Thoughts on Spain & France cruise?

Has anyone done this cruise?

I booked this last night(non-refundable). Does anyone have a review on this? .. It will be on Navigator of the Seas, sailing out of Southampton, ports of call are Bilbao,La Coruna,Cherbourg and Le Havre. TIA

ps: i have this weird feeling that i messed up.

Has anyone done this cruise?

 

I booked this last night(non-refundable). Does anyone have a review on this? .. It will be on Navigator of the Seas, sailing out of Southampton, ports of call are Bilbao,La Coruna,Cherbourg and Le Havre. TIA

 

 

 

ps: i have this weird feeling that i messed up.

Bilbao is a great place to visit, it's easy to get into town on the port shuttle and there is a nice historic part of town called Casco Viejo which is lovely to explore.

Not much in Le Havre but there is a fishing village near by (Honfleur I think) which is definitely worth a visit.

I hear Cherbourg is nice but not been and sorry I don't know anything about La Coruna.

It seems like a good mix and I think you will have a great time, I'd do some research on Bilbao to get the most out of your visit.

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There will be a lot of Brits on board.

A Coruna is a lovely little town, huge beach if you are there when the weather is good; nice little art museum if it isn’t.

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Bilbao is some distance from the port. You need to book a shuttle or use public transport to get there and back. It is a big city and IME easy to get lost so beware. The must see attraction is Guggenheim museum.

Not much in Le Havre but if you have never been then the history and architecture is fascinating. The cluster of coffee shops and restaurants are worth checking out and the town centre although small is worth exploring and taking a few photos. The alternative is to take one of the many excursions in the area and avoid Le Havre altogether.

I like Navigator and done this kind of itinerary a number of times. The weather may not be great but otherwise enjoyed the cruise on each occasion.

Gee, Spain and France on a RCI Cruise - how could it possibly be wrong? Go and enjoy [emoji568]

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For Cherbourg - If time permitted, I would really like to go and see one of those D Day Landing beaches. I don't have anyone that took part in these landings but would want to pay my respects to those that did. For something a bit closer to the port, I believe there is a great museum with a submarine you can go in. I always like that sort of thing.

Le Havre - isn't this the port for Paris. Funny, I have never had the smallest desire to go there though.

Sometimes the places you expect the least from though turns out to the be the one you remember. We stopped one time at a place called Toulon. It was a Sunday, and I wasn't holding out much hope. Well, it was an absolute GEM of a place. Conversely, I had wanted to go to Florence for years, but I hated it once I was there.

All sorts of touring options from LeHavre. Many do require long road trips. I have done the Normandy beaches from there and was sent to go to Monet's home last April. (There was a dock strike and we diverted to Dover.) Others do go to Paris. Honfleur is supposed to be lovely.

We rented a car in both French ports, visited the Normandy beaches from first and Mont St. Michelle from the second. Both were spectacular things to visit.

JC

So Le Havre is a place to go, to go somewhere else?..

Thanks for all the info btw.

 

Sometimes the places you expect the least from though turns out to the be the one you remember..

So true, i learned that from Montenegro’ and Split..

Has anyone done this cruise?

I booked this last night(non-refundable). Does anyone have a review on this? .. It will be on Navigator of the Seas, sailing out of Southampton, ports of call are Bilbao,La Coruna,Cherbourg and Le Havre. TIA

 

ps: i have this weird feeling that i messed up.

Not sure if the info is accurate but your profile suggests you're from Toronto. Honestly, if you're coming over from Toronto and spending huge money on flights, I'd suggest a sailing out of Barcelona to see Spain and France. The Mediterranean cruises are much warmer and in much calmer waters than the northern France/Spain cruises out of Southampton.

This is just my opinion. I personally would consider a cruise out of Southampton but that's because I live an hour from the port! And even then, my next European cruise is sailing out of Barcelona, because the weather is better down in the Med!

You'd still have a great time on any ship, in any ports, but my personal opinion -- if you want to see Europe, I'd cruise out of Barcelona (or Rome).

 

You'd still have a great time on any ship, in any ports, but my personal opinion -- if you want to see Europe, I'd cruise out of Barcelona (or Rome).

Great advice unfortunately, the OP has a non refundable booking [emoji853]

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So Le Havre is a place to go, to go somewhere else?..

Thanks for all the info btw.

Many go to the Normandy beaches from there.

Great advice unfortunately, the OP has a non refundable booking [emoji853]

I could be totally wrong but I thought even the non-refundable bookings had a $100 change fee (per person). My personal preference would be to swap but I could misunderstand the non-refundable aspect completely. (But thanks for highlighting that the OP made a non-refundable booking, I missed that!)

I could be totally wrong but I thought even the non-refundable bookings had a $100 change fee (per person). My personal preference would be to swap but I could misunderstand the non-refundable aspect completely. (But thanks for highlighting that the OP made a non-refundable booking, I missed that!)

londongal796

If this is correct I am sure the OP would like to hear this as they seem very unsure about the booking they have made and your option of departing Barcelona also makes very good sense to me. [emoji106]

londongal and porky,

Yes we are from Toronto, our last cruise was from Med/Greek Isles just 2 mos ago.we also got 3 friends joining us on this cruise - All First Timers....No doubt they’ll enjoy their time on the ship, but i want the ports to be a part of their first cruise experience too..

They go where we go..

There is lots of information as to what to do on the ports of call forums and you can also look on Tripadvisor.

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There is lots of information as to what to do on the ports of call forums and you can also look on Tripadvisor.

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Not sure if the info is accurate but your profile suggests you're from Toronto. Honestly, if you're coming over from Toronto and spending huge money on flights, I'd suggest a sailing out of Barcelona to see Spain and France. The Mediterranean cruises are much warmer and in much calmer waters than the northern France/Spain cruises out of Southampton.

 

This is just my opinion. I personally would consider a cruise out of Southampton but that's because I live an hour from the port! And even then, my next European cruise is sailing out of Barcelona, because the weather is better down in the Med!

 

You'd still have a great time on any ship, in any ports, but my personal opinion -- if you want to see Europe, I'd cruise out of Barcelona (or Rome).

Thank you for this information. Planning on doing this in 2019 September. 1 week in Spain. Cruise & another week somewhere else. Flying from Australia.

We rented a car in both French ports, visited the Normandy beaches from first and Mont St. Michelle from the second. Both were spectacular things to visit.

 

JC

... Oh yeah Mont St Michel, thanks for bringing that up.

We've been looking at this itinerary for a while but the timing has never worked out so I will be interested in your reaction when you get back.

No, you did not mess up :). In Europe you must learn to think of some ports as "gateway ports" which means they are a means to go elsewhere. For example, from Le Havre you could go as far as Paris, or perhaps take a trip to Rouen. Somebody mentioned Monet's home which is in Giverny...and reachable from Le Havre. Or how about going over to Honfleur and nearby Deauville. Or you could go the other direction to small seaside towns like Fecamp. And we have not even talked about the D-Day beaches and sites...which can be reached from Le Havre or Cherbourg.

As to La Caruna, its a nice small village in its own right. But some folks use it as a gateway to the more famous Santiago de Compestela. When we are in La Caruna (called A Caruna by many Spaniards) we usually have a relaxing day walking around town with a long lunch of fresh seafood.

How you travel in Europe is a personal thing. DIYers like me will rent cars, use traiins, buses...etc...or even crawl to avoid cruise line excursions. Others love the cruise line excursions and many others will book private tours (join with others on your CC Roll Call).

Hank

No, you did not mess up :). In Europe you must learn to think of some ports as "gateway ports" which means they are a means to go elsewhere.

 

Hank

Hlitner, i remember you, back in time when i was just starting to put together my plans in Venice and the Greek Isles.I took some pointers from your playbook and it did not disappoint, in fact that cruise set the bar high for me, hence maybe one of the reasons why im looking at these ports like the “B-sides”. Thanks for the enlightment, im warming up to this itinerary now.

You can get a taxi from Le Havre to Honfleur, which is a very pretty little town. We walked around, looked in the shops and had lunch at the harbour. Well worth going to. We just got off the ship and negotiated a price with a taxi driver. There was 6 in our party so it made it a bit more reasonable, I think it was either €100 or $125. We agreed a time for him to come and pick us up and paid him when we were back at the ship (always feels more comfortable doing that).

Has anyone done this cruise?

I booked this last night(non-refundable). Does anyone have a review on this? .. It will be on Navigator of the Seas, sailing out of Southampton, ports of call are Bilbao,La Coruna,Cherbourg and Le Havre. TIA

 

ps: i have this weird feeling that i messed up.

I would love to do this cruise. As a visitor from Canada I am sure that you will be arriving a couple of days early to see London and perhaps other tourist attractions in south England. This makes the choice of a cruise from Southampton tempting.

There is Paris and in addition you have the D Day beaches, Giverny, Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela as options. They are all high on my 'to do' list.

Perhaps there are people that think Rome, Florence, Pisa, Barcelona and Athens are the only European destinations - but there are other places in Europe that are just as appealing. Have a great trip!!