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after 4 cancelled ocean cruises we have decided upon trying river cruising.

 

When: July-August 2019

Where: Seine

Why: 20th anniversary

Who: now this is the question!

 

I thought I had decided on Scenic because they offer an 11 day itinerary that visits both WW I and WW II sites, they are all inclusive, and they have a free air promotion on currently on their pre-release brochure. I was so sure I have a hold on a delux cabin.

 

But now the doubts set in. I emailed twice to book with no reply so I phoned on Monday. I stated I had emailed but it was brushed off with no explanation. I called the Canadian number but got an agent in Boston who tried to minimize my inquiry regarding the Canadian landing beach and Cemetery in Normandy. In fact she stated that she had been an agent for X years and had never had that question and suggested I wait until day of or arrange our own tour. I said that this was a deal breaker and we weren’t paying close to $20,000 to wait until the day of to find out if we can visit the very beach were my 3 uncles landed on D Day. She decided to contact the Canadian office and they ask on board if anyone wants to go to Juno Beach.

 

I walk with a cane now although I am in my mid 50s because of a vestibular issue that became a big issue, the cane, not my condition. They wanted to know if it was collapsible, when I used it, how far I can walk, etc. I said you offer Nordic walking sticks to all passengers so what difference does it make. She stated they do not. I said it is listed in all the inclusions. She put me on hold again. Guess what, they do.

 

So my confidence is shaken. I don’t see any other river cruise line offering an 11 night itinerary on the Seine.

 

Now the mom guilt is coming on hard too as our daughter turns 18 the end of July and has always wanted to go to Paris. But my illness doesn’t allow me to be in crowds so if we do a land tour I have to stay back while DH and DD get to sight see...happy anniversary!

 

Sorry for the long post. I need to put the $1000 deposit by end of day Wednesday March 21.

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I'm so sorry you are experiencing this terrible customer service. All I can say is that on our Uniworld Seine tour, our small group of Canadian passengers were taken by taxi to Juno Beach while the rest went by coach to the American sites.

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Go with your gut feeling. Don't be pressured by tomorrow's deadline. Do you have a travel agent you like to work with? Someone who has experience with river cruises? Someone who will run interference for you with the cruise company.

RB

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On Avalon, they took a small group to the Canadian sites as well.

 

 

Just checked their site, they actually specify "Take a full-day Guided Tour of the British and Canadian commemorative sites, including the British cemetery, Pegasus Memorial, the seaside town of Arromanches, the Juno Beach Center, and the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery,".

Only an 8 day cruise, that starts in Paris, but looks like it may only be one day in Paris, then off to cruise.

It's the Paris to Normandy cruise... sorry but didn't check dates, just the cruise.

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Did AMA Seine-Normandy last July. For Canadian & UK & Aussie clients there was a choice of their landing sites & cemeteries.

AMA's service was superior. Lectures were informative. Best part $400.00 p/p deposit balance due a few months prior to sailing

Carole

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On Viking we opted for the Commonwealth Tour instead of the American Tour. It went to Juno Beach, the Commonwealth cemetery, the Pegasus Bridge Museum (the bridge in the movie The Longest Day and site of the first D-Day casualty) and stopped in Bayeux to view the famous tapestry. Even though we are American, I wanted to see the tapestry and figured it would be much less crowded (6 people on a coach).

 

The Juno Beach visitor's center is staffed with Canadian college kids. This is done to illustrate the fact that they are the same age as those who fought and died on that beach. There was a vary moving film about Canada entering the war and how it affected people back home. It was well worth the trip.

 

Bayeux was fabulous and the tapestry is not to be missed.

 

The Pegasus Bridge Museum contains the actual bridge, of course, but also full size reproductions of the wooden gliders used in the assault as well as other artifacts and displays.

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I would contact a travel agent! On our Scenic cruise there were a good number of Canadians. One of them said that Scenic allowed them to pay for the cruise in CAD (I think Scenic has an office in Vancouver) rather than USD which saved a good bit of money.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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We too cruised with Avalon and they took Americans to Omaha Beach and the Canadians to Juno.

 

It started in Paris and returned to Paris so we flew in early, saw Paris, and then continued on to the river cruise.

 

We added the Paris to Provence after the 1st cruise and it worked out wonderfully well.

 

You probably can't make the walk to Pont du Hoc but there are sidewalks at Omaha and your spouse can walk down to the beach, turn around, and look up.....then gulp at what our guys faced.

 

They will also take you all to the Cemetery and you should be able to see that as well. The walkway is level and concreted. The Cemetery will then break your heart.

 

Good luck in your search.

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We cruised on Scenic Gems inaugural cruise, they arranged for a group of Canadians to visit the Canadian cemeteries. (Then it wasn’t offered as an alternative) We are about to embark on our seventh cruise with Scenic and they have always gone above and beyond to ensure all have a wonderful cruise. We’ve been on board with other cruisers with mobility difficulties even mobility scooters, walkers etc. It sounds like you had an nasty experience which I must say I have never had in all my dealings with Scenic so do try a TA and good luck, I also cannot understand anyone being concerned about a walking stick, as you say walking poles are in every cabin along with large umbrellas. CA

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What a shame one person has tainted your view Scenic. Even though we are in NZ, we too could pay in our currency. I'd suggest using a travel agent too rather than going direct. Our's was/is brilliant as we now use her even for small trips. And yes, Scenic most certainly do have Nordic walking poles - it says it on the website and I saw them first hand in our wardrobe on board. And, a number of people had their own as well and the lady we travelled with even took her zimmer frame! Can't comment on the actual tour for you as we didnt cruise that route. I hope it works out for you.

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Thank you all so much for your comments. I took your advice and did more research. I looked at other river cruises (thank you to one poster for the link) and other itineraries. I have also given up on travel agents. We live in a town of under 30,000 and have tried the automotive association plus two private agencies in town plus one online well recommended agent here on CC. Since we cruised as a family of 4 I always knew more and I have given up.

 

Nevertheless, I phoned Scenic again and spoke to someone else and then spoke to the air department so my questions were answered to my satisfaction so we firmed up our booking.

 

I really appreciate the comments. My husband has always wanted to see the Somme battlefields and Scenic offered it. We are very excited!

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Fantastic I am so glad you got it all sorted. I expect you will be given poppies to place on any grave you choose, each time we set them on unknown ones, we both ended up with several poppies as there were a few on board who could not go on this tour. Don’t complain about how early you leave fo Giverney we had it all to ourselves for quite some time before it got anywhere near crowded. Have a great cruise. CA

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