La Seyne Sur Mer on RCCL

I tried to research this port before our trip but didn't find much. So I will report what I found on our actual visit two weeks ago. Others may have had different experiences, so I apoloogize in advance

We had decided to visit Cassis.

First, the ship docks on a Sunday, and not much is open. I had tried to rent a car online, but had no luck. From what I could tell when we actually arrived, none of the rental comapnies operate on Sunday - despite the presence of 3000 potential customers. However, there was a very ample supply of taxis available

the online train schedule showed trains at 9:30 and 11:30, but the station schedule didn't show the 11:30, so I don't know if it ran or not. Cab fare to the La Sayne station was 15 euros

the problem is that the train station isn't open because it is Sunday. There is an automatic ticket vending machine, but none of us Americans could get our credit cards to work (and it accepts change, but not bills). European credit cards have a chip in them that we must not have. As a result, the 25 or so people from the cruise who were at the station all rode without tickets (but no one checked)

At the Cassis station, a bus was waiting for us (despite what I had heard that there probably wouldn't be). Round-trip transfer is only one euro.

Getting a boat ride to the calanques is easy. There is one ticket booth that sells tickets to all boats. Trips leave constantly. Fifteen euros for 45 minutes and three calanques. The water is a little rough

we came back on the 2:00 train, and the station in Cassis appeared to open at 1:30. We had tickets this time, but no one checked them. Most people decided to ride the train an extra stop to Toulon, figuring it would be easier to get a cab from there. In fact, we had to call one to the station in La Seyne, so riding to Toulon may have been a good idea

overall, the trip is easily done. Cassis is beautiful, although I have to admit being disappointed by the calanques themselves

the problem is that the train station isn't open because it is Sunday. There is an automatic ticket vending machine, but none of us Americans could get our credit cards to work (and it accepts change, but not bills). European credit cards have a chip in them that we must not have. As a result, the 25 or so people from the cruise who were at the station all rode without tickets (but no one checked)

Even the most basic of research would have told these people they needed a card with a chip to use this machine. I guess they thought it was o.k. to ride without paying if no one checks.

Thank you for posting this. I would like to go to Cassis from Toulon on a Sunday in August. I wasn't sure how easy it would be, but your description puts my mind at ease. I am wondering, though, how we could get the train tickets. Do you remember how much they are? Maybe I could get some coins ahead of time, so we are prepared.

thanks for your posting. After the derogatory posting from a know-it-all serial poster, I was wondering if I actually provided any useful information to anyone

there were probably 25 people off of the ship, and none was able to buy a ticket (so much for "basic research"). There were in fact several locals in the same predicament. The locals claimed - and I don't know if this is true - that in cases in which a station is closed, you can buy a ticket on the train from the conductor (so no one was riding with the intent of not paying)

If I recall, the fare was between seven and eight euro

It is actually not difficult to make this trip. I was worried about all of the things that could go wrong, but it worked out

Thanks for all the information. I was thinking you could probably just pay on the train, also. I take a commuter train to work in Manhattan and you can always pay on the train (they just charge you extra, since they would prefer you buy before hand). And obviously if they don't come around for tickets, then you don't end up paying, through no fault of your own. There are 16 of us traveling, so I think the idea of bringing coins might be unrealistic. We will do our best to get tickets, but I'm not going to stress if we are not successful and have to get on the train without them.

I'm so glad to hear from someone that this trip is doable. I have had a lot of trouble figuring out this stop. We will definitely plan to set out for Cassis. Do you by any chance have a train schedule site that is in English. I have a link for Provence/Cassis, which has a link for the train schedule from Toulon, but it is all French?

Thanks!

raileurope.com has a schedule, but it showed a train that apparently wasn't running. Basically, there was a 9:30 and and a 12:30 (the 11:00 was the one that didn't show on the schedule at the station). It is the exact same train as from Toulon - La Seyne is the next stop. It takes less than thirty minutes to Cassis. Coming back, the train leaves Cassis at about two

the whole thing is actually easier than it sounds. The only glitch we had was getting back from the station in La Seyne - we had to call a cab, but we didn't have to wait long. Plenty of cabs at the dock in the morning, however, and our driver had offered to pick us up on our return, but we didn't want to commit to a time. You probably should just tell your morning driver to pick you up at 2:30

if you had to walk from the Cassis station into town, that would be a pain (and coming back, would be uphill). But we saw lots of busses, including the one that was waiting on our train

lots of people off of the ship will be doing exactly what you want to do

Thanks so much for the link! I looks like there is an 8:30am train, also. I think our ship gets in at 7:00am, so that would probably be a good train for us to catch.

another thing that I thought of - if you are worried about the riding-without-a-ticket issue (and again, the locals weren't), you could leave from Toulon. I don't know for sure, but it is possible that the Toulon station is open on Sunday morning so that you could buy a ticket from a real, live person

I believe we are coming into Toulon. I contacted RCCL and they said we would be at this port. I'm not going to worry about the tickets. Hopefully we'll be able to get them at the station and if not on board. I'm not going to get stressed about it. Thanks!