Welcome aboard Cyrano de Bergerac. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Our four-night\/five-day sampler cruise provided only a taste of Bordeaux \u2014 and of Cyrano de Bergerac. The duration is too short of a cruise for a trip across the Atlantic unless it is coupled with an extended stay in France. In fact, this would be a good cruise to pair with overnights. My recommendation? Book a night or two at\u00a0the Intercontinental Bordeaux – Le Grand H\u00f4tel, a five-star hotel in the heart of Bordeaux, and also a night or two (post-cruise) at\u00a0Les Sources De Caudalie, a five-star hotel surrounded by the vineyards of Ch\u00e2teau Smith Haut Lafitte, about 8 miles from Bordeaux. The hotel also features a spa with treatments and therapies using products from grapes and grape seeds.<\/p>\n
Cruising Bordeaux<\/h2>\n
Bordeaux is a beautiful cruising region and unusual for European river cruises in several ways. First, the city of Bordeaux serves as a hub, with the destinations spoked out along (also unusual) three waterways, the Dordogne and Garonne rivers, and the Gironde estuary.<\/p>\n
Second, tidal fluctuations impose strict timetables on ships, and the region is subject to an unusual natural phenomenon, the\u00a0Mascaret<\/em>, a strong tidal “bore” that causes waves sometimes large enough for surfing.<\/p>\nOn Wednesday of this week,\u00a0Cyrano de Bergerac\u2019s\u00a0captain told us to be out on deck at 7:45 a.m. if we wanted to experience the\u00a0Mascaret. Our ship, which was docked in Libourne, repositioned to the middle of the river for safety reasons. I watched from the oversized sliding glass window in my stateroom. Suddenly I felt a gust of wind, followed by rushing water and white caps that caused the boat to gently rock.<\/p>\n
River cruises begin in the city of Bordeaux, where\u00a0ships dock along the waterfront, typically overnighting, and depart the following morning to visit a handful of ports of call during the next several days.<\/p>\n
We enjoyed a night tour in Bordeaux. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
After dinner, we enjoyed a night tour of Bordeaux via motorcoach and walking. We were off to a good start.<\/p>\n
The next morning,\u00a0Cyrano de Bergerac set a course north\u00a0of Bordeaux, to Pauillac, in the heart of the famous Medoc region, which is renowned for producing some of the world\u2019s finest Bordeaux wines. The highlight\u00a0of our day was\u00a0an included tour through the Medoc region, past beautiful chateaux, stopping for photographs, and visiting a few of the vineyards for wine-tastings.<\/p>\n
Learning about wine in the Medoc region. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
At Chateau Margaux. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Bacchus would be jealous.<\/p><\/div>\n
Pauillac. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Sunset as we sail from Pauillac. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Late that evening we docked in\u00a0Libourne, where the next morning we set out for\u00a0Saint-\u00c9milion, just a few miles away. Our\u00a0tour included\u00a0a visit to the Monolithic church, carved into limestone cliffs and mostly underground, and a wine tasting at one of the Saint-\u00c9milion\u00a0vineyards.<\/p>\n
After a late afternoon of scenic sailing, we made it back\u00a0to Bordeaux for the evening. The next morning we cruised to\u00a0Cadillac to visit the impressive Roquetaillade Castle, set on a stunning hilltop about 30 minutes away by motorcoach.\u00a0The castle excursion included guided tours\u00a0around the grounds and inside the castle. After lunch back on the ship, we visited a vineyard\u00a0producing Sauternes for tastings of the renowned sweet wine.<\/p>\n
France, where else? Our tour guide’s shoes. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
At Roquetaillade Castle. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Roquetaillade Castle. \u00a9 2016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
As we were sipping Sauternes, the ship\u00a0returned to Bordeaux to overnight again before disembarkation. CroisiEurope’s program is comparable to what its competitors offer in the region. Again, this cruise is not for everyone, which I will cover in next week’s post, but others will find it to be just the right fit.<\/p>\n
Would I cruise CroisiEurope again? Most certainly. I found the stateroom to be adequate. It was not luxurious but it was attractive, with lots of storage and a comfortable bed. I found the service to be friendly and professional. Staff comes from all over Europe, so you won’t have to speak French to be understood. The food and wine? Well, I adore French food and wine, so CroisiEurope gets high marks in that category.<\/p>\n
I did miss bikes and hikes and the opportunity to be active, though I did one walk in Pauillac. Other than that, WiFi worked well (most times, as on most river cruisers), the complimentary bar was a plus and the excursions were well done with guides that won praise from those in our small group. For the price of admission, CroisiEurope is a steal.<\/p>\n
Lounge on Cyrano de Bergerac. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Reception on Cyrano de Bergerac. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Piano Bar, situated aft Cyrano de Bergerac. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Wine games and tastings during our scenic sailing. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Aft on Cyrano de Bergerac. \u00a9\u00a02016 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Perhaps the most surprising thing that I learned about CroisiEurope on last week’s trip to Bordeaux was the price of its cruises. I’d known that CroisiEurope was\u00a0the price-leader in Europe, but what I did not know was that it undercuts its competitors by almost 50 percent. With all-inclusive bar (not just wine and beer during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[171,22,655],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25577"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}