Disembarking early in Le Havre

[spongerob]

I am considering a Princess cruise whose final port call is Le Havre. I would like to be able to disembark at this port in order to spend some time in Normandy, more than one day will allow, and take the better half to Paris. Is this possible when embarkation is in Southampton?

 

I think it is possible to rent a car at Le Havre. Looking for advice and ideas from those who have done this. TIA.

[spongerob]

It turns out that the cruise I'm considering runs in the reverse direction than what Princess normally does, so Le Havre is the first port call. That being the case, my idea would be to go to Paris first, spend some time in Paris and Normandy, then take the train to London and on to Southampton.

 

I thought about arranging embarkation at Le Havre but if the ship cannot make it in the next option to get on is Edinburgh, so the potential cost is a bit high. The itinerary actually makes it more convenient to do a pre-trip, and I'd like to hear some comments and advice about getting from Paris to Southampton.

 

Thanks again, and sorry for the confusion.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Hopefully you will get the attention of the local experts on trains. If not, post again with the specific question. Basically you can take the eurostar Paris to London, then a train to Southampton. But the locals can tell you exactly which stations are involved and how best to get from one to the other. Sounds like a great trip.

[Hlitner]

I am a little confused about the OPs post, but here is an answer. If you want to disembark at a port that is not the final port on your cruise (such as LeHavre) you can do this but must notify the cruise line in advance. Some folks will let them know by just calling the main office long before the cruise and others will simply tell the pursers office once they board. Getting off one or two ports early on a European cruise is quite normal (there were over 40 that did this on our recent Prinsendam cruise). As to renting a car in LeHavre, all the major rental car dealers do have offices in the city but it will normally take a taxi to get you from ship to your rental car (we only know of a single small company that sometimes does business at the port). As to the ship not making it into LeHavre, this is almost an unheard of situation with that port. Le Havre is a major European port and very sheltered so it would take a freak storm to keep any ship out of that port.

 

Hank

[phabric]

Sorry to be off topic.

 

Wendy The Wanderer-

 

Did you at one time do a review of a cruise to the British Isles, if so where would I find? My name is also Wendy and live in Toronto.

[spongerob]

You can search for my screen name under Golden Princess (2005) and Grand Princess (2007). We enjoyed the 2007 more than 2005, partly because it was 2 days longer.

 

Normally the cruise travels clockwise around England and Scotland. Le Havre is therefore the final port prior to disembarking in Southampton. I thought it would be nice to disembark at Le Havre and spend some time in France. But since the cruise I am most interested in goes in the reverse direction and Le Havre is first, I have to come up with a different plan.

 

What I've worked out is a pretty good plan. Fly to Paris, spend a few days in Paris and Normandy, take the ferry from Caen to Portsmouth, and then car service to Southampton.

 

This plan actually gives me several itinerary options for cruises from Southampton.

[spongerob]

I am a little confused about the OPs post, but here is an answer. . .Le Havre is a major European port and very sheltered so it would take a freak storm to keep any ship out of that port.

 

Hank

Thanks Hank. I agree that there probably would be little risk of the ship not getting into Le Havre, but if for some reason it did not my wife would FREAK...she doesn't handle changes in plan well! And since I've come up with a workable option, we are not limited to the British Isles itinerary. There are several that we can choose from. Decisions, decisions...

 

thanks for your reply. :)

[dog]

Thanks Hank. I agree that there probably would be little risk of the ship not getting into Le Havre, but if for some reason it did not my wife would FREAK...she doesn't handle changes in plan well! And since I've come up with a workable option, we are not limited to the British Isles itinerary. There are several that we can choose from. Decisions, decisions...

 

thanks for your reply. :)

 

I thought that too, however, we were quite surprised on our British Isles Crown Princess cruise (Aug. 24, 2009)one, that we had to turn around at Edinburgh and completely miss the port of Le Havre due to strong winds.

 

Also, there is a car rental agency right in the cruiseship terminal at Le Havre.

Hope all goes well for you.

dog:)

[Twickenham]

While I'm a big train fan, there are 2 other options you should consider:

-Ferries run between Portsmouth and Le Havre, Caen, Cherbourg and St-Malo: http://www.portsmouth-port.co.uk/

-Fly from Paris directly to Southampton Airport: http://www.flybe.com/

[spongerob]

Thanks...I had already stumbled upon the idea of taking the ferry from Caen to Portsmouth and it's a very attractive option.

[xpcdoojk]

Spongey, we have traveled on the eurostar from France to London, and it is easy. From London to Soton is actually easier. Although Eurostar takes you now San Pancras and not Waterloo, so you may need to take the tube, cab etc to Waterloo to take the train. This isn't a problem if you are staying in London and not immediately transferring to Soton. I know you have travelled a lot, so you know how the tube works. We have travelled using the tube every time we go to London (which we love), so we travel fairly light, with only luggage that rolls and that we can handle up a flight or two of stairs in one trip. I haven't done a direct tube transfer between the two stations, so I am not personally aware of any bad tube intermediate stops, where lugging luggage would be a requirement. Check out the TFL page http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en

for your specific route.

 

I remember checking out flights between Paris and Soton, but for us the times were inconvenient.

 

If you haven't been to Normandy and Mount St Michel, you are in for a real treat. I would like to go back and spend a lot of time there. Lovely and memorable.

 

jc

[Hlitner]

It occurred to me that this thread would do better if it were on the France board. In our post we did reference that LeHavre's port had a single rental car company, but we did not elaborate because we do not feel this agency would be helpful to the OP. But since it was mentioned in another post we will elaborate. LeHavre recently opened their newly renovated terminal building (it opened this May shortly before we arrived) and there is a single rental car agency (uses the wonder name of "Rent-A-Car) housed conveniently inside the terminal. But, alas, there are some issues. This company is quite expensive (the cheapest tiny car is at least 85 Euros per day) and since it is not a large company we are not aware of any ability to rent cars one-way (this means it would not suit the OP). Our other issue with this agency is that although their rate includes some insurance, they do not seem to offer the ability to reduce their excess (this means renters assume some liability). On the other hand, its hard to beat the convenience of this place since any other agency would involve using a taxi (round trip) to get to the office. We would certainly consider using this company for a one-way rental, but would look elsewhere for longer term and one-way rentals.

 

Hank