Disappointed with grand circle cruise

We just got back from the Rivieras trip with GCT. This was our 7th with them and our 10th small ship experience so obviously we love that type of travel. However, this one did not measure up to the others in any way. Our ship was the Arethusa which is supposed to be a sister ship of the Athena, which we had a fabulous 2 week cruise on a few years ago. The food, service and staff were all outstanding on the Athena run by Overseas Adventure Travel. The food this time was mediocre at best and the wine was poor. Someone at our table saw it being poured from cardboard containers while the waiters on the Athena as well as our Vantage cruise to the Rhine and Moselle served wine only from bottles.

The first 3 days of this trip were supposed to be in a well-located Cannes hotel but just 2 weeks before, we received a letter telling us we would be about 10 miles away, near Valbonne, in virtually an industrial park with no place to walk - which is what we enjoy doing. The bus trip from Cannes back to the hotel took us about 50 minutes one evening, leaving us less than an hour to shower, get dressed and return to Cannes for dinner.

And we do not take large cruise ships since these smaller ships (the Arethusa only holds 49 passengers) usually dock many evenings so we can get off after dinner and spend time visiting and enjoying the beautiful European towns. However this ship was only docked one out of the 7 nights where we could walk around (first night in Nice). The itinerary showed it would be in ports at least 2 other nights but the Arethusa was anchored those nights - so we were stuck on the ship. And there was little to do outside of one night when some wonderful musicians did come on board. And one other night, there was BINGO!!! My 90 year old mother in a nursing home plays BINGO - THAT is NOT what we expected! There are usually lectures but not this time.

The best part of our 2 weeks was 3 days at the end when GCT did put us in a very fine and well-located hotel. We could be on our own walking around Florence with no bus schedules, choosing our own meals - except for the Farewell Dinner that was totally unacceptable with chicken similar to what could be expected on an airplane.

We will not be booking any more tours with them.