DECruiser09

Thank you for your posting. We just returned from a back to back Viking French’s Finest. First week was Paris to Normandy and back to Paris. We then took a train to Lyon for the second cruise, Lyon to Avignon. Your assessment of that part of the cruise was pretty accurate in my opinion. The excursion to the Chateux Neuf De Popes vineyard was more a shipping excursion, we tasted only 3 wines which were a white, a red and a rose. We were in the village as well on a day most of the tasting rooms and shops were closed. I also agreed on the food from the ship. We were on the Helmhol and culinary excellence was not present. I was disappointed. Probably the worse soups I’ve ever had on a Viking trip — most were watered down. this was our third river cruise and we’ve done an ocean and expedition cruise. Food on all other cruises was superior to this one. Our fondant making was lava cake without samples.