Live EPIC Mediterannean 11-Day Cruise from Marseille, France October 2, 2023-with pics!

[graphicguy]

While I’m waiting for my flight to Marseille (and to get the hell out of CDG, right before I boarded in Cincinnati, I realized I had forgotten a “Tide Stick”….very important if you limit the clothes you pack for such a long trip.

 

Anyway, I ducked into one of those sundry stores on the way to the gate to buy one.  Found the Tide Stick….$8….WOW!

 

I guess I said that out loud, as the cashier casually said…”go ahead and take it”!  I pulled out a $10.  And, he repeated….”take it…no charge”. 

 

Not sure if he was mad at the store he was working in?  Or, he agreed the price was outrageous. 

 

Stuck it in my carry on and booked to the gate!

[depplep]

9 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

I no longer eat meals on the plane, even on long haul flights to Asia. I might snack. 

 

On red-eyes to Europe, I eat before boarding, take Ambien when the plane reaches 30,000+ feet and go straight to sleep. Of course if there is an emergency on board, I likely won't be in any shape to follow directions, or care.

 

Put me in the don't eat meals on the plane either. Gross. 🤮

[laudergayle]

3 hours ago, graphicguy said:

go ahead and take it”!  I pulled out a $10.  And, he repeated….”take it…no charge”. 

Risky in a foreign country.  The security agent who asked for $20 to speak French to clear customs quicker would probably want $200 to speak French to the po-po.  

[jsn55]

13 hours ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

You are lucky...a few years I spilled mouthwash on my computer when I opened the bottle near the computer. One of the smarter things I've done. It was time to upgrade anyway but it didn't make me feel any less dumb.

 

I believe that honest enjoyment of being a complete idiot is the key to a happy life.

[jsn55]

13 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Oh yeah….WiFi cuts in and out.  Delta Steward(esses) are nice.  Food in D1 is better than pretzels/peanuts the plebes in back are getting.  Won’t mistake it for MDR food in the Manhattan Room, though.

 

Just finished MY NAME OS OTTO….cute heartbreaker of a movie.  Hanks is always good in everything he does.

 

Faux Bose headphones Delta provides are barely better than the in ear ones that they sell you in the flimsy plastic wrapping. 

 

Glad I brought my bluetooth converter for my Bose.  

 

And yes, we’re tracking early into CDG.

 

Delta app claims my checked bag made it on the plane.  My backpack reeks of Listerine.  It’s in the overhead and I can smell it at my seat.  

 

 

But, the “spill” only hit clothes, not the electronics.  Happy for that.

I guess if you forget to put bottles in a ziplock, wrapping them in your clothes is the next best thing.  Listerine is one of those things that doesn't smell as bad as it tastes, so now you're justified in buying some delicious apple-cinnamon stuff at Boots.

[jsn55]

3 hours ago, depplep said:

Put me in the don't eat meals on the plane either. Gross. 🤮

Can't quite wrap my head around not dining when flying first class, what a waste.  Same with sleeping ... gotta enjoy every minute.

[graphicguy]

Just passed the EPIC in port on the way to the hotel…she looks ready to board.  Will catch an Uber around 10 a.m. tomorrow!

[graphicguy]

From delta One to Ibis hotel….stark contrast…LOL!

[Sugar Magnolia]

15 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

I believe that honest enjoyment of being a complete idiot is the key to a happy life.

I am proud to be a happy idiot !

[Sugar Magnolia]

13 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Can't quite wrap my head around not dining when flying first class, what a waste.  Same with sleeping ... gotta enjoy every minute.

 

I prefer to use the time on the plane to relax and catch up on my sleep so that I can hit the ground running when I land. The sleep also helps me to acclimate to the new time zone quicker. I prefer not to eat on the plane because I don't like that full belly feeling while sitting on the plane for hours. Rather save the calories for the yummy foods at my destination. Lastly, travel wreaks havoc on the digestive system so I skip the plane meal and eat small meals for the first day or two to allow my system to adjust to the new meal times.

 

Having said all that, I still gain 5 pounds on each cruise.

 

[mking8288]

4 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

From delta One to Ibis hotel….stark contrast…LOL!

Simplicity - alas, that is part of the joy of retirement.  Just think, you are going back up to Haven proper shortly, just consider this your transition against jetlag, as long as it is clean, welcoming and you get a good night rest, life is good, cherish & enjoy.

 

BTW, I never wrote a word about it on my Epic TA review - apparently, if you travel on the "regular" elevators for pax onboard (at least the forward ones) it can & often go express and get to bypass "steerage" - very useful for port of calls ... some sort of tap & go with the keycard's RFID chip (perhaps).  It's part of the privileges.  

 

What's your "supper" plan while in town, "liquid" diet ? 

[graphicguy]

53 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Simplicity - alas, that is part of the joy of retirement.  Just think, you are going back up to Haven proper shortly, just consider this your transition against jetlag, as long as it is clean, welcoming and you get a good night rest, life is good, cherish & enjoy.

 

BTW, I never wrote a word about it on my Epic TA review - apparently, if you travel on the "regular" elevators for pax onboard (at least the forward ones) it can & often go express and get to bypass "steerage" - very useful for port of calls ... some sort of tap & go with the keycard's RFID chip (perhaps).  It's part of the privileges.  

 

What's your "supper" plan while in town, "liquid" diet ? 

no plans…will wander around the old port area and settle on something that strikes my fancy!

[SiestaKeyCruiser]

I just got an email saying NCL is still considering my upgrade offer!

[jsn55]

9 hours ago, graphicguy said:

From delta One to Ibis hotel….stark contrast…LOL!

OMG, this is too funny!  I'm glad to have a little breather from Virgin Atlantic Upper Class in London before I face the tortures of BritishAir and the MRS Ibis October 14.  But don't get me wrong, with Marseille hosting the Rugby insanity, I'm delighted to be sleeping at a hotel that's not a $150 taxi ride away.  At least I'll know to ask for a couple extra pillows to use the bed as a recliner.  Do you think anyone over the age of 6 actually sits in those chairs?  

[graphicguy]

7 hours ago, SiestaKeyCruiser said:

I just got an email saying NCL is still considering my upgrade offer!

Hope you snag whatever you bid on.👍

[graphicguy]

28 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

OMG, this is too funny!  I'm glad to have a little breather from Virgin Atlantic Upper Class in London before I face the tortures of BritishAir and the MRS Ibis October 14.  But don't get me wrong, with Marseille hosting the Rugby insanity, I'm delighted to be sleeping at a hotel that's not a $150 taxi ride away.  At least I'll know to ask for a couple extra pillows to use the bed as a recliner.  Do you think anyone over the age of 6 actually sits in those chairs?  

Yeah….not exactly what they showed on the WEB site.

 

Definite “hostel” vibe place.  Met quite a few interesting characters last night.

 

What is an anomaly for just about everyone these days, left (actually forgot) my iphone in the room as I wandered about.  So, no pics

 

I do like Marseille!  The old port area is really worth a meander about..  It’s a port town.  And every cliche you can think of applies. 

 

If I wasn’t running on fumes, I would have head into wine country for a tour.

 

Had a real “charcuterie” board and a couple healthy glasses of wine, at a literal sidewalk cafe overlooking the port. Couldn’t have scripted it any better for a movie scene

 

I’m not a wine person and drank their red house wine with my food just people watching.  It was delicious…the meats,cheeses, breads and the dine paired perfectly.  

 

As it is, dropped on  the bed at 9:00 p.m.  It’s now 4:00 a.m. and I’m awake.

 

I think the streets probably aren’t awake yet.  

 

The bad news, my “hotel” has no hot water/coffee maker.  No a/c either.  But, I did sleep to the sounds of a big city last night.

 

Observations…. been a while since I have visited France.  CDG and MRS need repairs,  badly. They both could use a good scrubbing.  The escalators and the elevators mostly don’t work.

 

Personnel are dismal.  Had a security guy request i open my roll board.  He literally dumped the contents on a table, eyeballed it and left me to refill and repack all the contents without a word.

 

AirFrance is worse than Frontier.  That’s quite a feat.

 

But, enjoyed the city itself.  Just picture perfect…at least the 3 block area I explored was.

 

Need to shower, and hope my room comes with hot water to go along with my 12x12 towel…find coffee…find a way to the ship.

[mking8288]

Bonsoir, it's nearly 4 AM local time ... too early, Bonjour  😆 

 

Probably modest jetlagged to be wide awake already and can't wait to embark in the morning.  Now that I take another look at the furnishing again, sort of resembled something from IKEA ... Airbnb 

[All-ready2cruise]

Rest well and enjoy your cruise, don't sweat the small stuff! I'm sure we'll all be routing for you.  Cheers

[Smiller000]

My wife, daughter and I are already awake as well.  We're hoping the 2 bags that did not arrive with us from CDG make it to the hotel this morning.   They told us that 1 arrived last night but who knows if they'll actually deliver it before we head to the ship.

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, Smiller000 said:

My wife, daughter and I are already awake as well.  We're hoping the 2 bags that did not arrive with us from CDG make it to the hotel this morning.   They told us that 1 arrived last night but who knows if they'll actually deliver it before we head to the ship.

Oh….hope it does!  Good Luck!

[graphicguy]

Luggage tagged…..

[graphicguy]

The least I can do is take some of their electricity…..charging up….

[graphicguy]

7 hours ago, jsn55 said:

OMG, this is too funny!  I'm glad to have a little breather from Virgin Atlantic Upper Class in London before I face the tortures of BritishAir and the MRS Ibis October 14.  But don't get me wrong, with Marseille hosting the Rugby insanity, I'm delighted to be sleeping at a hotel that's not a $150 taxi ride away.  At least I'll know to ask for a couple extra pillows to use the bed as a recliner.  Do you think anyone over the age of 6 actually sits in those chairs?  

Yeah….not exactly what they showed on the WEB site.

 

Definite “hostel” vibe place.  Met quite a few interesting characters last night.

 

What is an anomaly for just about everyone these days, left (actually forgot) my iphone in the room as I wandered about.  So, no pics

 

I do like Marseille!  The old port area is really worth a meander about..  It’s a port town.  And every cliche you can think of applies. 

 

If I wasn’t running on fumes, I would have head into wine country for a tour.

 

Had a real “charcuterie” board and a couple healthy glasses of wine, at a literal sidewalk cafe overlooking the port. Couldn’t have scripted it any better for a movie scene

 

I’m not a wine person and drank their red house wine with my food just people watching.  It was delicious…the meats,cheeses, breads and the dine paired perfectly.  

 

As it is, dropped on  the bed at 9:00 p.m.  It’s now 4:00 a.m. and I’m awake.

 

I think the streets probably aren’t awake yet.  

 

The bad news, my “hotel” has no hot water/coffee maker.  No a/c either.  But, I did sleep to the sounds of a big city last night.

 

Observations…. been a while since I have visited France.  CDG and MRS need repairs,  badly.  The escalators and the elevators mostly don’t work.  Both need a good scrubbing and a crash course in etiquette.

[graphicguy]

I think I’m early!

[graphicguy]

Haven waiting area…