Just returned... Vantage "Treasures of France" river cruise..

After being away 25 days and 2 river cruises, I seriously don't know where I am and barely who I am! But we had a wonderful 5 days in Paris before cruising Paris to Normandy on the Seine river on the River Venture and then to Provence on the Saone and Rhone rivers on the Discovery ll. Lots of french wine, cheese and bread made for a delightful experience! The rivers were very high but our CD, captain and crew kept us completely informed of the situation and we were able to make it under all the bridges (sometimes with just a few centimeters to spare) In fact the Saone was closed briefly after we passed Lyon due to high water levels.

I will post a review in a few days when I finally get my sleeping patterns straightened out!

Glad you had a great trip! Looking forward to the details.

Welcome home!! It sounds like a great trip. Like Jazzbeau, I can't wait to hear more. Good luck on resetting your biological clock!

FuelScience

Welcome home can't wait to here ..

Welcome home!

Welcome home! Having done 1 of those rivers, I can't even imagine packing 2 rivers and an extended stay in Paris into 1 trip!

Your positive review is also refreshing, glad to hear Viking crew kept you in the loop regarding river conditions and you're now not negotiating with Viking for future considerations. :)

Can't wait to hear details of your trip!

We look forward to hearing about your cruise as we leave next month for the cruise from Paris to Marseille! :)

Huffy2K, OP was travelling with Vantage not Viking.

Huffy2K, OP was travelling with Vantage not Viking.

Oops, missed that! Sorry all, I saw the "V" and quit reading I guess.

Still, glad OP had a great trip!

LOL... Definitely VANTAGE not Viking!!!

Still working on a trip report but you can read my blog if you want an idea of what we did. Will try to more specific about cruise issues in my report.

Just read your blog-very interesting and well done! We are doing the cruise from Paris to Tarascon in Nov.

How did you get from the ship to the Marseille airport? We are going to have to arrange our own transfer.

Just read your blog-very interesting and well done! We are doing the cruise from Paris to Tarascon in Nov.

 

 

 

How did you get from the ship to the Marseille airport? We are going to have to arrange our own transfer.

Thank you! It was my first attempt at blogging... internet wasn't always strong so while I kept writing I wasn't able to post daily or add photos all the time.

We were bussed from Tarascon to the Marseille airport. It was well over an hour (if I remember correctly it was about 50 miles) I think you can purchase transfers from Vantage-- here's a link a taxi service. http://www.taxiautofare.com/fr/taxi-fare/Marseille-taxi-fare-from-Tarascon-sur-Rhone-to-marseille-airport

Thank you! It was my first attempt at blogging... internet wasn't always strong so while I kept writing I wasn't able to post daily or add photos all the time.

 

We were bussed from Tarascon to the Marseille airport. It was well over an hour (if I remember correctly it was about 50 miles) I think you can purchase transfers from Vantage-- here's a link a taxi service. http://www.taxiautofare.com/fr/taxi-fare/Marseille-taxi-fare-from-Tarascon-sur-Rhone-to-marseille-airport

Thank you for the link, but the info was a little off-seems to be for a Tarascon to the east. But playing around w/the site, I was able to get the info I needed, so it was very helpful in providing approx. travel times and costs.

Transfers are available from Vantage, but we've found that they are handy on arrival, but for departures it's usually better to do it on your own. You can car pool or get a taxi at better times, etc.

Thank you for the link, but the info was a little off-seems to be for a Tarascon to the east. But playing around w/the site, I was able to get the info I needed, so it was very helpful in providing approx. travel times and costs.

 

Transfers are available from Vantage, but we've found that they are handy on arrival, but for departures it's usually better to do it on your own. You can car pool or get a taxi at better times, etc.

That's a great idea! I just purchased my own air for Trans Canada Train trip with Vantage and saved over $400. I've been to both Vancouver and Toronto so I feel very comfortable doing it myself. Main reason DH likes Vantage to do transfers is they hump all the luggage!!! But departure times can be excruciating....last trip we left hotel at 3 a.m. for a 6:30 flight!

pbnjrockette: We are scheduled to leave 14 Mar 2015 for the Vantage Treasures of France combo, heading in the same direction that you went, and appreciated reading your day-by-day blog.

QUESTION: Did you have cabin assignments for either or both cruises before you left? If so, how far in advance did you have them? We do not yet have any cabin assignments. I have read a couple of CruiseCritic posts of Vantage travelers who either were told only a few days before departure that they were "oversold" or who showed up at the boat to discover they had no cabin. We are doing Treasures of France without any additions of our own (we have been to France a number of times previously) and we have Vantage air arrangements, so we are not as worried about last minute changes as we would be if we (as we often do) were juggling multiple portions of the trip on our own.

thanks

Thom

pbnjrockette: We are scheduled to leave 14 Mar 2015 for the Vantage Treasures of France combo, heading in the same direction that you went, and appreciated reading your day-by-day blog.

 

QUESTION: Did you have cabin assignments for either or both cruises before you left? If so, how far in advance did you have them? We do not yet have any cabin assignments. I have read a couple of CruiseCritic posts of Vantage travelers who either were told only a few days before departure that they were "oversold" or who showed up at the boat to discover they had no cabin. We are doing Treasures of France without any additions of our own (we have been to France a number of times previously) and we have Vantage air arrangements, so we are not as worried about last minute changes as we would be if we (as we often do) were juggling multiple portions of the trip on our own.

thanks

Thom

Thom I haven't done this particular cruise but I have done 6 other Vantage cruises and it's not unusual for you to receive your cabin assignment with your final documents. If you call them, you may be able to reserve your room ahead of time. I have never heard of anyone having final documents and arriving at the departure port only to find they do not have a room! If they over-book the cruise, and that happened to me, they usually call you and ask if you would be willing to accept a different date (this will also include something like a cabin upgrade, or some other perk). When it happened to me, we were traveling with other people who were flying from SFO and LAX and meeting us at JFK, so they left us alone. As I recall this was a couple of weeks before departure. Since the trips have to be paid in full about 90 days ahead I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't know until a few days before departure that they were overbooked. I'm not saying it couldn't/didn't happen, just that I think it would be unusual.

We got cabin assignments when we made our reservations for the Rhine and Moselle.

FuelScience

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We got cabin assignments when we made our reservations for the Rhine and Moselle.

 

FuelScience

 

 

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Yeah, me too. I got them when I made the reservation a year ago with Vantage for the same cruise. They always ask me if I have a room preference and try to comply with it unless someone beat me to it! I am one of their frequent cruisers and that might have something to do with it.

In April 2014 We put a deposit on a Cat.D GUARANTEE for the 14 Mar 2015 Treasures of France combo cruise. Both halves of the combo cruise are now listed on the Vantage website as sold out. If everything is sold out, it would seem that they should assign our guarantee shortly, unless they are in fact oversold and are just hoping that somebody cancels at the last minute. We talked to someone at Vantage a few days ago, and he said that as President's Club travelers we might be upgraded. We have sailed aquarium class before, and actually find it an interesting view to contrast with our time on the sun deck, so no heartburn with any cabin on the ship.

A few years ago we did our own air, some privately arranged free time in Berlin, a Viking Berlin-Prague Elbe cruise, privately purchased Prague-Warsaw round-trip rail, and finally a Grand Circle Prague-Budapest Danube cruise. An oversold cancellation on that trip would have crashed a house of cards - this is a stand-alone trip, so if we end up with a date change it is not the end of the world. I'd like to know what is going on, but not particularly worried.

Thom

We made our French Waterways with Vantage leaving June 2nd back in September. Received our confirmation about one week later with our cabin assignment. Willard