Marseille Ship Tour Vs Private Guide

[CruisingCatherine]

I know that this subject has been discussed before But, I can't seem to find the posts.

 

We are having a hard time with plans at this port. I have heard that there isn't that much to see in Marseille. That the real beauty is in the countryside. What are your opinions? We have found a taxi tour available in the city.

 

If we decide to go out in the country (Aix en Provence) would you recommend the RCCL Ship Tour or a private guide? If a private guide which do you recommend?

 

Thanks in advance, you guys are great!!

[Hapster22]

We took a cab last week at the Marseille dock to the bus station. Then hopped on the big long blue bus and went ourselves to Aix. Ask for a Marseille city map at the National Car Rental counter right at the dock. A lot cheaper than the cruise's version of basically the same tour. Ok... so you don't get any narration. When you take the return trip back from Aix, get off at the stop just before the bus station. It's right near a McDonald's for reference. Walk past the McDonald's and wind your way down to the Vieux Port area. We then did the tram ride up to the top of the mountain for 5 Euros, caught a cab back to the ship. Makes for a nice cheaper day.

[sher923]

Hapster22... would you be able to tell me roughly what was spent that day per person for all your transportation? Thanks

[CruisingCatherine]

Thanks for the posts so far. Keep them coming. I need all of the options I can get!

[goldenprincess53]

I know that this subject has been discussed before But, I can't seem to find the posts.

 

We are having a hard time with plans at this port. I have heard that there isn't that much to see in Marseille. That the real beauty is in the countryside. What are your opinions? We have found a taxi tour available in the city.

 

If we decide to go out in the country (Aix en Provence) would you recommend the RCCL Ship Tour or a private guide? If a private guide which do you recommend?

 

Thanks in advance, you guys are great!!

 

Hi Catherine, we too are going to be on the same cruise with another couple. We want to visit Marseille as well and were looking at Aix en Provence as our first choice, but I would like to see as much as I can of the area. I would prefer a private guide over the ship tour as I would like to see Casse as well.

 

We are also looking at the Villefranche/Eze/Monte Carlo/Grasse/Nice area. I don't know how much we can get in during the one day - my priority being Monte Carlo, Eze and the downtown waterfront in Nice. Also looking for how to do this trip - train? bus? taxi? and of course the list goes on. I do want to book my shore excursions soon if I am doing it through RCCL to ensure I have a spot.

[CruisingCatherine]

GoldenPrincess.

 

I am so glad that you joined in here. I will be traveiling with my Aunt and Mother. I have also hooked up with another group of women that will be on our cruise. Here is the link if you would like to join in on our thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=87926

 

We have hired private guides in Florence, Rome, and Naples. In Nice we are planning on taking the train to Monte Carlo then stopping at Eze before returning to the ship. We are doing that port on our own. We are sharing our guide in Florence and Rome with the group of women we met on these Boards. It ended up being cheaper for us than a RCCL excursion.

 

I have all kinds of great info on everywhere except Marseille. Let me know if you have any planning questions that I might be able to help with. I am the Queen of planning!

[Debbierpof]

My DH and I (and my in-laws) will be on the Splendour 7/23. I've been communicating with a guide in Marseilles, Catherine, who seems very open and knowledgable. In addition we will probably be traveling with two other couples. What driver are you using in Florence? We're trying to stay within budget so I'm trying to plan everything up front and get as much info as possible on the various tour options. Oh, Catherine has a website: http://www.provence-travel.com/ Hope to hear on more ideas!

[ClaudiaF]

Hi Catherine, we too are going to be on the same cruise with another couple. We want to visit Marseille as well and were looking at Aix en Provence as our first choice, but I would like to see as much as I can of the area. I would prefer a private guide over the ship tour as I would like to see Casse as well.

 

We are also looking at the Villefranche/Eze/Monte Carlo/Grasse/Nice area. I don't know how much we can get in during the one day - my priority being Monte Carlo, Eze and the downtown waterfront in Nice. Also looking for how to do this trip - train? bus? taxi? and of course the list goes on. I do want to book my shore excursions soon if I am doing it through RCCL to ensure I have a spot.

You can see almost everyplace that you mentioned in a full days tour.. at least get a feel for the places.. while it would certainly take many, many ,many trips to the South of France to really see it all and then there is no end..we have used both of the companies below for private day tours.. both excellent!

Check out

http://www.dream-tours.com

and also http://www.taxidurand.com

for their tours.

[Leejnd4]

We just did a tour from Marseilles with a private guide. We had a splendid time, and visited Avignon, Les Baux (wonderful!) and gosh I can't even remember what else...I'll have to go back and look in my notes. But it was a full day, and we really felt like we got our money's worth. It was actually a good amount less than any of the ship tours (we'd hooked up with another couple and shared the tour), and we saw twice as much. We used Tania of ProvenceTours, who did a fine job.

 

LeeAnne

[traveler2772]

We were on Splendor of the Seas last October and toured with Eva of Provence Sightseeing www.provencesightseeing.com . We did a full day tour of Isle Sur La Sorgue, Roussillon, St. Remy and Les Baux de Provence. We enjoyed seeing all of these different villages. So you might want to check out her website.

 

Helen

[Debbierpof]

leejnd4 and traveler2772 - If you don't mind me asking, what was the average cost per person on your private tours? Thanks!

[CruisingCatherine]

I just booked with Tania from Provence Tours and the cost is 90 Euros per person. She stated that most of what we see will be free except for one place with an entrance fee of 5 Euros.

[Leejnd4]

Hi Catherine -- tell Tania that LeeAnne and her mom Betty say hello! We toured with her on Mother's Day, and she arranged a really nice lunch for us in Les Beaux, including delivering a lovely bouquet of flowers to my mom.

 

We had four of us (my mother and I, and another couple) and the cost was the same, 90 Euros a person. There were very small entry fees for the bridge and the Pope's Palace in Avignon, as well as the castle in Les Beaux, but all were well worth it.

 

LeeAnne

[sondi 14]

Hi Catherine,

 

Just to add my two cents - we were the other couple that toured with

LeeAnne and Betty with Tania and we had a wonderful day. We really

got a great tour of Provence and thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Please tell her that Sondra and Bruce say hi as well.

Sondra

[Leejnd4]

Hi Sondra! Yes, we did have a wonderful time, didn't we? And that pretty much goes for the entire cruise. :) By the way, we told Tania to give our left-behind postcards to her next clients. Hope someone good got them!

 

LeeAnne

[CruisingCatherine]

Thanks for all of the affirmations. I am really looking forward to touring with her. Do you have any good advice for the other ports?

[Leejnd4]

Well, since you asked....I am now a major fan of Michel Legrand of Revelation Tours! He did an absolutely fantastic job for us on our day in Monte Carlo. He's based out of Nice and will do tours from Monte Carlo, Nice and Villefrance. I see you are planning on doing that on your own, which I'm sure will be fine, but I have to say that my day with Michel was far and away my favorite day of this 11-day cruise!

 

LeeAnne

[Dr. Pam]

wE HAVE JUST BOOKED Michel Legrand of Revelation Tours. I think he normally does tours out of Villefranche, but I e-mailed him and he will accomodate us out of Marseille. He is apparently well thought of on these posts.

[sondi 14]

Catherine, where else are you going on your cruise? We have used

private tour guides in Italy and Athens as well as Tania in Marseilles.

 

LeeAnne, Tania told me that they were your postcards - that was nice

of you to pass them on to the next client.

[amyr]

Hi all,

 

We're all talking about setting up tours over on our roll call board, and I'd be really interested to know if Tania has a website. I typed in provencetours.com and got directed right back here. Just googling Provence Tours got me a list so long I don't know where to begin.

 

I'll try some of the other suggestions on this thread, but I really wanted to take a look at Tania as well.

 

Thanks,

Amy

[sondi 14]

Hi Amy,

 

Unfortunately, I am out of town and not at my home computer where I

have Tania's website info. Hopefully, LeeAnne will see this and maybe

she will post it. If not, when I return on Sunday I will post it for you.

 

Sondi

[Leejnd4]

Happy to help! Tania's website is: http://provencetours.free.fr

 

She is a sweetheart, and you'll have a very nice time.

 

Dr. Pam, when is your cruise? That's great! Be sure to ask him to take you himself -- I've read that he has other tour guides working for him, who I've heard are really great but I can't imagine anyone could be as fantastic as Michel himself. You are right he usually won't go out of Marseille, so that's wonderful that he'll drive up there for you. Have a wonderful time!

 

LeeAnne

[amyr]

Sondi and LeeAnn - thank you both so much. I'll pop right over and start my work. Sometimes, the planning and booking is half the fun!:)

 

Amy

[Dr. Pam]

Hi Leanne,

 

We are on the Splendour out of Barcelona on July 30. We will be in Marseille on Sunday, July 31. Michel has assured me that he will be our driver/guide. Hopefully, he will be true to his word. Have you toured with him and if so, what are your comments about him. (We are 2 families of four--kids between 7-10yrs) he wasn't sure what kind of suggestions to do with children but I am sure we will figure something out....I mean..sigh it is Avignon

[Leejnd4]

Hi,

 

I can't say enough wonderful things about Michel Legrand. I was on an 11-day cruise with no sea days, so we had 11 wonderful ports to visit...and our day with Michel was far and away my favorite.

 

First of all, Michel himself is just so darn charming and fun. His van is very large and quite comfortble, and he keeps it stocked with cold soft-drinks. At the commencement of the tour, he gave us each a folder filled with a program listing where we were going, and double-sided information sheets filled with info about each of the destinations. He also spoke perfect English, and he kept up a constant, extremely entertaining patter throughout the entire day, giving us in-depth historical and political details of the area, peppered with wry social commentary and off-the-cuff jokes. At first I wondered if he uses the same material for everyone, and there may have been some of that going on, but it’s also apparent that much of it is truly on-the-spot, because he would always have some hilarious come-back whenever we’d make some funny comment. We were all amazed at the depth of Michel’s knowledge about his country and its history. He also had a recording that he would play in the van just before we’d arrive somewhere that gave us some good background and information about the place.

 

Our tour with Michel was from Monte Carlo, so we visited different places than you will from Marseille. From Marseille we visited Avignon, Les Beaux, and Aix en Provence. We were there on a Sunday as well, and much was closed in Avignon and Aix, but they were still lovely and fascinating. But Les Beaux was wonderful! Many of the shops in Les Beaux were open, and for you, it has the added bonus of having this wonderful castle at the top with expansive grounds where the kids can run around. It also has huge, ancient weaponry sitting around the grounds, like catapults and the like which should prove fascinating to your kids (especially the boys!).

 

If you are in Les Beaux at lunch time, I'd recommend having lunch at the Cafe des Les Beaux, which is tucked into an ancient building on the left-hand side of the street that leads to the castle, just before you get to the castle. They have a lovely patio, and their salads were huge and delicious.

 

Have a wonderful tour with Michel!

 

LeeAnne