Rhone vs Rhine cruise?

[gma rae]

I have France on my bucket list, never been there and interested in several areas. So I looked at the cruise from Paris to Normandy back to Paris then TGV to Lyon for cruise to Avignon. That would address all my must see places but was very expensive. So now I am thinking Paris and Normandy on my own DIY then Lyon to Arles. We have looked at AMA as well as Uniworld.

 

We have friends who want to cruise with us, they have a benefit if they cruise AMA. They cruised Danube so not sure about the visual of a Rhone cruise.

We have never cruised on a river cruise.

We are comparing AMA to Uniworld. I have read everything on the river cruise board including recent reviews (limited).

 

Starting to wonder if it would be better cruising and better value to cruise Rhine instead of Rhone. Based on reviews here the Rhone is not scenic, most of the sights we will see can be done with a Provence land tour.

Uniworld is apparently not doing much for evening entertainment on the Rhone. Is it better on the Rhine with local entertainment?

 

Looking for information to help decide if France is better done by land and the river cruise is better for the Rhine, Danube rivers.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I took out dozens of blank lines at the end of your post – did your cat sit on the keyboard? 

 

Anyway, to answer your question:  most people love their first river cruise, but there are some who just hate it.  So I don't advise starting off with a 14-day cruise (or in your case a pair of 7-days).  If you realize on day 2 that you are in that minority, you have a lot of days staring you in the face. 😱

 

Paris to Normandy covers very few miles on the Seine and can easily be done in a rental car without stressing the driver.  The scenery is nice, but probably equally nice from car or ship [at least for the passenger].

 

Lyon to Arles could also be done by car, but I think it makes a better river cruise because the Rhône is a much bigger river and you can really get a feel for how it shaped the landscape and civilization of the area.

 

Because we felt that way, DW and I did a DIY tour from CDG* down the Seine, around Normandy and Brittany, through the Loire chateaux, on to Dordogne and then to Lyon – where we took the AMA cruise to Arles, then the TGV to Paris for several days before returning home.  A total of three weeks, with the 7-night cruise in the second half.  You can read all the details here:  https://jazzbeauxfranceblog.wordpress.com

 

It was a lot of driving, however, and DW pointed out that while I (as navigator) got to look at most of the scenery – she (as driver) had to keep her eyes on the road and missed much.  The first part (from CDG to Honfleur) wasn't a problem because the sites were close together and it was really about the sites (and early on in the trip).  In Brittany where much of the driving was Rick Steves scenic drives, it was a problem for her [but there are no river cruises there anyway].  In Dordogne the mountain roads made the driving more stressful.  So in the end I enjoyed that part of the trip more than she did – until we got on the ship and we could both relax and let AMA do the driving!  But without the car, we couldn't have seen most of the places we visited on that trip.

 

If driving that length of time/miles doesn't sound appealing – I would definitely recommend the b2b river cruise itinerary you started with.  Or perhaps fly to CDG,* rent a car, and focus on the interior of France where river cruises don't go (Loire and Dordogne) to Lyon.  Save Normandy for a return visit, which could be either a river cruise or a DIY.

 

* I keep saying CDG rather than Paris, because it's better to rent the car at the airport and drive away from Paris rather than try to deal with big-city traffic.  After you end in Arles, take the TGV back to Paris and enjoy your time there car-free.

[notamermaid]

The 🐈! Had to smile. Even if it was not a feline friend, it is a very feasible idea. Ours many years ago used to bite my pen while I was trying to do my homework.

 

Anyway, I find the big difference between Rhone and Seine or Rhine is the fact that you one language and culture on the first two and several on the latter.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited July 27, 2019 by notamermaid
Spelling

[4774Papa]

We did the Rhone/Saone cruise with AMA and it was wonderful.

Here is my review

 

AMA Rhone River

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=103733

 

[gma rae]

Sorry about the spaces thanks for fixing the post.

What I failed to mention originally is that my husband does not want to drive in Europe. I am hoping to change his mind as many on these boards have said driving outside of Paris is not so hard. So land travel would be train or private tour. We would use Overlord for Normandy.

I had not thought about starting with a 7 day cruise in case as you pointed out it turned out not to be to our liking. Good point.

A DIY of Normandy with a car at CDG makes the most sense. We can both drive a stick shift but we don't speak French so worried about road signage and the stress of driving in a foreign country.

Thanks for the review links.

 

 

[gma rae]

4774Papa - I see you cruised in May. A few questions. Early or late May?  What was the weather like? When you were in the hill town of Grignan were there any views over the lavender fields? I understand they bloom in June and are 1 of the variables for our cruise time frame.

Thanks

[Got2Cruise]

Two things you can do. Print out the day to day itinerary of all cruises you are considering, whichever brand. Then compare to see which bucket list items for YOU are included. 

 

You yourself stated FRANCE is your dream. The Rhine, though absolutely lovely  is not France. 

 

We have used both Uniworld and Ama and the service is comparable. It comes down to the itinerary that suits your interests. Don’t disappoint yourself by going along with something you really don’t enjoy. Hubby and I cruise by ourselves because we want to do what we want to do. We meet others with the same idea and always have a fantastic time. 

[TravelerThom]

If Normandy landing beaches are important a river cruise is far from the best option. Some river boats go no farther than Rouen and the round trip drive to Omaha is 4-5 hours; to Utah is 5-6 hours round trip. The round trip from Honfleur is maybe an hour or 1.5 hours less. You are spending half a day on the road just to get there. IMO the Normandy beaches, Caen Peace Memorial and Bayeux Tapestry are easily worth 2 full days, and then Mont Saint-Michel is worth another day. 

[gma rae]

Got2Cruise, thanks for your insight. I did print them out but they are vague. I do see that each has something we are interested in but our "best" would be a combo.  Between morning and afternoon tours we will probably be good but they each leave out great sites in the places we stop! Having said that and looked at peoples reviews I think we need a few days after in Provence to do what doesn't work out on the ship. Similar to what Jazzbeau did. We are planning to travel with another couple but have openly said we will do our own thing on tours as we have different physical abilities and interests.

 

TravelerThom- Thanks for that info. We are now looking at staying in Bayeux 3 nights with a 2 day tour with Overlord then train back to Paris to meet our friends and spend 3 nights there. If we can arrange it we will stop at Giverny enroute to Bayeux or on the way back. Honfleur and Rouen may have to wait.

 

Thank you all!

 

 

 

 

[Marjan1]

 

I tend to disagree about choosing a shorter cruise.  Do your research and you should have a fairly good idea what to expect, and whether it appears to fit your expectations.  On most river cruises you are out and about most of the day, so the ship is just like a floating hotel transporting you overnight.  

 

As as I live in Australia, visiting Europe requires flights totalling around 24 hours.  We chose the 14 day Budapest to Amsterdam cruise, with 3 days in Prague beforehand. We then continued on to England where we hired a car for another couple of weeks.  

 

As neither hubby nor I wish to cope with driving on the “wrong” side of the road, a rental car in Europe is not an option for us.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

15 hours ago, gma rae said:

A DIY of Normandy with a car at CDG makes the most sense. We can both drive a stick shift but we don't speak French so worried about road signage and the stress of driving in a foreign country.

Thanks for the review links.

 

You don't have to drive a stick shift if you rent from CGG.  It was only our later rental from Arles that forced that.

 

Road signage wasn't a problem as I recall, despite relatively poor French language skills [outside menus and bathrooms, neither of which helps with  a car!]  Maybe the answer was that we brought our TomTom gps from home [having bought the map of France] and so had a good English-language, and familiar IT-interace, device with us in the car.

 

You do need to watch your speeds, as noted in my blog.  After returning home we got a billet doux from les flics because a camera on an overpass caught Parnelli-DW driving like an American.  But it's only money, so we paid up and are free to return to France!

[gma rae]

Thank you Marjan 1 and Jazzbeau.

We art still in the research and planning stages but I think we have the start of a plan.

 

We will be jet lagged when we arrive at CDG so driving from there to Bayeaux is probably a bad idea for us. We can hire a private driver to take us with a stop at Giverny for slightly more than renting a car. We don't need the car in Bayeux as we will have a 2 day private tour from there. We will be rested enough to manage our bags on a train back to Paris. At the end of the cruise in Arles/Avignon (depending on cruise line) we can rent a car to see more of Provence before flying out of Marseille. The driving in Provence will hopefully feel less stressful!

[4774Papa]

On 7/27/2019 at 11:15 AM, gma rae said:

4774Papa - I see you cruised in May. A few questions. Early or late May?  What was the weather like? When you were in the hill town of Grignan were there any views over the lavender fields? I understand they bloom in June and are 1 of the variables for our cruise time frame.

Thanks

I believe we did the cruise in mid-May.   Grignan was great, but don't specifically remember the lavender fields.

[gma rae]

Great pictures, thanks!

[Senga]

Marseille is the WORST airport we have ever used and swore never to go there again.  Absolutely filthy!