flames9

Have had military female Navy Captains for years.....not sure why it took so long for a ferry boat!!

I DIYed Normandy in 2012 as I wanted to visit the Canadian sites. I followed JB's recommendations and it worked out well. Here's my journal/scrapbook entry for our stop in LeHavre. If you can rent dockside it would be worth it as "time is money" and it'll give you almost an extra hour free time.

 

November 4, 2012 I was awoken at about 6:35am by the sound of passengers moving along our hallway. There was plenty of activity as the ten hour tours to Paris and Normandy started early. I got ready quickly to wait for the delivery of our breakfast and to give DW some time to gradually wake up. At 7:15am we headed to the buffet for a quick bite and left a note for room services as it did not arrive. After eating we headed ashore and took a cab to the car rental agency. We were the last to arrive so our vehicle didn’t get a Garmin (English) and it was equipped with a stock French GPS. The manual Peugeot 208 VTI that we got handled well and was easy to drive. All the paperwork was completed shortly within 15 minutes and we headed onto the expressway for the 90 minute drive to the town of Bayeux to see the famous Tapestry depicting William the conquerors conflict with Harold and his rise to the throne. The audio tour and museum was surprisingly interesting and we spent 90 minutes there. Our next stop was the cathedral of Notre Dame across the street. It was closed for renovations but its magnificence could be appreciated from the exterior. We had time for a quick stroll through town and stopped at a local patisserie for snacks on the 30 minute drive to Juno Beach. We just wanted a croissant but we also left with a cheese stick, apple tart, and a dark & white chocolate loaf. All of the items were tasty but the chocolate loaf and apple tart were items we have never experienced before. We arrived in the town of Courseulles-sur-Mer and headed for the Juno Beach Centre. We took the self-guided tour and spent an hour in the museum before heading to the beach area. The tour gave us an appreciation of Canada’s involvement on the D-Day landing at Juno Beach. There are monuments and war artefacts left throughout the area and while it’s sentimental to Canadians, and the older French people it’s become a sail surfing beach for the locals. The Canadian guide working at the centre suggested that we visit the Beny-sur-Mer Cemetery for Canadians. He said the French government allowed the loved ones of the buried soldiers to post a message on the tombstones. We took his advice and drove the 10 minutes to an area that really was open for miles without any buildings or distractions. It was quite moving to read some of the 2500 headstones and that the age of most of them were in their early twenties. DW said we had to visit the grave that was furthest away from the gates as few would take the time to go that far. We paid our respects and headed for the 20 minute drive to the Pegasus Bridge Memorial. It was a “flyby” stop on our 60 minute trip back to Le Havre. We dropped the car off at 6:30 and headed back to the ship. We stopped by the Pizza restaurant for a quick bite before heading back to the room to do a load of laundry before dinner and the evening show. In the room we found a bottle of sparkling wine and some crudité from room service as an apology for screwing up our breakfast service. The show featured a hypnotist named David Knight and he hypnotised a group from the audience and had them doing some funny stuff. We were not overly hungry so we passed on the dining room again and headed for a quick snack at the buffet. We finished the evening journaling, reading and watching a movie. Rough seas are expected tomorrow as we pass through the Bay of Biscay so we thought we stay up late and sleep in to avoid some of the movement.

The Bayeux Tapestry (Calvados) is embroidery, 70 meters long, made in the 11th century. It is listed as a “Memory of the World” by UNESCO. Celebrating the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy, this linen canvas was embroidered after the Battle of Hastings on October 14th, 1066, probably in a monastery in the south of England. Vikings ships, Norman and Saxon cavalries illustrate the exploits of William and his opponent Harold, another pretender to the throne of England.

In June 1944, the destroyer “la Combattante” commanded by André Patou, was charged with escorting Canadian troops. On June 14, it approached the Norman coast carrying Charles de Gaulle and a dozen of his closest assistants. For de Gaulle, this visit to the Normandy bridgehead was of fundamental importance in imposing the authority of his temporary government in France. In the afternoon, the General set foot on French soil for the first time in four years in Courseulles-sur-Mer.

In 1990, a Cross of Lorraine was erected in Courseulles-sur-Mer to commemorate de Gaulle’s return to France on June 14 1944. It was inaugurated in the presence of Admiral Philippe de Gaulle.

The Juno Beach Centre is a museum and cultural centre, which opened at Courseulles-sur-Mer, France on June 6, 2003. The Centre presents the war effort made by all Canadians, civilian and military alike, both at home and on the various fronts during the Second World War, as well as the manifold faces of contemporary Canadian society.

The Juno Beach Centre Association (JBCA) is a Canadian non-profit charitable corporation that is governed by a Board of Directors. The JBCA owns and operates the Juno Beach Centre in Normandy, France. The founder and past President was Garth Webb (1918-2012), a D-Day veteran.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage has designated the Juno Beach landing site to be a site of national historic significance to Canada.

Juno or Juno Beach was one of five sectors in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944. The Juno landings were judged necessary to provide flanking support to the British drive on Caen from Sword, as well as to capture the German airfield at Carpiquet west of Caen. Taking Juno was the responsibility of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and commandos of the Royal Marines, all under the command of British I Corps, with support from Naval Force J, the Juno contingent of the invasion fleet, including the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The beach was defended by two battalions of the German 716th Infantry Division, with elements of the 21st Panzer Division held in reserve near Caen.

The invasion plan called for two brigades of the 3rd Canadian Division to land on two beach subsectors focusing on Courseulles. It was hoped that preliminary naval and air bombardment would soften up the beach defenses and destroy coastal strongpoints. Close support on the beaches was to be provided by amphibious tanks of the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade. Once the landing zones were secured, the plan called for the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade to land reserve battalions and deploy inland, the Royal Marine commandos to establish contact with the British 3rd Infantry Division on Sword, and the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade to link up with the British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division on Gold. The 3rd Canadian Division's D-Day objectives were to capture Carpiquet Airfield and reach the Caen–Bayeux railway line by nightfall.

The landings initially encountered heavy resistance from the German 716th Division; the preliminary bombardment proved less effective than had been hoped and rough weather forced the first wave to be delayed. The Royal Winnipeg Rifles and The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada took heavy casualties in the opening minutes of the first wave. Strength of numbers, as well as coordinated fire support from artillery and armored squadrons, cleared most of the coastal defenses within two hours of landing.

The subsequent push inland achieved mixed results. When all operations on the Anglo-Canadian front were ordered to halt at 21:00, only one unit had reached its D-Day objective, but the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division had succeeded in pushing farther inland than any other landing force on D-Day.

Beny-sur-Mer Cemetery was created as a permanent resting place for Canadian soldiers who had been temporarily interred in smaller plots close to where they fell. As is usual for war cemeteries or monuments, France granted Canada a perpetual concession to the land occupied by the cemetery. The graves contain soldiers from the Canadian 3rd Division and 15 Airmen killed in the D-Day Battle of Normandy. The cemetery also includes four British graves and one French grave, for a total of 2049 markers. The French grave belongs to a French resistance soldier named R. Guenard who fought and died alongside the Canadians and who had no known relatives. As is typical of war cemeteries in France, the grounds are beautifully landscaped and immaculately kept. Contained within the cemetery is a Cross of Sacrifice, a piece of architecture typical of memorials designed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The Cross of Sacrifice was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission and is usually present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or more graves. It is normally a freestanding four point limestone Latin cross in one of three sizes ranging in height from 18 to 32 feet. On the face of the cross is a bronze broadsword, blade down. It is usually mounted on an octagonal base. The Cross represents the faith of the majority of the dead and the sword represents the military character of the cemetery.

Pegasus Memorial is a memorial to the first British soldiers to arrive in Normandy who captured the Pegasus Bridge from the ****s.

Pegasus Bridge is a movable bridge, built in 1934, that crossed the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham, in Normandy, France. It was a major objective of Operation Deadstick, part of Operation Tonga in the opening minutes of the invasion of Normandy. A gliderborne unit of the British 6th Airborne Division, commanded by Major John Howard, was to land, take the bridges intact and hold them until relieved. The successful taking of the bridges played an important role in limiting the effectiveness of a German counter-attack in the days and weeks following the invasion. In 1944 it was renamed Pegasus Bridge in honour of the operation. The name is derived from the shoulder emblem worn by the British airborne forces, which is the flying horse Pegasus.

Great info..I may use part of it as our tour...but will stick with the tour company with their Mercedes and guide! TY

I like to drive, but the driver tends to miss out on a few things...which I have been told there is not a whole lot to see between Le Havre and Normandy! Since it is just the wife and I, we can pretty much still go where as we want, within reason of course.

Not everyone who just wants to quietly converse with their spouse is a snob.

If I can respect your desire to make new friends you can respect mine to spend the time with my spouse.

 

But back to the OP - if you let the Maitre D' in Blu know that you'd like to be seated with others they can probably figure something out for you.

That's one of the advantages of the small dining room.

lol..and there is people like myself who are very reserved (Introverted)..not a big talker, thus 1 of the main reason we go BLU,lol

There are larger tables...but even the tables for 2 are quite close together, so one can still chat!

flames: I'm so glad this is working out for you.

 

We loved the excursion we did in Normandy a few years ago, and I'm sure you will too! Enjoy!

 

BTW: if you have never seen "The Longest Day," it's really worth watching (and even re-watching) before your trip. Yes, a cheesy film by today's standards, but the history is spot on and you'll appreciate your visit even more.

Yes, I'm quite relieved to be going with a guide, paying a bit more than I wanted,lol..as much as i love driving....think we will get more of of it this way! Added the movie to my watch list on Amazon. Down to my final episode of Game of Thrones, so something else to watch while I'm on the Elliptical!! Ty all.

Is there room in the car for sharers?

 

On this forum I frequently see Canuks bemoaning the fact that ships' tours, and those looking for van sharers via RollCalls, concentrate on the US beaches.

If there's space, is it worth offering on your cruise RollCall????

 

JB :)

nope,lol I posted on our roll cal awhile back for a Cdn Sector tour..not many were interested...all wanted to do the USA sectors! had 1 couple that were interested....then when I went to put down the deposit...they then told me they may not even be taking the cruise (medical issues) but still, dont tell me that ur good to go on the tour..then tell me that 1 may not even be on the cruise, little frustrating. I set up 4 private cruises on our Med cruise that were a blast.

So going to go in comfort and see what I want to see, as this is the highlight of the cruise for me...too bad its the very 1st port,lol

TY for replying to my previous posts about renting a car......but I think we will get more out of it with a guide! Lesson for those that want to book Normandy tours...do so well ahead of time as they get booked up very fast!!!

Negate that! Managed to rent guide and car through Label West! I had been in contact with them back in February and they were very professional. But I went in another direction......When I checked back, I noticed their website was no longer running.....I emailed them yesterday as everyone else I had emailed was booked! Turns out they just have a new webpage,lol So no more renting a car for us and with have a tour guide for the Canadian and UK sectors of Normandy! Think we will get much more out of it this way!!

Label West has excellent reviews on Tripadvisor.

Just booked a Mercedes Car with them to see the Cdn sectors in Normandy...communication has been excellent, very professional.....Will post back at the end of August with a review

Haven't heard of Overlord doing a 48 pax bus. Have taken their 8 pax van. It was an excellent tour.

Yep they have a big bus,lol 95 euro a person. I had a private tour lined up..but could NOT get anyone signed up to see the Canadian sectors.....so I cancelled the reservation!! And now their private vans are booked!! Oh well! I have a car rented at the moment.....I am just not a fan of big groups,lol But was curious to hear about the bus option!!

Another option (1 I'm not fond of) is taking Overlordtour big 48 passenger bus to Normandy, which takes in the USA sectors. Has anyone does this tour? Was it a very well "guided" tour or do they pretty much just take you to the spots and you are on your own? TY

We have a car rented in Le Havre.....Is there an option to hire just a guide that can take us and show us around Normandy and give us the history?? Sort of wishing now that I stuck with my Overlord private tour and changed it from the Canadian sectors to the USA ones.

I guess my big concern is we rent the car..drive to the Canadian sectors, but don't get the full history of what took place. Would be super if one could hire a guide! TY

My husband and I are also interested in private tours.

come on over to the roll call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2041194&page=79 Private tours are on the go....

I presume this was out of Naples? Can you remember the cost for a group of 8?

We were out of Naples (review above) It wasn't that much and lots of room in the mini bus that he had..Quick email to him will find the current prices and availability....I think he tends to book up fairly fast

We'll be docking in Naples on the Reflection on a Sunday (9th August) and were keen to just do a run to the Amalfi Coast area. We'd be looking to get in some villages like Amalfi and Positano and a spot of lunch may be. I've looked at the X arranged excursions and they don't look too appealing. Any advice or suggestions on what to do? Has anybody hired a local taxi, at the port, for this sort of thing? Never really been concerned about missing the ship before but should we be wary of Sunday traffic?

Check out ur roll call......http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=206 someone may have started a private excursion!

We did naples in 2013..what I had to say: Naples: http://www.aldolimos.com/ organized by another CC member and was awesome! We actually had the owner—Aldo—as our driver and guide. Simply an awesome gentlemen who made sure we had a great tour. We did their Pompeii, Positano and Sorrento tour! We went as far as we could first and then worked our way back to the ship! Probably the best way to do it because of traffic!! Yes the road is VERY windy! But he took it easy and no one felt car sick! We had the option of finding our own place to eat or for 25 Euro he would take us to a place he would take his family, and it was pretty much all you could eat and drink,lol More importantly is was extremely good! And 99.99% of tourists would never find it. Another great tour in the books!

Nope! Stay smart casual in BLU!! Others wil now chirp in how they dress up and how great it is, :D One is not out of place if u dress up or do not in BLU..simple as that and enjoy ur cruise

We have done the PG in Tahiti, and it was one of our best trips. The ship is simple, the food divine, and the people could not be nicer. After we got off we spend 3 days in Moorea. They have an excellent product and I would highly recommend it. You wouldn't be disappointed.

 

On the other hand, if you want to see the animals, the Galapagos is interesting. The ship is tired in my opinion and the food was terrible. A lot had changed in the 10 years since our first trip there. It seemed to have lost its energy. 10 years ago the fisherman would bring fresh fish to the back of the ship. Now this doesn't happen and the fish is all frozen. My husband said he couldn't tell the difference from one to the other. This is my opinion, and even people we became friends with said they were disappointed for what they had spent. This ship is not owned by Celebrity. It is owned by and ecuadorian company.

 

We are sorry we took the time and money to go back. I guess some places you cannot return once you have been there. You can find many articles about how the Galapagos is being ruined by tourism. Just do a google search. The fishing limits which were 40 miles, have been reduced to 20 miles, and the factory ships sit outside those water limits waiting for the fishermen to bring their fish to them. It is very sad. The airport is new, and there were so man planes coming in I thought I was in Maui. The previous time we were the only plane there.

 

On the other had, after two trips to Tahiti, it was the same 10 years later.

Were in Quito..yep new airport..lots to see and do in Ecuador....doing Galapagos later this year, and will go on a smaller ship..but we have the benefit of first hand information when it comes to which company to use....I'm sure ur cruise will be fine and hopefully no AC issues...Dr season here which means no rain and cooler temps and reports state its going to be windier than normal!

Question regarding the celebrity Transfer shuttle......if u book that route and u miss ur flight..are u covered? As in Celebrity is going to put u up in a hotel and pay any fees to get u on the next flight if there are any??

Im in Quito..in the dry season now and believe the temps are cooler..maybe even cooler on the water with the breeze http://www.galapagosislands.com/galapagos-resources/galapagos-weather.html

Been there' date=' done both. We prefer Blu by a landslide. Many others prefer Blu so much that they spend $$$$ more just to dine there.[/quote']

 

Only reason we sail Celebrity is for BLU.....each their own....

I'm pretty sure a year or so back they stated they had big plans to change the website...never did..................

Nice..been horrible since at least 2012 when we started cruising

That is the one of the best parts of being in Aqua. You can dress up if you want, but it is smart casual even on formal night. Some people will say you should dress formal but they are so wrong. I have not taken a suit in two years, just formal Hawaiian.

Enjoy.

yep...some people just like to push their agenda,lol

Nope....and you won't feel out of place if you do stay smart casual.....Some dress up, some don't......

The ships medical center may have something thats more accurate...