Onboard the Uniworld Joie DeVivre

About to leave this gorgeous ship. Our transfer to the train is in about an hour. Then a three hour train to River Royale in Bordeaux

Yesterday we arranged our own tour to Champagne. (Most passengers had a day in Paris, but we have seen most of the major sites before)

If you are into wine like us, it is a must do. We met our guide at the train station in Champagne. She was excellent - fluent in both the history of the area and the technical aspects of champagne making. We visited three producers, saw the process and went into the caves. We sampled 10 different wines and had a great french lunch at one of the wineries. Capped off with a quick stop at the Magnificent Reims Cathedral.

As for the JoieDeVivre, we say goodbye this morning to a marvelous crew. There is so much positive to say about everyone and everything. And so few negatives.

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I am now aboard the River Royale in the town of Bordeaux. I will start a new thread for the next half of our journey, but will check back here to answer any questions about the JDV and the Normandy cruise. ,

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I am now aboard the River Royale in the town of Bordeaux. I will start a new thread for the next half of our journey, but will check back here to answer any questions about the JDV and the Normandy cruise. ,

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This year, I decided to pay the $10/day ATT fee for unlimited phone/text/internet, to have "just in case." It worked well when we were in the locks/the gorge. It was a reasonably priced investment, and cost me less than other packages in the past, which I bought in order to be able to call the kids.

 

Robin

Thanks for this info. I have used AT&Ts Passport in the past but it was very expensive especially if you sent pictures and used a fair amount of data. I wasn't aware of this new program! Amazing what you find on these boards.

Here is a small annoyance - although understandable from an energy conservation point of view.

On the JDV, when you enter your room you have to place a key card in a slot inside the room. This allows you to turn on lights, TV and the thermostat. The only problem is, after a day of touring, you return to a somewhat warm and stuffy room that took an hour or so to get to my preferred temperature. And this was April. I could not imagine what will happen in July or August.

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We kept our drapes pulled during the day for this reason. I typically left a card in the slot though - sometimes the cleaners would remove it and put it on the dresser, other times, they left it in there.

We kept our drapes pulled during the day for this reason. I typically left a card in the slot though - sometimes the cleaners would remove it and put it on the dresser, other times, they left it in there.

Drapes will help. But the card won't. You need your card to get off and on the ship. Can't leave it in the room.

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Drapes will help. But the card won't. You need your card to get off and on the ship. Can't leave it in the room.

I have read on other threads that it doesn't have to be your room card -- any card that fits will work. Some people bring an expired credit card for this purpose.

Great.. thx

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I have read on other threads that it doesn't have to be your room card -- any card that fits will work. Some people bring an expired credit card for this purpose.

This is normal practice for 99% of the hotels out there that use the same type of 'green' energy controls...

The hotel I use most often always gives me an extra room key explicitly for this purpose without me even having to ask :)

I have read on other threads that it doesn't have to be your room card -- any card that fits will work. Some people bring an expired credit card for this purpose.

That's what I always do on any ship and even in hotels that have this feature, I use my tip calculator card or any other card I have on me that doesn't link to my information and can't be used for purchases.

Sometimes even a business card will do.

Yes, we all like to be 'green' as long as it doesn't require any sacrifice ;p

I try not to waste energy, but if you are trying to charge electronics when you are not in the room you need power. I don't leave air conditioning blasting full bore, or lights on, but sometimes you need power in the room when you aren't in it.

I try not to waste energy, but if you are trying to charge electronics when you are not in the room you need power. I don't leave air conditioning blasting full bore, or lights on, but sometimes you need power in the room when you aren't in it.

Exactly. We travel with 2 cellphones, 2 iPads, 2 laptops - we have to charge when we are not in the room or our stuff won't be charged when we need it.

We are onboard from April 23 to 30. Wow - excellent! Service, food, accommodations everything.

 

Tonight we did the special dinner in the Cave de vin. Costs 93 euros per person but well worth it. Fun experience, great food and very nice wines.

 

I'll try to report again during the week. Tours so far have been well done. Giverney and Rouen. Very good guides.

 

Tomorrow is Honfleur then a very long day on thursday for the d-day tours

 

I will be happy to answer any questions.

 

 

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We are thinking of taking this cruise next summer and you make it sound like the right decision.

I would love the tour information for champagne, I'm considering doing the same cruise next year.

Thanks

Yesterday we arranged our own tour to Champagne. (Most passengers had a day in Paris, but we have seen most of the major sites before)

If you are into wine like us, it is a must do. We met our guide at the train station in Champagne. She was excellent - fluent in both the history of the area and the technical aspects of champagne making. We visited three producers, saw the process and went into the caves. We sampled 10 different wines and had a great french lunch at one of the wineries. Capped off with a quick stop at the Magnificent Reims Cathedral.

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Would be very interested to know the name and contact info of your tour guide.

JPH814,

just a quick question: I am not sure if I understood this correctly about Honfleur and the D-Day outing. Did you sail to and dock in Honfleur and the following day went to the Normandy beaches from there?

Thank you.

notamermaid

The tour guide we used was La Vigne du roy. You can checkout their website. (lavingeduroy.com). The website is pretty descriptive of the tours that are offered.

We did not do the Normandy beaches from Honfleur. We left Honfleur that afternoon and returned to Rouen. Our trip to the beaches the next day started and ended with a three hour bus ride from and back to Rouen.

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Thanks for the guide's name.

And just wondering, wthat 3 hours EACH way?

Thanks for the guide's name.

 

And just wondering, wthat 3 hours EACH way?

The day we toured the beaches and other D day sites, the ship was docked in Rouen. If you look at a map, there does not appear to be a river connecting the Seine to the Normandy beach area. So the ship docked in Rouen the night before and we boarded buses in the morning.

It was about a 3 hour ride to our first stop - Utah Beach. We then spent the next 6 hours visiting Pont Du Hoc, St Mere Eglaise, the American Cemetary and Omaha Beach - with a series of short bus rides between each site. Then we had a 3 hour bus ride back to the ship.

It was a long day but it was worth it. I would not hesitate to recommend it.

Looking at a map, it looks like there might be ports that might be a somewhat shorter trip to the beaches. But I do not know what the roads are like so who knows. I guess you just have to trust Uniworld that it was the best available alternative.

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We did not do the Normandy beaches from Honfleur.

I think notamermaid's question [and it would be interesting to me even if that wasn't her point] is whether your ship was able to dock in Honfleur. Because of the restricted area of the port, only the smallest river ships have been able to do this, and as far as I can recall that did not include Uniworld.

I think notamermaid's question [and it would be interesting to me even if that wasn't her point] is whether your ship was able to dock in Honfleur. Because of the restricted area of the port, only the smallest river ships have been able to do this, and as far as I can recall that did not include Uniworld.

I am sorry. You are correct. We docked in a small town of Caudebec en Caux and then had about an hour bus ride to Honfleur. When we returned from Honfleur the ship then moved back to Rouen for our trip to The beaches.

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Thank you JPH814,

for answering my question and

thank you, hostjazzbeau, for clarifying.

I am interested in figuring out how far out Uniworld goes - I mean downstream on the Seine - and how they organize the tours. So, they turn at Caudebec-en -Caux which tells me that they cannot go to Honfleur presumably because the rule that only 110m ships dock at Honfleur is still in place. I thought Uniworld with its new 125m ship might go to Honfleur.

Good to hear you had a great time despite the long bus rides. I am sure it is a moving experience to see these places. And Rouen cathedral is amazing I have been told.

notamermaid