Just Back From THE JOURNEY And Oh My.. What A Journey It Was!!

[Sleep7]

There was a festive and fun Octoberfest celebration going on in a tent next door to the Casino.

[Sleep7]

Sunday.. day two.. getting into the swing of lovely shipboard life.

We walked into Cannes and made a stop a very large and bustling market named "Marche Forville."

[Sleep7]

We also visited (and used their very clean restrooms) the historic and gorgeous Carlton Intercontinental Hotel. There was a TV and Film convention going on in Cannes that weekend and there seemed to be a lot of famous people in town. We met Gene Simmons of KISS in the lobby.. very friendly and chatty. He was instantly recognizable because of his hair.. and his very pretty wife.

Cartier alas.. closed on Sunday.:(:(

 

[Sleep7]

The delightful sparkling wine waiting for us in our cabin. It made it home in one piece carefully wrapped up in our dirty laundry! What a way to travel.:)

[Sleep7]

Our Azamazing evening was Sunday night at the Yacht Club De Monaco. The ship departed Cannes at 3:30 and sailed back to Monte Carlo for the festivities. A short 10 minute well organized bus ride from the gangway and we were transported to a very special night out.

Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres (had to google that one) were passed about and then the entertainment began. It was 2 modern dances performed by a group of young performers from the Academie de Danse Princesses Grace. I can't say that modern dance is my thing but the whole atmosphere was fancy and fun. The highlight of the evening for me was the spectacular fireworks display at the end of the show. Perfect viewing from the deck of the yacht club. Also the almost full moon over the Journey was magical as well.

 

 

[Sleep7]

[Sleep7]

[Sleep7]

Now I'm having trouble again posting more than one pic at a time.. have to go back to the tutorial!;)

[Sleep7]

[dln929]

We also visited (and used their very clean restrooms) the historic and gorgeous Carlton Intercontinental Hotel. There was a TV and Film convention going on in Cannes that weekend and there seemed to be a lot of famous people in town. We met Gene Simmons of KISS in the lobby.. very friendly and chatty. He was instantly recognizable because of his hair.. and his very pretty wife.

Cartier alas.. closed on Sunday.:(:(

 

 

 

The only rectification for this is to book another Journey and go back. When we were in Mahon, Menorca last month the gin factory that our guide told us about (in glowing terms no less ;)) was closed because of the public holiday. Here she was tantalizing our tastebuds for hours on the bus with visions of exotic fruit and spice gin infusions that you could find no where else in the world and alas...closed. I feel your pain. (Luckily the Quest is bringing us back next September. Bottoms up to me!)

Edited October 20, 2014 by dln929

[Sleep7]

Cheers to you :) that you will be able to experience Mahon 2.0 next year!!!

The wait will make it even more special.

I still can't believe that your husband can get up and go to work the day after a long flight home.. now that's amazing!

I guess the getting up is easy.. it's the staying awake past 3pm that's the hard part.:eek:

[ellbon]

It was in the Drawing Room on your South American cruises in 2011;)

 

Looking forward to reading more of this thread, it's rekindling lovely memories, thanks

 

Ann,

 

I could of gone to two in tht room but I was in S America two years in row.. i ws thinking bck to my first or second cruise with the line.

[Sleep7]

If it's Tuesday.. it must be Corsica!

Not too much doing in Ajaccio but a pleasant port none the less. Just wandering around was nice.. the weather was mild and sunny.

 

[Sleep7]

Of course we considered buying his and hers matching aprons.. Haahaaa.. maybe not!;)

[Sleep7]

Now for some bad math..

Two drinks + wine at dinner + one too many plates of Indian Buffet (which was SCRUMPTIOUS though) + rough seas from Corsica back to France during night = a very nauseous husband.:eek:

He made a full recovery by morning though!:)

[Sleep7]

Oh dear.. just realized that Corsica was on Monday. Got ahead of myself.

Also appearing on Monday outside our stateroom door was the paperwork regarding debarkation plans..:(

 

[Literary Lynne]

Fantastic, thank you. I'm living it and loving it. I'll see what I can do in a couple of weeks but I'm not much good at uploading pics. Off to Athens on Thursday, leaving home at 3.45am. Quest on Friday - yay!!

 

Glad you had such a wonderful time.

 

Lynne :)

[gollane]

We just adored this cruise although we missed one port because of the weather the onboard experience made up for it.

 

For us a particular highlight was the highly talented Richard Rubin who entertained 3 times nightly in the casino lounge on the piano,his mix of humour,audience interaction and skilled playing was almost worth the price of the ticket alone

[maygrovecruisers]

Oh dear.. just realized that Corsica was on Monday. Got ahead of myself.

Also appearing on Monday outside our stateroom door was the paperwork regarding debarkation plans..:(

 

 

Loving your report and photos especially the door on 7107 - this is our cabin on the Journey next Monday 27th.:)

[Wandering Words]

Thanks Sleep7 I'm loving your report and pics

[Sleep7]

Yay for you Lynne!!! How exciting that you will be on board this Friday!!

I totally agree Gollane.. it was a cruise to adore.

Oh my!! What a funny coincidence maygrovecruisers!! Great cabin.. nice central location. I might have left a sock in the top right drawer.. if you find it will you let me know? haahaaaa! Only kidding! The cabin attendants were super nice too.. Danny and Wayan.

Aww.. thank you wanderingwords!

 

So.. we are up to Tuesday. The ship was supposed to tender off of Sanaray Sur Mer but the seas didn't want to cooperate that day. Captain Tysee made an announcement at around 8:30 am that we would be heading to Marseilles and then over nighting there instead. He proudly told us that he secured the "best spot" for us at the pier.;) The shore excursions desk did an amazing job of adapting to the new itinerary. Most of the excursions were run.. some were shortened and just a few were cancelled. We had booked an all day tour to Cassis and Bandol. Instead of that were just going to have a shortened version and visit Cassis which was fine with us. It did however present us with a problem that really wasn't much of a problem. This shorter tour was less money, which meant we would have even more of our oodles of non refundable OBC. We would have to put our heads together and think some more of how to spend it on the ship.. such problems.:rolleyes:

We had an hour or two to wander before our tour met so we just walked around the port area. There was a new complex of stores and restaurants being built and they had wifi so we bought a jar of olives as a gift and sat outside on their steps with our laptops. The sky started to darken and then one rain drop fell.. then another.. and then another. We dashed back to the ship and it started to POUR! By the time we were to board our bus to Cassis the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to peek through the clouds. We had a wonderful tour guide who chatted the whole way to to our first stop, which were the cliffs above Cassis, called I believe either the Calanques or the Falaises. Not sure which one it was. I don't know if it was the wine at lunch, the motion of the bus or his soothing voice but we both had a lovely nap on the way. Like two toddlers in car seats we both fell promptly to sleep.. really!:o

Here are the cliffs.. and here are the people..

 

[Sleep7]

Then the very very skilled driver handled the hairpin turns down that hill like pro. We had about an hour to wander around Cassis.. a woman from our tour fell off a curb and broke her arm. She was very brave.. an ambulance came and took her to the hospital for a cast. We saw her again the next day in great spirits. She took it all in stride.. she was a champ!

Here are some pics from scenic Cassis. What a careful job arranging those cookies.. they looked like scales of a fish but smelled much sweeter.

 

 

[Sleep7]

Sunset in Marseilles..

[Sleep7]

Next day.. Wednesday. Marseilles all day!

We remembered Quick from our last visit there. We bought some french fries and a soda, and then sat at their outdoor tables and enjoyed their free wifi for a while. After we did all our computer nonsense we put on our urban archeologist caps and went in search of Cartier in Marseilles. It would surely be open as this was Wednesday at noon time. I had written down that the store was on Rue Grignan which was a few blocks away from the water front. Yep.. this looked like the place. Fancy stores to the right.. fancy stores to the left.. but no Cartier. We walked back and forth again and then saw a store that was vacant. Sam just happen to notice the faint outline of Cartier on the dusty neglected wall. This is where it is had been.. they had just recently closed down that location.:mad:

Ah well.. back to the ship! It was the White Night Party and we were excited!!

[Sleep7]

6pm on the Pool Deck.. the buzz of anticipation and preparation was in the air!!