Need Help with Chosing Celebrity Excursion in Paris

[Blue Ridge A & A]

We will be on the Transatlantic cruise next month on the Connie. We will be in Le Havre one full day and would like to take one of Celebrity's Paris excursions. We would consider doing Paris on our own, but my French is a little rusty at the moment. This will be our first visit to Paris and will likely not be the last.

 

We are debating between two of Celebrity's Paris shore excursions: 1) tour with lunch cruise on the Seine, or 2) the da Vinci code tour with lunch in the Louvre. Celebrity's shore excursion descriptions can sometimes be a little vague when it comes to details.

 

Has anyone been on either of these excursions? Our time in Paris will be relatively short, but wonder just how much of Paris one would see on either excursion. It appears that the majority of the day is spent on a bus, but would love to know just how much walking we could expect (hopefully lots). Any reflections on either of the lunch experiences would also be appreciated. We would welcome your thoughts and any guidance you may have to offer.

 

Thank you!

[kitty9]

The Louvre is always terribly crowded, and since you have a very limited amount of time in Paris, it's something I would avoid. If you had a couple of days in Paris, then the museum would be very nice, but you really need to see as much as you can in the few hours you have. I would do the tour with the lunch and river cruise. On that cruise, you'll get to see so much of what makes Paris great.

[LDR]

I would also go for the lunch and river cruise as well. The Louvre is amazing

but you could spend all day in there and still not see everything! My DH and

I ate lunch at the Louvre(we were there on our own) and it was cafeteria

style, to say the least. You will see a lot from the Seine, and if you have time

go to the Eiffel Tower:) Have a great trip!

[MBZ Girl]

Art & Andrew, I am on the same cruise! We are doing the Paris on Your Own and doing the hop on hop off boat! The bus drops us off at the Eiffel Tower & the boat dock is right there. You can get on & off all day for like 12 Euros and see all the "must see & do" sights. No worries about speaking great French, you can make do, my high school French is rusty also!!! We'll just get on & off when we want to see something.

There are several of us on this tour, come join us!:D

[RockyTop2]

Have you before to Paris before? If not, consider the excursion "A Taste of Paris". This past spring we also did a T/A on the Connie. Having never been to Paris, and knowing we only had one day. We choose this excursion and were not at all disappointed. On the bus, they provided a Parisian who gave out maps and all kinds of info, even coming around to each of us on the bus asking where they wanted to go and giving info. Then upon arriving in Paris, we drove around seeing all the highlights which gave us a feel of where things were and we really got to see the beauty of the city. We were then dropped off at the Eiffel Tower and had three and a half hours on our own. You could then either walk or take a taxi to one or two of your favorite interests and/or have a nice lunch at one of the beautiful sidewalk cafes and do some shopping. There is also a nice little park at the Eiffel Tower where we had a little free time before boarding the bus for the return trip. Good benches for people watching! But I have to add, I did hear the lunch/river trip was very good. You won't go wrong with either.

[ivopera]

I am french and live in Paris. I didn't see the excursions suggested by Celebrity but what is sure is :

Don't do the Louvre. It is a great museum but for a first time in Paris, I think you have much better things to see. The best would be to combine a boat trip on the Seine and a bus tour of the most beautiful monuments in Paris.

Don't hesitate to come back to me for any questions on Paris.

 

By the way, many parisians speak english and would be very helpful...

[bobbyleduck]

I've not been on any of the tours you've mentioned, but my wife and I were in Paris five years ago and I have to agree with everyone else. Do a tour, with the ship or on your own, that allows you to see as much of the City as possible. The entire city is a museum and a river cruise would be great. We walked along the Seine and it was incredible, but your time is limited. You can't go wrong with a tour of the City that includes both bus and boat.

 

Happy cruising to all!

 

Bob

[Bruin Steve]

Guys,

This is one of those questions I hate to answer...

...because I don't have a satisfactory answer...

 

I guess, given the choice, I'd take the boat ride and avoid crowds at the Louvres and at least get a more scenic overview of Paris...

 

But the real answer is that it is disappointing that this is your first trip to Paris and it has to be the Le Havre port stop...I would rather wish that you extend your cruise with several days in Europe and use at least two or three of those in Paris...Though it's not MY favorite European city, it certainly merits more time than the limited hours in one port day...

 

Luckily for us, we've been to Paris multiple times on "land trips", so that when we were on the Connie a couple years back and it stopped in LeHavre, we had no problem skipping Paris completely and using the day to visit Rouen and Giverny (a really delightful excursion--the City where Jeanne d'Arc was burned at the stake and the home and gardens of Monet)...

 

The biggest problem for me with the Paris excursions is that Le Havre is a long, long way from Paris...About half of your port stop is spent on a bus going to and coming back from Paris...

 

But, if you've never been to Paris and think you may never get another chance, I guess...

 

Well, have fun...

[sealover155]

Paris is one of those cities that is blessed with extraordinary beauty, history, art, architecture, and of course, great food. With just one day, you must make choices. You could reserve tickets ahead, online, and spend the day in the Louvre or Musee d'Orsay if impressionism is your thing. It's really overwhelming and I understand your dilemma.

 

I'd probably go with the boat ride excursion. Having been fortunate to travel to Paris many, many times as well as other European capitals, I'd have to say that Paris is the most visually impressive, and beautiful city in Europe. You will enjoy the sights much more from a boat ride than trying to take them in from the window of a bus, or even on foot. More than likely they will serve a leisurely and typical French lunch which will be relaxing.

 

This city is so popular that there will be long lines everywhere - a 2 hour wait at the Eiffel Tower is not unusual. To have an organized day would undoubtedly make the most of your time. Also, I'd suggest picking up a really good guide before you go - we like Michelin and Eyewitness - so that you'll have a sense of what's there as well as the history. (When you see Les Invalides from the boat, you'll know that Napoleon is buried there.)

 

We've had mixed experiences with the hop-on hop-off buses. It's easy to hop on but sometimes you must wait 20-30 minutes to hop back on when you're ready. This is a day you mustn't waste time.

 

Don't fret about what you might miss, just enjoy what you experience. My travel mantra is, "always leave at least one thing undone so you'll return".

 

Bon Voyage!

[MBZ Girl]

We've had mixed experiences with the hop-on hop-off buses. It's easy to hop on but sometimes you must wait 20-30 minutes to hop back on when you're ready. This is a day you mustn't waste time.

 

 

I mentioned the hop on hop off BOATS, what is your experience with those??? I want the boat ride as well as being able to get on & off at different places. Not interested in one that serves lunch since the sidewalk cafes are not to be missed!!!!

[CaroleSP]

We are also on this T/A with you.

 

Looking at the offerings, we decided that we can't do Paris justice in just one day, so we are going out into the countryside to Mount St Michel and Hon Fleur.

 

Does our Paris native have any thoughts on this?

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

[Dick in Falls Church]

We went to Le Havre in the spring, and opted for the Giverny/Rouen tour.

It was excellent, even if I have to admit it. My wife is into miniatures, and she and a friend did "Monet's Garden". She loved actually being there.

[LPast50]

We did Paris on our own a few years ago & wouldn't do it again. It's a 2-3 hr bus ride from LeHarve to Paris. We spent most of our time at the Eiffel tower....it was a LONG wait to go up the tower.

I'd do the Boat & Lunch cruise on the Seine...

[MBZ Girl]

We did Paris on our own a few years ago & wouldn't do it again. It's a 2-3 hr bus ride from LeHarve to Paris. We spent most of our time at the Eiffel tower....it was a LONG wait to go up the tower.

 

I'd do the Boat & Lunch cruise on the Seine...

 

I guess I have to ask---why did you wait to go up the ET???? Was that a major focal point for you???

There is no way we will wait in line for that!

[stace11]

We did the lunch cruise excursion through Celebrity in April. It was our first time to Paris as well and with the limited time, we decided to go with this excursion since it provided a good overview of all the main sights, as well as the nice lunch cruise. Having said that, we only had about 30 minutes to walk around on our own. It's a 2-3 hour trip from Le Havre into Paris and we did a nice overview tour of the city from the bus before we went to the boat docks for the lunch cruise. The lunch itself was very good. All the wine you can drink, as well as a great chicken entree and some cheese. The view from the boat was great and we very much enjoyed the cruise. After lunch, we boarded the bus again for the remainder of the city tour. The bus stopped on the other side of the river and gave us a chance to take some great photos of the Eiffel Tower. At the end of the tour, the bus stopped at the foot of the Tower and we were able to walk around for only about 30 minutes before getting back on the bus for the long trip back to Le Havre.

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say I was disappointed in the excursion as it was very informative and interesting, however I am the type that likes to explore on my own a bit. At the end of the day, though, I had seen all the major sights of Paris with my own eyes and got some fabulous pictures. The excursion is good for getting a taste of Paris and figuring out what you'd like to go back and focus on at some other time....

 

Enjoy your trip. Paris is a beautiful city and I'm sure whatever you decide, you will have a wonderful time.

[luvinlife]

I am french and live in Paris. I didn't see the excursions suggested by Celebrity but what is sure is :

Don't do the Louvre. It is a great museum but for a first time in Paris, I think you have much better things to see. The best would be to combine a boat trip on the Seine and a bus tour of the most beautiful monuments in Paris.

Don't hesitate to come back to me for any questions on Paris.

 

By the way, many parisians speak english and would be very helpful...

 

We too are on this same cruise and we are doing the Paris On Your Own through the ship. My question is...do you think we are making the right choice to do the Hop On Hop Off bus after we get there.? We basically wanted to take pictures of the Eiffel Tower, go to Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Sacre Coeur (sp?) and do a little shopping. Do you think this is possible?

 

Thank you for you time and guidance,

Brenda

[pheifej]

I mentioned the hop on hop off BOATS, what is your experience with those??? I want the boat ride as well as being able to get on & off at different places. Not interested in one that serves lunch since the sidewalk cafes are not to be missed!!!!

 

I'm assuming you're talking about the bateaubus? http://www.batobus.com/ It is simmilar to any public transportation, their are busy times and slow times. Once we had to wait 2 trips for there to be room for us, and it was only standing room at that! Though it's better than cramming on a bus IMHO The scenery is AMAZING. Be aware that it is a just a "bus" ride, there is little to no commentary, so it could be a bit disapointing if you're expecting a narrated tour.

 

Mt. St Michele is also a good 1 day affair (since you don't have to drive there) However, it's a long way up, and is a bit touristy, and I've heard that it's gotten "worse" but definately a check-off the life list amazing thing!

 

BTW... I'm not a "native" but I used to live there, and have visited many times. I am acctually looking to move back, so I am happy to ask questions

[Blondie007]

As an alternative to the boat bus, you can use the "Red Bus" tour. These are great! Red buses tour the city all day long, you just hop on and off any stop. There are headphones with commentory as you go along. Its a great way to see Paris and stop on and off as you please. Its really cheap and if weather is good you can sit up on the open top deck of the bus.

If you are a "foodie" lunch at Fouquets on the champs elysee...mmmm...yummmy... fois gras risotto to die for! We sometimes pop over to Paris for a one nighter just to have lunch here.. bliss:D