Viking Cruise/trip

Just finished two week trip…. Prague, River cruise (Main, Rhein, Moselle), then Paris. I’m going to post my random thoughts in no particular order. No matter the nitpicky points I’ll bring up, overall it was a really good trip.

I’ll start with the hotel in Paris, a new build called Hotel Pullman Montparnasse. We were going to stay there 4 days, with the first two part of the Viking tour, the second two I booked on my own. When I checked in I asked if we could just stay in the same room for all 4 nights, and the guy said no problem, just after the second night I’d have to get the room keys reprogrammed as it was a second account. They give me two keys, like blank credit cards, and tell me that I need to place the card near the elevator censor and it will take us directly to my floor. I was in room 1430. Th elevator took us to the 21st floor. There are no buttons to push in the elevator…. But room 1430 was on the 21st floor. How stupid is that? I wanted ice, and a maid directed me to the small room with an ice machine, which had no ice machine! She apologized and said it is on the floor above or below. But I can’t get to the floor above or below, as your key card only gives you access to your floor! I went to the reception area where they felt my pain, went to the restaurant and filled my Yeti with ice.
After the second night I dutifully went to have my key reprogrammed when the kid was staring at his computer screen way too long. Turns out I was in a room that had an adjoining room, and a family had reserved both rooms, so we would have to switch rooms. But to get the new room keys I had to turn in the old room keys, so there would be no way for me to get back to my old room! In a strategic move, I had my wife remain in the room with her suitcase, I went down to get the key switcheroo, and told her to stay out until I gave her the signal to come to the lobby with her suitcase. No way we were leaving room 1 until we were sure we were in room 2. So we got room 1302 on the 20th floor. Guess what I found in the ice machine room on the 20th floor? No ice machine!
Asked at reception to break a 50 Euro bill, told they don’t do that, but can tell me which stores across the road will!!!
Last and probably least, I was at the (GREAT) breakfast buffet, where a waitress will bring you coffee, I wanted to leave her a euro (looking at tables I didn’t see any tips) so I asked her to break my 5 euro bill…. she said she couldn’t!
Apparently hotel had the nicest rooftop bar with best view of the city. To get in there is a 50 euro minimum bar tab per person!
Despite above, it was a well located, clean, nice hotel.

Glad you and Mrs had a great trip. I’m not sure how much you paid for the hotel but that sounds beyond absurd.

Quote: PokerGrinder

Glad you and Mrs had a great trip. I’m not sure how much you paid for the hotel but that sounds beyond absurd.
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So in reception they list the prices for the rooms. I guess these are the ‘rack rates’ which no one actually pays. The CHEAPEST room was a mere 800 euros a night! I think we paid a little over 200 a night which seemed quite reasonable.

In Paris, I've stayed at different hotels. I always picked them because of historical figures who had stayed there. Stayed in Room 14 in the Hotel d'Angleterre (Hemingway), The Ritz (Coco Chanel, F Scott Fitzgerald), also the Hotel de Paris because it had some history too. Back when I first stayed at the Hotel de Paris (don't confuse it with the one in Monaco) it wasn't the greatest hotel, but it had history.

Also the Georges V because Jim Morrison stayed there. When we stayed there the first time I was a teenager and we ended up missing our flight and staying extra days, which my Dad wasn't happy about getting the bill for that extended stay.

SooPoo for next time in Paris go visit Morrison and Baudelaire's graves at the Père Lachaise Cemetery and Cimetière du Montparnasse. Both cemeteries are worth seeing if you are into that sort of thing.


I am thinking that the "rack rates" in the reception to which you refer are something like the rates posted on the door at some American hotels, or inside the closets at Vegas hotels. I assume the rates posted in American hotels are for legal reasons, to put someone on notice to what he might be on the hook for if he skips on his hotel bill (defrauds an innkeeper).

Our hotel was right near the ‘Hotel de Paris’ so you know the neighborhood. In general, I don’t need a top level hotel, just safe and clean.
I didn’t mention it earlier, but the concierge was VERY helpful in getting us into the Louvre. We went on a Sunday without advance tickets and the line to get in without advance tickets was around 2 hours long. Apparently the tickets were free that day explaining the long line. We checked on line and tickets were sold out the next day (our last). So were the ‘tour’ tickets which included a guide. Concierge made some calls and found a guided tour available but only at 1:30. I think some people want to be in much earlier to roam the museum all day. Anyway, I was happy to pay the $50 per person to totally ‘skip the line’, have the 1 hour guided tour to the 3 highlights (Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Mona Lisa), then free time. Was in and out in around two hours. Plenty for me!

We had lunch in the cafe in the park outside the Louvre. Really nice. Of course overpriced but not ridiculously so.
I was at the Louvre in 1981. No pyramid then. I am anti pyramid. I think it looks stupid in front of a building as elegant as the Louvre.

Did you fly out of Buffalo to Paris? Hopefully only one stop at JFK or Atlanta. I have done the ATL to CDY back when they were flying 767's but I think today they have Airbus on that route.

Quote: DRich

I have done the ATL to CDY back when they were flying 767's but I think today they have Airbus on that route.
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Are you talking about CDG or do you have CYDY on the brain?

Quote: MDawg

Quote: DRich

I have done the ATL to CDY back when they were flying 767's but I think today they have Airbus on that route.
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Are you talking about CDG or do you have CYDY on the brain?
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Yes, CDG