Le Verdon or Bordeaux?

My husband and I have booked the Oceania cruise on Marina called Vineyards and Castles leaving Amsterdam on September 27, 2018. One of the reasons we booked this cruise was the itinerary which included a two day stay in Bordeaux. We would very much like to arrange a small group tour of the Medoc region, visiting several wineries while we are in the area. But I am at a loss as to where to book the tour from. Our itinerary says the stop is in Bordeaux but other travelers have said the Marina is likely too large to dock upriver in Bordeaux and would probably dock at Le Verdon. How do I find out ahead where we will dock so I can book a tour? The cost of a tour from Le Verdon is approximately double the cost of one leaving from Bordeaux. Most operators want payment up front and I am hesitant to book as I am unsure of where we will dock. Has anyone else encountered this issue and if so how did you resolve it? Any help you can give me will be much appreciated.

The most important thing is that your port will be Le Verdun sur Mer.

This is their calendar:

https://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-le-verdon-france.html

hint:

Most tour operators in that area will offer a choice of starting points, if your destination is Medoc, which is beyond gorgeous .

Enjoy!

On cruisetimetables.com Marina is scheduled for Oct. 3rd at Bordeaux and not Le Verdun sur Mur.

On cruisetimetables.com Marina is scheduled for Oct. 3rd at Bordeaux and not Le Verdun sur Mur.

I cannot imagine Marina making it all the way to Bordeaux. Nautica maybe, but not Marina.

We were on the Marina Lisbon to London in 2016 with a stop there. It was listed as Bordeaux with Verdon in parenthesis and we did dock in Verdon. It's a 2 hour drive from Verdon to Bordeaux.

This site has both Le Verdon and Bordeaux and has Marina scheduled in Bordeaux 3 October 2018

http://crew-center.com/bordeaux-cruise-ship-schedule-2018

I believe the Marina/Riviera is too large to make it to Bordeaux. We the docked at Le Verdon in the past and will be docking there in May 2018. Only the R ships go down the river to Bordeaux.

We went on an Oceania cruise a couple of years ago (Marina) and initially thought we would be docking in Bordeaux but we actually docked in Le Verdon. It is an industrial port and not really close to Bordeaux. We found an amazing tour guide who picked us up at the port and took us on a wonderful tour of the Medoc region. It was a spectacular day. Unfortunately we did not get to see "Bordeaux" so we will have to go there on a future trip. I highly recommend Nicolle Croft for a tour out of Bordeaux OR Le Verdon: http://www.wineguidebordeaux.com/

We went on an Oceania cruise a couple of years ago (Marina) and initially thought we would be docking in Bordeaux but we actually docked in Le Verdon. It is an industrial port and not really close to Bordeaux. We found an amazing tour guide who picked us up at the port and took us on a wonderful tour of the Medoc region. It was a spectacular day. Unfortunately we did not get to see "Bordeaux" so we will have to go there on a future trip. I highly recommend Nicolle Croft for a tour out of Bordeaux OR Le Verdon: www.wineguidebordeaux.com/

YES, Bordeaux is super wonderful!! Both for the charm and history within Bordeaux, the city. Plus, the wine areas such as the Medoc. Regarding Nicolle Croft, we had her as our expert guide in June 2017 for doing these wonderful areas. She was even better than awesome. So skilled and knowledgeable. From my live/blog, you can see many pictures that details as to why we loved her skills and great experiences in these areas. The Bordeaux details and visuals start on page four, post #65. Below are a few visual samples to help build interest and prove why Bordeaux is so super wonderful.

On docking Bordeaux versus Le Verdon, there are a variety of pro/con factors. Le Verdon is very boring with very little there. Yes, it takes about two hours to get from this docking location to Bordeaux. BUT, the time to sail to Bordeaux can be very time-consuming and challenging with the tide levels at certain times. Overall, our plan and activities from Le Verdon still worked very well.

While we did not do this cruise with Oceania, our experiences might be of interest as there is so much to enjoy in Bordeaux and along this western Atlantic coast of France, Spain and Portugal.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Just finished June 2017 sailing from Portugal to France along the scenic Atlantic Coast, plus great pre- and post-cruise experiences. Many interesting pictures and details on history, food, culture, etc., from my live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

Here is a quick sampler of two initial sights from being in Bordeaux. If you love history and architecture, this is the super place to be!!.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger!)

We visited the new and very innovative La Cite du Vin. Like its unique style in being built with glass, concrete and steel like a wine decanter? This wine museum highlights wines from around the world, including so much about Bordeaux and its efforts to advance wine production and quality. At its top is an observation area and wine tasting area. More work in testing wines? Yes, that was our duty and job on this day! In this wine tasting and observation area, they had a special ceiling made up of hanging glass wine bottles.:

With expert Nicole, we then went to explore Médoc, one of Bordeaux area's top-rated wine region. It is also called the 'route de chateaux'. We would have more "education" as what it takes to produce top-level wines in this area where the soil make an important difference. Here it is a mix of gravel and sand, plus having the right/best slope, etc. We had a great wine-tasting at Château Pontet Canet with its classification of grand cru classé pauillac. They use an innovative biodynamic method here. We also saw some of the most famous châteaux through the villages of St Julien, Pauillac and St Estephe. See two below examples of these fantastic chateaux's.:

Were we happy with our busy trip to Bordeaux?? YES!! Need evidence/proof? See below with our guide, Nicole (inn black), you can see Sharon and Rick from California and my wife, Penny, on the right.:

The draft of the Marina is 24 ft. The maximum allowed at Bordeaux is 7.5m whiich translates to 24.75 ft. No way Oceania will take the ship to Bordeaux unless they hired that Captain from Costa. For comparison, the Nautica has a draft of 19.5 ft.

We were on Insignia this year, which was able to get up the river to dock in Bordeaux ... but first, we stopped at Le Verdon to disembark shore excursions. Those with private arrangements were also able to disembark. These people all rejoined the ship in Bordeaux. For those of us who stayed on the ship to sail up the Garonne River, we left Le Verdon at 1:45p and arrived in Bordeaux around 6:15p ... so it's not a short sail up the river ... which we repeated the next day to get back out to the Atlantic. I can't say whether Marina can go upriver or not, but if you are docked in Le Verdon and don't want to do the drive back and forth twice, you might consider an overnight in Bordeaux. I can understand why the tours from Le Verdon would be more expensive ... the tour operators will have to get themselves and the vehicles to and from where ever they are based. There really is nothing at Le Verdon.

we left Le Verdon at 1:45p and arrived in Bordeaux around 6:15p ... so it's not a short sail up the river ... which we repeated the next day to get back out to the Atlantic. I can understand why the tours from Le Verdon would be more expensive ... the tour operators will have to get themselves and the vehicles to and from where ever they are based. There really is nothing at Le Verdon.

Appreciate these great above details/specifics that you have provided. It looks like there were nine hours of sailing required from Le Verdon to Bordeaux and back. Clearly Le Verdon is not ideal, but the trade-offs on timing and tides means there are a variety of factors to consider. BUT, as I noted and documented earlier, the PRIZE of Bordeaux is well worth it.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 190,573 views for this posting.

We were on the Marina in late September/early October this year. We docked right in the middle of Bordeaux and stayed overnight there. We were able to walk into The middle of Bordeaux very easily. It is a beautiful city and we would go there again for a city break.

I had read on here about whether Marina would be able to get there but we certainly did! We did not call at Verdun at all.

We had previously been to Verdun on a Celebrity ship but we went on a trip to St Emilion from there, and didn't visit Bordeaux at all then.

If you look at the calendar for the port of Bordeaux it will tell you if you are docked there. When we were on Marina it was on the port schedule. Hope you are there as it is a wonderful view from the ship.

TLCOhio did you find Nicolle Croft from my posting on CC? We did a wonderful tour with her in the Medoc region a few years ago out of Le Verdon. :)

Hi, Carol! While I would love to give you full credit for Nicolle, my recollection is that I discovered her through a website called "ToursByLocals". I checked out a number of potential guides from there and a few other web places. She seemed good and then as I communicated more with her, asked questions, etc., she was clearly what we needed. AND, then our day with her was super excellent.

She was the "best of the best" for our guides during this June 2017 adventure and one of the tops ever that we have experienced. Highest marks for Nicolle!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 221,165 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Thank you everyone for the great information. I did not know there was a cruisetimetables web site and that information helps immensely--so thank you jo-b, deadzone1003, and JimandStan for pointing me in the right direction. Also thanks for the tour guide recommendation, Carol and Terry, I will definitely try to contact Nicolle Croft and hopefully can arrange an excursion through her. We visited the Bordeaux area last year on a river cruise and loved it--one reason we took this cruise is so we could see more of it. Since we have an overnight here, I hope we can see both the Medoc region and explore a little more of Bordeaux. Since the cruise time tables site says Bordeaux I am going to go with that and explain the situation to any tour guide we hire--and hope that there will be some flexibility if the port changes.

I must have dreamt my overnight call on Marina in the centre of Bordeaux on the 30th September/1st October this year.....

thanks for the tour guide recommendation, Carol and Terry, I will definitely try to contact Nicolle Croft and hopefully can arrange an excursion through her.

Tell Nicole that we said "HI!" She said that her expertise was not that great for history and with background for Bordeaux, their architecture, etc. BUT, she was really excellent for those aspects to fit our needs and interests. BUT, the area where she was like a superstar, college, advanced-degree expert related to wine. WOW!! It was an amazing learning experience for us. We gain so much for what Nicole knew, being able to answer our wide range of questions, etc. But, it was absolutely not in a snobbish, elite manner. Just a tremendous depth of knowledge that was so interesting and helpful for us when exploring the best area in the world for wine.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure that started in Barbados, here is the link for that live/blog. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.):

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 54,439 views for these postings.

Hi, Carol! While I would love to give you full credit for Nicolle, my recollection is that I discovered her through a website called "ToursByLocals". I checked out a number of potential guides from there and a few other web places. She seemed good and then as I communicated more with her, asked questions, etc., she was clearly what we needed. AND, then our day with her was super excellent.

 

She was the "best of the best" for our guides during this June 2017 adventure and one of the tops ever that we have experienced. Highest marks for Nicolle!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 221,165 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

We toured with Nicolle in September, 2016. I have posted about her on CC before so thought you might have seen my posts. I do agree, she is EXCELLENT! I was originally referred to her by some colleagues in my office who had done tours with her.

I believe the Marina/Riviera is too large to make it to Bordeaux. We the docked at Le Verdon in the past and will be docking there in May 2018. Only the R ships go down the river to Bordeaux.

Agree 100%, Terrier1! We have docked twice in Bordeaux, once on Oceania, and the other on Azamara, both on the R ships. On departure from Bordeaux, the tide was evidently a bit too low and we kicked up a massive amount of mud trying to get away from the quay! I can't imagine the larger O ships getting up-river.

Donna

Pour ceux d'entre vous qui croient que Marina est trop grand pour naviguer la Garonne jusqu'au centre de Bordeaux.....:confused::confused:

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/cruisebordeaux/le-marina-%C3%A0-bordeaux/

LOL with a little french I remember (from college days) think he is saying 'for those who believe ship is too big for Bordeaux...." here is the proof!!

For one,I am happy to hear that

We were on the Marina last May and docked in Bordeaux about a ten minute walk from the center of the city. It was a wonderful and scenic location

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That is good news. I wonder why the Marina/Riviera doesn't always dock in Bordeaux instead of Le Verdun?

That is good news. I wonder why the Marina/Riviera doesn't always dock in Bordeaux instead of Le Verdun?

It may depend on the time of year. Rivers can vary in their navigability depending on the season.

That is good news. I wonder why the Marina/Riviera doesn't always dock in Bordeaux instead of Le Verdun?

We were told the larger ships (Marina and Riviera) dock in Le Verdon. The smaller ships are able to dock in Bordeaux.