“Impressions From The Seine” Trip Review April 8 – 17, 2024 (Part 2)
April 10 Arrival on The Sapphire Day 1 of Cruise
We arrived at The Sapphire at 3:30pm and waited in the Panorama Lounge until are names were called and we were escorted to our Cabin 311. Something new that we encountered is that Tauck no longer provides Daily Program Sheets, in order to reduce paper. When you enter your Cabin, there is a mini electronic device that contains a QR Code. You take a picture of the QR Code with your smart phone camera and it automatically downloads your Daily Itinerary and the next day. The only thing I don’t like about this is that there is no way to save or print the itinerary if you want to keep a copy for future reference or scrap booking. I brought this to the attention of Axelle, the Cruise Director and she said she had received several comments about that and Tauck may re-instate the Daily Program bulletins in 2025. In the meantime, she gave me a copy of her document, which I am extremely grateful, otherwise I would have no way to recall many of the details of the trip.
We met with the Dietary Maître d’ at 4:45pm to discuss food allergies. At 5:45 we had a Safety Briefing, Welcome and Orientation meeting. Dinner was in the Compass Rose at 6:30 and lasted about 2 hours. There was piano music in the Lounge afterwards. Fortified with a delicious meal, excellent wine, great service and two very nice dinner companions and great conversation, we retreated to our Cabin with a more hopeful outlook. The wine helped!
Axelle Lion (France) Cruise Director
Barbara Sembinelli (France) Tauck Director
Jeff Scott (USA) Tauck Director
Karmen Liovic (Croatia) Tauck Director
April 11 The Sapphire Day 2 of Cruise - Tour of Paris and Pantheon
My husband and I had signed up for the Paris Orientation Tour followed by a Tour of the Opera Garnier. The other option was a walking tour of the Latin Quarter.
Our excursion left at 8:00am after breakfast to take a 2-hour bus tour around Paris. Of course, we had to get back to Paris to begin our tour which took 1 additional hour and traffic was brutal. The tour of the Opera House was great and we have a wonderful local guide.
Tauck then gave each person $30 Euros or $60 Euros per couple to have lunch at a restaurant of our choice in the St. Germain market area with some suggestions by the TDs. We were still very jet lagged and didn’t want to wander that far, so we had lunch near the meeting point at the Brasserie Balzar. It was a local café filled with customers speaking French and a few people from our tour. The food was ok and cost $45 euros for 2 entrees and water.
After lunch, from 2-4, we walked over to The Pantheon for a tour which was very good. We had a great guide who had many interesting stories about the building and the people buried here, including Josephine Baker. The other option was a tour of the Louvre Museum which I felt would be too crowded at 2:00 and didn’t get back to the ship until around 6:00pm. It actually took us 90 minutes to get back to the ship. Traffic was atrocious and we had walked over 3 miles according to my tracker and climbed many stairs. We were both feeling a bit disappointed as this tour was just not up to par with our previous tour down the Rhine River 6 years prior.
We went to dinner at 6:30 and when we returned to our cabin, there was an Anniversary Cake and Card plus a couple of presents (luggage tags). Nice touch. Entertainment for the night was a Jazz singer by the name of Cynthia Queenton, she was an amazing entertainer and sang some lovely French songs. The day ended up on a positive note.
April 12 The Sapphire Day 3 of Cruise - Chateau de Versailles
The ship had cruised down the river overnight to Poissy, which meant we would only have about a half hour bus ride to Versailles. Our local guide was Phillip and he did an excellent job and the tour was very interesting. The Guide also did an overview of the Gardens. We did have a little bit of time if we wanted to walk around the gardens for another half hour or so, but we didn’t feel it was worth it to have to rush. There was also an option to do a bike ride around the gardens. We had left the boat at 8:15 and entered the Chateau around 9:00. It was already super crowded at 9:00am but nothing compared to when we left when the crowds were 5 times larger than in the morning. We returned to the ship for lunch in the Compass Rose. The ship departed Poissy at 2:00pm and there was an Art Workshop at 2:15 in the Panorama Lounge. This was actually quite a bit of fun. We had an artist, Mark Alsterlind, who shared insights, tips and techniques about the impressionist painters. The workshop was limited to 40 people, I think we had at least 30. We were given a canvas, an apron, and a pallet of acrylic paints and 3 sizes of brushes. We had a copy of a finished Impressionist Painting and then a blank canvas with an outline of the major areas, sort of like a paint the numbers canvas. We were then free to use our creativity to either copy the painting or use our imagination to interpret our own impression. Since we were seated in the bar area, creativity soared with increased amounts of wine and other libations. Fun afternoon. I took a video.
There were additional activities and presentations to while away the hours. Dinner at 6:30 and a D-Day film in the Panorama Lounge plus our resident Musician, Arsenio, at the piano.
April 13 The Sapphire Day 4 of Cruise – Rouen
No bus ride today. Hooray! We docked in Rouen and had a walking tour of the city and visit to the Gothic Cathedral Notre-Dame. We also visited the Place due Vieux Marche, site of Joan of Arc’s untimely death when she was burnt at the stake. There was a market going on in the center of town so you could spend as much time as you wish, so long as you were back on the ship by 3:30. Our local guide did a great job. The town was super crowded, so we headed back to the ship once the tour was over and had lunch in the Compass Rose.
I participated in the Onboard Trivia Activity. I didn’t win anything, but it was a lot of fun. The questions were quite difficult.
Our ship arrived in the town of Duclair where we attended our special event at the Chateau du Taillis. These events can sometimes be hit or miss. We really enjoyed the outing. Everyone dressed up. The reception was held in a lovely garden where we had champagne and hors d’oeuvres and listened to some lovely cello and violin music. We met the owner of the Chateau who was young, handsome, and very charming. The dinner was absolutely exceptional.
Comments
Is there a Part 3 for this series on your Seine trip, Travell Maven?
I just found it😉