Seine Cruise with Allison Sullivan

We depart on an overnight flight to Paris from Houston International Airport.  Dinner and breakfast are served on the plane.  Add-on airfares are available from most major cities. Quotes for Premium Economy and Business Class upgrades are available upon request.

Welcome to France. We are greeted by our English-speaking French guide upon arrival at the airport. We board our motorcoach for a drive to the city center. The drive takes us through the streets of Paris, a city split by the river Seine. During a panoramic tour, we see the Eiffel Tower, des Champs-Elysées, and other city highlights. We visit the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on Rue Du Bac, where we celebrate Mass and have time to visit the gift shop. We then walk a short distance to visit St. Vincent de Paul Church.  Our comfortable ship awaits us for boarding between 5 - 6 PM.  Settle into our cabins before dinner. Beverages are included with meals, and there is nightly entertainment. Overnight on the ship. (D.) 

*Mass is subject to confirmation based on flight arrival time.

We set sail down the Seine River toward Normandy. Enjoy the buffet breakfast and a morning exercise class. We disembark in the lovely little town of Vernon, which you may explore on your own or take the included excursion to the Claude Monet Estate in Giverny. The famous Impressionist artist Claude Monet lived here for forty-three years, from 1883 to 1926.  With a passion for gardening and colors, he conceived his flower and water gardens as true works of art. Walking through his house and gardens, visitors can still feel the atmosphere that reigned at the home of the Master of Impressionism and marvel at the floral compositions and nymphéas, his greatest sources of inspiration. We return to the ship for a late lunch. Mass will be celebrated.  Dinner, evening entertainment, and overnight on the ship. (B.L.D.)

Following breakfast, we board our bus and drive through the beautiful Bavarian countryside to Altotting, often called “The Lourdes of Germany,” due to the thousands of pilgrims coming here every year for healing. Today the shrine attracts over one million pilgrims each year. Many crutches and other votives on display here testify to the healings attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Altotting. In 1980 Pope John Paul II made a pilgrimage here. A young Joseph Ratzinger came here with his father when growing up and was known to be one of his favorite shrines long before he became Pope or even a Cardinal. Many young people from Germany make pilgrimages here in the summertime, often walking for 50 miles or more on their journey. Here we see the “Black Madonna,” a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary. Opposite the altar, the hearts of the Bavarian Dukes, Kings, and Electors are stored in richly decorated silver urns as a special sign of their deep loyalty to the Bavarian National Shrine. Among them is also the heart of the fairy tale King Ludwig II. We also visit the Basilica of St. Anna, the Holy Chapel, the Collegiate Church, and the treasury, housing the gifts donated to the Basilica. Celebrate Mass at St. Konrad Monastery. Following time for an independent lunch, we depart for Passau, where we embark on the cruise ship, our comfortable home for the next seven nights. Settle into our luxurious cabins, and enjoy a welcome cocktail and dinner on the ship. Overnight Cruise. (B.D)

We disembark in the port of Honfleur and drive through the beautiful Normandy region to Omaha Beach, where we see the American Memorial and Cemetery. We remember our brave, fallen soldiers. 2024 marks the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day Landing. The 54 miles of the Atlantic Ocean that stretch from Utah Beach in the west to Sword Beach in the east are lined with WWII museums, monuments, cemeteries, and battle remains left in tribute to the courage of the British, Canadian, and American armies that successfully carried out the largest military operation in history: D-Day. On these serene beaches, at dawn on June 6, 1944, the Allies finally gained a foothold in France; from this moment, Nazi Europe was destined to crumble.  Mass will be celebrated at Notre Dame- de- l’Assomption de Colleville-Sur-Mer (TBC) We return to the ship that is docked in the picture-perfect town of Honfleur, which we may explore before or after dinner tonight. Dinner and overnight on the ship. (B.L.D.)

Early this morning, we arrive in Rouen, where we retrace the footsteps of St. Joan of Arc.  Rouen offers a restored medieval quarter and a marvelous Gothic cathedral of Notre Dame, often painted by Claude Monet.  Throughout its turbulent history, the city was destroyed several times. During the Middle Ages, it was devastated by fire and the plague. The English occupied it during the Hundred Years' War when the French heroine Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc) was tried for heresy and burned at the stake in the central square in 1431. During WWII, Allied bombing raids laid waste to large parts of the city, especially the area south of the cathedral, but over the last six decades, the city has been meticulously rebuilt. We tour the city on foot, celebrate Mass at the Church of St. Joan of Arc, and see where she was brutally murdered. Return to the ship for lunch. The afternoon is at leisure to enjoy Rouen on our own before dinner. Dinner and overnight on the ship. (B.L.D)

This morning, enjoy the views from the ship as we sail past the romantic-looking landscapes between Rouen and Paris: forests, small villages, and farms. Many houses near the river are old mansions from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There are quite a few locks between Paris and Rouen, and passing through them is one of the charms of a Seine River cruise. Mass will be celebrated on the ship.  We have a presentation on the ship by our group leaders this afternoon.  We arrive in Paris late in the day. Tonight is our gala dinner and entertainment. (B.L.D.)

We drive by the Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris' most beloved church, with its gothic towers and gargoyles. Next, we head to the Montmartre section of Paris to explore the city's bohemian quarter and the magnificent Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart Basilica), where we celebrate Mass and have time to explore on our own. You may return to the ship for lunch and an afternoon of relaxation on the ship or enjoy lunch on your own in Paris. The rest of the day is at leisure to explore the city. Tonight we enjoy the sights of Paris from the river as we marvel at the beautifully lit-up city and the light show at the Eiffel Tower viewed from the upper deck of the ship or the lounge as we enjoy seeing Paris by night. Overnight on the ship in Paris. (B.L.D)

We disembark from our ship, saying goodbye to the outstanding crew members who have become our friends. We are transferred to the airport for our flight back to Houston. (B.)