Viking Rinda Doesn't Dock in Paris

[MoneyGuy]

We were just on this Rinda cruise and it was fine, but unexceptional in my view. Two things were not good.

 

I didn't like that we were docked a bus ride away from Paris. The bigger issue for me was the lousy Normandy tour. We stayed longer and rented a car to drive to Normandy, Mont-St-Michel and elsewhere so we did a lot more touring around Normandy. While our touring was in depth at the beaches and the other sites with a private guide, the Viking excursion was basically a drive-by of the Normandy sights. It was very poor.

 

This was our third Viking cruise and the poorest of the three. The staff were great, as usual.

[JVilleGal]

Glad we made the decision to do Beaches at Normandy as a land trip! To important a visit to be rushed and not do it properly.

Edited July 11, 2015 by JVilleGal

[Jameseric]

...the lousy Normandy tour. ... the Viking excursion was basically a drive-by of the Normandy sights.

Sounds really frustrating. Part of the difficulty with such a tour surely would involve the distance from the Seine to the Normandy region, and the reality that roads there are anything but freeways. You have to pick and choose to occupy a finite time, to make it back for dinner (I say this as a veteran of such a day, this past October). What we did see was amazing, but there simply wasn't time for what we WANTED to see.

[Viking Cruises]

We were just on this Rinda cruise and it was fine, but unexceptional in my view. Two things were not good.

 

I didn't like that we were docked a bus ride away from Paris. The bigger issue for me was the lousy Normandy tour. We stayed longer and rented a car to drive to Normandy, Mont-St-Michel and elsewhere so we did a lot more touring around Normandy. While our touring was in depth at the beaches and the other sites with a private guide, the Viking excursion was basically a drive-by of the Normandy sights. It was very poor.

 

This was our third Viking cruise and the poorest of the three. The staff were great, as usual.

 

Dear MoneyGuy:

 

We appreciate your loyalty to Viking and regret to hear you found your recent Paris & the Heart of Normandy cruise to be unexceptional. That said, we also greatly appreciate your comment about the staff being great; that’s always nice to hear. We would be happy to discuss your experience with you. Should you wish to do the same, please contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. We look forward to speaking with you and sincerely hope that you will consider giving us another chance on another river cruise!

 

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

[Jameseric]

Dear MoneyGuy:

 

...sincerely hope that you will consider giving us another chance on another river cruise!

 

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

Uh-huh. The larger question about my needing to verify that this cruise line is telling the truth about its actual tie-up locations, still wants to be addressed, nice crew or not. When I decide to invest both time and shekels on a cruise, I would prefer that the event I experience actually resemble the company's description of it.

[JVilleGal]

Uh-huh. The larger question about my needing to verify that this cruise line is telling the truth about its actual tie-up locations, still wants to be addressed, nice crew or not. When I decide to invest both time and shekels on a cruise, I would prefer that the event I experience actually resemble the company's description of it.

 

 

 

Well if you are sailing the Rinda the "cat is out of the bag" now!

Edited July 16, 2015 by JVilleGal

[texas charm]

We are on the Rinda Oct. 19. The main reason I wanted to do this cruise was for the Normandy tour. Is it possible to book a private tour so we can see more of the area and skip the ship's tour?

Thank you for any suggestions.

[davidrw]

We are on the Rinda Oct. 19. The main reason I wanted to do this cruise was for the Normandy tour. Is it possible to book a private tour so we can see more of the area and skip the ship's tour?

Thank you for any suggestions.

 

It depends on what options you have time wise and what you want to see in Normandy - if you just want a landing beach experience the included tour is probably ok and will involve a fair bit of travel.

 

Normandy is not far from Paris and there are a number of transport options if you are able to do it before or after your cruise. The enclosed link for the Calvados Tourist board gives a good idea of the things that Normandy offers (http://www.calvados-tourisme.co.uk/en/).

[MoneyGuy]

We are on the Rinda Oct. 19. The main reason I wanted to do this cruise was for the Normandy tour. Is it possible to book a private tour so we can see more of the area and skip the ship's tour?

Thank you for any suggestions.

 

Yes, you absolutely can. There are a couple of ways.

 

We took extra time and returned to Normandy by car for a few days. (You can also do it by train.) We booked the world's best tour guide. You don't have to believe me. Google Trip Advisor Edward Robinson for pages of terrific reviews. We booked Ed for two days with another couple and it was the most entertaining, educational tour I could imagine.

 

If you don't have that much time, a couple on our cruise booked a local guide who picked them up from the boat for a day. It is hard to get the whole Normandy experience in eight hours, so book Edward Robinson if you have the time.

 

I wanted some WWII souvenirs and Ed guaranteed we'd find some. I have about half a pound of bullets (two whole and several pieces), melted glass and such. Ed knows where they are (farmer's field - legal and with permission).

[MoneyGuy]

Viking's Normandy tour was pathetic. If all you need is a drive-by of some key sites, that's basically what you'll get. If you want any depth, you'll be severely disappointed.

[villagirl]

Sounds really frustrating. Part of the difficulty with such a tour surely would involve the distance from the Seine to the Normandy region, and the reality that roads there are anything but freeways. You have to pick and choose to occupy a finite time, to make it back for dinner (I say this as a veteran of such a day, this past October). What we did see was amazing, but there simply wasn't time for what we WANTED to see.

 

Can you suggest an alternative to the day at the Beaches in Normandy? I believe the ship is docked in Rouen. We like to get a lot of excersize so a further day on an extended bus ride is not attractive to me. We will have taken the Roeun tour the previous day, and the farm tour.

[kathy9]

Can you suggest an alternative to the day at the Beaches in Normandy? I believe the ship is docked in Rouen. We like to get a lot of excersize so a further day on an extended bus ride is not attractive to me. We will have taken the Roeun tour the previous day, and the farm tour.

 

 

I would search TripAdvisor or the ports section of CC. You can also just google a town or area and find they may have a web page........

Edited May 20, 2016 by kathy9

[notamermaid]

Hello villagirl,

 

while you are waiting for specific suggestions I would like to join kathy9 in suggesting a web page or tripadvisor.

 

http://www.rouentourisme.com/en/ looks quite good and you can even book a greeter, a kind of personal tourist guide.

 

From Caen you can go to the landing beaches with a hired guide. You can take a train to Caen and see it from there - if it works out with the time you have to be back on the ship. http://www.caen-tourisme.fr/en/transports/le-memorial-de-caen-circuits-guides gives you some ideas.

 

The region of Rouen is called Seine-Maritime. When you put that into tripadvisor you get some interesting suggestions.

 

Apart from that, Evreux South of Rouen looks an interesting place.

 

For trains see the SNCF web site.

 

I wonder if you might prefer the Bayeux tapestry, I think it is the other trip offered by Viking, but again this is quite a bus ride, I believe.

 

I have only been to coastal Normandy, so cannot help you much otherwise. I enjoyed the coast. Perhaps Honfleur, the place Scenic sails to, might be nice to look at. It has no train station, it seems, the nearest place is Trouville-Deauville, a seaside resort that actually looks quite interesting. It gets you close to the Seine estuary.

 

I hope you find the place/excursion that is right for you.

 

notamermaid