quick question about tendering process in Villefrance

[RavennaM]

Hi guys, I need your help once again. :)

 

We are sailing with Vision on next April and we will stop in Villefrance. We are in Villefrance in day one and we would actually want to tender about 11 am even though ship arrives to port very early. Can you just come and go any time you want, when ship is tendered or do they have specific times for leaving and coming back to ship?

 

Thanks!

[bethco]

While I haven't been to Villefrance, all tender ports I have experienced have tenders going back and forth on a regular basis all of the time in port.

Edited October 22, 2014 by bethco

[skylight]

Yes the tenders were going all day when we were in Villefrance. We caught a train to Monaco and then back and onto Nice really easy.:)

[RavennaM]

While I haven't been to Villefrance, all tender ports I have experienced have tenders going back and forth on a regular basis all of the time in port.

 

Ok, thanks. That is great to hear. We would like to start our first morning more relaxed way and not rushing into tendering lines. This will be our first time on a cruise where we have to tender.

[RavennaM]

Yes the tenders were going all day when we were in Villefrance. We caught a train to Monaco and then back and onto Nice really easy.:)

 

Thank you so much, that is great news! We will be in Villefrance on day 1, so we are just going to have long relaxed breakfast and then take a train to Nice.

[Bobal]

You can come and go as you please and usually it's only the earliest tenders which have lines as people are eager to get off if they have long days planned. Just remember to build in waiting for tenders at both ends and the tender trip itself (which isn't very long).

 

Just for info the port is Villefranche (with an h) ;)

[RavennaM]

You can come and go as you please and usually it's only the earliest tenders which have lines as people are eager to get off if they have long days planned. Just remember to build in waiting for tenders at both ends and the tender trip itself (which isn't very long).

 

Just for info the port is Villefranche (with an h) ;)

 

Great news, thanks. I have cruised many times before, but this whole tendering process in new to me.

 

And sorry about the missing h :) My English is probably also terrible, so try to bear with me...

[Touristbay]

Villafranche is a stunning port so you want to make time to have a wander around here too.

 

also I found this site very useful

 

http://www.tomsportguides.com/Cannes-Nice-06-20-2012.pdf

 

It shows exactly how to get to the train station on foot.

 

Enjoy !

[Touristbay]

http://www.tomsportguides.com/Villefranche-sur-Mer-06-20-2012.pdf

 

Sorry I gave you the wrong link !

[nelblu]

Except for the early times, the tendering process is available quite frequently. Take a walk thru the town and enjoy the various restaurants, walk especially up the hill and you will smell sweet aroma coming from the bakery making bread and pastries. What I found amazing is that the bread is wrapped in newspapers.

 

Also, Monaco is about an hour from the town.

[RavennaM]

Thanks for the tips and maps. We have been in Nice and Monaco before but not by cruising. We are going to take a train to Nice, it is absolutely my favorite city in the world!

[Trekker954]

I didn't find Villafranche all that much. The cruiseline will try and sell your transfer tickets. But once you get to the port, there is a small tram and the port itself sells tix, very inexpensive, that runs back and forth from the port to the center of town where you can hop off and then back on again later, or don't get off at all, just do a round trip and see if you feel its worth getting off for.

 

I was off Celebrity Reflection when we stopped there.

[robint]

Except for the early times, the tendering process is available quite frequently. Take a walk thru the town and enjoy the various restaurants, walk especially up the hill and you will smell sweet aroma coming from the bakery making bread and pastries. What I found amazing is that the bread is wrapped in newspapers.

 

Also, Monaco is about an hour from the town.

 

We wandered through the Citadel, which has some beautiful gardens and several tiny (and free) museums. It's right next to where you get off the tender, and you can do it in probably no more than an hour. It was a lovely slow start to our day.

[cdwh1902]

We were on the Brilliance in 2005 and tendered at Villafranche without any problems. A group of us on CC had organised a private tour around the area, visiting Monaco, Monte Carlo, Nice etc. and had a great time. After lunch we noticed the weather had turned a bit windy and rainy, but it didn't last too long.

 

Departure was at 8.00pm, but as we were returning to the port at 5.00pm we noticed the ship had departed and was already on the horizon. We then saw that the port was totally demolished with many boats (including the police boat) had been sunk and everything was totally trashed in the harbour. The weather we had encountered earlier in the day was in fact a mini tornedo at Villafranche, and so the Brilliance had to clear out for safety. Left behind were over 3,000 passengers and crew.

 

Over the next few hours we were informed that all the restaurants in the port had been instructed to feed and 'water' us (cost free to us) and that alternative arrangements were being made.

 

Finally they brought in over 60 buses from Italy and France and began a 4 hour shuttle service to Provence, where the ship was berthed. We were on the first bus and made it back to the ship at 1.30am and the last person to board was at 5am.

 

Full credit to RCI - we were safe and sound thanks to the horrendous logistical arrangements they would have had to incur.

 

We finally departed Provence and arrived in Livorno at 1.30pm the following day.

 

Just a different version...

 

Chris

[Kellie Poodle]

Just pay attention to the sea. If it's choppy, tendering can be a nightmare. We were backed up for several hours trying to get back to the ship because of bad seas.

 

If the seas are high, get back early.

[nelblu]

We were on the Brilliance in 2005 and tendered at Villafranche without any problems. A group of us on CC had organised a private tour around the area, visiting Monaco, Monte Carlo, Nice etc. and had a great time. After lunch we noticed the weather had turned a bit windy and rainy, but it didn't last too long.

 

Departure was at 8.00pm, but as we were returning to the port at 5.00pm we noticed the ship had departed and was already on the horizon. We then saw that the port was totally demolished with many boats (including the police boat) had been sunk and everything was totally trashed in the harbour. The weather we had encountered earlier in the day was in fact a mini tornedo at Villafranche, and so the Brilliance had to clear out for safety. Left behind were over 3,000 passengers and crew.

 

Over the next few hours we were informed that all the restaurants in the port had been instructed to feed and 'water' us (cost free to us) and that alternative arrangements were being made.

 

Finally they brought in over 60 buses from Italy and France and began a 4 hour shuttle service to Provence, where the ship was berthed. We were on the first bus and made it back to the ship at 1.30am and the last person to board was at 5am.

 

Full credit to RCI - we were safe and sound thanks to the horrendous logistical arrangements they would have had to incur.

 

We finally departed Provence and arrived in Livorno at 1.30pm the following day.

 

Just a different version...

 

Chris

 

We encountered one of those mini-tornado in Civitavecchia. The Serenade, broke free of it's mooring and was heading towards another RCL ship (?) docked across in the harbor. It was headed off by a large tug that prevented a catastrophe. Thank God no Pax were injured as it happened when most of them were on tours as the gangplanks fell into the Sea. The joke on the ship was that they lost both gangplanks and were never recovered.

 

It was a bad omen as the ship was interrupted about 2 hours out of Civitavecchia, when a general alarm was issued of a passenger falling into the water. Not to make the story long, but after 5-6 hours of searching it was determined that no one fell into the water. It was amazing that so many vessels/cruise ships in the near vicinity joined in the search. We could see the search unfold from our balcony cabin as we were ordered to our cabins so that they could control the passengers head count.