Princess Excursion - question about the bus - LeHavre to Paris -

[CSloan]

Has anyone done the Princess "Paris on Your Own" or "Best of Paris" via Princess excursion? I'm curious if they use a regular full-size but (like the ones they usually use for airport transfers) or if they use smaller buses.  Thanks.

[Wichard]

We have done the trip to Paris twice and it was a large bus, ~50 passengers, both times.  Quite a long ride but we always enjoy seeing Paris.

 

Richard 

[rocklinmom]

Our family did the Louvre shorex with Princess this past summer and all of the Princess Paris excursions were on full size busses. It was only half full so plenty of room (depends on the popularity of the shorex). It also had a (small) restroom. And it was air-conditioned, which was a must as it was over ninety degrees that day. 

[Justalone]

 

Just curious how long is the bus ride from the ship to Paris?   Is the shore excursion just a ride around looking  at Paris from the window of the bus, or do you get off the bus and actually get to walk around Paris?   How much time are you actually in Paris?

So, in your opinion, is the shore excursion good value and worth it?

Edited February 23, 2020 by Justalone

[CSloan]

31 minutes ago, Justalone said:

 

Just curious how long is the bus ride from the ship to Paris?   Is the shore excursion just a ride around looking  at Paris from the window of the bus, or do you get off the bus and actually get to walk around Paris?   How much time are you actually in Paris?

So, in your opinion, is the shore excursion good value and worth it?

 

It looks like a 3-hour bus ride each way. The "on your owns" drops you off, and you're on your own for a little over 4 hours.  The Best of Paris, it looks like they mostly drive around, stop at a restaurant for an hour, then stop at the Eiffel Tower for about 1.5 hours.  Just trying to imagine 3 hours each way on a crowded bus.  The train is an option, but I tend to get nervous about missing the ship.

[CSloan]

3 hours ago, Wichard said:

We have done the trip to Paris twice and it was a large bus, ~50 passengers, both times.  Quite a long ride but we always enjoy seeing Paris.

 

Richard 

Thanks. Would you mind sharing a bit about what the trip was like/your experience?

[riffatsea]

I don't think this is a good way to actually see Paris.

6 hrs on a bus would not be my pick for an excursion to anywhere!

[triple7tahoe]

If you do Paris on your own make sure you plan ahead. We took subway and got to most sites of great importance. Sad note that I did manage to get pickpocketed, either on the subway or in the Vatican. Big bus with lots of room.

[triple7tahoe]

1 minute ago, triple7tahoe said:

If you do Paris on your own make sure you plan ahead. We took subway and got to most sites of great importance. Sad note that I did manage to get pickpocketed, either on the subway or in the Vatican. Big bus with lots of room.

My bad-I mixed up two trips:-) Pick pocket was on Rome trip. Bus to Paris still need to be well planned

[Paula_MacFan]

Here's a thread from last fall 

We are doing the excursion that tours Paris and does the lunch cruise on the Seine.  I know it's a long bus ride, but we're already going halfway around the world, what's a few more hours 🙂

 

 

 

[Paula_MacFan]

3 minutes ago, triple7tahoe said:

 Bus to Paris still need to be well planned

I believe the OP is asking about the Princess excursion, not doing it on their own.

[rocklinmom]

The ride was a little over two hours each way. The bus stopped halfway at a rest stop. 

[Wichard]

2 hours ago, CSloan said:

Thanks. Would you mind sharing a bit about what the trip was like/your experience?

The bus ride is rather long but I always enjoy seeing the countryside in the various countries we visit.  There is a bathroom break but I view the three hours as something to be endured to see Paris but I am glad my wife got to see Notre Dame before the fire and next time I think we will go to Versailles.  The worst part is the return since you are tired and it is dark when you get back to the ship and then you must pack to leave the ship in Southampton the next day.

 

My thoughts are it is worth it.

 

Richard 

[riffatsea]

Paris is not a one day city.

In my opinion if you want to go to Paris you should spend a week there.

Would you try to see NYC in one day??

[cantgetin]

Honestly, I'd either disembark in Paris or get off in Southampton and return to Paris...for about a week.  6 hours in Paris is a joke.

[Coral]

It probably isn't ideal - but if the choice is seeing it for a few hours and never seeing it, I would go for a few hours.

[debshomespun]

We did the Princess shore excursion to Paris on our own option on 9/9/19.  It's about a 3 hr ride each way with a stop about half way.  There are alot of buses at the stop, but the lines move very quickly.  (Women were using the men's room too 😊)

 

We planned our day before we went.  In the excursion description in the cruise planner, it tells where you get dropped off.  We walk alot, and decided we would walk our route.  We got off the bus and made our way (followed along the river) to the Princess Diana memorial, about 10 minute walk. Next was to the Eiffel tower, about 15 minutes to walk there, walked around the back and took photos, shopped in the gift shop for 5 minutes and bought from one of the vendors in the sidewalk.

 

Next we walked back along the river to just past the buses to The Louvre, took many pictures.  Turned around and back towards the buses through the park and took lots of photos of the statutes.  Got a crepe  from the vendor in middle of the park.  Proceeded to the shopping area, but was all high end, very difficult to find souvenirs.  Went back to the bus.  

 

You get a map on the bus and we had looked at our route before we went so we had a good idea of where we were.

 

We had plenty of time to do this, we had over 20,000 steps within our 4 hours in Paris.

 

Would definitely do this again.  And it was our Anniversary, so I can say DH took me to Paris for our Anniversary! 💞

 

A few pictures from our day.

 

Edited February 24, 2020 by debshomespun

[CSloan]

 

debshomespun - thanks for the pics and details.  Looks like a fun anniversary 🤗

[Justalone]

6 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

The ride was a little over two hours each way. The bus stopped halfway at a rest stop. 

 

3 hours ago, debshomespun said:

We did the Princess shore excursion to Paris on our own option on 9/9/19.  It's about a 3 hr ride each way with a stop about half way.  There are alot of buses at the stop, but the lines move very quickly.  (Women were using the men's room too 😊)

 

We planned our day before we went.  In the excursion description in the cruise planner, it tells where you get dropped off.  We walk alot, and decided we would walk our route.  We got off the bus and made our way (followed along the river) to the Princess Diana memorial, about 10 minute walk. Next was to the Eiffel tower, about 15 minutes to walk there, walked around the back and took photos, shopped in the gift shop for 5 minutes and bought from one of the vendors in the sidewalk.

 

Next we walked back along the river to just past the buses to The Louvre, took many pictures.  Turned around and back towards the buses through the park and took lots of photos of the statutes.  Got a crepe  from the vendor in middle of the park.  Proceeded to the shopping area, but was all high end, very difficult to find souvenirs.  Went back to the bus.  

 

You get a map on the bus and we had looked at our route before we went so we had a good idea of where we were.

 

We had plenty of time to do this, we had over 20,000 steps within our 4 hours in Paris.

 

Would definitely do this again.  And it was our Anniversary, so I can say DH took me to Paris for our Anniversary! 💞

 

A few pictures from our day.

 

Thank you for the review.
Once you were dropped off from the bus parking lot,  how much time did you have in Paris before returning to the bus parking lot for return back to the ship?
On the “On Your Own” Princess shore excursion do you think there would  be time enough to take a guided tour of the Louvre?  And /Or  time  to stroll Luxembourg Gardens?  And/Or time to go up to the observation deck at the Eiffel Tower?  Do all three?

Nice photos btw.

Edited February 24, 2020 by Justalone
Thinking of Paris shore ex.

[trbarton]

I decided to take the train. Easy Peasy. Once in Paris I used the hop off bus which went to all of the major spots. I purchased my train ticket in advance but if I were to do it again & would by my train ticket once I’m there. 
 

I knew the train schedule & returned with time to spare. 
 

Tom😀

Edited February 24, 2020 by trbarton

[Trevor Fountain]

I wouldn't plan anything as a do your own in France. The French do like to strike. So if you plan a long way out, be prepared for trains and/or buses not running.

Imvho Paris is not a cruise destination. Le Harve by road is 122 miles from Paris.

[PescadoAmarillo]

We took the Paris on our own Princess excursion. I won’t repeat what others have said but will state that there is simply not a lot of time in Paris. DH had never seen the city, and wanted to see the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. He wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Having spent a fair bit of time in Paris, I thought a swing by Notre Dame before crossing the river on foot and walking past the Louvre and Tuileries Gardens on our return to the bus was also do-able. It was not. Luckily, we saw the Arc de Triomphe from the bus because all we managed to fit in (and this was in October) was the Eiffel Tower.
 

It is a great option for someone who has never seen Paris and has no plans to return. It is not an optimal way to see the city. And do watch the pickpockets. They are ridiculous.  I’ve stayed in Paris on my own a couple of times and once with my mom and don’t remember the long lines at the Eiffel Tower (and I had gone to the top in June) nor the pickpockets. 

[sunsetbeachgal]

11 hours ago, Coral said:

It probably isn't ideal - but if the choice is seeing it for a few hours and never seeing it, I would go for a few hours.

 Exactly!  Our daughter and son in law opted for this from our British Isles cruise, as they had been to Paris but theit two young girls had not.   They did the “on your own “ Princess bus and were very pleased.  The girls got some great photo ops, a few souvenirs, saw some sights and and it saved son in law paying for a separate trip to Paris, for at least awhile! 

Edited February 24, 2020 by sunsetbeachgal

[dickinson]

We did a shore excursion a few years ago.  It was the one that took you inside the Louvre and lunch on the first level of the Eiffel Tower.  We also drove down the Champs Elysees and past the Arc d'driomphe.  Well worth the cost and the bus ride.

[gkkapp]

Here's what we did in 2012 using the "Paris on Your Own" excursion:

 

Today we booked a ship's tour – Paris on Your Own. Basically we paid for a bus to take us from the ship into Paris and get us back in time before the ship sailed. We had a very early breakfast in the buffet, and went to the ship's theater to await our tour group being called. The trip into Paris was uneventful and took about three hours. The scenery along the way was nice. Arriving in Paris we rode down the Champs Elysee, past the Arc de Triomphe and were let off near the Place de la Concorde. Luckily, we quickly found a taxi that would transport four people (many taxis won't) and we rode to Notre Dame Cathedral. We walked around the outside, taking pictures as we went. On the north side of the Cathedral under the rose window is a sidewalk cafe we discovered on the Internet called La Rosace. We ate lunch there, a ham and cheese sandwich for us and crêpes for our friends. We took advantage of their free restroom. After lunch we got in the long but fast moving queue to visit the inside of this vast church. In spite of the wall-to-wall people we were able to take a few pictures and admire the architecture. Leaving the church, we walked past the flower market and in front of St. Chapelle. We then crossed the Seine River and started walking along the river towards our bus pick-up point. Karen was able to purchase an oil painting of the Arc de Triomphe along the way. When we came to the Louvre, we walked through a large archway into a courtyard. A second archway took us to the famous glass pyramid. Lots of photos were taken. We continued on through the Tuileries Gardens and around the Place de la Concorde. It was time to return to the pick-up point for our return to the ship. On the way back we drove past the Eiffel Tower, which we had only seen from a distance, so we had a great photo opportunity. Traffic was a bit heavy as we rode back to Le Havre and got worse as we neared the ship. Finally we were there, and quickly made our way to the dining room for our “last supper”.

 

If we were going now we would go on the other side of the Seine to the Eiffel Tower.  Glad we saw Notre Dame when we did.  We had about 4 hours and if you plan ahead as to what you really want to see the excursion is well worth it.

 

<<<Karen>>>