Savoring France Rhone river cruise

I am on the Savoring France Riverboat cruise August 9th, 2022. If anyone has been and has any info, tips, packing, excursions etc...please help. This I my first Tauck experience.

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  • My wife and I are on the same Tauck tour in September, beginning in Paris, then cruising the Rhone. we have loved Tauck tours, and hope you enjoy your's.
    Please let us know how your trip goes, and any advice you may have, especially about the water levels of the Rhone. Thanks, and good luck.
    Blanks

  • We absolutely loved this tour. September is a good time to go since it will be cooler and the crowds not so overwhelming. Every day was packed with exciting excursions, but we never felt rushed. And the food! There's a reason why it's called Savoring France.

    Have a wonderful trip!

  • Helene, since you are new to the forum I might suggest making your post in the specific tour area vs the Tauck Forum Guidelines area. You might get more responses to your question posting it there.

  • Helene, please share your trip review when you return. I am going on the same trip in September.

  • Sounds great, thanks. Mary Jo and Bob are on the Savoring trip beginning on Sept 24.

  • blankb1, we'll save you some wine. We are on the Savoring France cruise starting the 17th. Ken & Brenda

  • We are taking this trip next June. Can anyone tell me how much free time we have in Paris before heading to the riverboat on Day 3? The itinerary says the second evening is free and the next morning, but I wondered if anyone who has taken this tour can fill me in. Thank you!

  • Next year, it may change, especially if more places are open.

  • We just got off this cruise a week or so ago, and our experience varied because the day of the Cordon Bleu class happened to fall on "No Car Paris" day lol So our bus couldn't pick us up to get to the school. They changed things a bit, but we still had a full afternoon on our own, plus most of the next day. I think we met in the hotel lobby for the bus to Fouquet's at 6:15 pm. However, we had 3 days on our own in Paris before the cruise started, and that was plenty. Coming in a day early would assure you of any time you'd want to do something not on the itinerary. We were awed by the Garnier Opera House tour, right across the street from the Intercontinental.

  • TerriT, it been a few years since we did this tour but I believe we met back at the hotel around noon for the bus ride to the train station. I certainly wouldn't expect later that 1pm. The train ride takes about 2 hours and they try to get you to the ship between 3-4 so you have time to get to your cabin, unpack and start the welcome reception about 5.

  • Thank you Brenda and Claudia. Brenda, even with your unexpected itinerary change,
    would you recommend this tour? It will be our first with Tauck.

  • TerriT, it was a great tour, and we would definitely recommend it. As avid beer drinkers, we got a bit tired of all of the wine tastings, but... it is FRANCE after all! The food was VERY good on board, and the itinerary is pretty varied. Sure - a couple things could have been better (the group size for excursions were a bit big IMO), but we were happy we took it. We were in Suite 202, a bit smaller than we had imagined, but centrally located. In Tauck's defense, we started this tour 3 days after ending the Normandy, Brittany & Loire Valley Tauck tour. That tour was spectacular, but we may have been a wee bit tired by the end of our 26-day adventure. It was our 3rd Tauck tour.

  • TerriT, this river cruise is basically what used to be called the French Waterways. It was our very first experience with Tauck and river cruising. Three more river cruises and 4 land tours later, it still remains a favorite. In fact we were just discussing yesterday taking the longer French Escapade cruise to see some of the spots again plus more. The Rhone isn't the most scenic of European rivers but the stops on this cruise are very nice.

  • This cruise was my husband's favorite.  The food was outstanding and I am a wine drinker so it was heaven to me.  I was a little disappointed in the food at Fouquet's as it wasn't anything special.   The Cordon Bleu class was a lot of fun, however, my Macarons didn't look very good.  The Intercontinental Hotel was outstanding and we had a room overlooking the Opera House.  We went three days earlier and booked the room with lounge access which was well worth the extra expense.   

  • Our group of six is on the ‘waitlist’ for the 2024 edition to be finalized and published.

  • Fouquets is way past its prime. Might have been good 20 years ago.

  • Our dinner there in 2014 was good but then we'd just arrived that afternoon very jetlagged so they probably could have served us anything and we'd have been happy.

  • I just returned from this trip also. It was my 11th Tauck trip, but my first as a single. I found the itineraries very interesting and varied. I would highly recommend it, especially if you are a student of ancient history. My cabin was 104. It was below the waterline . It was very comfortable and quiet except when we went thru the locks. We had beautiful weather and our ship crew were very nice.

  • I went on this cruise and loved it, I agree about Fouquet's nothing to really talk about.

  • I wish the powers that be at Tauck would see the comments about Fouquet's and try to find a new spot. :)

  • If people don’t like the restaurant, then they must put it down on their hope and trust review at the end of the tour. These comments DO get read by members of the Tauck company /family, and if consistent and it’s possible, things will change, a new restaurant will be found, maybe not this season, but in the future.
    Alternatively, write a letter or email, say what you don’t like and offer suggestions.

  • We are doing this cruise in July and today I received an email saying we needed to choose excursions ahead of time of they would be selected for us. We have never chosen them before the tour. Is this something new or just standard for this tour? Can anyone offer suggestions on day excursions? Specifically on Day 7 - the options are: Avignon - Palais De Papes, OR Historic Avignon and Jewish Provence, OR biking Avignon. Thanks!

  • We did this trip last May and needed to choose some excursions ahead of time. I think it was because of the small area for some of the activities. We did the Jewish tour of Avignon, very interesting but if you are a biker that would be lovely. I do recommend the truffle farm. That was fun and the truffle oil was scrumptious. Buy some to take home.

  • Thank you for your advice! Good to know it can be changed if necessary :)

  • edited April 2023

    We did this tour right before the pandemic and subsequent shut-down. My preference would be the Jewish Provence excursion which was not an option at the time. This was one of our favorite tours. Have a marvelous time!

    Postscript - Regarding Fouquet's, I do not remember which entree I had but I do remember the delicious escargot.

  • We are going in August and thank you for letting us know about the excursions.

  • Noreen - There are excursion choices are on Day 5, Day 6, and Day 7. You can view them in the itinerary. Also, if you have interest in a performance at the Opera House in Paris ahead of the tour, I suggest you look into it now. We booked a ballet a month ago and there were only 4 seats available.

  • Mimitravels - Thank you so much! I will look into right now.

  • When we did the old French Waterways cruise (kind of a precursor to this cruise) we had no options - just the Pope's Palace tour. Not one of my favorites. It's a nice old stone building but whatever beautiful artwork was there was either taken to the Vatican when the Pope's returned there or was destroyed by Napoleon's forces. I did enjoy walking around the old part of Avignon so I suspect the Historic Walking tour would be more interesting.

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