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Published: November 11th 2013
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First stop Genoa - Brendan, Nath, Roy and I hopped straight onto the hop on, hop off bus - Greg and Irene did their own thing. We took a pay lift (public transport - now that's unusual) up a hill and then picked up a funicular and rode it to a further peak, had coffee in a great little trattoria built in mid 1800s, were mind-blown by the fabulous views. Then we took the steep long funicular ride down to the town again. Walked the streets and got a replacement bag for Brendan's dead suitcase. Genoa is clearly the most popular embarkation port and we sure as heck knew there were approximately 3,700 people on board and we think they thought the buffet food was going to run out! It was like a shopping centre food court on speed! We bought Italian t-shirts for Italy night - looked cool as a team.
Next stop was Marseilles - EUR15.90 from the boat to the town by bus (our ship was furthest away from the town. A hidden cost we weren't expecting). Four attempts to get the hop on hop off (so half the team went by public bus to the Notre
Dame), but Nath, Roy and I thought the bus trip was worth the wait in the end. Very narrow streets. A beautiful coastline. That night was the first Gala (formal) night on board. Roy pre-empted photos with the Captain when we were walking the corridors and he asked a short older chap in uniform 'are you the Captain'. Affirmative. Roy asked if we could have a photo and he said to follow him. We were surrounded by his security as we moved to the place the photos were being taken. Others were in line and we stood to the side but the Captain pointed at us, called us over and his entourage and security were abuzz. Such fun.
Next stop was Barcelona - EUR8.90 for the bus to town! An amazing city. Very clean. Lovely beaches. We felt it was a well organised for the thousands of tourists in town. A great hop on hop off bus. Great architecture. Gaudi's buildings certainly lived up to expectations. One day definitely not long enough. Feel like I've missed so much. Barcelona - I hope to return one day!
Next stop was Valencia - EUR16 to get into town! Greg, Irene
and Roy all fell asleep on both bus routes. The second trip showed a better side to the city. They advertised that a City DVD was available on bus if you didn't have time to visit! Perhaps our view are not justified, but none of was inspired by Valencia. We did, however, enjoy a Sangria in Spain!
Then a day at sea.
Final stop was Tunisia - EUR10.90 to get into town. We felt a bit set-up by a guide on our bus, sweet talking us originally then leading us through the markets. When Roy said we weren't interested in shopping he told us in no uncertain terms to go away and come back at 11am. But he never showed. Luckily we found the bus to return cos he was no where to be seen until all the 'purchasers' returned with him to our bus! The people in the markets were friendly though hassled us for a sale. Always ended with smile though. La Goulette was not a highlight nor would we want to visit here again. We heard that night that there had been a suicide bomber the day before which MIGHT explain the huge Police presence.
Tunisia was the only place though to greet our cruise ship in the old fashioned way, with a band.... and camels!
Summarising the cruise - the boat was indeed 'splendid'. We were all very pleased we had pre-purchased the drinks package. There were good shows every night. Because of the number of languages, these were mostly dance, mime, incredible acrobats, though some lovely songs. I thought all were superb but clearly the audience were under-whelmed much of the time! No cameras, recording devices permitted and no alcohol in the auditorium, but no-one enforced this. So many languages on board (very clever introducers/announcers, each speaking up to six languages). This does mean, of course, that everything took longer to start as announcements were made in each language. The staff were a mixed bag, but I suppose it's hard to be nice to people 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for nine months at a time - smile and be pleasant to the travellers😊) Because our ship was so big, we were always berthed outside the Port entrance and had to pay for the shuttle so that was a cost we had not prepared ourselves for. There was a
great gym and a spa. There was only one 'adult-only' space on board this cruise, just a space on deck with recliners and cost EUR30 per day!!!! Lots of children, as they travel free, and Europeans, particularly Italians, have their children up late at night. Very surprised children were allowed in all areas, including the casino. Cleanliness on board was amazing - continual cleaning and maintenance. There was not a toilet, a surface, a chair, a floor, anywhere that wasn't being cleaned as we walked around, day and night..... Overall it was great being onboard! And Roy did whinge tooooo much about the smoking in the Casino and several areas on deck.
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