Epic 24 May Day 6-Cannes

[trfccruiser]

Another leisurely day.Had breakfast at Great Outdoors (outdoor section of buffet)still plenty of choice and less crowded.

This was our only tender port and you we were told book tickets if you want to get off by 10.30.we weren't in a hurry so didn’t book but at 10 the announcement was made you didn’t need tickets.

Even so,the tender we caught was pretty packed.We had a leisurely stroll along the promenade,passing the Marina which has some seriously expensive yachts moored.

We aimed for the Palais De Festivals as Rachel wanted to see where the Film Festival is centred and also the stars’ handprints and autographs,.we took a few photos of some of the stars;Angelina Jolie,Julie Andrews,Paul Mc Cartney,Sly Stallone (his hands are massive!) and Timothy Dalton (where is he now?) mainly because my Mum & Dad pushed him in a pram as a child.

We then sat on the prom sunbathing for a while and had lunch courtesy of a mobile eaterie on the prom.quiche and Croque Monsieur (when In France) followed by the most fabulous crepes.

The French love their dogs and many were having a walk on the prom.I noticed something by all the bins and thought what a fantastic idea.It was like a supermarket dispenser of bags for your fruit and veg but had poop bags in them!Surely,we should think of trying them...Not excuse for owners then to say they don't have a bag with them and therefore can't pick up.

Rachel liked having a wander past the poncy shops like D&G etc. and then on a the parallel road to the prom (Rue D’antibes) got very excited that she found a Sephora cosmetic shop (meant nothing to me but very big in the U.S. apparently).

Had a lovely ice cream and then walked back to the tender point which was a quite bizarre experience.Cannes has a small conservatory style building for people to wait in for the tenders.When we arrived it was packed.I thought blimey that’s a big queue.I went outside as it was impossibly hot in there and discovered only a very small queue outside for the tenders.Then the penny dropped.I saw a sign saying Free Wifi .Inside was what can only be described as the social media equivalent of a crack den.Everyone staring at their little screens and scrolling up and down.

How sad I thought, you’re on holiday!However,Rachel was getting her fix too so Liz & I stood outside in the sun whilst she got her fix,taking advantage of the NCL provided cold face cloths and chilled drinks which were readily available at all the ports and were lovely on a hot day.

We then went for another swim and water slide fix(We couldn't get enough of that doughnut ride!)

Tonight we had finally booked Moderno,it was really difficult to get a reservation.To my mind I don’t mind planning stuff on holidays and in fact get some stick from my family for the research and booking I do in advance.However,with eating and entertainment I prefer to be more spontaneous.This is the thing with Freestyle on NCL’s bigger ships.On the Jewel years ago you could just turn up to restaurants and the theatre.Now it’s more patchy.With some like Shanghai’s the buzzer system worked really well.However,with Moderno I was told there were no “walk ins” available 2 nights running when it was still early and I saw plenty of empty tables.Rachel was keen to try it so this forced us to book ahead and eat a bit later than planned,9.15.We arrived early and the place was half-empty!

I’ve read mixed reviews about Moderno some love it some think it’s just ok.That was my view.If you’ve never been to a Brazilian steakhouse before you will probably like it as a “fresh experience”.However,if you have been to a decent one on land before you will probably think like me it was a bit of a pale imitation. The staff were really nice but the food was just ok.There were some highlights:the Brazilian Cheese bread,as Rachel, put it a bit like large cheese balls but a bread consistency,the garlic mash,the fried banana (I know it sounds wrong but it was lovely) and of the meats on offer the Filet Mignon was the best.

Another thing that was odd was that as in most places you were encouraged to help yourself to the salad bar but they would not bring us any meat until we’d eaten it all.This I found irritating as I like the salad with my meat and despite there being hot sides of mash,black beans fried banana and rice I still wanted some of my salad.I could have been more insistent I guess but it was clear that was the “system” they worked to.

Overall,I would say it was a pleasant experience but for me not worth the $20 extra each.I had some OBC so thought I would try it and Rachel was keen.However,whilst some people say that NCL have lowered the quality of the free restaurants to make more people try the fee restaurants, we absolutely didn’t find that to be the case.Nor was the service any better or worse either.

Rachel keen to stay up but we’d had enough!

View from Lifeboat tender

Angelina Jolie's handprint outside the Palais de Festivals,Rachel wanted this photo in particular

Sylvester Stallone's handprint-it was massive!

Yachts in Cannes with Epic in background.There were some serious yachts there.

Beautiful flowers by the roadside.

[ttiplock1973]

Thanks for your review. How long did it take you to walk to the Palais De Festivals?

[trfccruiser]

Thanks for your review. How long did it take you to walk to the Palais De Festivals?

Hi it's about 10 minutes,not far at all.When you get off the ship there is a little tourist office which you have to pass to get out, that was giving out really clear maps of the centre , were happy to help with any queries and spoke excellent English.

[ptngr]

LOL@ free wifi = crack den.

 

Guess what was on my "to do" list for Cannes?