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Oenological cruise: Discover the fabulous world of vines and wine (port-to-port cruise)
Preferred
Overview
Highlights (Bullets)
CRUISE HIGHLIGHTS
- Unforgettable moments :
- Taste some of the best wines at local vineyards : Côtes de Provence, Côtes du Rhône, Tain l’Hermitage, and Beaujolais
- Conference and tastings*
- ALL EXCURSIONS INCLUDED
- Following the footsteps of Van Gogh in Arles
- Lyon and Les Halles de Lyon-Paul Bocuse
Short Description
Dive into the pleasures of delicious French wines while also enjoying a cruise through renowned vineyards and beautiful countryside. Stops include Tain-l'Hermitage, one of the most prestigious winegrowing regions in the country.
Itinerary
Day 1 MARTIGUES
Passengers are welcome to board our ship at 6 p.m. After comfortably settling into your cabins, we’ll introduce our crew at a welcome cocktail. We'll enjoy dinner on board. The rest of the evening is yours to do as you please. Our ship will cruise towards Port-Saint-Louis.
Day 2 PORT-SAINT-LOUIS - The Camargue - ARLES - AVIGNON
This morning, the excursion proposed is: the Côtes de Provence region, located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Alps. Provence boasts some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and is also home to quite a number of France’s most prestigious wines. We’ll visit a local vineyard for a tasting.*This afternoon, join us for a walking tour of Arles as seen through the paintings of Van Gogh. The Roman ruins in Arles are second only to Rome and include the Antique Theater, Amphitheater, Thermes of Constantine, and the Alyscamps. Arles is also an important stop along the Way of St. James. Van Gogh made the city his home in the late 19th century and produced approximately 300 paintings and drawings during his stay. Our tour will retrace his steps to the different sites where he set up his easel, such as the Place du Forum, the Quai du Rhône, and Place Lamartine.
Day 3 AVIGNON - VIVIERS
This morning, join us for a visit to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Discover this adorable village located in the Alpilles Regional Nature Park. We’ll visit a local vineyard for a tasting.*This afternoon, our ship will cruise towards Viviers.
Day 4 VIVIERS - LA VOULTE -TAIN-L'HERMITAGE
This morning, we’ll set out on an excursion to Tain-l'Hermitage, a name synonymous with excellent Mediterranean wines. We’ll visit a local vineyard for a tasting.* After our tour, we’ll return on board the ship in Tain-l'Hermitage.We’ll spend the afternoon cruising to Lyon, and we’ll arrive during the evening.
Day 4 VIVIERS - LA VOULTE -TAIN-L'HERMITAGE
This morning, we’ll set out on an excursion to Tain-l'Hermitage. We’ll visit the village and a local wine cellar for a tasting.*We’ll begin our cruise to Lyon in the afternoon.
Day 5 LYON - MACON
In the morning, join us for a guided tour of the city and a tasting at Les Halles de Lyon-Paul Bocuse.(2) We’ll cross through the city and go up Fourvière Hill to the white basilica, the best place to take in the view. Then we’ll head over to Vieux Lyon to have a look at its historical homes and the bouchon restaurants that are found throughout the district. Learn about the discrete and strategic doorways leading to shortcuts, known as traboules, that go from street to street. Don’t miss the tasting of fine food at Les Halles de Lyon, a huge, three-story, indoor market where close to 50 shops offer the finest gourmet food. We’ll enjoy a snack of local sausage and cheese, topped off with a lovely glass of wine.* During our afternoon cruise, join a wine expert for a demonstration and tasting contest. Finalists will partake in a blind tasting.* The winner will be given the title of Bacchus for the remainder of the cruise, and they will walk away with the golden prize: A food lover’s cruise on the Rhine featuring French top chef Marc Haeberlin. We’ll arrive in Mâcon during the evening.
Day 5 LYON - MACON
In the morning, join us for a guided tour of the city and a tasting at Les Halles de Lyon-Paul Bocuse.(2) This visit includes a panoramic tour of Lyon and a tasting of fine food at Les Halles de Lyon. Our onboard activities during our afternoon cruise include a lecture by a wine expert with a blind tasting contest. The winner will be given the title of Bacchus for the remainder of the cruise, and they will walk away with the golden prize: A food lover’s cruise on the Rhine featuring French top chef Marc Haeberlin. We’ll arrive in Mâcon during the evening.
Day 6 MÂCON - LYON
This morning’s excursion will be in the Beaujolais region—named after the Lords of Beaujeu, who ruled the area until the 15th century. We’ll crisscross charming, wine-dominated villages before arriving at the Hameau Duboeuf, an original wine theme park with over 3,000 objects that span over 2,000 years. The visit includes a tour of the winemaking center, where we’ll learn about traditional and modern techniques. In the afternoon, we’ll explore the golden-hued villages in the region. As we travel along the wine route and through each village, you’ll understand why the region’s nickname is “Little Tuscany.” We’ll stop off in Oingt, a picturesque medieval village perched on a hill overlooking the Azergues Valley, and visit a local vineyard for a tasting.* We’ll return to Lyon in the evening. Tonight is our festive gala evening.
Day 6 MÂCON - LYON
This morning’s excursion will be in the Beaujolais region and a visit to the Hameau Duboeuf. In the afternoon, we’ll explore the golden-hued villages in the area. We’ll stop in the magnificent medieval village of Oingt and visit a local vineyard for a tasting.* We’ll return to Lyon in the evening. Tonight is our festive gala evening.
Day 7 LYON
Enjoy breakfast on board this morning before disembarking at 9:00 a.m.
Availability
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128 CroisiEurope Travel Reviews & Ratings
Oenological cruise: Discover the fabulous world of vines and wine (port-to-port cruise)
Company Reviews
Great tours and food! Exceptional customer service
I am non-EU national, and very much enjoyed the international clientele .
My flight arrived later than the prescribed boarding time, the crew had my cabin ready, and held dinner. Both land side New York office and the onboard crew were very welcoming, and most attention to detail. Special recognition to Charina, my reservation agent, and Daniel the ship's purser.
The vessel's decor is very discreet, comfortable, and relaxing -- no neon, casino, etc. The elegance one would expect from a French company.
The land tours were very comprehensive, in comfortable coaches, with sufficient rest stops. Lunches ashore were included, as appropriate. As advertised, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages were included. In-town shopping was available, but not forced.
In all, a delightful experience. I look forward to another voyage with CroisiEurope. The company offers so many unique intineraries, it may be difficult to select.
A memorable four nights on the Seine - Le Havre to Paris
The Seine scenery was gorgeous and the boat was extremely comfortable—we loved that we could stay in our cabin, relax on various decks, or attend onboard activities, including a lively dance performance by a Normandy folk troupe. Even though we were the only English speakers on the cruise, the bilingual staff were always on hand to help us, and the other passengers (mostly French with a few Belgians/Swiss) were friendly and tolerant of our basic French. After our final night sleeping aboard the boat on Quai de Grenelle in Paris, we were rather sad to depart the beautiful Renoir.
The food, tours and service on the Miguel Torga exceeded our expectations, and we felt very safe with the Covid precautions being taken on board.
We had such a wonderful time on our cruise and absolutely intend to travel with CroisiEurope again. I was especially pleased with the attention to detail regarding food preferences and requests. I have a shellfish allergy, and our kids didn’t always like what was on the menu. The chef and staff always made every effort to accommodate and please us.
Our guide Deborah on the excursions was so informative and made great suggestions for sightseeing and shopping. I liked the way the excursions were managed by touring in the morning with lunch and sailing in the afternoon. We were the only Americans on board with mostly French speakers, but everyone was friendly, and we had no communication issues with the crew. Entertainment was simple but fun with games or local talent coming aboard for flamenco or folk singing and dancing. There were only 62 passengers and no young children. Our kids were 12 & 17, and they were happy with the pool on board, which was small, but ideal for cooling off after a morning in port. They surprised our 17-year-old with a special dessert on her birthday.
We’ve been on several other riverboat cruises (Viking, Peter Dielmann, Vodohod), and they did not match the value and service provided by CroisiEurope.
This barge hotel cruise on and along the Marne river was absolutely fantastic!
The crew were very attentive and hospitable. One of the biggest, if not THE biggest, highlight of the trip was the food. Breakfast was a typical French style buffet with all the trimmings. Lunch and dinner were menus, in the French style, prepared by our Chef and paired with a variety of wines and cheeses from around France. Each meal was unique and full of variety culminating at the end of the week with our Gala Dinner.
One of the excursion highlights, and a major reason why we chose this particular cruise, was the falconry demonstration at Chateau Thierry. It was very well done and quite a moving presentation, which included an American Bald Eagle and, even more surprisingly, Storks.
If you are looking for a more intimate way to cruise, Passenger to Crew ratio was 17 - 6, consider barge hotel cruises. We are most definitely looking forward to our next barge hotel cruise experience.
It’s affordable, the atmosphere on board is unique, the routes can be very interesting.
As seasoned cruisers, knowing well all aspects of cruising on seas and rivers, we had no experience about traveling on a barge in a canal. It was also time to overcome this lack.
A number of companies offer this kind of cruising on barge with 8 to 16 passengers, however very often at exorbitant prices. Luckily, we discovered that the company CroisiEurope offers one week cruise on various canals in Europe, at very decent price, especially considering that all is inclusive (full board, all alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and all excursions) on modern barges with a maximum of 22 passengers.
We opted for the barge Ms Deborah, which cruises on the canal de la Loire, with the Briare to Nevers’ route. We were looking forward to this itinerary because the proposed excursions particularly suited us. Unfortunately, only a few days before departure, we were informed that due of a lack of water in the Loire canal the Ms Deborah was switched over to the Haute Seine and Yonne for a new itinerary from Paris to Sens. Despites the fact that this new itinerary didn’t really meet our desires, especially the excursions, we decided to accept the change.
Our group of 6 persons from Switzerland was very warmly greeted by all members of the crew when arriving on the quai de Grenelle in Paris where we see the MS DEBORAH for the first time, our floating home for the week. With its two dominating colours blue and white, it is difficult not to fall in love with this beautiful small ship.
We were invited immediately for the welcome cocktail during which we met officially the crew and the other six individual passengers originating from New Zealand, England and the USA. With less time than it needs to tell, the relation between us was created, so that everyone felt part of a bunch of friends knowing each other for long time.
There is no need to present here the MS Deborah itself, as this is already thoroughly done on the Cruise Critic page.
The crew of 6 persons is composed of a captain, a sailor, a cruise director, a chef, a waitress and a cabin hostess who put all their efforts to satisfy the passengers and offer them the best possible service. The captain as well as the sailor are always trying to make passengers at ease, answer questions or even bring a drink. The lady cruise director is omnipresent, taking care of the passengers better than a mother hen would do. The talented young French chef aims to produce dishes which please everybody. His outstanding sauces and excellent desserts should be particularly praised. However, referring to comments we made during a cruise on the Seine Princess two years ago, we cannot understand that why today it is not possible to offer the choice of a light buffet at lunch instead a three or even four course menu! The always smiling and friendly Hungarian waitress was very caring and attentive, without forgetting the cabin hostess doing a great job in the cabins, the public spaces and even the kitchen. It wouldn’t be fair to name a single person as all members of the crew, without any exception, do all they can to make the cruise unforgettable.
Our one-week cruise on the barge Ms Deborah enables us today to make the following comments:
~ a cruise on a barge cannot be compared to any other kind of cruise
~ despite all the comfort offered on modern barge, one must be very aware that life on board happens at a restraint space, requiring therefore much flexibility and understanding in all aspects from all passengers
~ in our case, being only 12 passengers, we had the opportunity to take our meals on the terrace. We also never had the feeling that the boat was overcrowded. This can be different when the ship is full, especially by bad weather
~ the state of mind between the passengers who are mostly of foreign nationalities, who don’t know each other and don’t speak French, must function well right from the beginning
~ if the interrelation works, it is difficult to find a more relaxing and enjoyable way of travelling
~ the success on a barge is mainly due on the quality of its crew. Ms Deborah’s crew members have quickly created a family spirit on board, showing also that they genuinely like what they do
~ excursions can play a major role in choosing an itinerary. Not speaking French or English can be a handicap
Do we recommend to do a cruise on a barge? Yes, definitively! It’s affordable, the atmosphere on board is unique, the routes can be very interesting. In our case, this second try with CroisiEurope gives them a better note.
We are still waiting for a refund
Details
Flight & Transport Inclusions
All internal transport included (including local flights)
Group Size
Standard Group - 25 + people
Additional Information
THE CROISIEUROPE DIFFERENCE
- All meals included
- Refined French cuisine - Gala dinner and evening - Welcome cocktail
- Free Wi-Fi onboard
- Headsets are included for excursions
- Official welcome from the captain and crew
- Onboard activities
- Travel assistance and repatriation insurance
- All port fees included
Rules & Other Requirements
Valid national identity card or passport required. Non-EU nationals are advised to consult their embassy or consulate.
Trip ID#:
croisieurope-OML_AIPP
What's excluded
Drinks - cancellation and baggage insurance - transfers/travel to and from departure/arrival points - personal expenses.
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