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Vedettes de Pont-Neuf (2 hr Champagne Cruise or Regular 1 Hour Cruise?)

Bonjour!

I am working to piece together an itinerary for my upcoming late November anniversary trip to Paris. After reading many positive remarks re: Vedettes de Pont-Neuf versus other Seine cruises, I am 100% on grabbing our tickets pre-trip to take advantage of the few € savings online. BUT....now I'm stuck between the normal (open ended so we can pick which day has the best weather) 1 hr. cruise ticket or the 2 hr. champagne cruise. Not so much taking into consideration the inclusion of the wine (we will be drinking plenty of it throughout our trip), but more considering the 1 hr. versus 2 hr. length. Has anyone taken the longer tour and thinks it is worth the extra 10.5€?

Merci d’avance!

Posted by
2466 posts

If you're going in November, I'd make it a one-hour trip.
And it might rain, so I'd take advantage of the "year-round ticket", instead.

You can bring your own champagne and glasses on the boat.

Posted by
12172 posts

I think the one hour is plenty. It essentially takes you from the dock to the Eiffel Tower, back past Notre Dame, then back to the dock. I'm not sure where you would go in two hours, two laps? You can buy your tickets online a few minutes before you go to the boat. You don't need to purchase tickets a long time in advance. No need to get a specific boat in November. Unless it's the only nice night for a two-week stretch, it's not likely to be crowded. I went on a nice night in early October last year and it was less than half full on the top deck.

Posted by
10118 posts

Actually, these are two different itineraries. The champagne cruise starts at the Basin de l' Arsenal, an interesting community in itself, and passes through a lock to enter the Seine--something I have done and found very interesting, but I did it in the middle of summer where I was sitting outside on the deck. It also goes under a Metro line while in the lock, again interesting. Since it was summer and light outside in the evening, we could watch police boats, skiers, fishermen, barges. Next, the trip goes further than the 1-hour trip, turning around at the Statue of Liberty. The 2-hour is offered on a very limited basis in November, while the other goes all day every day.

If it were summer and I knew I could be outside the whole time, I'd take the 2-hour. But it's November, the added itinerary in the dark won't be anything to get excited about, so you might be better off with the one hour. But how about, taking it once during the day and a second time at night. It looks very different. Then you can order a good bottle of champagne with dinner.

Posted by
4727 posts

If you were going to be there in the middle of the summer it might be worth it, but in November the one hour cruise will probably be the better option due to the weather. We took the one hour cruise and were so well pleased we'll probably do it again.