Excursions to Normandy

[anricat]

I have been seeing cruise vloggers renting cars from Turo. It is a peer-to- peer car rental program (You rent from an individual). Turo is in the process of acquiring OuiCar, which currently operates in France. If you are interested in pursuing alternative car rental, you can check them out.

Thanks for this! OuiCar looks like a great option! I think I'm going to do that.

 

[anricat]

I'm not sailing concierge, but someone who is reported on the FB group that these will be the excursions DCL will be offering in Cherbourg:
Ch 03 Crepe Tasting
Ch 08 Half Day D day landing
Ch 28 Half D day Adult only
Ch 26 Scenic Val De Saire

As for me personally, OuiCar didn't work out. Nobody would rent to me without a French driver's license, which is silly because a rental company would have no trouble with my US license but there it is.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[anricat]

Let’s hope they have arranged for enough spots to get lots of the guests to these locations. We have learned through you that a Sunday stop there is the wrong day for DIY.

Fingers crossed you get one of the D-Day excursions (if still interested).

Bummer about the driver’s license.

Sunday is the wrong day for DIY or DCL apparently. It's baffling to me why they would do that. But also equally baffling that so many things are closed on Sundays.

We ended up booking a private tour that day. It's expensive but I finally just decided we needed something.

 

[Marc D]

Sunday is the wrong day for DIY or DCL apparently. It's baffling to me why they would do that. But also equally baffling that so many things are closed on Sundays.

Traveling is supposed to get you to learn about other cultures. In this case, you get to learn about France, where quality of life is more important than profits. All popular attractions - The Louvre, Versailles, Orsay… - and businesses are closed at least one day each week to allow their employees to rest, usually on Sunday for businesses. Even supermarkets close either one day a week or many hours around lunch time every day. Doing a road trip in France involves some planning around that social norm.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Nobody would rent to me without a French driver's license, which is silly because a rental company would have no trouble with my US license but there it is.

Would they take an International Driver's License? It took about 20 minutes and $40 (for both my husband and I) to get ours from our local AAA office. We'll need ours in June in Greece.

 

[nalabear]

Rented in France; used California license. They didn't mind.

 

[auntlynne]

 

[auntlynne]

 

[anricat]

So those weren’t for your cruise, due to a Sunday port visit?

It seems like they just did a copy/paste from whatever they had loaded in for the last time they were in Cherbourg.

 

[anricat]

Traveling is supposed to get you to learn about other cultures. In this case, you get to learn about France, where quality of life is more important than profits. All popular attractions - The Louvre, Versailles, Orsay… - and businesses are closed at least one day each week to allow their employees to rest, usually on Sunday for businesses. Even supermarkets close either one day a week or many hours around lunch time every day. Doing a road trip in France involves some planning around that social norm.

But this isn't a road trip, this is literally our ONLY DAY in France. So basically we don't get to enjoy anything except that lesson? That's pretty harsh.

 

[anricat]

Would they take an International Driver's License? It took about 20 minutes and $40 (for both my husband and I) to get ours from our local AAA office. We'll need ours in June in Greece.

I offered to do that but they said no. And since these are individuals, they have their say. I reached out to OuiCar and they officially I don't even need that, but in this instance, each owner can set their own rules.

 

[anricat]

Rented in France; used California license. They didn't mind.

I was speaking specifically about OuiCar which is like an AirBnB for car rentals. I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem with a rental agency, but they are all closed on Sundays.

 

[Marc D]

But this isn't a road trip, this is literally our ONLY DAY in France. So basically we don't get to enjoy anything except that lesson? That's pretty harsh.

The fact is that France is closed on Sundays, and it has always been as long as I can remember, and I’ve lived there in the 70’s, 80’s and 00’s. ‘C’est comme ça’ as they would say. The only one to blame is DCL for selling a cruise with a stop there on a day where everything is closed.

 

[Flossbolna]

For international calls: get an account with Skype and put a little money into it. You can call any foreign telephone number for very little money. I think we usually put 5$ into it and it lasts for several hours.

 

[Flossbolna]

But this isn't a road trip, this is literally our ONLY DAY in France. So basically we don't get to enjoy anything except that lesson? That's pretty harsh.

I totally get your issue. It’s similar on our Med cruise. We are in Toulon on a Sunday. Luckily in Southern France Sunday is market day, so the open air market will be going on. Everything else is closed.

And then we are in Florence on Monday when the art museums are closed and no one will get to see David.

In the past the Med cruises usually ran in reverse with Sunday being the day at sea.

It seems like DCL did some very odd choices with the Dream. As if they were too late and only got the left over crumbs. (Don’t get me started on them selling Kiel as the port for Hamburg again. )

 

[anricat]

The fact is that France is closed on Sundays, and it has always been as long as I can remember, and I’ve lived there in the 70’s, 80’s and 00’s. ‘C’est comme ça’ as they would say. The only one to blame is DCL for selling a cruise with a stop there on a day where everything is closed.

Exactly. And I said as much above. But then I was basically told that it's an opportunity to appreciate another culture. I'm there to appreciate it. I'm just not appreciating that everything is closed and DCL decided to stick us there on that particular day.

 

[asgur5]

Mont st michael is one of the most spectacular monuments in europe. And you can see it all in 3-4 hours

One of my top 5 must sees for Europe.

normandy beaches are on the face of it just beaches. you need to do the tours and go to lots of different places (various musuems, grave sites and towns) around the area to get something out of it and each spot is 20 mins drive from each other. Visiting Normandy is really a 2 day minimum experience. does not work as a cruise stop and thats even before you account for the long driving time from the port.

can you do Normandy before or after your cruise?

 

[asgur5]

Exactly. And I said as much above. But then I was basically told that it's an opportunity to appreciate another culture. I'm there to appreciate it. I'm just not appreciating that everything is closed and DCL decided to stick us there on that particular day.

Its absolutely moronic that dcl would stop in rural france on a Sunday. They arent thinking about these itineraries at all.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Its absolutely moronic that dcl would stop in rural france on a Sunday. They arent thinking about these itineraries at all.

It's like the time DCL docked in Honolulu on a Sunday when the Polynesian Cultural Center (most popular tourist attraction on Oaho) was closed. I suspect DCL got a better deal on using the port on a Sunday instead of any other day.

About all you can do is plan a day or two on land before/after your cruise. Paris needs at least a couple of days as well as Normandy.