Paris and the Heart of Normandy Captured Our Hearts! Full Trip Report - Viking Rolf

Friday was just what the trip doctor ordered.. another leisurely morning.

At 10am we assembled in the lounge. We knew this day would come... the dreaded "Disembarkation Talk."

Felt like we had just boarded and here we are talking luggage tag colors and transfer bus times.:(

Lionel in his usual hilarious and perceptive tone made the talk light and not only informative but rather enjoyable too!

We are still chuckling about his bit on luggage and how everyone is obsessed with where their luggage is.:)

Another lazy day buffet lunch with dare I say a rather generous glass of midday wine.. aahh.. I'm going to miss this.

OK.. I will stop whining in my wine.. there are still 2 full days of fun to enjoy!

We docked at the small village of Les Andelys at 1pm.

Thanks MikeyB!

Viking red umbrellas in hand we hiked up the hill in the rain to see the ruins of the Chateau Gaillard castle on the included walking tour.

Beautiful views all around.

Back on the ship, and for the first time that week, we sat on the upper deck for a bit. The skies had cleared , the winds were calm and the temperature not too cool. We had a bird's eye view of going thru a lock.

We chatted with Lionel.

Captain's Cocktail Party at 6:30 that evening! Only a few unworn things left hanging in the closet.:(

Sparkling wine and good wishes all around!!!

Since many were going on a Paris By Night Tour tomorrow evening the Farewell Dinner was held tonight.

Saturday we docked in the port of Mantes- la-Jolie about an hour to the west of Paris. The morning optional tour of Versailles seemed to be a popular choice. We had recently been there so we opted for just the included afternoon tour to Napoleon's Chateau de Malmaison instead. Another choice was to spend a full day in Paris, if we had wanted to, as Viking provided a shuttle bus leaving the ship at 9:30am and returning at 5:30pm.

Before lunch we walked around the town of Mantes-la-Jolie for a bit and found our favorite Monoprix. It's sort of like a French Target. Has just about everything.. clothing, liquor, souvenirs and a full supermarket which is always fun to see. We were happy to get out of the rain as well.

Mantes-la-Jolie.

No hunchback spotted..

Enjoyed a leisurely buffet lunch and then at 1:45 boarded our buses for the final time with our "electronic devices" and earpieces in place. Chateau de Malmaison was about a 45 minute ride from the Rolf. We picked up a red Viking umbrella on our way off the ship.. it was going to be one of those afternoons. The weather was going to be "changeable" as Lionel liked to say.

Another tour.. another fantastic guide.

According to the tour guide.. unbeknownst to him, Josephine bought this mansion while Napoleon was away in Egypt and he was NOT happy about it at all. When he returned and found this out he immediately changed French law to state that a wife can't buy property without the approval of her husband. Fascinating.

More from Chateau de Malmaison.

And so dear readers.. we are up to our last day..

That last evening many on the ship went on an optional Paris by Night bus tour. It was a shame that is was pouring but I'm sure it was still a thrill to see the "City of Light" lit up.

Had a lot of packing and organizing to do after our final dinner.

It's always sad to say goodbye to friends who have become very dear in only a few days time.

We changed our shuttle time to an earlier one as I wanted plenty of time to file my VAT papework in the airport.

We set a wake up call at 4:15am and rested our heads in delightful cabin 215 for the last time.

Just as Lionel said.. I was frantic about our luggage! What time does it go out? Why isn't it taken yet? Where is is now? Is in on the bus? Is it in the rain? I laughed at myself for being the stereotype.

We boarded the 5:45am shuttle and slowly pulled away from the Rolf in the rain.

Got to CDG super early for our 10:35am flight.. just like I like to do.

VAT papers submitted successfully.

So easy now.. you just scan a bar code on the receipt at a kiosk in the Detax area. If you get a green light you are done. If you get a red light then you have to see the customs agent. For most companies you don't even have to mail any forms in anymore. Simple!

Haahaaa.. lets see how confident I am about that system in a few weeks when my refund hasn't show up yet.:o

Went thru security and spent a bit of relaxing time in the Air France Lounge.

It was raining les chats et les chiens!

Delta flight 405 nonstop to JFK took just a shade under 8 hours to arrive.

Guess it was those 150mph head winds.. Win some winds.. lose some winds.:confused:

Landed safely at 12:40pm.

Hellooooo New York!

It's been a few days since we have been home with plenty of time to reflect on what an absolutely amazing vacation we had on the Viking Rolf. It was relaxing.. it was fun.. it was delicious.. it was interesting.. it was a very special week indeed.

Every I was dotted and every T was crossed. The attention to detail was fantastic.

The genuine warmth of each and every crew member was what really made the week so outstanding.

Seeing their smiling and welcoming faces many times a day made us really relax and enjoy every facet of this lovely cruise on the Seine.

We hope to be back soon..

Thanks for sharing the journey with me!

I was flying from Taipei to Toronto and we had the benefit of those winds as tail winds.

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Nothing better than a great tailwind Gnome12!

It's been a few days since we have been home with plenty of time to reflect on what an absolutely amazing vacation we had on the Viking Rolf. It was relaxing.. it was fun.. it was delicious.. it was interesting.. it was a very special week indeed.

Every I was dotted and every T was crossed. The attention to detail was fantastic.

The genuine warmth of each and every crew member was what really made the week so outstanding.

Seeing their smiling and welcoming faces many times a day made us really relax and enjoy every facet of this lovely cruise on the Seine.

We hope to be back soon..

Thanks for sharing the journey with me!

Thanks for a great trip report. It brings back a lot of memories of our cruise on Uniworld 2.5 yrs ago.

Robin

Thanks Robin!

I enjoyed your report and pictures. thank you

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments and wonderful pictures.

I enjoyed reading it.

We are thinking of doing this cruise in 2019, now I want to go sooner!

Really enjoyed your review! Just starting to plan a river cruise for 2019. Which company did you prefer? Would love your "2 cents" on the subject.

:DThank you so much puppycandcruise and cookingmom!

Thank you for such a wonderful trip report. I'm looking forward to doing a river cruise in 2020.

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Thanks for the in-depth review and pictures. You've now got me interested in this cruise with Viking.

:)Thank you so much EME2010 and beanpittsburgh!