Portraits of Southern France Advice

[pbnjrockette]

Sorry to hear that your Viking ship got stranded. We sailed the Saone into Lyon on Vantage just 2 weeks ago and were just barely able to make it under the bridges due to the high waters. We were told that the next day much of the river traffic was closed.

 

Lyon is a great city to be stranded near due to its wonderful eateries, shops and markets. Sorry to hear that Viking did not provide for alternative enjoyable activities for you and only provided long bus rides to other venues. :(

[Viking Cruises]

Dear MathSpokenHere,

 

We’re very sorry to hear of your disappointment and apologize for the alterations that needed to be made to your itinerary. Our Customer Relations team would like to speak with you to discuss your experience, and we kindly ask that you contact us directly at TellUs@vikingcruises.com so that we may put you in touch with a member of our team.

 

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises

 

 

My wife and I booked the 7-day Portraits of Southern France Viking River Cruise during July with a three day extension in Paris. What started out fairly well turned into one nightmare after another, mostly due to Viking’s parsimonious approach to business and an inflexible and non customer oriented attitude.

 

 

After following the planned route for the first three days of the cruise, upon reaching Lyon on Thursday morning, Viking announced that they were suspending the remainder of the northbound cruise activity and accordingly remained docked at a single location in Lyon. Our balcony view from Thursday through Sunday was of a cement wall, filled with graffiti and located just a couple feet from the edge of our balcony.

 

 

The fact that the ship did not continue its northward journey converted the planned daily excursions into a logistical nightmare. Bus rides in excess of two hours each way were necessary just to get to those locations. My wife and I signed on to the Viking River Cruise partly because of the promise of short daily excursions that were included in the price of the package. We wound up trapped in Lyon from Thursday through Sunday, occasionally taking the cruise shuttle into town and also incurring the additional cost of cab rides to reach other parts of Lyon.

 

 

We never did get to Cluny. Viking arranged to send a bus up there, but the excursion would have required a bus ride in excess of two hours each way. A few people from the ship did take the excursion. It killed the entire day.

[Viking Cruises]

Dear Riversanddale,

 

Your comment about the itinerary not doing the destination justice has of course caught our attention. We want to hear feedback from as many of our guests who’d like to share it, but as someone who has traveled with us multiple times we’d be particularly interested to hear what you have to say about the itinerary, how this trip differed from some of your other Viking cruises, what worked well and where you think we can improve. We hope you will choose to contact us directly at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Kindest regards,

Viking Cruises

 

 

Very sad that Viking was so lacking in providing alternative activities. All itineraries with an established company should have alternatives at the ready for an enjoyable day even if the activities are not as originally planned. Viking has been doing this route for a long time and has had plenty of experience and prep time. We remember this "scenic-NOT" stop well from our cruise and consider it one of the least desirable. We ended up in Lyon on a holiday (unknown to us till the night before) and little was open or available. Our highlight was the lovely bakery in the nearby, modern-but-very limited shopping center complex. Not a trip/itinerary we would choose again. This area of France is iconic and this particular itinerary doesn't do it justice. How disappointing for you. Viking needs to step up their game to retain customers. We've also had some great trips with Viking so we know they can do it.

[mthayer295]

We just received an email from Viking indicating that our cruise on the Heimdal departing tomorrow will now depart from Lyon - no explanation or reason given. Stay tuned..... let's hope Viking learned something from the previous experience.

[pinotlover]

We are coming in over a week early and touring the Provence before the cruise. Our current plans have us in Puligny the night before the cruise, then driving to Chalon and turning in our rental car and getting on the boat around 15:00. If we have to change plans, will we be responsible for the additional cost? I'm not even sure about internet service in Hotel Montrachet or even our night before in a Tain Hermitage hotel.

 

Hopefully the river, or whatever the problem is gets under control before we get there is a few weeks!

 

Are they going to bus you from Lyon to Beaune!!!! :confused: for the scheduled tours, or just blow off that part of trip/tour?!

[ninaks]

We take this cruise in a couple of weeks. I am hoping Viking is reading these posts and will reply with what is causing the change to this cruise.

[G550guy]

We take this cruise in a couple of weeks. I am hoping Viking is reading these posts and will reply with what is causing the change to this cruise.

 

Took the same cruise in July. Had an awesome time. Although there were a few adjustments in itinerary, got to be flexible. Viking was good about it.

[ninaks]

I agree. I don't mind a change , just hoping it doesn't turn into a bus trip like I have read a lot about lately. If it does, we will roll with the punches for sure. Heck, will be in France, how unhappy could I be?

[pbnjrockette]

Am still reliving our recent Rivercruise to France and reviewing our photos. I kept saying to myself the whole time...I'M IN FRANCE and enjoyed every minute!

Edited August 18, 2014 by pbnjrockette

[rjscott]

I agree. I don't mind a change , just hoping it doesn't turn into a bus trip like I have read a lot about lately. If it does, we will roll with the punches for sure. Heck, will be in France, how unhappy could I be?

 

We have been on 3 Viking cruises, and although they have all been wonderful, the Portraits of Southern France was my favorite so far. I truly wish for a wonderful cruise for you as well.

 

Becki

[mthayer295]

We just got back yesterday from our Portraits of Southern France cruise on the Heimdal. As I posted earlier we received notification the night we were leaving that the ship would depart from Lyon rather than Chalon. That was just one of many changes to the itinerary that were required due to the river height, lock problems, and lock maintenance. We ultimately saw almost everything we were originally supposed to but it required much more bus riding and very little daytime cruising. In fact there was only one morning of cruising the whole week that didn't conflict with tours. However, despite all of this we thought the cruise was terrific. I will post a formal review of the cruise so I won't get into every detail here but I just wanted to say that I thought Viking and their staff did a terrific job trying to deal with the situations that presented. Most passengers were flexible and were interested in having a great time. Of course there were a few sour grapes who seemed determined to have a spoiled experience but they were in a small minority. Communication to passengers about the departure port change was one area that was a bit lacking. While we were notified early and easily there were others who were already traveling with less or no access to email and text messages and so some of them reported to the original port. It was a very expensive 300+ euro cab ride to the ship once they realized the changed departure. It was not clear to me whether they were being reimbursed for that expense although most expected that they would be. I am happy to answer any specific questions about the itinerary, excursions, food, boat, service or any other aspect of this trip.

[ninaks]

We leave on our Portraits of Southern France cruise on Sept 7th. I do have a few questions if you don't mind. What optional excursions did you take and were they worth the time? While in Lyon did you eat at any restaurants you would recommend? There are so many there, it is hard to choose. Do you know if the lock maintenance is complete now and are the water levels still high? And finally, anything we should be sure we do that maybe you did that was not on the scheduled tours? I am so glad to hear you loved the trip. Between water levels, locks and volcanoes, it's good to know the trip is ultimately worth it. Thanks for taking the time to post

[German1]

We too are leaving for the Portraits of Southern France on the Heimdal Sept. 6th from Marseille going north. It sounds like it is the northern part of the tour that may have water level and lock problems. Can anyone confirm that assumption? All of your posts are much appreciated.

[npphotog]

FotoPeg - Just saw your southern France trip advisor photos. Fantastic job on layout and great photos. Congrats. Looking at the Vantage French Waterways cruise next June. Thanks for sharing yours. Willard

[Bet & Peg]

Willard ~ thanks much for the compliment!! The photos are mine but Trip WOW (from Trip Advisor) is SO easy to use!!

 

That was our first River Cruise and we had such a great time we came home and quickly booked two RCs!!!

 

If you book a RC I hope you have a fabulous time!!!!

[mthayer295]

The itinerary was so significantly rescheduled that it caused many to reconsider the alternative tours. In our case we ended up doing the medieval city of Perouges which we loved and Pont de Gard which we actually didn't care for. In the latter case, we visited a roman aqueduct in Segovia Spain last summer so to some extent it was quite repetitive but the bigger issue was that it was a long bus ride and it was very crowded there. It is a very popular destination - according to our tour guide the 3rd most popular attraction in France behind Mont St. Michael and the Eiffel Tower. As it was european holiday season in August there were literally thousands of people there, many swimming and kayaking in the water. There is a nice museum there that was interesting. However speaking with others on our ship that went to Chauteauneuf de Pape vineyard while we were at Pont de Gard, we felt we had made the wrong decision. We cancelled our optional excursion on Friday afternoon choosing instead to relax on the top deck of the ship as it had not been open most of the trip. In fact we had not been up there since the muster with our life jackets on day 1 ! Others reported that it was a good excursion, but we were happy with our decision to relax and pack as we had to be on a 5:45 am bus to the airport in the morning. We felt that all the included excursions were very good. Our least favorite was Vienne. The view from the top of the hill via train is magnificent but our tour of the city was a bit dry and our guide was a tad difficult to understand. I will say though that overall the guides were great. The quiet Vox sound system that Viking uses is great and makes your tour experience enjoyable.

 

When we left the water levels were still very high and the captain had indicated that the lock maintenance was something that had been ongoing for weeks so I doubt that it was finished while we were there. My advice is to approach this with the attitude that you are in Southern France on vacation, eating great food, drinking good wine, and enjoy yourself. There will be plenty to do and not worth wasting precious vacation time worrying about this stuff.

[mthayer295]

We too are leaving for the Portraits of Southern France on the Heimdal Sept. 6th from Marseille going north. It sounds like it is the northern part of the tour that may have water level and lock problems. Can anyone confirm that assumption? All of your posts are much appreciated.

 

The river levels were high throughout our trip but the most impacted part of the trip was the northern piece on the Saone. However, the high river levels prevents the top deck of the ship from being used at all throughout almost our whole journey. A senior member of the crew spoke to the passengers and explained that the law in France required 1 meter clearance between the top of a passengers head and the bridge in order to allow passengers to be on top while cruising. He said in some cases we had only 20-40 cm clearance! It was clear this has been a fairly consistent problem on this cruise all summer. He said that there are so many bridges and locks on this trip that it is impractical to keep putting up and taking down the furniture etc. He said they even tried it on one cruise and passengers didn't use it because they had to get up and come down every 15 minutes or so when the ship arrived at another bridge or lock. This was all quite a surprise to most of us and very disappointing to some but most made the best of it.

[rjscott]

On our Portraits of Southern France Viking cruise, we did not experience high water levels, but due to the low clearance on many bridges, we were not permitted on the Sun Deck during sailing. However, the Sun Deck was open during port, and the deck chairs were in place at those times.

 

Becki

[pbnjrockette]

The river levels were high throughout our trip but the most impacted part of the trip was the northern piece on the Saone. However, the high river levels prevents the top deck of the ship from being used at all throughout almost our whole journey. A senior member of the crew spoke to the passengers and explained that the law in France required 1 meter clearance between the top of a passengers head and the bridge in order to allow passengers to be on top while cruising. He said in some cases we had only 20-40 cm clearance! It was clear this has been a fairly consistent problem on this cruise all summer. He said that there are so many bridges and locks on this trip that it is impractical to keep putting up and taking down the furniture etc. He said they even tried it on one cruise and passengers didn't use it because they had to get up and come down every 15 minutes or so when the ship arrived at another bridge or lock. This was all quite a surprise to most of us and very disappointing to some but most made the best of it.

 

 

One meter clearance?? Yikes!! We were much closer on our recent Vantage cruise!! No one was allowed on the upper deck while passing under many bridges! We were verrrry close to the bridge in Lyon. (We were told 20cm!!) All the furniture, railings and the captain's wheelhouse were lowered many times during our sailing and restored when we were in port or when we sailed with no danger of low bridges. The crew was very quick at raising and lowering the railings and replacing the furniture.

Edited August 31, 2014 by pbnjrockette

[Host Jazzbeau]

One meter clearance?? Yikes!! We were much closer on our recent Vantage cruise!! No one was allowed on the upper deck while passing under many bridges! We were verrrry close to the bridge in Lyon. (We were told 20cm!!) All the furniture, railings and the captain's wheelhouse were lowered many times during our sailing and restored when we were in port or when we sailed with no danger of low bridges. The crew was very quick at raising and lowering the railings and replacing the furniture.

 

One meter over the top of the heads of passengers. If a 6-footer is about 2 meters tall, that means 3 meters total.

[ninaks]

Our Portraits of Southern France cruise leaves on Sunday. Does anyone know if they are still having issues with the water levels in the northern part of this trip?

[Viking Cruises]

The itinerary was so significantly rescheduled that it caused many to reconsider the alternative tours. In our case we ended up doing the medieval city of Perouges which we loved and Pont de Gard which we actually didn't care for. In the latter case, we visited a roman aqueduct in Segovia Spain last summer so to some extent it was quite repetitive but the bigger issue was that it was a long bus ride and it was very crowded there. It is a very popular destination - according to our tour guide the 3rd most popular attraction in France behind Mont St. Michael and the Eiffel Tower. As it was european holiday season in August there were literally thousands of people there, many swimming and kayaking in the water. There is a nice museum there that was interesting. However speaking with others on our ship that went to Chauteauneuf de Pape vineyard while we were at Pont de Gard, we felt we had made the wrong decision. We cancelled our optional excursion on Friday afternoon choosing instead to relax on the top deck of the ship as it had not been open most of the trip. In fact we had not been up there since the muster with our life jackets on day 1 ! Others reported that it was a good excursion, but we were happy with our decision to relax and pack as we had to be on a 5:45 am bus to the airport in the morning. We felt that all the included excursions were very good. Our least favorite was Vienne. The view from the top of the hill via train is magnificent but our tour of the city was a bit dry and our guide was a tad difficult to understand. I will say though that overall the guides were great. The quiet Vox sound system that Viking uses is great and makes your tour experience enjoyable.

 

When we left the water levels were still very high and the captain had indicated that the lock maintenance was something that had been ongoing for weeks so I doubt that it was finished while we were there. My advice is to approach this with the attitude that you are in Southern France on vacation, eating great food, drinking good wine, and enjoy yourself. There will be plenty to do and not worth wasting precious vacation time worrying about this stuff.

 

Dear mthayer295,

 

Welcome home from your cruise. We appreciate your feedback and are happy to hear that overall you had an enjoyable time on your trip. Please contact us at Tellus@vikingcruises.com if there’s anything that you’d like to bring to our attention directly. Thank you!

 

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises

[pinotlover]

We are scheduled to embark in Chalon on the 13th going South. Is the Saone open yet to cruise ships? Forecasts call for mostly sunny weather between then and now, but not sure if the problem is water levels or lock maintenance between Chalon and Lyon!

 

Any just back travelers have any advice?

[Joywrk]

Just disembarked from the August 31 cruise. It was fabulous. No trouble with high water. Most of the trip were able to be on sun deck. Closed occasionally when in certain locks or under certain bridges. Fabulous crew and cruise.

[ninaks]

We left from Chalon on Sept 7th and had not problems at all. You should be fine and you will LOVE this cruise