General Questions
We are planning to take the Rendezvous on the Seine cruise in June, 2025.
Options are June 3 or June 24....Generally speaking, which would be better, weather wise?
I would also like to hear overall impressions from folks who have taken this cruise.
We have taken 15 Tauck trips, but all of them have been land tours.
We did take one River Cruise many years ago with Viking but were not happy.
For example...each evening at 6:30, we had a lecture about what the next day would be like.
Then promptly at 7pm, everyone had to go to dinner, all at the same time. There was no flexibility.
We always enjoyed our Tauck land tours, but we figured a river cruise would be more relaxing, not having to switch hotels every day or so.
All comments would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Sue
Comments
I can only comment on the weather…..you never know what the weather will be any more.
I'd go for 3 Jun. Anytime I can avoid being in Europe in July and Aug the better.
Tauck isn't that inflexible about meal times except for certain dinners like the Chef's Signature dinner which is quite a production and any off the ship like the dinner at a chateau.
There is a daily briefing in the lounge usually between 5:30-6:30 depending on the days tour schedule. Then for dinner there will be a 2 hour time period within which you can go down to the Compass dining room. Example: social hour/briefing from 6-7, dinner btwn 7-9. The social hour includes passed appetizers and whatever drinks you want from the bar (all inclusive). One of my husband's favorite parts of river cruising.
Sometimes the TDs will take care of the briefing while riding back to the ship from the day's excursions. The D-day beaches day is very long and they will most likely do this then.
Tauck ship's also have a smaller venue called Arthur's at the aft end of the ship. It's more casual than the Compass with a mostly different menu - burgers, flat bread pizza, Caesar salad, steak, some local specialties, etc. The dinner menu is a little more extensive than lunch and both stay the same for the entire cruise. Because it's smaller they sometimes ask you to make a reservation but it's easy and not always needed. It also provides an early morning continental breakfast and 24 hour a day coffee machine and snacks.
Yes, it is getting virtually impossible to forecast weather due to the devastating effects of global warming (merely my opinion). My preference would be the earlier of the two June dates due to, hopefully, cooler temperatures.
There will typically, but not always, be a daily briefing during the cocktail hour in which the next day's activities are discussed. No, you do not have to go to either dining venue as a group since there will be a window of time for dinner.
Enjoy your trip. We took a different Tauck Seine cruise last year (April)--lovely weather and enjoyable trip.
Thank you.
June 3 it will be.
I see that the ship does not leave Paris till the afternoon of day 3.
While docked in Paris, were other ships docked alongside, thereby blocking views from your cabin?
Also, should my husband bring a sports jacket?
We are planning to treat ourselves to Business class air.....we live in NY.
Is one airline recommended over others?
Again, thank you for taking the time to respond to my many questions.
Sue
Yes, there could be other ships docked along side and it's impossible to predict whether your view will be blocked. They move the ships around a lot so you could wake up to it blocked and it's fine when you return later. And there really isn't much to see on either side of the ship. They normally dock at Port de Grenelle - which you can find on google maps - slightly down river of the Eiffel tower on the left bank. Your best views will be from the sun deck looking right at the Eiffel tower. Picture yourself having a drink there.
Per the packing list (all Tauck tours have one) sport coat/tie are optional. It's up to him. Some men will have them, some won't.
We generally fly Delta/Skyteam partners like Air France and KLM but flying from NYC you have more options. When looking at schedules, keep in mind if you arrive at the ship before 4pm tour start you likely won't get into your cabin right away. They'll store your luggage and you can go out sightseeing until 4 or just walk along the Seine. Always good to get some afternoon sunlight for jetlag.
Thanks again....looking forward to that drink on the sun deck.😁
one of our frequent contributors here is on this tour now - I know she will post a review when she returns in a couple weeks. We have this tour booked for May 2025. On the Tauck Facebook group - this tour gets fantastic reviews.
I am not on Facebook, but look forward to reading your posts on this site.
Have a fabulous tour, mfrancis. I, as well, do not use FaceBook but will certainly look for your review herein.
Don’t use Facebook
I have a Facebook account because it was necessary for a few things. But I object to Facebook's financial model. They want me to disclose a lot about myself so that they can use that data to sell my name to advertisers who will then send me "targeted advertising".
I realize they have to pay for the system but I do not wish to disclose that many things about myself.
And there’s a lot they can deduce about you from the pictures and comments you post.
Some people feel that it’s a fair trade.
mfrancis, I am looking forward to your posts on this site. We are going on this trip next summer. Have a great trip.
I tell fb the absolute minimum about myself include gender or photo. Mostly use it to connect with friends and family.