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Before Your Trip

What’s included and what’s not

Just about everything is included in your fare: your cabin, meals, certain drinks (coffee, hot and iced tea, milk, and juice during meals and beer or wine at dinner), gratuities to your cabin steward, waiter, busperson and maitre d’, Olivia entertainment, and tours indicated on your itinerary.

The following items are not included: airfare, travel insurance, personal items, alcohol, soft drinks, bottled water, spa services, beauty salon services, boutique purchases, telephone, fax, internet access, optional tours, fuel surcharge, and medical attention.

NDA charges are not included in the price of the trip but have already been added to your reservation as reflected on your invoice.

Travel documentation and identification

You will need a passport that is valid for six months past the date of the trip. If you are not a US citizen, please check with both your country’s consulate and the French consulate to make sure that you do not need an entry visa or other additional documentation.

Vaccinations
Please check with your local Public Heath Department or personal physician regarding immunization requirements for all countries on your itinerary. You may also check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site at: www.cdc.gov. Just click on “Traveler’s Health” and then “Vaccinations.”
Travel insurance
We encourage all guests to purchase travel insurance. Olivia has recently partnered with Travelex to make things easier for you; you can now add your travel insurance when you book your trip, all in one call. In order to receive the most comprehensive coverage, please purchase your insurance within 14 days of your initial invoice. If you have questions about Olivia’s travel insurance, call (800) 631-6277 to talk to one of our travel consultants, or visit the Olivia Travel Protection Plan page for more information.
Joining the Olivia.com trip group
If you’d like to chat with people who are going on the trip, sign up for the official Olivia trip group.

About Our Destination

Currency

France uses the Euro. Check www.xe.com for current rates.

Languages

French, although English is also widely spoken.

Travel and arrival

Air travel
Where to fly into/out of

Flights should arrive in Nice (NCE), France before 10:00 AM on July, 20, 2010. Departures from Paris Charles Degaulle (CDG), France may leave after 5:00 PM on July 27.

Discount airfare offer
American Airlines
American Airlines offers Olivia travelers a discounted rate. This international reservation must be made by calling American Airlines Group and Meeting Services at (800) 433-1790. Use promotion code A1470AA. This code allows an “open jaw,” allowing travelers to fly into Nice (NCE) and out of Paris (CDG) for a 5% discount. Dates of travel are July 16-August 2, 2010. We suggest you purchase the one night pre-vacation extender in Nice, and the two night post-vacation extender in Paris.
 
Luggage allowances
While there is no luggage limit on the cruise itself, airlines often restrict (or charge) for excess baggage. Because each airline is different, and the regulations change over time, please check with your airline for baggage allowances.
Transfers and meeting up with Olivia
 
Getting to your ship

All guests will meet at the Boscolo Plaza Hotel in Nice no later than 12 noon for your 2 ½ hour bus transfer to the ship in Arles. More information on this will be provided with your final documents. We strongly encourage you to purchase the one night Olivia package for the Boscolo Plaza Hotel, which will include breakfast and a walking tour of Nice.

Check in
Ship

Check-in officially begins at 4:00 PM. If you are making your own way to Arles to board the ship, and are not using the complimentary group transfer from Nice, please let us know. As a courtesy on embarkation day, the lounge is open and available for your use should you arrive before your cabin is ready. You may leave your luggage onboard the ship while you explore on your own.

During your trip

Amenities

Cabin amenities include: individual stateroom thermostats, hair dryers, flat screen tv, radio, minibar, hair dryer and safe. Bedding is Egyptian cotton linens.

Ship amenities include: Sun Deck with 360 degree views, restaurant, lounge and bar with panoramic view windows, library, onboard shop, attentive English-speaking staff and laundry. There is an additional fee for some of these services.

Dining

Seating is open so you may sit where you wish!

Times may be adjusted for tour departures, but in general, they are:

  • Breakfast 6:30AM - 8:30 AM
  • Lunch 12:00 Noon - 1:30 PM
  • Dinner 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

There is one restaurant onboard. Meals are served buffet style for breakfast and lunch, with the opportunity to order some items from the menu. Dinner is a menu service.

Electricity

Voltage 220V is standard onboard so if you are coming from the US, you will need converters and adapters. The "Schuko" plug is the German standard used on the ships. It has a deep plug head with two grounding clips on the sides of the plug instead of an additional prong contact. It resembles the European plug with two round prongs. Visit a travel store for more information on converters and adapters.

Excursions

Certain tours are included in the cost of your trip. There are also optional excursions you may book at an additional cost.

Gratuities

Gratuities are included in the cost of the cruise. Gratuities are provided for your cabin steward, dining room steward, bus person, maitre'd, Avalon Cruise Director and other-behind-the-scenes crew members.

Gratuities to your tour guides and bus drivers are not included. Suggested gratuities are as follows:

  • Tour guides: $2-3 for 1/2 day, $4-$5 for full day
  • Bus drivers: $1-2 for 1/2 day, $2-$3 for full day
  • Airport porters: $1/bag
  • Hotel porters: $1/person upon check in and check out
  • Hotel room attendants: $1/person per day
  • Restaurant wait staff: Restaurants often add a service charge to the bill, but an additional tip of 5-10% (or rounding the bill up) is customary.
Internet/e-mail/fax

The ship has wireless Internet access and your personal laptop can be used. Full Internet access is available, but most guests just use it to check email as the connection can be slow. Current pricing is 20 € per hour. Faxes can be sent from the reception desk at a cost of approx. 2-6 Euros per minute, depending on where you are calling or faxing.

Laundry and dry cleaning

Laundry and ironing services are available on board. No dry cleaning is available. No self-service laundry facilities are available. Irons are not permitted in the rooms due to fire regulations.

Medical services

Medical services are easily attainable in the ports we are visiting. Medical services entail an additional fee.

Money: Paying for things on board

The onboard currency is the Euro. All onboard purchases are billed with a guest check and added to your personal shipboard account. At the end of your trip, you may pay in cash (U.S. dollars or Euros), or by credit card (your bill will be converted at the current exchange rate). The ship cannot accept traveler’s checks for payment of your shipboard account.

Phone

Each cabin has a phone. There is an additional fee to use this phone; please check your final informational packet for details.

Smoking policy

Smoking is only permitted on the Sun Deck. Smoking is not permitted in cabins or any indoor areas on the ship.

Spa services

Beauty salon services for hair, manicures and pedicures are available for a fee.

After your Trip

Transfers to the airport

After the trip, you will be transferred to our host hotel in Paris. A late morning stop is made in Beaune for an included tour and lunch on your own. We will get to our host hotel by approximately 2:00 PM.  From there, you can take a cab to the airport; the hotel staff can assist you. The airport is about 45 minutes from the hotel. Be sure your return flights leave after 5:00 PM.

We strongly suggest you book our two night post-trip package to enjoy this spectacular city before going home. The package includes a City Tour of Paris and 2 full American breakfasts.  

Didn’t find what you are looking for? Check out our Olivia travel FAQ.

For Reservations Call: (800) 631-6277 M-F 8:30am-5:30pm Pacific
Request Reservation

Olivia Travel, the premiere lesbian travel company, provides amazing cruise and resort vacations for lesbians worldwide. We create unforgettable holidays for women from around the world. From upscale European luxury trips to Caribbean cruise holidays filled with 1,800 women, or Club Med resort buy outs on island paradises, Olivia creates amazing all-lesbian vacations. We help lesbians travel the world—our guests have visited Europe, the Galapagos, the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska, Africa, Tahiti and French Polynesia, Antarctica and the Amazon on our trips. Olivia has 20 years of experience serving the lesbian traveler; we have taken over 100,000 women on 150 lesbian vacations, and maintain a 98% approval rating for our holidays! Whether you crave a fun-in-the-sun cruise or a stroll through a historic European city, Olivia, as the oldest and largest lesbian travel company, knows how to make your vacation dreams come true. Everything about our cruise, resort, adventure and luxury vacations is done with you, the lesbian traveler, in mind. We bring you outstanding entertainers—female musicians and comedians such as Melissa Etheridge, the Indigo Girls, kd lang, HEART, Margaret Cho, Whoopi Goldberg, Leisha Hailey and Lily Tomlin—and fantastic destinations. Let Olivia take you on your next lesbian vacation! Come on holiday with us, and you will never be the same!