Cruising Quilter

We are cruising on Azamara's Journey, departing September 29. The stops in France will be Port Vendres, Marseille and Cannes. The excursions offered at Port Vendres seem very expensive. For the stop in Marseille we had hoped to go to Avignon or some other towns or villages in Provennce. The tour offered to Avignon doesn't seem to take you inside the buildings. The description is limited and I could be mistaken. Could anyone offer some suggestions for these stops and possibly recommend specific tours (and tour operators)? We will appreciate any input. Thanks.

I'm wondering about dining options on Riviera Travel cruises. On their website their brochure gives a sample menu with 3 entree choices. Are there also standard choices such as a chicken breast or a steak available each day? Thanks for any help.

Thanks for all of your input! I appreciate the pic as well. We are packing and hoping we are taking the right stuff! I'm hoping we will get some great pics and that the weather cooperates too.

My husband and I will be sailing on Avalon's Creativity from Paris to Normandy and back. We are sailing July 11, 2017 and are so excited. This is our first river cruise and our first trip to Europe! Any tips would be appreciated. We are planning to use our debit card at the airport to obtain Euros. We have prepaid our tips so we will only need cash for snacks and souvenirs. We are not planning to buy anything very expensive. How much cash should we get? Are ATMs readily available at other stops outside of Paris? Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Thanks for the info. Did you like the Eiffel Tower tour? If they do not offer it is there something else close to the hotel to see?

We will be taking our first river cruise in July. We will be on the Avalon Creativity. Our plane arrives in Paris at 9:30AM. Since this is our first trip to Europe we have a lot of questions. How long will it take to get through customs? Since Avalon is doing transfers, where will they take us? Will there be time to see anything in Paris that day? What would you suggest? Thanks for any advice.

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.

I was responding to what Feliseop and Shmoo here said above. If I am reading your post correctly you are saying that the cruise director and concierge should be tipped in the 7-10€ range and not 7 - 10€ per day. That is a very big difference.

Another area of concern for me is that I have been trying to contact Vantage with a question and am having trouble getting through. This morning when I called to book the cruise it was no problem. Now when I am calling with a question I'm having trouble Earlier today I waited on hold as the recording said it would be six minutes. I gave up when I was listening to the same songs for a third time. Now I took the call me back when it's my turn option and when they called back I was put on hold. Is customer service always like this?

My husband and I are considering booking a Vantage cruise and were wondering about the tipping. By my calculations of what I just read on this forum 7 € x 11 days x 175 passengers = 13,475 € per 11 day cruise in tips. At a rate of 10€ x 11 days x 175 passengers = 19250 € per 11 day trip. Is that what is expected to be given to a cruise director and also the concierge? Are they also given a regular salary? When I have read about dining in restaurants in France tipping was not as expected as in the US as staff are generally paid a "living wage.". I'm confused.... And the rest of the staff receives 10 € per day to be divided?

I love all of your suggestions! Are there any good places to shop at the other stops?

Thanks for the advice! I just reviewed the itinerary and have a question. Are all of the activities listed or are their additional things that are not listed? I was wondering if there are more lectures or movies or demonstrations, etc. Also, does the cruise line have umbrellas? There are many walking tours and I'm trying to plan for what the weather might be like in the fall. My biggest concern is that it will be difficult to see much of Paris in the short time we have.

Thanks again for all of your advice and please keep it coming!

Thanks everyone for your responses. I'm getting more excited with each posting. I believe we made the right choice of cruises. Is there anything special we should bring along? Also where is the best place for shopping? Thanks again!

We've made our choice and will be sailing on the Scenic Gem in September. My husband and I are so excited! Anyone have any advice on which things to do at each stop? Sometimes all of the choices sound good. Any tips on places to see when we are on our own? We will be spending an extra day in Paris (our first time) and need on advice on what is not to be missed. Thanks for any advice.

cruiseryyc - Thanks for the info. Why did you choose the Scenic Gem cruise? Were there other special things besides sailing to Honfleur? Did the size of the ship make any difference at other stops?

Thanks for all of the information

My husband and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in early October so we wanted to sail in late September or early October. As I am trying to check on prices it seems like a lot of choices are limited then. I hope we didn't wait too long to plan this trip....

Wendy The Wanderer - I share your feeling about a bus ride. Yet many people are saying very positive things about Honfleur and I am wondering about the reason that cruise lines do not dock there. Does the size of ships or the number of places to dock have something to do with that choice?

I really appreciate how helpful this thread has been. Thanks for your contributions!

acwmom - thanks for your explanation of your uniworld cruise. Would you recommend that cruise for our first river cruise?

As for the cabin question I think my husband and I will save $ on the cabin and perhaps pick a slightly more expensive cruise line or an extra day in Paris or an extra excursion. However 128 sq feet is very small. Where did you put your suitcases?

Thanks again

Thanks for the advice caviargal and TravelerThom. I would love to get a picture of a duck or swan looking in a window I imagine if booking in "aquarium class" the cabins are very similar on all ships. Is that true? However, I think I read on a different thread that one of the lines has beds that turn into couches and are not comfortable....

Thanks again for the advice.

rogerdawhip - just saw your post. I hadn't thought about how much time is spent at each port. About how many hours did you spend at each stop? Thanks for taking the time to post.

Thank you to all who have poasted. This is exactly the type of information I was seeking!

notamermaid - The tip about where the Viking ships dock for the Paris stop is very important to us. We have not been to Paris previously and would like to maximize our time there.

Wendy The Wanderer - Wow - what great information. I will be watching to see which trip you finally choose.

acwmom - It was good to hear from someone who has taken the trip. It is interesting to hear that local guides work for more than one cruise line.

CPT Trips - I didn't realize that there was a trip that ended with a bus ride back to Paris. How long does that take?

I suppose I should have asked this question as well - or maybe it should be a separate question - but here goes. For us the total price is a concern. Would you consider a less expensive line with a room with a Juliet balcony or a more expensive line with a cabin with the small windows? On the Seine is the time spent cruising very scenic?

Again all advice is welcome and appreciated.

My husband and I want to take our first river cruise on the Seine. On our ocean cruises we always picked based on itinerary. Since we have no experience with any of the river cruise lines and haven't been to France before I am asking for recommendations on which stops shouldn't be missed. Since the itineraries are of differing lengths and make different stops any advice would be appreciated as we try to pick. Thanks in advance for your help.

First off, I miss the search function. Despite trying to read many previous posts I haven't had many of my questions answered. My DH and I have been on ocean cruises but never a river cruise. We want to go to Europe as we haven't been there before. We realize we will only see a very small portion in the under 2 weeks time frame we have. France and/or England are our first choices. I like art and want to see "castles" - not just ruins. My DH likes history and would also like castles for their structures. We thought the seine river trip would suit us we'll for our first trip to Europe. However I am having a great deal of difficulty comparing the different trips offered by different cruise lines.We have to consider the expense and cannot afford the most expensive. Some cruise lines spend more days on the trip and cost per day is less. Should we consider more than a 7 night cruise? Will I actually see castles? Bus tours of the area seem to go to more. However we prefer a cruise to a bus. Some seem to have more optional things and I often think I would like to do these but this adds to the cost. I'm not sure if we choose a trip that has more included or not. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

We are taking a tour next week that will stop at the Champagne Beach/Reef. I have read several comments about getting into the water there. Some people indicate it is challenging while others seem to say it is no big deal. Can anyone report on a recent experience? Are shoes in order? If so what do you do with them once you are in the water? Thanks for any advice.