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Paris to Switzerland


cruiserjanet
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I agree that some more details of what you are looking at could be helpful. In the meantime I would like to give you a little bit of info. This is a more unusual itinerary and not taken that much by cruisers, at least not that much talked about on CC. It certainly is an alternative to the standard Basel to Amsterdam route. It takes in the lovely Moselle and takes you through the famous castle stretch on the Rhine into the Upper Rhine valley and to Strasbourg as the highlight in that region. In my opinion. One word of warning: depending on the company the travel from Paris to the Moselle is a long day on a coach. If you are happy with not seeing Amsterdam and Cologne this is a nice route with any reputable company.

 

notamermaid

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I think that this is a nice itinerary. I've done the Viking Paris to Luxembourg bus ride several years ago on the "Cities of Light cruise. It took about 4 hours and included a 30-minute rest stop. On our trip we left Paris a little after breakfast, had lunch on our own in Luxembourg, saw the American cemetery and boarded the ship in Trier in the late afternoon. The bus ride was OK. Just bring something to read and go with the flow.

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Hello FuelScience,

 

I would also find the bus ride o.k. seeing that the modern coaches have partly reclining seats, and sometimes there is a TV screen, the coaches are air-conditioned and the rest stop is a legal requirement. No problem. One just needs to be aware that it is long day that one is not sightseeing or on a ship. Apart from the visit to Luxembourg city centre and the American cemetery. I usually read, listen to music or have a nap on these bus rides.

 

I do not recall the scenery being of much interest. A bit more than four hours mainly on motorways, the nicest stretch will be the section with the vineyards between Luxembourg and Trier, although the Moselle valley near Metz is also o.k.

 

I like this itinerary for the fact that is offers a variation to the standard Marksburg in that it includes a trip up onto the Lorelei rock. It also stops in Mainz rather than Rüdesheim which I find superior. Just my opinion as I am not a fan of the jovial / merry Rüdesheim. Worms is also a great stop and new to Viking I believe.

 

notamermaid

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Thank you for your replies. This will be an anniversary cruise for not only myself and my DH but my BFF and her DH are going to be joining us also. My DH and I have never been to Europe before and this cruise looks like it covers 4 countries so I'm guessing we will be in for some amazing experiences. Our plan is to fly into London a few days before and go to Paris to meet with everyone. This is a few years off but, since we have never taken a river cruise before, we are doing our research so we can be informed and also have something to look forward to besides our other ocean cruises.

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  • 4 weeks later...

We just returned from Viking Paris to Swiss Alps on Longboat HILD. Fantastic itinerary, you will enjoy. We extended 2 more days in Paris. The bus ride to boat was not bad as there were several sightseeing and rest stops (Luxumborg, Amer. Cemetery) to break up the time. Seats are big, comfortable; bus is quiet. Scenery along the highway is beautiful countryside - like looking at postcard pictures for 3 hours. As for cruise, we strongly recommend 3 optional excursions: (Paris - Montmontre Hill & Versailles Palace, and Basel - Highlights of the Alps). Daytime temps late March, early April were 60d-65d. Enjoy.

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We are flying from the US. Is it better to fly in to Zurich and take the Zurich to Paris route or fly into Paris and do the Paris to Zurich route.

That's a hard call. There are subtle differences in taking one direction or the other--things like whether you'll be in a town during the morning or the afternoon or how much free time you might have somewhere, but those are hard to assess from the descriptions on the web sites.

 

Also, have you looked at the AMA itinerary at the link below? I think that AMA may be the only other line that offers this route. There are some differences. AMA is advertised as Luxembourg to Basel, but they offer 3-day extensions in both Paris and Zurich. I think that if you do the extensions, you travel from Paris to Luxembourg on the TGV train (about 2 hours) rather than the bus.

 

https://www.amawaterways.com/destination/europe-river-cruises/2018/rhine-moselle-splendors

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We are flying from the US. Is it better to fly in to Zurich and take the Zurich to Paris route or fly into Paris and do the Paris to Zurich route.

 

Depending on your planned activities you may want to look at typical weather patterns for the time you will be at each city - 10 days might make a difference (although climate today is so unpredictable). Also air fares and flight choices for certain days would be a factor to consider. However, to be less cerebral, we liked doing Paris first, since we were pumped up about the adventure to come and, with the adrenaline flowing, we were eager to take on all that this great city had to offer. By day 12, with so many wonderful tours and pictures, we were ready to start winding down and prep for the trip home. Zurich was a good place to start that transition. I vote Paris to Zurich.

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  • 1 month later...
We have never been on a river cruise and are doing some long range planning. Has anyone been on the Paris to Switzerland cruise? If so, your thoughts please. We are only looking at this cruise.

 

We were on this Viking Cruise from Mar 23 to April 5 this year (2017). Couldn't have been more pleased. It was one of the best vacations we have taken. We did a 2-day extension in Paris which we strongly recommend if 1st time. Don't be put off by the negative comments on bus from Paris to Viking Ship at Trier, DE. The trip includes rest stops and city tour of Luxembourg and WWII American Cemetery, both of which are fantastic. All during the bus ride, the Viking Guide is commenting on beautiful scenery of French and Luxembourg countryside. The bus is roomy with large windows - you will be in Trier before you know it.

 

Same for the trip to Swiss Alps. Don't pass up on this extra Excursion. So many of our fellow passengers did not book this OPTIONAL trip and were so disappointed that Viking could not take additional guests. We have been to all major US and Canada Ski areas, but the views of the Alps during this bus and train trip were as good or better. If you choose this trip - you will regret passing on this Excursion.

 

Great Cruise - from starting gun to finish line.

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I am relatively new to cruising, having taken only one river and one ocean cruise, both with Viking. I am a big fan, as both our trips were wonderful, and I recommend them highly. However, I have seen enough comments by more experienced cruisers to suggest that you make sure you do your research to understand the differences between ocean and river cruises. If you are accustomed to sailing on the large cruise ships with thousands of other passengers and lots of entertainment options (rock climbing walls, casinos, pools, etc.), this will be very different.

 

I am certainly not trying to discourage you, as I said we absolutely loved :hearteyes: our river cruise, and expect that you will as well !

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We have never been on a river cruise and are doing some long range planning. Has anyone been on the Paris to Switzerland cruise? If so, your thoughts please. We are only looking at this cruise.

 

We have been on 5 river and 1 ocean cruise, all on Viking, which we love. We will be going on the Paris To the Swiss Alps cruise on July 29 this year. We know several people whose first Viking trip was this one. They loved it and have since booked other Viking voyages.

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We were on this Viking Cruise from Mar 23 to April 5 this year (2017). Couldn't have been more pleased. It was one of the best vacations we have taken. We did a 2-day extension in Paris which we strongly recommend if 1st time. Don't be put off by the negative comments on bus from Paris to Viking Ship at Trier, DE. The trip includes rest stops and city tour of Luxembourg and WWII American Cemetery, both of which are fantastic. All during the bus ride, the Viking Guide is commenting on beautiful scenery of French and Luxembourg countryside. The bus is roomy with large windows - you will be in Trier before you know it.

 

Same for the trip to Swiss Alps. Don't pass up on this extra Excursion. So many of our fellow passengers did not book this OPTIONAL trip and were so disappointed that Viking could not take additional guests. We have been to all major US and Canada Ski areas, but the views of the Alps during this bus and train trip were as good or better. If you choose this trip - you will regret passing on this Excursion.

 

Great Cruise - from starting gun to finish line.

 

Did you take the Glacier Express offered by Viking in Zurich?

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  • 3 weeks later...
We have been on 5 river and 1 ocean cruise, all on Viking, which we love. We will be going on the Paris To the Swiss Alps cruise on July 29 this year. We know several people whose first Viking trip was this one. They loved it and have since booked other Viking voyages.

 

My husband and I are also going on this cruise on July 29th. This will be our 4th Viking River cruise. I have been looking around to see reviews of the extension to Zermatt and Geneva, and was pleasantly surprised to see your post. Hope to see you on board.

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My husband and I are also going on this cruise on July 29th. This will be our 4th Viking River cruise. I have been looking around to see reviews of the extension to Zermatt and Geneva, and was pleasantly surprised to see your post. Hope to see you on board.

 

 

That's great. We are Steve and Sally Rhodes.

 

Photography is my passion. You can see pictures of our previous trips here:

 

http://www.RhodesVacations.com

 

Here is our picture in Lisbon from our trip last year to Portugal on Viking. Looking forward to meeting you two!

 

fe7a9bdc53c45ea82cf085ad53d54d51.jpg

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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