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All in Mediterranean Cruising
The iconic image of Nice, Cote d’Azur is its wide sweeping bay and beach, overlooked by large imposing hotels. Although some smaller ships dock nearby at the Vielle Port de Nice, most cruise ships will dock further along the coast in the next bay, Villefranche-sur-Mer, where passengers come ashore by tender. From there cruise excursions are all about popping you onto a bus and driving you out of town to visit Monaco, Cannes, Grasse or up to the mountain villages but to be honest you really could spend a lovely day here without heading far from the ship at all - there are so many things to see and do in the area that you will probably want to come back on another cruise or even four! Read on to find out more…
The iconic image of Nice is the Promenade des Anglais - the wide sweeping bay, backed by palm trees and imposing hotels, but cruise ships actually dock away to the east of the town. The smallest ships (under 190 metres) may dock in the old port Lympia where there is a tiny cruise terminal, within walking distance of the old town and seafront. However most ships anchor in the next bay, Villefranche-sur-Mer, where passengers come ashore by tender at Porte de la Sante. Most cruise excursions from here will see you onto a bus and out of town to Monaco, Cannes, or Grasse but, because there are so many things to see and do in the immediate area, I think that Nice is a perfect port for an independently planned day ashore. The largest ships expected in 2020 were ‘Anthem of the Seas’ and ‘Celebrity Apex’, so although there are never more than two ships in port it can get quite busy and it is worth doing a bit of planning before you arrive to get ahead of the crowd.
Don’t all Mediterranean countries take the Euro?
No! Oddly they don’t… so we have prepared you a handy checklist of all those that border the Mediterranean, or are Island Nations within it , and also included places that aren’t usually thought of as Cruise Destinations.
After eight weeks of uneventful cruising on their Italy/ Malta route for Schengen Zone passenger only, the crew aboard MSC Grandiosa had their first real test of their responses to a positive COVID test today.
With cruising underway in Europe again we’ve been getting a few enquiries about the different currencies that you might encounter on a Mediterranean Cruise so we have put together a handy guide for Cruisers.
Could this be the start of a ‘Slow Cruise’ movement…
In the same way that the extremes of Nouvelle Cuisine led to the founding of the Slow Food movement and restaurants service food celebrating ‘regional traditions, good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slow pace of life’ I think we may see the beginning of a “slow Cruise’ movement. As the actual process of disembarking a ship and spending a day ashore becomes more difficult, that we will become much more discerning about what we do and where we decide to visit. Maybe we will even learn to wind down, relax, stop rushing around and appreciate our time onboard a little more.
Its reassuring to see that MSC Cruises are definitely taking a zero tolerance approach to rule breaking their first post-Covid Cruise which left Genoa two days ago. Following its first port call to Naples, MSC have denied boarding to a family who left the ‘bubble’ of
So after a disappointing summer, where Cruising seems to have been made the scapegoat for the COVID 19 woes of the entire travel industry, the hopes of Cruising in Europe are now resting on the large independent Italian company MSC Cruises.
VOLUMEJust a small section of the incredible 8000 pipes being used in the construction of the organ of La Sagrada Familia, in favourite cruise port Barcelona - due for completion bu 2026: the centennial of Antonio Gaudí's passing away. it will be awesome in the true sense when 8000 pipes fill this unique acoustic space with sound...
lissima - the literal translation from the Italian means Beautiful; so a very confident name for an enormous, great big new ship. We wanted to find out if she deserved such a compliment so were thrilled be able to join Bellissima for a short section of her Inaugural cruise from Southampton to Genoa - embarking in Barcelona for just two nights aboard.
As I spend my life writing about cruising and what do to ashore in port I am often asked, “Which is the best port, which one is your favourite?” I can't really answer because of course, I don’t have one! It is impossible, there are so many wonderful places that you can visit on a cruise that one individual port in the whole world won't stand out above all others. But the question got me thinking... I decided that there are definitely a few things that would go together to make my perfect port - see if you agree…
