All tagged Mediterranean Cruise

Eight Hours Ashore in Nice, France - Cruise Port Profile

Eight Hours Ashore in Nice, France - Cruise Port Profile

Cathy Rogers
Cruise Destination, Cruise Excursion, Cruise Planning, Cruise Port, Europe, Mediterranean Cruising, Port Profile

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…

Eight Hours in Villefranche - Cruise Port Profile

Eight Hours in Villefranche - Cruise Port Profile

Cathy Rogers
Cruise Destination, Cruise Excursion, Europe, Mediterranean Cruising, portExploring, Port Profile

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.

6 ways that MSC are Saving the Cruise Industry

6 ways that MSC are Saving the Cruise Industry

Cathy Rogers
Covid 19, Cruise Excursion, Cruise News, MSC Cruises, Wellness on board, Europe

As MSC Grandiosa leaves Genoa, on the fourth of its ‘post COVID 19’ itineraries, it really does begin to feel as if MSC may be providing a blueprint that the rest of Cruising can follow. Their enhanced Health and Safety precautions seem to be working and it almost feels normal to see pictures of the ship leaving port and heading off on its Genoa, Civitavecchia, Naples, Palermo, Malta circuit.

Why Cruisers may be more welcome in the Med next year...

Why Cruisers may be more welcome in the Med next year...

Cathy Rogers
Conscious Cruising, Cruise News, Cruise Planning, Europe, MSC Cruises, Responsible cruising, portExploring, Virgin Voyages, Mediterranean Cruising

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.