Star Flyer - June 21, 2014 - France/Corsica

[Sassy Chassis]

Just booked this with the Special Price offer from SC on the categories 2-6.

 

Is anyone else going?

 

Also, who has sailed out of Monte Carlo before? Anything in particular to know about that port?

 

We are going in early to Nice for an overnight stay and then to Monaco on Saturday by train. :)

[GHRAustin]

Hey there Sassy (I see you are in Houston, almost a neighbor!), I will be on the May 3-17 Flyer itinerary that is in Monte Carlo for the May 10 turnaround (think they sold that trip as a 14 day sail, which I booked, or each week as separate, w/ Monte Carlo as the switch spot), so will try and let you know when I come back. I talked to my sister who had been there a few years ago and they went up to the town of Eze where she said the view over the Med was amazing, lots of quaint shops and open air restaurants, so that might be a fun place to take a taxi to, bus or whatever. I have been around that area on a day trip from Aix-en-Provence and the whole area is gorgeous with wonderful little walled villages (St Paul de Vence is gorgeous if you have extra time to kill, up the road from Nice as I recall). I chose the earlier sail to avoid summer air rates and crowds, and got the ship fare with no single supplement, so that worked well for me, but June should still be lovely. Take care and I will report back after May 19th. Gail in Austin

[Sassy Chassis]

Thanks Gail! Looking forward to hearing about your trip.

 

I don't usually (ever) travel in the summer, so this is new for me.

 

Luckily we had some frequent flier miles to burn...every little bit helps :)

[Sassy Chassis]

My cruise docs came today! Now it's official :D

[ghraustin1]

Have been home 1.5 weeks from a great 2 week cruise. Here is a very long note,, but hopefully will be helpful to you. We were in Monte Carlo for the time trials of the Historic Grand Prix race,, so the town was somewhat blocked off due to the race, however I had a great time during our stay there (Sat was turn around there so we were there from 8AM till 10PM).

 

We docked at the far left side of the main port (oriented with your back to the sea) right next to the Port Terminal building (the port was full of mega yachts due to the race, and I guess in general). We were docked next to 3 masted sailboat EOS, owned by Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller, so in good company!! It was very easy to leave the ship and enter the port building, and assuming that minus the race media staging area (at the base of the port) it would be easy enough to get a taxi to the ship and get close by.

 

I spent the day basically up at the Oceanographic Museum and the Palace, both an easy walk from the ship. The ship check in was done IN the port building so you could dump your bags once you get in town, and I would highly recommend the Oceanographic Museum. I spent about 3 hours there and absolutely loved it. The lower floor is an aquarium, which was fine, but it was the upper floors that were amazing. The building is about 4 stories, hangs off the cliff above the sea, and is more like a palace than a museum (think 20 foot ceilings, huge arched windows, parquet floors). I would really recommend spending hours there if you have the time. The Palace is a short walk away from the Oceanographic Museum and I think I paid around 12 or so Euros for a combo ticket.

 

The path to the Oceanographic Museum from the port building: In the port building, we took the elevator to the second floor, then we walked (follow the signs) along a paved sidewalk above the sea around the back of a parking garage,, (sounds weird but this is a definite shortcut). At the BACK of the parking lot (the sidewalk leads you around to the back,, and you have a great view of the back side of the museum, very majestic hanging off the cliff), you go up two flights in the escalator in the back of the parking lot. This basically deposits you within yards of the Oceanographic Museum,, then to get back to the port building, just retrace your steps (enter the parking garage from outside the museum, down 2 flights on the escalator, walk outside and around the back sidewalk, which leads you to the second floor of the port building,, then down in the elevator... folks who did not know of the shortcut said it was a much longer walk with lots of steps and steep hills if you go on the streets.

 

I did not get into the actual Monte Carlo town (where the casino and shops are) as the streets were blocked off due to the race time trials, but heard from folks who stayed at the big hotel next to the casino that a pot of tea was like 35Euro and two gin and tonics were 70Euro,,, so beware!! I had a lovely coffee with a free chocolate at the historic chocolate shop just outside of the Museum for 2.50Euor,, same price as a bottle of water or soda from the machine, and I had a comfortable seat, so was happy with that.

 

The cruise was great, we loved Corsica (big winds, snow on the mountain peaks,,,). In Bonifacio walk into the little port center (lower town) and take the little train up to the top city, saves lots of steps and you get a little tour - it is not a hop on hop off train per se,, it takes you to the top stop, then you catch the train back down when you are done with the top historic town.. which is great! Some friends took a small boat ride to an island, it was a really windy day, and they got bounced all over but enjoyed it (once they were back!). There are great limestone cliffs like the Calanques outside of Marseilles and Casis on the French coast. You CAN walk 187 steps down the hand carved stairs on the back side of the old town, down to the sea,, I passed on that,, a bit too dramatic for me....

 

In Corsica, DO get some of the chestnut honey,, and local cheese and wine, eat them together and you will think you have gone to heaven! You can get this up high in the old village, or you can get it down in the grocery stores in the lower village (you can also buy the chestnut flour to bring home and bake with). That honey is just fantastic,, as is the cheese. I did not do the cured meats but am sure they are great too.There is also a self serve laundramat in the lower town too, by the grocery store. I kept on washing my long pants and long sleeved shirts (after buying a jersey in Spain) as the evenings were really cool. Coming back from Sardinia and going through the straights between Sardinia and Corsica we hit gale force 9 winds, and only made 1-1.5 knots during the night, so we missed the stop at Porto and the Scandola Nature Preserve (we missed it coming and going, rough water and winds), but we had a lovely brisk day at sea so that was ok.

 

St Tropez had the Harley Davidson rally the first week we were there, and the day of St Tropez (think men of all ages dressed in historical military garb marching the streets and shooting off muskets for 3 days,,,,) the second week, but there is a great museum (Annunciacion Museum??) just on your right as you leave the ship as you get to the main street, closed for lunch, as was the tourist office, reopens at 2 or so) and that museum has some lovely impressionist works.

 

We loved the stops at Porquerroles (sp?) tiny town on an island,, there is a tiny square and a nice Palm garden associated with a state house, nice visit, and Sanurey sur Mer (sp?) was fine,, they put on a little reception for us with free wine and snacks and live music (sounded like oompah music but was old French country music) at 6PM at the base of the port,, and there is a great Carousel there too,, which we rode!!

 

The only bust was probably the town at Smeralda on Sardinia,, the folks who stayed in town said nothing was open, the town is new and not that interesting, I took the tour to the ruins and a great vineyard, good wine and cheese and meats,, nice pours too! And you get to see a bit of the island. Maybe since you will be there "in season" there will be more going on.

 

Anyway, a great sail, loved it all, we had blue skies the entire time with few exceptions,, big wind and did lots of sailing (also motoring against the wind). We had Captain Juergen Mueller,, but I think he was going on his vacation, but he was great as always. New cruise director Matt was just getting his feet wet, but he tried and had good humor so he probably will be better by the time you get there. Hope you have a great time,, let me know if more questions, I will try and remember to check back from time to time on this site.

Oh, one last note, I took the train from Cannes to Nice, at the end of my sail,, I forget where you are training from,,,,, FYI no escalator or elevators in Cannes train station making hauling heavy suitcases really a drag,, literally, same with Nice,, but really nice people helped me with my bags as I clearly could not get them up and down the steps to get over to the tracks I needed by myself. Also trains were nuts (standing room only) due to Cannes film fest when we disembarked there. And the taxi drivers in Nice would not take me the 10 blocks to my hotel,, too short of a fare for them, so again, hauled bags on the street. Taxi and/or the ship transfer service was very expensive but may have been worth it,, but then again, I got to see just how friendly the French were, when they just grabbed my bags and helped me out! Have a fantastic sail,,, Gail

[Sassy Chassis]

Thanks, Gail!

 

We will be coming into Nice, staying overnight, and then taking the train to Monte Carlo. I'm not planning to take a large suitcase, as I don't want to be heavily burdened on the train. My husband however... well, he can schlep his own bag ;)

 

How early do you think we can drop our bags at the port? I would really like to spend some time in Monte Carlo before we sail away. The Oceanographic Museum sounds like something we would be interested in seeing. I know there is also a Hop-On/Hop-Off bus that can take us around town too.

 

I will definitely throw in some long pants/long sleeves just in case we run into those winds you were talking about!! :eek:

 

Karen

[Sassy Chassis]

Just wanted to insert a few lines regarding the cruise. Feel free to ask questions and I will answer to the best of my ability.

 

First off, we had a wonderful flight over and a lovely stay in Nice beforehand. The weather was absolutely beautiful!

 

We had planned on taking the train from Nice to Monte Carlo, but there was a strike going on and some of the trains were not running. There was a later train in the day, but we decided to just hire a car to take us instead. This amounted to 90 Euros, but worth it IMO. We dropped our bags off at the port REALLY EARLY, but no big deal to them. We then walked down the pier to the HO/HO bus stop and got on for a tour around the city. We got back to the port around embarkation time and ended up being the 3rd (?) people to actually set foot on the ship. Got the grand greetings from Captain and Hotel Director (who told me I would be receiving a medal for my cruises LOL :D), got our Welcome Aboard Punch, and headed straight for the Tropical Bar!

 

We had plenty of wind on our trip, so we did get to do a bit of sailing. Sometimes the tenders were a bit tricky, as the water was a bit choppy. We ended up skipping the beach day in St. Tropez due to water conditions and sailed to the port of St. Tropez instead. I think we did the photo tender on the first day. It took me by surprise and I ran out and got on the second tender boat, which thankfully was not very full.

 

Our sailing was not at capacity, only about 90 passengers or so. They announced that there were cabins to upgrade to so we thought we would check it out. Ended up getting into a category 1 and now we are spoiled because of the BATHROOM situation. No more getting frisky with the shower curtain ;)

 

There was a Captain's reception for repeat guests (with lots of bubbly!) and gifts in our stateroom. We must have made some kind of an impression because we received an invite for the Captain's Dinner. Such a wonderful man to talk to! There was steak and lobster on the menu this night and I opted for the lobster. It was very good, IMO.

 

Of course, lots of silly time with the Sports Team (woooo!) playing games and whatnot. There was a musician who played music at night and of course the "fashion show" and the "talent show" were funny. My husband and I got wrangled into participating in the Pirate Night Shenanigans and I won my "frog" race. :cool:

 

We had a mix of passengers from France, Germany, Italy, UK, Canada, and US. Monja the cruise director did announcements in English, German, and French.... and sometimes in Italian too!

 

Just FYI, if you are cruising to Bonifacio DON'T MISS seeing the straights as you are coming in/going out. SO BEAUTIFUL!! :)