somebodyII

Everyone:

Have safe travels to Paris and we will see you there.

Donna

Low and behold.....got an email this evening from Marianne at the hotel. In order for us to upgrade we have to provide a credit card.....YAY, finally something is working out.

Hi Cory and Michael!

 

Yes! I'll wear my beads, but you'll have no problem recognizing us. My DH is the splitting image of Santa Claus!!

 

As for the Mercure Montmartre, I haven't heard if the email I sent Gary helped or not. But the onea I've used were:

 

Olivier h0373@accor.com

Claire Nicolai h0373-re1@accor.com

Peggy Coupel h0373-re1@accor.com

 

Don't forget to tell them that the reservation is under Gate 1.

 

If you want a phone number, thess are the ones on their emails:

 

Olivier (Reception/Front Office) +33 1 44 69 70 70

Claire (Service Reservation/Reservation Department +33 1 44 69 70 00

Peggy (Service Reservation/Reservation Department +33 1 44 69 71 74

 

I hope this helps. Let me know. I can be reached on my email at sneundor at gmail dot com or by my US Skype number 440-499-6610. As of Saturday afternoon, I'll be at the Hyatt House Miami Airport or my US Cell number is 440-749-3932.

 

Regards,

Sandy

Costa Rica

Sandy:

I sent a request to the emails that you provided on Monday and have not received any word back. So I called the 800 number that I found and they don't have us in the reservation system (even under Gate 1). The gentleman was nice enough to call the hotel directly and they confirmed we have a room. I told them I wanted to upgrade and was put on hold. When the person picked up the phone, it got disconnected. When I called back to the number the gentleman that answered could not help me, but gave me the email address.

God how frustrating....first the airline and now the hotel....I am not sure this package deal is even worth it anymore. Just venting a little bit, I will be fine come Sunday night when the plane is on its way to this wonderful journey.

I will let everyone know what I find out.

Donna

Sandy,

 

I would like that number if possible. You can email it to me at garylev35 at aol dot com

Gary:

Were you ever able to get your room upgraded?

Donna

Woke up this morning and realized we leave in 14 days on this adventure. I am scared and excited at the same time. Nothing concrete planned. Have been reading a lot about the area the hotel is in. They call Montmartre a city within the city. I am looking forward to just walking the area. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate and we won't have any rain. See some of you in 15 days and the others when we board the train for London. Everyone have safe travels.

Donna

Sorry Donna, I meant to say in my last post that the Carnet of Metro tickets is NOT linked to one person so you can both use them.

I have found the little piece I did for a photographer friend of mine, will try and attach it now, never did this before on CC so hopefully it works.

Best, Noelle.

OMG Noelle, this is fantastic....thank you, thank you, thank you.

I totally agree with CPTech you definitely deserve 2 thumbs up.:)

Donna

Hi Donna, thats a better location since there are places of interest in Montmartre itself. Montmartre is on top of a hill overlooking Paris so there can be quite a few steps, there is a train and funicular I think. You will want to visit Sacre Couer, amazing views and most visitors also end up in the famous, if overtouristy, Place de Tertre. But Montmartre also has lovely little streets for wandering in, with a great village atmosphere, around Metro Abbesses, Rue Des Abbesses, Rue Lepic etc. And this area is within walking distance of your hotel. You are also just beside the famous Montmartre cemetery, if that interests you!

And again, you are near a few metro stops to get to the center of Paris, it will be easy. The carnet will work for both of you, they are for named people, its just 10 tickets at a cheaper rate and handier since you dont have to buy each time. One ticket works for each journey, so distance etc doesnt matter.

Watch where you eat in Paris, try and use a good guidebook, there are some great restaurants at great value but some are poor, just for tourists. So avoid big tourist spots for eating, such as the above Place de Tertre, or the streets in the Latin Quarter. I did a little guide to Paris for a US friend of mine, I will see if I can dig it out for you.

Noelle.

Noelle:

Thank you so much for this information. What is a funicular?

Have you ever hear of the restaurant Flunch? I thought we might try it one night since it states that the locals eat there. We usually don't eat where the tourist eat, we like to eat where the locals eat.

Donna

Happy to help if I can! A carnet (pronounced kar-nay) of 10 metro tickets will cost around 14 euro, each ticket will get you to your final destination, ie you dont pay extra for changing internally. The maps at the stations can help you get almost anywhere in Paris. The batobus is a good idea, a very reasonable way to see a lot of Paris. It is slow so when you want to get somewhere fast, you are better on the metro. But it will give you a fantastic view of Paris from the Seine. You can join the batobus at numerous stops along the river, your hotel will probably have a map. They do have a stop at the Eiffel tower, though there are more central stops. (By the way, if you want to go to the top of the Eiffel tower, get there early, queues can be horrendous!)

I think your hotel is in La Defense? La Defense is a very modern area on the outskirts of Paris, quite attractive in a way. It is a bit far out but the good news is there is a metro stop that will bring you right into the heart of Paris, the only way you should travel in.

As well as the obvious sights, one of the great pleasures of Paris is wandering the different neighborhoods. Theres St Germain, walking in the footsteps of writers and philosophers, theres the Latin Quarter with its student feel, theres Le Marais, the old Jewish quarter, very fashionable and busy on a Sunday when everywhere else is quiet. Or go up to Montmartre, where you will probably visit Sacre Coeur but there are wonderful streets too such as Rue Lepic. And remember the parks, right in the heart of Paris and good for a rest. There are markets everyday in different parts of Paris, give a real flavor of the city. And whereever you go, you will find a metro stop nearby that will bring you back to your hotel via the superb connections. Have a coffee or a drink in a sidewalk cafe and watch the world go by!

Paris isnt famous for nothing so go with the flow and you will have a wonderful time in this most beautiful of cities!

Oreilln:

Norwegian currently has us booked at Mercure Montmartre. I have us planned for a walk to the Sacre Coeur and have printed out a map to do this. I just wasn't sure how to get to the Eiffel Tower via Metro to catch the Batobus or what the cost would be. With your help I will plan on purchasing the carnet and not worry. If I purchase 1 carnet, can I use it for the 2 of us?

Thanks,

Donna

Called Air France last night because I can't add our reservation to my Air France account. So while I was on the line I asked the agent a bunch of questions.

For those looking to change their seats, you might want to look into doing it now, the cost for upgrading from economy to economy plus ranges from $32 to $75 depending on where you want to sit on the plane. They allow changes up to 72 hours before take-off.

Asked about taking an additional piece of luggage and the cost for 1 additional checked piece is $100.

If you are having problems seeing your reservation on Air France, here is a number you can call them at: 1-800-667-2747 this number is for the people who did not book their travel through the Air France website. Much easier to get through to them.

Donna

Anyone on the 12 or 13 night package book anything to do in Paris? We booked 3 sightseeing excursions in Paris. For the day we get to Paris (Oct 26th) we are doing a sunset on the Eiffel tower that is limited to 20 people and allows access to all 3 level of the tower. It starts at 5:30 pm. The 27th we are doing an afternoon "front of the line" trip to Versailles includes round trip transportation from Paris to Versailles by train. Then on the morning of the 28th we have a 9:45 am "front of the line" Tour of the Louvre with the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. For 4 of us all 3 tours totaled $900 US. If anyone is interested in the company we booked through can contact me here or by email at garylev35 at aol dot com.

Gary:

That is a great deal you got. It sounds like a lot of fun.

I know Paris quite well and would strongly advise using the Metro, its fantastic and you can easily get anywhere you want to go. Just establish your final destination on the station map and it will show you the route and any change of metro. Even if you go wrong, you can just get another route. Be sure to buy either a "carnet de dix", thats a bundle of 10 tickets that you can use as you wish.

I contacted my bank yesterday and found out I can purchase Euros before we leave. Just have to go to the bank, order them and will have them in 2 business days. Trying to get out how much I will need for 3 days.

What does it cost to take the Metro? I have been looking for a map that I can print out and so far not much luck. This being our first time in Paris we were just going to do some easy things. I would like to do the Batobus that allows you to get on and off at 9 stops, but am having a hard time trying to figure out how to get there from our hotel at Mercure. I've seen there is a location near the Eiffel Tower to pick up the boat and I figured this would be a good starting point.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Wow we have been pretty quiet on here....are we all waiting to find out what changes Norwegian has in store for us?????:D

Good Morning All,

Lance and Tracy here. We are looking forward to meeting everyone on this trip, we are staying at the Montmarte and arriving on the 26th from LAX, coming from Palm Springs, CA. We have our room assignments (Deck 10) and our Flight is with AF on the 25th.

I was told that the city tour would be on the 27th in the morning and will take about 1/2 a day. Planning on seeing Sacre Coeur Basilica hopefully the first day. Cheers!

Welcome Lance and Tracy....so far it looks like 4 other couples who will be arriving Monday morning and staying at Mercure...look forward to meeting you. Guess with what you found out we will be plan on going to Sacre Coeur the first day too.

Donna and Don

Out of my interest, what time does your Eurostar train depart from Paris?

 

I can't remember but I think you need to be there about an hour before because there is a passport control.

NCL has not told us the time we will be departing. Our documents state that we will receive a letter when we check into the hotel as to when our 1/2 day tour of Paris is and when we will be departing for the train station. Everything we are doing is setup through NCL, so they have full responsibility for us, even the transfer from London to Southampton.

See You On Board

Hello all, we'll be seeing you on the ship - we are not on the Paris package.

 

But I would like to pass on to you for your interest, the email I received from Eurostar: (we travelled on Eurostar from London-Paris-London and loved it)

 

 

Dear Traveller,

 

I wanted to personally update you on last week's disruption to Eurostar services in the Calais area, and more importantly, the urgent actions Eurostar and our industry partners are taking to ensure we can provide a reliable service.

 

You will have undoubtedly seen media coverage about disruption near to the Channel Tunnel in recent months, which until last week has primarily impacted Eurotunnel's lorry shuttle and freight operations. Unfortunately, on the evening of the 1st September, Eurostar services were also affected as trespassers led to the temporary closure of the high speed line in the Calais Frethun area. Six Eurostar services were heavily delayed whilst the authorities ensured the safe removal of people from the tracks and in turn secured the infrastructure to allow the safe passage of our trains.

 

Following this incident, we have been working very closely with our infrastructure partners to ensure that immediate measures are put in place to protect our services. These include:

 

• SNCF and French police increasing their resources in the area of the high speed tracks we use, and having a fast track response process if trespassers are seen in the area of our tracks;

• Undergrowth cleared from around our tracks making it more difficult for trespassers to hide - this work has already been undertaken;

• Additional fencing being built by Eurotunnel to protect the high speed lines in this area.

 

Together these measures significantly reduce the risk of future disruption, and improve the speed of response should this kind of incident happen again.

 

Rest assured we and our partners are working hard to ensure we can deliver the dependable service that you expect from us.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Nicolas Petrovic

 

CEO, Eurostar

Thanks for sharing this letter you received from Eurostar. I am sure they will do everything to make us safe, but it is good to hear it from them.

My father David and I are staying at the Montmarte as well as is my Sister (Lori) and her husband (David). Looking forward to meeting everyone. We are suppose to arrive in Paris at 11 am from NYC. My sister flying from Atlanta is due to arrive at about 10:45 am.

I look forward to meeting Lori and David, since we will be on the same flight out of Atlanta.

Donna

Hi Donna and Don!

 

We're pretty much just winging it. This is our third trip to Paris. So, based on what the 1/2 tour is about, we'll just check with the hotel about things they recommend for us. Basically, we love art and music and cultural experiences. Plus, we both love French food!!!! Montmartre is quite artsy, so I know we'll spend some of our time just wondering the streets.

 

How about you guys. What do you have planned?

 

Regards,

Sandy and Bill

Depending on the weather. I was looking forward to a walk to Sacre Coeur Basilica...it is supposed to be within walking distance from the hotel. Maybe grabbing the Metro and doing the Batobus on the Seine...read that it has 9 stops where you can get on and off all day. The cost is about $17.89 for a 1 day pass or $21.24 for a 2 day pass. I have also been checking the restaurants in the area and found one where the locals eat and it is about $11.57 for a full meal. Definitely, going to walk across the street and take some pictures of Moulin Rouge.

This is our first trip to Paris and TA, so needless to say I am scared and excited at the same time.

We were originally going to do the 2 day in Paris but the price came down so we opted for the 3 day and Mercure was the hotel they were offering. I was disappointed at first and then I realized we will be more into the heart of the city and not in the business area. Wonder if they are going to keep us there. Would be nice to know how many are booked on this 2 or 3 day Paris package.

Take care,

Donna

Hi!

 

We'll be with you at the Mercure Montmartre! We'll be flying fr MIA on AF.

 

Regards,

Sandy and Bill

Costa Rica

Sandy:

I look forward to meeting you and Bill. Do you have anything planned while you are in Paris or are you just winging it?

Donna and Don

Where is everybody staying in Paris?

I keep checking my docs on a daily basis to see if they have changed our hotel. I have reviewed maps of the area and know which Metro station we are near and some of the things we are going to do while there.

We are booked at Mercure Montmartre.

Speaking of our ride on the Eurostar train, I hope there is no tapping on the roof.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3219104/Misery-Eurostar-passengers-migrants-climb-roof-186mph-London-bound-train-Calais.html

Oh, I am so not telling my husband about this. He doesn't do well with traveling. One of his biggest fears is being stuck on a tarmac for hours and not being able to get out of his seat to use the facilities.

For those who may be interested. Got a message from my TA last night.

 

I was trying to see if an upgrade on the Eurostar was available and what it would run.

 

She was told that upgrades like that can't be made until 30 days out.

 

Just FYI..

 

(I'm thinking of an upgrade to Standard Preamium. The upgrade to Business Premium wouldn't be worth it based on listed fares.)

Do you know time we are scheduled to take the train? I haven't been able to find out any information regarding this and my TA is no help. I can't even add my flight to my account on Air France...I keep getting error messages and Air France has not been any help.....:(

A note from from SombodyII on the main thread :

"I noticed a lot of people have been changing their cabins.

Question I have is: if you booked a Paris package, have you been able to change your cabin?"

My TA just returned my call.

She said, "NCL said, for the price you paid for the package, they cannot give you a better complimentary cabin AT THIS TIME."

But she's gonna keep checking.:)

Thank you for the update. Wasn't sure how all of this worked. This is our first time booking a package and I don't like not knowing everything about the trip. I am a planner.

Still no edocs and of course now I have to wait until Monday to talk to the land dept. I can click on download edocs but get message that reservation is not ready to retrieve. We did get our cabin assignment, just waiting impatiently for our flight info.

That stinks....it makes it harder when just about everybody else got theirs already. I looked Wednesday morning when I got up and then again about 2 hours later and there they were. After that I spent about 2 hours getting our seats reassigned. Hope you don't have to wait too much longer.

Melia La Defense

That is originally where we were booked, but I changed from 12 day to 13 and the are now putting us up at Mercure Montmartre. I really wanted to stay at Melia it is so new and modern. It seems like we are now more into the heart of the city.

I'm actually in Ohio. DTW is my airport of choice because of options and prices vs CLE.

 

Blue all the way.

I am a die hard "Blue" fan. Can't wait for kick off Thursday.