Everything Viking France: Normandy, Paris, Provence

[MURPHY27]

On 12/5/2018 at 1:57 PM, TakingFlight said:

We are sailing Avignon to Lyon on October 8, 2019.  Our schedule has changed as Peregrina describes. Additionally, there is no optional tour to a Châteauneuf de Pape winery which would be one of the highlights of this cruise for me.  I contacted Viking who asked me to be patient (not my best trait) while they finalize some changes to the itinerary. If the optional CDP tour doesn’t materialize I will plan my own, however I’m not sure which day to do it and I want to be sure the ship is where we left it when we return!  I realize I have a lot of time before I have to make any decisions on this.  I hope you all will share as you receive more information about these changes.

 

Chateauneuf-du-Pape is about 20-25 min drive from Avignon.  If VIKING doesn’t offer, you could arrive a day (or two) early and arrange a guide or self tour.  Often you need to choose between two VIKING optionals on this cruise and pre tour helps you fit in a bit more.  Towns with weekly markets are posted online.

[Peregrina651]

16 hours ago, MURPHY27 said:

 

Chateauneuf-du-Pape is about 20-25 min drive from Avignon.  If VIKING doesn’t offer, you could arrive a day (or two) early and arrange a guide or self tour.  Often you need to choose between two VIKING optionals on this cruise and pre tour helps you fit in a bit more.  Towns with weekly markets are posted online.

 

 

Can you share the link? Any recommendations for which winery to visit?

[TakingFlight]

Unfortunately I’m not able to arrive for the cruise before embarkation day. The itinerary has changed so that we are in Avignon the first night, Arles the second and back to Avignon on the third night. I haven’t contacted Viking yet but I plan to. Not sure which day to do the CNDP chateau visit, I still have some research to do.  But first, I’m off to Panama and Costa Rica with Windstar. Thank you for your replies, I’ll let you know what I discover.

[Respbj]

Getting from Marseille to ship in Avignon?  Since we have been to Avignon/Aix  before we will fly into Marseille from UK and spend 2 days there, then make our way to the ship.  My question is has anyone taken the train up or arranged a hired car to take you and if so what was your experience, any recommendations?  Anyone else going to be in Marseille on 7/2/19 that is also going up to the ship in Avignon, maybe we could arrange transportation by van to the ship. We are staying at Holiday Inn Express by St Charles train station.  Any information will be useful.

[gers]

We are going on our trip with Viking Paris to Normandy in June 2019.  We have prepaid our gratuities for the staff on board, but am wondering which other gratuities we will need euros for.  Who else gets gratuities, and is there a recommended amount?

[MURPHY27]

10 minutes ago, gers said:

We are going on our trip with Viking Paris to Normandy in June 2019.  We have prepaid our gratuities for the staff on board, but am wondering which other gratuities we will need euros for.  Who else gets gratuities, and is there a recommended amount?

Does the gratuity include the Program director?  If so, you are set for the boat.

 

You are expected to give a bus driver 1€ per person at the end of an excursion and 2€ pp to the guide (we do €5 per couple)

Options-

On top of that amount, we usually leave 10 E or so in the cabin for the housekeeper, more if they are especially helpful.  I tip the bartender nightly if they mix up a good cocktail & also the waiter iwe have gotten to know 

[MURPHY27]

1 hour ago, Respbj said:

Getting from Marseille to ship in Avignon?  Since we have been to Avignon/Aix  before we will fly into Marseille from UK and spend 2 days there, then make our way to the ship.  My question is has anyone taken the train up or arranged a hired car to take you and if so what was your experience, any recommendations?  Anyone else going to be in Marseille on 7/2/19 that is also going up to the ship in Avignon, maybe we could arrange transportation by van to the ship. We are staying at Holiday Inn Express by St Charles train station.  Any information will be useful.

 

Ive trained between Marseilles & Avignon a few times; very easy.  From St Charles there are two trains:  TGV to station min on outskirts of city or the regional TER to Central Station.  Central Station also offers a shuttle to the city center for a few €, and you can also walk if desired, while Gare TGV requires taxis.

 

Both stations are no more than about 10-15 min by cab to the ship, maybe €15-20.

[Peregrina651]

16 hours ago, TakingFlight said:

Unfortunately I’m not able to arrive for the cruise before embarkation day. The itinerary has changed so that we are in Avignon the first night, Arles the second and back to Avignon on the third night. I haven’t contacted Viking yet but I plan to. Not sure which day to do the CNDP chateau visit, I still have some research to do.  But first, I’m off to Panama and Costa Rica with Windstar. Thank you for your replies, I’ll let you know what I discover.

 

Unless you are arriving in Avignon very early on Day 1 and will have 4 hours for a private half day tour to CDP,  your only choices for getting to Chateauneuf de Pape will be on Day 3, either with Viking or with a private tour.

 

 

 

 

[Peregrina651]

3 hours ago, MURPHY27 said:

Does the gratuity include the Program director?  If so, you are set for the boat.

 

You are expected to give a bus driver 1€ per person at the end of an excursion and 2€ pp to the guide (we do €5 per couple)

Options-

On top of that amount, we usually leave 10 E or so in the cabin for the housekeeper, more if they are especially helpful.  I tip the bartender nightly if they mix up a good cocktail & also the waiter iwe have gotten to know 

 

As of today's date, this is what it says on MVJ about the new pre-paid gratuities option. Of course, this can change over time, so be sure to check MVJ for the most current info:

 

• The prepaid amount shown is our standard tipping recommendation, covering gratuities for your entire onboard crew, including your Program Director.
• When traveling, you may wish to give a small courtesy amount to your local guides and bus drivers. This can be done in cash at the end of each excursion. Recommended amounts are in your cruise documents.

[MURPHY27]

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

As of today's date, this is what it says on MVJ about the new pre-paid gratuities option. Of course, this can change over time, so be sure to check MVJ for the most current info:

 

• The prepaid amount shown is our standard tipping recommendation, covering gratuities for your entire onboard crew, including your Program Director.
• When traveling, you may wish to give a small courtesy amount to your local guides and bus drivers. This can be done in cash at the end of each excursion. Recommended amounts are in your cruise documents.

 

FYI, it’s come up here on cruise critic that Viking is calculating the prepaid gratuity to include the day of departure as an additional day, even though check out is by 9.

 

A cruise with departure immediately after breakfast (or at dawn) is not an extra cruise day in my mind.  So do look into what you will be charged.

 

Personally, I see little convenience.  I also prefer to use up remaining local currency in the tip envelope.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, MURPHY27 said:

 

FYI, it’s come up here on cruise critic that Viking is calculating the prepaid gratuity to include the day of departure as an additional day, even though check out is by 9.

 

A cruise with departure immediately after breakfast (or at dawn) is not an extra cruise day in my mind.  So do look into what you will be charged.

 

Personally, I see little convenience.  I also prefer to use up remaining local currency in the tip envelope.

 

The convenience would be if you can pre-pay on a credit card that gives a nice rebate (mine gives 3% cash back).  You could always use the extra local currency for extra tips for extraordinary service, or save Euros for your next trip.

[lackcreativity]

15 hours ago, MURPHY27 said:

 

FYI, it’s come up here on cruise critic that Viking is calculating the prepaid gratuity to include the day of departure as an additional day, even though check out is by 9.

 

A cruise with departure immediately after breakfast (or at dawn) is not an extra cruise day in my mind.  So do look into what you will be charged.

 

Personally, I see little convenience.  I also prefer to use up remaining local currency in the tip envelope.

Having worked as a waitress during college, I have a soft spot for those who work for tips, so I don't object to that extra day of gratuities. I realize that in effect, Viking is collecting double the daily gratuity for that day, but watching how hard the staff worked on turn around day made me appreciate them all the more.

 

It may not be a cruise day, but they still clean our room, feed us breakfast, handle our luggage all the way to check in at the airport, and clean up the mess we leave behind.  As I observed one "gentleman" dozing in the Living Room with his bare feet up on the coffee table on departure day,  I was grateful to see how the staff attends to their cleaning duties. (Sorry to sound like such an old lady, but really? I guess there's one in every crowd, even on Viking.)

Edited January 27, 2019 by lackcreativity

[philw1776]

On 1/27/2019 at 12:31 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

The convenience would be if you can pre-pay on a credit card that gives a nice rebate (mine gives 3% cash back).  You could always use the extra local currency for extra tips for extraordinary service, or save Euros for your next trip.

I don't see how that works as an advantage since I can use my credit card to pay the bill including tips when I check out onboard.

Agree with uses of local currency.

[MURPHY27]

1 hour ago, philw1776 said:

I don't see how that works as an advantage since I can use my credit card to pay the bill including tips when I check out onboard.

Agree with uses of local currency.

 

One advantage that I will concede is prepayment would be in USD (or other home currency) vs the onboard currency, an advantage when a passenger does not have a cc without foreign exchange rates.

 

While I tip well, I still prefer it to be for services rendered not anticipated.  If Viking wants to go that route, I’d rather they do as other lines that include gratuities and be done with it.  (Although I’d still probably give extra to some crew).

Edited January 28, 2019 by MURPHY27
Sp

[Peregrina651]

Where we dock. http://wpc.475d.edgecastcdn.net/00475D/PDF/portlocations.pdf

 

AVIGNON:

 

LYON:

 

 

PARIS:

 

Just to give you an idea how far it is from the dock into Paris here is a screen shot from Google with directions on public transportation (on a Sunday):

 

[Peregrina651]

We leave in just a few weeks now (3/19 sailing) and it is my plan to "live blog" our adventure right here in this thread. It will be a good time to ask specific questions about the itinerary.

 

 

[MURPHY27]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

We leave in just a few weeks now (3/19 sailing) and it is my plan to "live blog" our adventure right here in this thread. It will be a good time to ask specific questions about the itinerary.

 

 

 

Very helpful to future cruisers!  I considering this cruise & I’m looking forward to your posts.

Edited February 24, 2019 by MURPHY27
Sp

[Cruze4Ever]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

We leave in just a few weeks now (3/19 sailing) and it is my plan to "live blog" our adventure right here in this thread. It will be a good time to ask specific questions about the itinerary.

 

 

Our cruise is in September and I am ooking forward to reading your posts!  Very nice and helpful of you!

 

Carol

[Peregrina651]

37 minutes ago, MURPHY27 said:

 

Very helpful to future cruisers!  I considering this cruise & I’m looking forward to your posts.

 

I'm doing my best to keep this thread alive and certainly could use some help. If more people would share links to helpful website that they have visited or comment on the shorex that they have taken or things that they have seen or even ask questions, it will help this thread stay on page one where it will be seen by more people who join the conversation and share what they have learned.

[lackcreativity]

3 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

We leave in just a few weeks now (3/19 sailing) and it is my plan to "live blog" our adventure right here in this thread. It will be a good time to ask specific questions about the itinerary.

 

 

Your timing is very fortunate for me. We leave on April 25 for Russia and the Baltic Sea, and I have been thinking about booking Lyon & Provence while on board for 2021. We already have Paris to the Swiss Alps booked for next year, so I will be looking forward to your blog.

[FuelScience]

6 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

We leave in just a few weeks now (3/19 sailing) and it is my plan to "live blog" our adventure right here in this thread. It will be a good time to ask specific questions about the itinerary.

 

 

Looking forward to the blog. We did Provence with Avalon a couple of years ago, and the Pont du Gard was a highlight for me. Also, if you have time in Tournon, make it to the Valrhona chocolate store. great chocolate and lots of free samples!

[Peregrina651]

7 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

Your timing is very fortunate for me.

 

Happy to be of service. Hoping that I actually have time to do it because I know that I will not be able to do it once we get home.

 

BTW, I don't know that we can book on board a river cruise; I think that there is some other booking perk.

 

4 hours ago, FuelScience said:

make it to the Valrhona chocolate store. great chocolate and lots of free samples! 

 

🙉 I did not just hear you say that there is chocolate to be had. 🙉

 

Tournon is a half day stop for us, after lunch we head to Vienne, so other than the short walking tour in Tournon, I don't know that we will have much time there.

 

But for those who are interested, Cite du Chocolat Valrhona, 12 Avenue du Président Roosevelt, 26600 Tain-l'Hermitage, France

[FuelScience]

14 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

🙉 I did not just hear you say that there is chocolate to be had. 🙉

 

Tournon is a half day stop for us, after lunch we head to Vienne, so other than the short walking tour in Tournon, I don't know that we will have much time there.

 

But for those who are interested, Cite du Chocolat Valrhona, 12 Avenue du Président Roosevelt, 26600 Tain-l'Hermitage, France

We only had a short time in Tournon on our Avalon cruise. I chose to skip the walking tour and make the walk across the bridge to Tain-l'Hermitage to the chocolate shop. I think that Viking may offer a train ride, so you may have a harder decision to make. If it's chocolate or walking tour, I'd definitely do chocolate!

[Peregrina651]

36 minutes ago, FuelScience said:

We only had a short time in Tournon on our Avalon cruise. I chose to skip the walking tour and make the walk across the bridge to Tain-l'Hermitage to the chocolate shop. I think that Viking may offer a train ride, so you may have a harder decision to make. If it's chocolate or walking tour, I'd definitely do chocolate!

 

We're doing the train which also includes a walking tour before returning to the ship. I'll decide mid-tour whether I do the walking tour or head off on my own.

[Host Jazzbeau]

29 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

We're doing the train which also includes a walking tour before returning to the ship. I'll decide mid-tour whether I do the walking tour or head off on my own.

 

When I was researching our Rhone cruise, the Tournon steam train ride had bad reviews.  Can you skip that part for chocolate and then join the walking tour?