By the way, weather-wise, we are getting constant and fairly heavy rain, but so far are ok and have power. East of us there is flooding of roads, some vehicles submerged, and a state of emergency has been declared for the entire state. We and many counties around us have flash flood warnings for the next several hours.

Of course, the terrible weather and state of emergency have not stopped any of the local universities - UNC, NC State or Duke from holding their football games as scheduled - State just finished beat Notre Dame in a washout bowl), UNC and Duke recently started.

Stan

It was great to hear about the two tours we signed up for. Thanks!!

 

To those following us - watch the optional tours on line. When I signed up for the Village of Perouges there were only 2 spots left on the tour - after us. It's the first time I've signed up ahead of time for an optional and was surprised to see how few spots were left.

I have 2 questions...

Where did you find a video of the Perouges optional excursion? I looked at most of the videos, and did not see one re. Perouges.

Also, does Vantage send anything out by mail before we sail...like luggage tags, name tags, who will be meeting us, etc.?

Stan

Unless one of you is significantly off schedule you should be on the same coach transfer to Chalon (although the BA flight will have to clear Schengen immigration).

I thought we would be on the same coach to the ship. If we can find a CruiseCritic sign or something we had made for a cruise some time ago, I will have it visible so you can recognize us both in Philly and in Lyon.

pbnjrockette - thanks for the info on our stops. I was going to ask a question about the Village of Perouges optional excursion.

Anyone else want to share their thoughts on the Village of Perouges excursion or any of the other excursions or choice points?

Stan

It is nice to know there are other people on this cruise. I hope we do get to meet each other. Just as an FYI - my husband's name is Stan also.

We are scheduled to arrive in Lyon from Madrid via Iberia Air at 10:30 AM.

When do you arrive in Lyon?

Stan

Well, I've printed out our travel documents. Have discovered our cabin has been upgraded to a better position on the ship - too bad they didn't give us a suite but I'll take what I can get. We've signed up for two optionals - Pont du Gard and the Village of Perouges. Now all we have to do is pack! Glad we're traveling through Frankfurt. We've traveled through Frankfurt in the past. We have a 3 hour layover so better be fine. I should be able to post a few trip highlights as we go - as long as the free WIFI is up to speed!

 

Snonomo - have a safe trip. We'll try to leave the ship in good condition for you.

Hope you guys have a great trip!

Stan

Stan, think we can get delivery in time? http://www.independenttraveler.com/blog/index.php/2016/10/04/would-you-use-these-embarrassing-travel-pillows/

As ridiculous as these are, I am almost tempted, as I sleep so poorly - if at all on these flights. I used to fly regularly from Raleigh to Gatwick in London in either business or first class (work was paying...not me!). I did everything I was supposed to to get some sleep - no booze, eat right after boarding, took sleeping pill (not Ambien, as I did not want to wake up and find myself flying the plane), etc. - and still got almost no sleep. After landing, there was a car and driver waiting to take me about 2 hours north of Gatwick to where my meetings would be. I got more sleep during that car ride than I did during the 7 hour flight! Nothing seems to work for me.

Stan

Traveler Thom - Thanks for the info re. the bus rides, etc. Your brief story about the women who drank their dinner reminded me of a time I was in Vegas with a guy who had been a minister and was there for the first time. We were walking down the strip, and a car with 2 women stopped by us and asked us if we wanted to party. I told them we were tired, so "no". After they drove off, my friend said, "Wow! What an amazing, friendly town. People you don't even know invite you to their party!" I felt I needed to disillusion him right then, before he got himself in trouble!

CPT Trips - Thanks for alerting us to the docs. They seemed to be accurate. I printed out the 2 pages with flights, and will put the whole pdf on my laptop just to have it with us.

Iluv10is - Glad to have you with us. It is rare to have so many people on a river cruise here on CC. People who do not use CC miss out on so much - both info and friendships.

Stan