Live from MS Europa, Lisbon-Nice, 9/8/16-9/21/16

Sunrise and breakfast setting in St Tropez, our last day

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Too bad the cruise is over. I have really enjoyed your report.

Last excursion tour, Bommes and Gassin

Clever kitty:

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Tax alley:

Rose central

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As ever, I've very much enjoyed reading your thread Catlover.

Thank you for lovely photos and interesting information about the Europa.

Catlover54,

Thank you for your really entertaining posts which have made me impatient for the Europa's music festival next year,

Have a safe journey home.

Thank you so much, Catlover and English Voyager, for you replies to my questions. DH is happy with the example of wines that can be had, and with the reasonable price. We are already booked for a crossing in 2017, but will start my research into Europa2 for 2018. Thanks again!

Thank you so much, Catlover and English Voyager, for you replies to my questions. DH is happy with the example of wines that can be had, and with the reasonable price. We are already booked for a crossing in 2017, but will start my research into Europa2 for 2018. Thanks again!

I forgot to mention that there is no service charge for ordered drinks on the Europa 2.

The itineraries for cruises after March 2018 should be available towards the end of this year.

It is worth checking Hapag-Lloyd's German language website as the cruise itineraries are posted on it several weeks before appearing on the English language website.

After two weeks of luxury feasting I needed something simple and back to earth, a veal sausage with onions, savoy cabbage, and mashed potatoes with chives

Everyone is preparing for disembarkation though a few are staying on for more segments, some for a full 330 days Hamburg-Hamburg. Waiters offered me copies of the menus in German or English for a memory of the entire journey. I also purchased a copy of the DVD the professional photographers took of the events on board including of course the exceptional classical music, and the excursion highlights.

I was also able to use my HL points from my prior Cape Town trip to take a substantial amount off my bar bill . I also booked another MS Europa cruise (Australia west coast, Melbourne to Bali, February 2018) for me and DH, though he does not know it yet, :), as there are not many suites left in the category I want, veranda 4 and I wanted the on board and early booking discount. We will plan to book our own excursions in English at the ports, which is what the Brits I spoke to on board do when they cruise this ship.

And so an outstanding luxury cruise ends. Official CC review coming soon.

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Epilogue:

The link to my published official Cruise Critic review about this cruise is below. I would be happy to answer any questions.

Of course I could not have the cruise end without something going wrong. The last night, after I had packed my giant rolling suitcase I struggled to get it off the bed and out the door for pick-up close to midnight and was successful (you can put cases out as late as 4AM). However, I failed to prop the door open correctly as I was hoisting, so it slammed shut behind me and I did not have my key card on me. I was left in the empty hallway wearing a skimpy camisole, lounger pants designed for private lounging and not for parading down to the Atrium where reception is, uncombed hair, and bare feet. I looked around for a stewardess, but no one was to be seen. Finally I heard some movement down the hall a few doors down and looked up with hope -- only to find an old lady in a flannel nightgown who had apparently down the same thing! I braved my way up the corridor a ways and got a few odd looks, until I finally found someone who went and told personnel at reception that I couldn't get into my suite. Apparently this happens all the time.

Then the next day, after a pleasant scenic bus drive of Nice on the way to the airport (the "monument to the blue chairs" is very funny) as I reported on the other Europa thread, my flight to Munich from Nice (an unpleasant airport) got delayed (either birds or lightning got in the engines, resulting in typical French gate agent "service" (meaning no communication, misinformation, multiple gate changes, lazy gate agents kissing each other on their cheeks in greeting and talking about their weekends, much confusion, and many unhappy Germans). I landed up having to do an overnight layover on a voucher at the Munich airport Moevenpick Hotel, courtesy Lufthansa, with just my travel backpack and purse (this is why I carry extra clothes in my carry-on), and got home 24 hours later than originally planned.

Moevenpick definitely did not have MS Europa caliber food offerings (they offered me breaded chicken cutlet or a veggie loaf of sorts plus a salad bar). However, their regular menu had Zuericher Geschnetzeltes (veal with mushrooms in a creamy sauce over spaetlze), though not covered by the voucher, which I'd seen on the Europa menu but only at lunch and missed it. Of course I bought that instead of eating the less than stellar gratis voucher food, to avoid coming down off my Europa high too quickly :)

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=547145

Catlover54,

Thank you for your comprehensive review on your recent cruise.

With regard to Randall Cooper, he was the Entertainment Director on the Europa 2 during my cruise in 2014.

Part way through that cruise he transferred to the Europa, and I heard him sing at his farewell party.

During my cruise in July this year he transferred , as holiday relief, from the Europa to the Europa 2.

The following video is him performing on Hapag-Lloyd's former ship Columbus in 2011.

Catlover54,

Thanks again for the marvelous trip report. I write to you because your help is needed in the SS threads. A poster is requesting information regarding a cruise you took with a stop in Monaco for the Grand Prix. It seems you took the ship's excursion and the poster would like feedback. Thanks!

Catlover54,

 

Thanks again for the marvelous trip report. I write to you because your help is needed in the SS threads. A poster is requesting information regarding a cruise you took with a stop in Monaco for the Grand Prix. It seems you took the ship's excursion and the poster would like feedback. Thanks!

I just came onto the thread to ask catlover the same thing! We're a helpful group at CC. :D

catlover,

many thanks for all the pics and also for the review

i am just back from ms Europa Nice Barcelona with nearly 7 lbs more :(

there were quite some parties - the anniversary of the ship and "europa's beste gastronomical night " even with a tasting of Louis XIII cognac

ok it were 1 cl glasses but that is already minimum 80 $

so as from sunday back on diet for the queen victoria

i do not write a review - i am booked on 3 further ms europa cruises

only doing others at very stupid fares ! only feeling sorry the ship did not go to Sorrento instead of Capri - people easily can go from sorrento to capri if they want - 5 michelin starred rated resto's around Sorrento

my former favourite resto in Palermo closed for business - it was the only planned lunch ashore .

i have somebody in my mind "the one not so friendly person" ;)

feeling sorry for your flight - was the long distance flight on Lufthansa in business good or decent or not so good?

Vistaman, I assume with a 7 pound body mass increase that you had a good time, or at least the food continued to be wonderful. What was the entertainment after I got off and you got on, was there still some classical?

My LH reroute back to San Francisco in business was actually quite pleasant, despite my grumpy businessman seatmate, though I had no interest in the food after so much Europa feasting, and had to use my blow-up cushion to pad the hard seat. I had flown pre-cruise outbound SFO-FRA in the cheaper LH new premium economy class which had been very comfortable for a day flight, but had booked business on return just in case of a reroute as I could not risk landing in regular coach with my muscle and bone problems, would take a week to recover ( there are very few premium economy seats, they sell out). I am happy I did book business coming back, or I would have been bumped back down to coach and panicked.

I sat next to a well-coiffed nice old lady from Berlin who had been on the cruise, who also missed her connection ( (though getting back to Berlin had more options than getting back to SFO via Moevenpick). She has booked the Alaska cruise on the MS Europa next spring. Most of her relatives had moved to America a few years after the war, as Berlin had been flattened. It is so much better for people to be cruising or flying together now, instead of flattening cities or walking through bombing rubble as children.

Spring 2017 I will be doing an excursion to the Normandy beaches, but not off a German cruise ship, that would be too strange.

DH now knows I have booked the Europa for us in Australia, and he is game, despite the German thing, was just concerned it may be a four week vacation all in which is long for him to be away from work, and of course airfare in business is expensive for long trips, I really envy you Europeans being able to just pop over wherever you want in Europe with just short little flights and no jet lag.

catlover,

one of my problems is i continuously must watch my weight ...dancing around 167 since i was 23 - was once a lot more.

entertainment : there was a rather silly performance clown pantomime and the "ozeanpiano" player unfortunately did play often very clearly mistakes

but a very good soprano as well.

i do not know anything ex CA but for instance ex Brussels or Amsterdam it is a lot cheaper to use Emirates, or Qatar in business than BA or LH to go to South Africa or Australia ...and better service

i am only doing 2 very short ms Europa (2 and 4 days ) and a 13 day in autumn from Nice to Tenerife.

The cruises for 2018 on ms Europa 2 were not available yet.

It was also announced that Berlitz gave the five stars + both to Europa 2 ( nr 1 ) and ms Europa ( nr 2 ) in the 2017 edition.

catlover,

sorry you will leave the Quest in Dover as 2 days later she is supposed to be in my hometown

on your cruise the Quest is in Zeebrugge - a terrible port for a the beautiful city of Bruges some 10 miles away with very disastrous public transport and it is very difficult to get taxis

there is - usually - a shuttle to a place called Blankenberge what is not the nicest place at all on the belgian coast.

vistaman,

Hapag-Lloyd has now posted a, German language, video on the Europa's 2016 gastronomic evening: