NCL Bus - Le Havre to Paris ? Or ??

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Looking to book shore excursions for our April 2021 (!) Transatlantic - to replace the April 2020 canceled cruise.  Have read ALL about the very, very long bus trip from Le Havre to Paris - and still THINK we might want to see Paris.  The one and only review of the Ship's shore excursion talks about the first 2 hours in Paris were nice (albeit they had to take pictures from the windows of the bus) the review goes on to say that the bus "had to park in a really out of the way (2 hour walk to and from) any major sights - very disappointed"

Question: does anyone else have experience with this tour ?

Does anyone know exactly WHERE the bus dumps you off for 2 hours - can you take a taxi (or a have a tour guide meet you) from there into the city and back ?

Does anyone recommend a private tour guide that they have taken from LeHavre to Paris ?

THANK YOU ! 

[John Bull]

Parked a two hour  (or is that one hour each-way?) walk from the sights?

Unequivocally total rubbish 

 

I have driven coach tours to Paris - there are a number of places in the centre where multiple coaches can park. Best-known are near the Louvre (about 70 spaces) and in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower (about 100 spaces). There are also a couple of dozen drop-off / pick-up points in tourist Paris, for instance at the foot of the steps up to Sacre-Coeur. The coach parking spots are expensive but cruise operators use them. And they have to be pre-booked - no problem for an excursion planned months ahead. The pick-up points are free but a bit pot-luck.

But central Paris is a little spread-out so for some sights that you might like to visit you can just hop on the Metro (but do plan in advance, including advice on ticketing, safety, etc)

 

More generally, yes it's a long bus (or train) ride to Paris. 

Advice from most folk, including JB, is to put Paris on the back-burner for a future visit when you can give the city the 3 or 4 or more days that it deserves, but ..................... if you don't expect to have another opportunity to get to Paris, GO FOR IT - a rushed visit is better than never seeing it.

 

There are the alternatives of a private tour or transfer or DIY by train.

I'm not generally a great fan of ships' over-priced excursions, but because of the distance & limited time in the city this is one ship's excursion that I'd consider.

 

A private tour guide from Le Havre is difficult. Because of the limited parking in the city a driver/guide doesn't work well - the driver will rarely be able to leave the car to accompany you, so driver & guide really need to be two separate people.

The norm. is to fix a private transfer from Le Havre and a Paris guide to meet you in the city. This is cheaper than a guide from Le Havre and a far far better choice of Paris-based guides. Some coach tours do this.

Cheaper is just a transfer with a Le Havre driver who knows his way round Paris & who'll drop you at each sight with a time to return. But to get the best out of that you'll need to research before you go.

Any form of private transfer or tour will be waaaaay cheaper if you can fix to share with a van-load, perhaps via your cruise RollCall.

 

There's a further option.

If Le Havre is your penultimate port & you disembark next day in Southampton, consider disembarking at Le Havre, spend as much time as you can (2 - 3 days?) in Paris and fly home from there rather than from London.

Most cruise lines permit this (fix it with them in advance). Sadly NCL may be an exception, I'm aware that they refused permission to a CC member a year or two ago - but you can only ask

 

JB 

[tutuwahineLV]

On 5/13/2020 at 9:35 AM, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

Looking to book shore excursions for our April 2021 (!) Transatlantic - to replace the April 2020 canceled cruise.  Have read ALL about the very, very long bus trip from Le Havre to Paris - and still THINK we might want to see Paris.  The one and only review of the Ship's shore excursion talks about the first 2 hours in Paris were nice (albeit they had to take pictures from the windows of the bus) the review goes on to say that the bus "had to park in a really out of the way (2 hour walk to and from) any major sights - very disappointed"

Question: does anyone else have experience with this tour ?

Does anyone know exactly WHERE the bus dumps you off for 2 hours - can you take a taxi (or a have a tour guide meet you) from there into the city and back ?

Does anyone recommend a private tour guide that they have taken from LeHavre to Paris ?

THANK YOU ! 

Hi GV, 

I think we may be on the same cruise, 4/16 from NYC?    Here's my 2cents, while I do appreciate a bus ride that allows me see more of the country than the immediate port area, I don't want to spend 4-6 hours of my day on that bus.  Google maps shows the shortest drive to Paris at 2.25hrs, which would probably be longer with traffic and a rest stop.  For me the time I'd have in 'the City' isn't worth the time on the bus.  I'd feel rushed, and am sure I wouldnt get to see near enough to balance out the ride to get there.  

At end of the day though, it boils down to your priorities and comfort level.  If you're staying a few days after the cruise in London...the Eurostar can get you to Paris in the same amount of time, which would be a great day trip if you take an early morning train and return in the evening.  2hr16min, city center to city center...

 

Tutu

[mountbiker]

We are also booked on the TA 4/16/2021   Does anyone know if there is a rest room on the bus as we will be traveling with my elderly mother.  We are looking at the paris / river -lunch tour

 

Thank you 

[John Bull]

On 8/29/2020 at 9:16 PM, mountbiker said:

We are also booked on the TA 4/16/2021   Does anyone know if there is a rest room on the bus as we will be traveling with my elderly mother.  We are looking at the paris / river -lunch tour

 

Thank you 

 

Most, but not all, coaches in Europe have a rest-room.

Some drivers also have a habit of locking the rest-room door because it's "out of order" (for which read "I can't be bothered to clean it, empty the waste tank & refill the water tank").

Some cruise lines INSIST that coaches have a rest-room - if you contact the shorex department of your cruise line they should be able to tell you.

Alternatively, get out on the quayside early & check which coaches (there'll be plenty) have a rest-room, check with the driver/s whether it's in working order, and make a nuisance of yourself to the shorex staff to be switched to a different coach if necessary, citing your mother's condition.

 

Journey time to Paris is about 2 hrs 15. The sort of time-scale when there might or might not be a rest-break en-route.

If you ask on your cruise line's page you might get replies whether they do or they don't.

 

JB