Viking Kadlin Paris to Normandy Beaches

My wife and I have recently returned from another excellent Viking river cruise.

On this occasion we sailed on the Viking Kadlin from Paris to the Normandy Beaches.

On this particular cruise there was only limited time 'on the river'. That was entirely due to the number and quality of the places to see and visit either on included excursions or optional ones...

The highlight of the excursions had to be whole day, 11 hour, included excursion to the D-Day beaches...

I have just published a full review of the river cruise which contains over sixty photographs covering the ship and the itinerary. Here is a link to the review...

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2018/09/27/viking-kadlin-from-paris-to-the-heart-of-normandy/

I'd be delighted to answer any particular questions regarding this latest Viking river cruise.

Fantastic review job, as always!

We have 3 generations going on this cruise in July! Daughter & family have traveled to Europe several times but have never been on a cruise. Granddaughters are fluent in French and just beat the booking deadline where Viking River no longer allows under 18 even though they'll be under 18 at sailing date.

I'm sending your review to the family.

How was docking in Le Pecq as opposed to Paris? Was it as inconvenient as I would imagine?

Also, I have read that there is a church near Le Pecq where just about all of the French kings are buried, as well as James of Scotland, father of Bonnie Prince Charlie and principal of the Jacobite rebellion. Did you visit that church?

Richard, I always love reading your reviews. I am particularly fond of this itinerary, as we have done it twice. It's nice to see green grass and flowers in bloom, as it was snowing in March! Our ship may have been different (Uniworld SS Joie de Vivre) but the scenery is the same.

Thanks for bringing back great memories!

Robin

Sharkster77, I am not entirely sure of the church you refer to. Do you have more information?

AFAIK, the vast majority of French kings are buried at the basilica in St-Denis. It is (like Le Pecq) a suburb of Paris, but it's not particularly close by to Le Pecq. It is easy enough to get there from Paris though, and worth the visit - we were there in 2010. As it's a bit out of the way, we found it fairly empty.

And, the basilique Saint-Denis is the site of the conclusion of a Steve Berry book, The Paris Vendetta. It was pretty cool to have been there, and to then recognize it in the book.

I do not remember seeing James of Scotland's grave there but could have missed it.

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How was docking in Le Pecq as opposed to Paris? Was it as inconvenient as I would imagine?

 

Also, I have read that there is a church near Le Pecq where just about all of the French kings are buried, as well as James of Scotland, father of Bonnie Prince Charlie and principal of the Jacobite rebellion. Did you visit that church?

Personally we noticed no inconvenience and as I wrote, Viking provided many complimentary shuttles for this who wished to make extra time on their own.

I think jpalbny has answered your question regarding a church. It is worth noting of course that Le Pecq is ideal for walking into Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

Thank you for the review, we are doing this trip next December 2019

JP--yes, that is the church. I thought I read somewhere on these boards that, maybe on embarkation day (?) a visit to that church if offered to those who choose not to go into Paris?? Someone had reported on CC having been brought to that church--maybe it was by bus, my memory is cloudy on this.

The thing about Scottish King James, it seems I read that somewhere, as he spent his latter years exiled in France.

Sharkster77, I am not entirely sure of the church you refer to. Do you have more information?

 

AFAIK, the vast majority of French kings are buried at the basilica in St-Denis. It is (like Le Pecq) a suburb of Paris, but it's not particularly close by to Le Pecq. It is easy enough to get there from Paris though, and worth the visit - we were there in 2010. As it's a bit out of the way, we found it fairly empty.

 

And, the basilique Saint-Denis is the site of the conclusion of a Steve Berry book, The Paris Vendetta. It was pretty cool to have been there, and to then recognize it in the book.

 

I do not remember seeing James of Scotland's grave there but could have missed it.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

My wife and my in-laws (and me) took this cruise in 2014 (for a complete post of our trip, see http://www.lipfordfamilyadventures.com/2014_river_seine_cruise.php ) and for our perspective on Viking, go here; http://www.lipfordfamilyadventures.com/viking_overview.php.

Of the two Viking River Cruises we have taken, the trip to Normandy from Paris was our favorite. The Seine is wide, the bridges are tall enough for the boat's sun deck to be in the usable position, etc.

The food was excellent, and the wine selections were great.

We went on the Invasion Beaches day trip, and thoroughly enjoyed the visit.