Princess excursion Paris City Drive & Seine River Cruise (with lunch)

[bluenoser2]

We took this tour a few years ago through Princess, and I copied the part of my review that pertains to that day, in case it is helpful in any way. We could not reserve a particular spot on the river cruise for the lunch. We looked at it, as others have said, as a "taste" - an appetizer if you will pardon the food reference, of a city we might never get back to. Better to have that than to not have it at all! We have no regrets and here is the excerpt from a very long review I did years ago.

So close, and yet so far...... and I’m not just talking about being in France and relatively close to Paris, but the time spent GETTING to Paris on this day. Furthermore, we did NOT get in group #1 this morning...missed it by THAT much....there was just one space left, so they decided to keep us together and we were relegated to group #2. However, we were in the bus that did NOT break down, and that was really good enough. We left promptly at 7:30. And another “so close”? That would be the seats on this bus that were clearly made for.... I don’t know, 5 year olds? People with no legs? The longest trek and the least amount of leg room. Sigh.

However, DH, again showing his intellectual prowess, had studied the atlas the previous evening (told you he couldn’t handle sea days...) and knew which side of the bus to be on to avoid being in the sun all morning. Now that’s planning. And he’s all mine!

 

 

The trip was through lovely countryside, and we stopped at a gas station for a break, along with every other motor coach in the country, and instead of waiting in line for a washroom break, I browsed. I love the part of the trip where one minute there’s nothing but trees on both sides of the highway, the next minute, we’re in a tunnel, and then....we were SO obviously IN Paris! That was exciting for little ol’ me, and a bit frustrating as all the sights were being passed by so quickly. I reminded myself that it was “just a taste of Paris”. By the 400th time ...”it’s just a taste, it’s just a taste” – I almost had myself convinced. Zoom – by the Arc de Triumph, whoosh, by Louis Vitton, Rolex.....and then we stopped at Lafayette, where we went up the “motorized staircase” as our guide Estelle would say (I was quite disappointed to discover it was just an escalator) to the roof to get our views of the city.

 

We had 40 minutes of free time (Paris...in 40 minutes? I don’t know of ANY guide books that give you advice for that one.) We walked a block or so in every direction, to the Opera House and around, so we could say we had strolled the streets, and returned to the store – what an amazing stained glass dome in the middle. While DH was having his washroom break on floor “-1”, I stood in awe. An entire floor devoted to women’s shoes. I pinched myself. It was still there. Every colour. Every style. Could it be? Alas, time was up, and we met our group, amazingly no stragglers.

On the bus we went, and whoosh...there was the Louvre, and on we went to the Seine and our Luncheon river cruise on the Cristal. It was very warm and very full, but we had a really nice time and the meal was delicious. I think. I was trying to eat, and see EVERYTHING at the same time. It WAS a lovely way to see Paris in such a short time. The violinist and pianist played suitable music along the way (Ave Maria at the Notre Dame, “New York, New York” at the Statue of Liberty and some beautiful classical selections in between.

Back on the bus, we travelled up to the spot where the best views of the Eiffel Tower are. That was very nice, but my favourite part of this stop was the HUGE crowd that was gathered by an appropriately HUGE screen watching France play their game of soccer in the World Cup. We were there, just as France scored a goal, and the sound that came from that field was amazing – the ground shook with their jumping and cheering. Awesome.

On the way back to port there was some serious napping going on all over the bus. We returned around 6:00.......

Edited August 20, 2018 by bluenoser2
had too much content in post

[smarks]

I am trying to decide which tour to take also. I am leaning towards the on your own for 4 hrs. I would love to do the canal tour but don't care to do lunch. Can I just walk up and book a canal tour? If so, any idea how much that cost. Thanks for any info.

 

Sandra