Seine River Cruise (Updated 2021)

The Eiffel Tower on our Seine River Cruise

At the start of our Seine River Cruise, we passed the Eiffel Tower in the evening. Seine River Cruises typically begin and end in Paris.

On a Seine River cruise, you most always begin and end your trip in Paris, where ships dock within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. Cruises are usually roundtrip to Rouen, Caudebec-en-Caux or Honfleur. You should note, however, that few vessels can actually make it to the center of Honfleur for docking.

Entering Honfleur on a Seine River Cruise

From our stateroom on CroisiEurope’s Botticelli, cameras ready as we sail into the heart of Honfleur. Few river cruise vessels can actually make it to the center of Honfleur. CroisiEurope’s vessels can as can Scenic’s ships. © 2014 Ralph Grizzle

What We Like About A Seine River Cruise

The experience of Paris. Ships often overnight in the City of Light, giving you ample time to explore, not only during the day but also in the evening. I’ve walked the distance between our boat and the Eiffel Tower twice, in fact, on two separate evenings on a couple of Seine River cruise sailings. See Two Overnights In Paris On Avalon Creativity and CroisiEurope’s Botticelli: Boarding In Paris
Monet’s gardens in Giverny. Visiting Monet’s gardens is like walking into one of his impressionistic paintings. You can get to the gardens by bus or by bike. We chose to bike on one of our visits – recommended if you’re an active traveler. Have your camera handy – and your sketch pad if you’re an aspiring artist. See Impressions Of An Impressionist’s Gardens In Giverny and Vernon & The Art Of Claude Monet.
The Landing Beaches of Normandy. Most Seine River cruise itineraries list Normandy as a destination. However, travel to Normandy is by motorcoach rather than riverboat. I traveled to the Landing Beaches from Rouen, about 90 minutes away, with my teenage son. We watched “Saving Private Ryan” on our iPad on the way to the American Cemetery. See A Trip To The Landing Beaches & A Stunning Discovery At The American Cemetery.
Honfleur. The extremely picturesque port inspired many well-known artists. It will inspire you to raise your camera – many times. A must-see.
Les Andelys. Ships dock within walking distance of Chateau-Galliard, built by Richard the Lionheart in only two years between 1196 and 1198. My teenage son and I hiked to the top for incredible views. See In Les Andelys: Conquering Richard The Lionheart’s Castle
Rouen, the “city of 100 spires,” as the writer Victor Hugo characterized the capital of Upper Normandy more than a century ago. The writer Gustav Flaubert was born here and wrote Madame Bovary more than 150 years ago. Claude Monet lived in an apartment across from the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Jeanne d’Arc, more popularly known in the English tongue as Joan of Arc, was burned at the stake and martyred in Rouen. See Roses & Ruins In Rouen, And A Young Lady Martyred & Remembered

Inspiration for Claude Monet’s Water Lilies paintings in Giverny. © Ralph Grizzle

About the Seine River

The Seine River begins in the Burgundy region of France about 20 miles northwest of Dijon. It flows in a northwesterly direction for 482 miles before emptying into the English Channel at Le Havre and Honfleur.

The Seine is indirectly connected to the Saône River through the Yonne River and Burgundy Canal. Only barge riverboats or other smaller vessels can traverse the waters between the Seine and Saône, though. On the western portion of the river, the Seine is considered navigable for some ocean-going vessels from the English Channel to the city of Rouen.

Many bridges cross the Seine River. The Pont de Normandie Bridge connects Le Havre and Honfleur; and in Paris, the Pont Neuf is one of the city’s 37 bridges over the Seine. Pont Neuf was built around the beginning of the 17th century and is the oldest bridge in Paris.

In 1991 UNESCO added The Banks of the Seine in Paris to its list of World Heritage Sites.

Check out our video featuring our Seine River Cruise on CroisiEurope’s Botticelli

A Seine River Cruise

Although the Seine is a winding river from Paris to the English Channel, most of the sites and scenery are historical, cultural or archaeological in nature rather than in the form of the beautiful landscape you’ll see on some of the other rivers in Europe.

There are two companies that do not travel on the Seine River – A-ROSA and Emerald Waterways.

The average itinerary length for a Seine River cruise is 8 days. Packages that combine other river cruises can be up to 23 days. The most common cruise is on the Seine, Rhône and Saône.

Prominent destinations often visited on Seine River cruise include:

Paris
Conflans
Giverny
Les Andelys
Vernon
Rouen
Normandy Beaches

Also see Seine River Stateroom Size Comparisons | How Do Seine River Cruise Prices Compare? | What’s the Best Choice for a Seine River Cruise?

Companies That Offer A Seine River Cruise

This information is intended to give you an overview and a general idea of what different river cruise companies offer. With regard to itineraries – they change from year to year and sometimes within a year. The number of itineraries listed for some of the companies does not include reverse itineraries for packages that combine the Seine River with other waterways. For example, a reverse river cruise from the Seine and Rhône from Paris to Avignon would be from Avignon to Paris.

NOTE THAT OUR CHARTS ARE CURRENTLY BEING UPDATED FOR 2022 PRICES

	AmaWaterways	Avalon Waterways	CroisiEurope	Scenic	Tauck	Uniworld	Viking River Cruises
Ship	AmaLyra	Tapestry II	Seine Princess	Gem	Sapphire	S.S. Joie De Vivre	Rinda
Rate	$4,648	$4,498	$2,896	$8,290	$7,940	$6,199	$3,849
Sailing Date	June 28, 2018	June 23, 2018	June 27, 2018	June 27, 2018	June 20, 2018	June 24, 2018	June 27, 2018
Number of days	8	8	8	11	10	8	8
Cabin Category	Category A	Category A, B, P	Main Deck Suite	Balcony Suite P	Category 5	Category 1	Veranda B
Square Footage	170	200	140	205	183	194	205
Balcony	French	French	None	Step out	French	French	Step out
Per diem/per person	$581	$562	$362	$753	$790	$774	$481
Port Charges	$168 ($21 per day)	$168 ($21 per day)	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included
Gratuities (on ship - non-compulsory)	$136 ($17 per day)		$90 ($11.25 per day)	Included	Included	Included	$127 ($15.87 per day)
Gratuities (on shore - non-compulsory)	$20 ($2.50 per day	$20 ($2.50 per day	$20 ($2.50 per day	Included	Included	Included	$20 ($2.50 per day
Beverages	$80 ($10 per day)	$80 ($10 per day)	Included	Included	Included	Included	$80 ($10 per day)
Laundry	$24 ($3 per day)	$24 ($3 per day)	n/a	Included*	$24 ($3 per day)	Included*	$24 ($3 per day)
Optional Shore Excursions	all excursions included	all excursions included	all excursions included	all excursions included	all excursions included	all excursions included	$100 ($12.50 per day)*
Incentive (links may have expired depending on end date of promotion)	n/a	n/a	none	Economy air for June, July and August 2018 sailings. Book by August 31, 2017. Pay in full by October 31, 2017, to save an additional $500 per couple on 8 to 10 day salings and $1,000 per couple on 11+ day sailings. Source: Scenic	n/a	Economy air included for those who book by September 30, 2017. Pay in full by September 30, 2017 for an additional 10 percent discount. Source: Uniworld	Economy air from $797 per person for those who book before August 31, 2017 Source: Viking
Our Estimated Value of Incentive	$0	$0	$0	** $1,595 ($199 per day), plus $500 ($62 per day) for paying in full by incentive end date.	$0	** $1,595 ($199 per day), plus $620 ($77 per day) for paying in full by incentive end date.	** $797 ($99 per day)
True Per Diem	$634	$598	$375	$492	$793	$498	$426

Comparative summer 2018 pricing for Seine eight-day to 11-day river cruises in similar staterooms across operators on the Seine. I looked for staterooms of equivalent size and features, namely those with French balconies or step-out balconies. CroisiEurope's two ships on the Seine feature only 140-square-foot staterooms with fixed windows that open, which for some travelers, would suffice. Prices were obtained from cruise company websites and may not reflect current incentives. Additional charges were estimated in some cases, such as for laundry and beverages, and obtained from the cruise company websites. * Viking includes at least one shore excursion in each port of call, with optional excursions for a fee. ** To calculate the value of included roundtrip economy air, I used Viking's $1,595 per person published rate from select gateways in North America.

What’s the Best Choice for a Seine River Cruise?

The best choice really depends on your budget, how much time you have to travel and what destinations you would like to see. If you take a cruise on the Seine River only, Honfleur is the farthest port from Paris. That will allow you to experience the longest cruise in terms of distance. However, only CroisiEurope sails into Honfleur. The other companies transport guests by motorcoach from Le Havre or Rouen to Honfleur.

If you have at least two weeks to travel, a combination of the Seine, Rhône and Saône rivers is a good choice. An itinerary to or from Chalon-sur-Saône will allow you to experience more of the Saône than a cruise to or from Lyon.

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