Thoughts on Paris & Normandy (S.S. Joie de Vivre)

We returned last week from this trip. I promised I would add some thoughts and answer any questions. This will be a poor excuse for a follow-up of (ACWMOM) Robin’s excellent, mind-bending review of their trip last month!

Although we didn’t have snow, we did experience some cold and rainy days.....thank you Uniworld for having enough umbrellas for EVERYONE when we visited Giverny and Monet’s Gardens! Remember, Normandy is known for rain so be prepared....

First, a word about your first day in Paris. For those of you arriving on the first day in the morning, have a plan of what you want to do so you don’t sit around bored in the lounge. I was delighted that they had some complimentary Bateaux Mouches 1 hour Seine River vouchers which is a good way to start the day. Another option is getting the Musee d’Orsay/L’Orangerie one day pass on-line ahead of time. You can do both museums in a few hours and it is a ten min taxi/Uber ride from the ship. As you saw from Robin’s amazing pictures we are docked at the Quai de Grenelle a 15 min stroll to the Eiffel Tower. Also, right up the ramp from the dock is the Paris Beaugrenelle Shopping Mall on Rue Linois where on your last day you can buy gifts including a delicious bakery. There is a good easy to use ATM in this mall as well. In the other direction toward the Eiffel Tower is the Bir Hakeim metro stop. For those of you who have never used the Paris metro, it is incredibly civilized and easy to use. More to follow tomorrow. Sorry if this is too boring and verbose! Steve

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Not boring or verbose at all! Looking forward to more insights.

Always love any info, tips, or comments!

Looking forward to another review. It's always good to see different perspectives.

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As mentioned above, we are docked right next to the Pont de Grenelle Bridge where the smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty is situated ( the US gave that as a gift to France in 1889 3 years after they gave us the original). At 6:30 pm go up on deck for the sail away and you can take photos of this and of course, the Eiffel Tower as you sail away to VERNON for the morning tour of Giverny (Monet’s house and gardens). I pray you have better weather than we did and that the water lilies and flowers will be in bloom! Despite the drizzle, we still had about 15 intrepid guests who biked from the dock in Vernon, through the town to Giverny. Be aware that the bikers have their own guide and a slightly different schedule so you will not meet up with them at the Gardens in case one of you decides to bike and the other takes the bus. Unlike Robin’s frosty day, we did not go to La Roche-Guyon.

In the afternoon we went to Les Andelys by bus (we were disappointed that the boat didn’t actually dock there so we missed the opportunity to explore the quaint little village) but at least we had the jaw-dropping view of the river and village down below from Chateau Gaillard above. The hikers got a better view as they hiked up from the town. Once again, they were separate and we did not meet up with them on top. So, we departed Vernon at 7 pm headed for Rouen for the next day. More to follow.....

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We woke up docked in Rouen, but the walking discovery tour was not until the afternoon. In the morning were taken to the Chateau de Champs de Bataille where we were give local specialties like Calvados (apple brandy), cheese crepes, cider (spiked and plain) and apple strudel. So skip breakfast on board! Then after lunch on board is the walking tour of Rouen. This is not one of the most exciting tours and you can break free and explore on your own as it is very easy to get back to the ship. You don’t need to spend an hour in the Cathedral learning every detail. Suffice it to see the beauty that Inspired Monet to paint it countless times as you will see the famous painting of it at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. It is also a short walk from there to the ancient Market Square where the Church of Joan of Arc is and where she was burned.

In retrospect, I wish we had gone on the full day tour to Mont St Michel (see Robin’s account and pictures). We were deterred by the 3 hour bus ride and the expense, but now that I look back on it, it would have been worth it! When we are already spending thousands of dollars on this trip, we should not have worried about the cost as Mt St Michel is in my opinion eons more picturesque and memorable. More to follow about the next day (our favorite!) to Honfleur.

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Great info. This is very helpful when thinking about which tours to take!

This is a good time to point out that there is enough time after or in between tours to enjoy the Joie de Vivre. We watched movies in our room and they also showed movies on 2 evenings in Claude’s, the lounge in the back where the pool and cappuccino machine and candy is located! Back there is also where Florin, our Romanian massage therapist works. He was so good, many passengers booked him twice (not cheap, but many of us used our shipboard credit).

So we were docked in Caudebec-en-Caux, a small town on the River Seine flanked by a stunning modern bridge (Pont de Brotonnne...see Robin’s photo of this). After the morning in Honfleur or golfing in Étretat (tough choice!), you can walk into town, borrow one of Uniworld’s bikes and bike along the river promenade to the even smaller town of Villequiers, where Victor Hugo lived (about 20 min by bike), or go on an optional wine tasting excursion to Saint Wandrille Abbaye. Or you could stay longer in Honfleur and take the 3 pm shuttle back instead of the 1 pm. The drive to Honfleur is extremely picturesque through typical towns and villages through Normandy countryside as the guide gives a good description of life there.

What can one say about Honfleur? The Vieux-Bassin (Old Harbor) has been inspiring painters, writers and musicians for centuries with its sailboat masts, 16th century townhouses lining the waterfront, and a little carousel adding charm to the whole thing. Lots of good shopping including chocolatiers line the back streets. A nice touch also was the fresh oysters and apple cider Uniworld gave us at the meeting point! The weather was perfect and therefore it ended up being our favorite and most relaxing day....

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Have been following ACWMOM‘s thread and also wanted to thank you, SOShrink, for posting a review of your cruise too. We will be taking this same Joie de Vivre cruise, so appreciate both of your in-depth, detailed accounts of your experiences both on and off the ship!

Ditto!

Absolutely! It's so great to get 2 different reviews of the trip only a week apart. We'll be on this trip in July-it'll be our 2nd time on this itinerary but 1st on the Joie de Vivre. Thanks again!

Same here love hearing several reviews of this river cruise. I will be doing this cruise in Aug and love reading the reviews. Need to go back and reread and take some notes.

Thank you ShyOne and CDreamer!

The ship had arrived back in Rouen from Caudebec the night before so we could leave early for the Normandy Beaches. The longer tour left at 7:30 am and returned 7:30 pm. This was the Utah Beach with Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Pointe du Hoc, and most importantly, the moving Airborne Museum. The tour ends with a ceremony at the American Cemetery where Taps is played.

The “shorter” tour was 8 am to 6:30 pm and goes to Bayeux, Juno Beach and Arromanches where there is a D-Day Museum. However, if you want to go to this museum, it is on your own during the 20 minute stop so you really have to scramble especially if you want to catch the film on the Landing Beaches. I was not happy about having to rush this and felt we could have spent less time in Bayeux for example. We also ended the tour at the American Cemetery but we did not meet up with group 1 and did not have a ceremony. We were each given a flower to lay at a gravestone but they were mostly roped off so we placed ours at the moving “Bronze Statue” at the entrance. Again, we were disappointed that we didn’t have a ceremony which was listed on the itinerary, but it was a very worthwhile day anyway. So, in retrospect, pick Group 1, the longer day unless you have been there already or have a strong desire to see the unique Bayeux Tapestry and town which is very enjoyable to explore and which had good choices for lunch on your own.

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Good point!

Good point!

The next morning found us docked at Mantes-la-Jolie for the Versailles day. I have been to the Palace several times and I feel like I’m at Disney with the crowds every time (did I tell you we live in Orlando?)! There is an alternate tour that goes to “Palace Gardens and Marie Antoinette Estate” that we chose instead but just be warned that it is NOT the Gardens and fountains at the actual palace but the ones at the Petit Trianon, which became Marie Antoinette’s favorite place to stay. She turned part of the garden into an English-style park where they frolicked and did a lot of entertaining. I highly recommend seeing the Sofia Coppola 2006 Marie Antoinette movie playing in the room on the ship. You see the film and then you go there and recognize everything and actually understand what the guide is explaining!

I also want to make a pitch for exploring the town of Mantes-la-Jolie when you get back or if you stay behind. You can walk up to the Notre Dames de Mantes Church, then go into a typical Île-de—France town with local life and good shopping. We found a great store that sold local Camembert cheese we bought as gifts. So often, we dock in these amazing villages and towns and don’t explore them (even when there is time) missing out on one of the advantages of river cruising.....perhaps a discussion for another thread.....

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SOShrink, thank you for posting an explanation of the Palace Gardens and Marie Antoinette’s Estate tour and your advice to watch the movie beforehand - very helpful info since we too have been to Versailles and are instead planning to take this tour.

Mantes-la-Jolie sounds like a nice town to explore, so will research it a bit more. Did you eat lunch there and, if so, is there a good restaurant that you recommend?

SOShrink, thank you for posting an explanation of the Palace Gardens and Marie Antoinette’s Estate tour and your advice to watch the movie beforehand - very helpful info since we too have been to Versailles and are instead planning to take this tour.

 

 

 

Mantes-la-Jolie sounds like a nice town to explore, so will research it a bit more. Did you eat lunch there and, if so, is there a good restaurant that you recommend?

Dreamer, I don’t think you would have time for lunch in town that day. Having left Rouen the night before, there is morning sailing and you arrive mid morning in Mantes la Jolie. The regular Versailles Tour leaves at 12 and your Gardens/Antoinette Tour leaves at 12:30. There is also the port talk at 10 AM since they couldn’t do it yesterday due to the full Beaches day. So sleep late and have a big breakfast or go to lunch before the tour as they serve early at 11 AM. You will have to have a quick peek at the town in the mid morning prior to the tour. Unfortunately, they skedaddle at 6pm pretty soon after you arrive back from Versailles

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SOShrink, thanks - this is EXACTLY why these trip reports are so invaluable. Now I have a much better sense of our time frame with this itinerary option. Good to know we’ll have a morning to sleep in a bit before venturing out!

Thank you for sharing. Making me wish we were headed back to Europe soon.

Thank you for your kind words. I am sorry I am not posting pictures but Robin is doing such a good job, I want to do this cruise again!

A few words about the last day (Paris). So you have left Mantes 6 pm the day before and dock in Paris around 6 AM Sat. morning the last day. We can write ten pages and go back and forth about what to do in Paris! But I will tell you what was offered by Uniworld in the morning (included) and the afternoon (“Uniworld Collection” tours for additional cost). Many experienced Francophiles who have been here many times struck off on their own. Thierry, the cruise director, and Martin at the front desk were very helpful and patient in helping passengers decide what to do. I once said to Thierry (quite a character from the French Basque Country!) “I have a stupid question....” and he retorted “the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask”.....

There was a bus tour that included all the highlights but also dropped people off at the Luxembourg Gardens for free time which was a nice touch and even passengers who had been to Paris before were glad they went. They also had a biking tour that apparently went up one side of the Seine and back on the other bank and a walking tour that hit Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter. In the afternoon they offered Paris City Roofs which took you to Galeries Lafayette Department Store rooftop café, the Arab World Institute for their rooftop view and I believe the top of the Arc de Triomphe. (Had I not been to Paris before, this is the optional tour I would’ve chosen hands down in my opinion). There was also a Street Art Tour and Workshop and expensive private tours to the Louvre and other museums. We chose the Side Car Montmartre discovery and were taken through streets of Paris through the Montmartre Neighborhood (bustling with activity) on a motor cycle side car all the way up to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica with its expanse of steps where hoards of locals and tourists congregate to gaze over Paris. If you haven’t been here before this a good way to get up here as it is hard to do on your own unless you take a taxi. We were a spectacle wherever we went and we must’ve had our picture taken by gawkers a thousand times! And it is completely safe despite what you think. These guys knew what they were doing! If I can figure out how to do it, I’ll post a picture! Final conclusions and “debriefing” about the whole trip will be done on another post.....

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Thierry, the cruise director, and Martin at the front desk were very helpful and patient in helping passengers decide what to do. I once said to Thierry (quite a character from the French Basque Country!) “I have a stupid question....” and he retorted “the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask”.....

Two years ago my DH and I, my brother and wife, and her mom did the Grand France cruise on Uniworld - actually the Seine cruise and the Rhone cruise with a transit day in between - and Thierry was our cruise director on both. He was wonderful and I'm glad to hear he is still with Uniworld. We also had a great cruise director on our first Uniworld cruise (Budapest to Amsterdam) in 2015 named Mirella Varga. In our limited experience, Uniworld seems to hire the cream of the crop of tour directors.

And finally, some opinions and conclusions I came to (good and bad) and some suggestions.

All jokes aside about snow and umbrellas, I feel this would have been a more enjoyable trip with nicer weather such as in May when the flowers are in bloom and the water lilies are out (in Giverny). Or at least be prepared for all weather. If you pack a scarf, hooded sweatshirt and gloves, it is better to pack them needlessly than walk the streets of Rouen or the beaches and Cemetery of Normandy with the cold wind blowing down your neck....

My favorite meal was the lunches which were amazing buffets of great salads, smoked salmon, poached salmon right off the bone (see Robin’s picture of a devoured one!) and something different everyday. Breakfasts were also excellent (farm fresh eggs and the best French toast we ever had, etc. And now for my controversial statement. The suppers were way too long (sometimes 3 hours in the overheated dining room). The service was VERY slow and several people complained. It’s not that we are impatient Americans always in a rush. Some of us had other things we wanted to do in the evening, others were tired from a long day and some had difficulty sitting so long. This is not the fault of the waiters and I understand the chef has to supervise to perfection the gourmet meals we were having. I also felt that the special French cuisine in The Bistro you have to sign up for was a bit of a letdown. Some other passengers that had paid extra for the La Cave des Vins dining experience with the wine pairing did not feel it was worth it.

The entire staff was excellent. Thierry, the CD, had a nice touch when he would show up at the end of our tours in town with treats such as local chocolates in Rouen and the aforementioned fresh oysters in Honfleur! And let me stress the importance of the Port Talks even if you are the most experienced traveler. There are last minute changes and additional tours you don’t know about. Details of the excursions are discussed to help you choose the right tour (or sometimes makes the choice harder but at least you are informed!)

If I can answer any questions about a particular day or port or on board activity, or if you have a different take on some of my opinions, let’s hear it!

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Thank you so very, very much for this informative end to your review!

So appreciate you taking the time to post this review. I am doing this trip in Aug so instead of dealing with the cold I am sure I will be dealing with the heat. Thanks again for a great review.

If you’ll permit me another constructive criticism and recommendation......A few years ago, I was on a similar Uniworld Paris Holiday Cruise. On the last night they offered a 1 hour complimentary night bus spin around Paris ending at the Place du Trocadéro that offers the greatest in your face view of the Eiffel Tower resplendent with the sparkling lights that twinkle every hour for 5 min until 1 AM. Sadly, they do not do this anymore, but don’t miss this! It’s easy to do on your own by a very short cab ride or the Metro (2 stops on your line 7 from Bir Hakim). A very romantic thing to do on your final night.

I was also disappointed that there is no complimentary Louvre Museum guided tour like there was a few years ago. It was an included tour led by art historians and made seeing the museum efficient and informative. Now they will arrange a private tour for an exorbitant price and they practically urge you to just do it on your own at a 5th of the price! I thought those included tours were very classy offerings that they don’t do anymore.

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