Excursion advise for Cannes & Marseilles France

[Wawa18]

Hello all:

 

We are cruising on the EPIC in September(Western Mediterranean out of Barcelona) and basically have our excursion company/tours picked out for the stops in Italy.

However, I am at a loss for Cannes & Marseilles. I did look at NCL and we really would like to look at other tours before we make our decision. I know that Cannes is a tender port and may go with NCL only because it makes transfers smoother.

 

Really interested in seeing Eze.

 

Thank You

 

Sherry

[Loonbeam]

I would recommend checking out the France port of call forum.

 

That said, are you looking for small group or more large scale excursions? We had an amazing guide in Cannes and split 8 ways via roll call she was quite reasonable!

[Wawa18]

Prefer smaller groups probably 20 or less. I think we are going with "can't be missed tours" in Italy. Looked into Italytoursharing.com but even with up to 16 passengers the price was steep. We are not going on the cheap but I value my dollar. Love to do walking tours more than sitting looking out a window all day but a mix is great. I will check out the France port of call forum. Thank you Loonbeam.

Edited May 30, 2016 by Wawa18

[BamaVol]

We had OBC to burn so took the ship's Highlights of Marseille and Avignon tour. I would have skipped the highlights portion (basically the basilica on the hill) and used those 2 hours in Avignon. We had 2 hours there, which was about enough time to eat a nice lunch and get lost.

 

We rode the little train, a 55 minute circuit of Cannes for 10 euros each. You see the whole town in that time. Then we ate lunch. If I were doing it over, I would have tried an excursion into Provence. I'm pretty sure others in our roll call were organizing such.

[Loonbeam]

Bear in mind tours in Europe are expensive partly just due to the price of gas and cost of living. That said, we did shares with RomeInLimo in all 3 Italy ports and were incredibly pleased. The average, with tip was about 80 euros pp, which was comparable with ship pricing for the larger groups. There is a huge thread about them in the Italy forum and they offer a toursharing site you can see if others are looking for people.

 

In Cannes, we used Sylvie DiCristo and I can't recommend her highly enough. She took us to a neat mix of out of the way and tourist places (one place, Les Haut du Cannes, I am pretty sure we were the only people on our ship to see and it was gorgeous...

 

Note the lack of toursist (or anybody) below:

 

 

Her pricing was similar to RomeInLimo, we did have to find our own shares (ended up with a party of 8).

 

One thing I loved about both of them was they were able to adapt to conditions, switching schedules, etc to maximize the experience, plus in several cases, what we saved on food alone helped cut the costs (for example, in Florence our driver Vittorio took us to this little place in the basement of a shop. Full meals, delicious, 8 euros INCLUDING wine, where near the Accademia for example, a sandwich and coke was 20 euros.)

 

Sylvie's web site is here: http://www.frenchrivieraguides.net/what-do-people-say-about-us-sylvie-di-cristo.html

 

I seriously would not use anyone else in Cannes...

[TruckerDave]

We had OBC to burn so took the ship's Highlights of Marseille and Avignon tour. I would have skipped the highlights portion (basically the basilica on the hill) and used those 2 hours in Avignon. We had 2 hours there, which was about enough time to eat a nice lunch and get lost.

 

We rode the little train, a 55 minute circuit of Cannes for 10 euros each. You see the whole town in that time. Then we ate lunch. If I were doing it over, I would have tried an excursion into Provence. I'm pretty sure others in our roll call were organizing such.

 

 

I did the same tour in Marseille and Avignon...we were able to get to Avignon quck and were the first bus there. Got to see the city waking up as most places were still closed when we got there. it was pretty cool. The Marseille part was, mehhh to me. The church on the hill was really crowded when we got there and Marseille didn't have the charm of Avignon.

[TruckerDave]

Now that the grand prix is over don't forget Monaco. If you want to see an enormous amount of wealth (boats and cars) and dream of what might be it is a pretty cool place to visit.

[Loonbeam]

I can't recall what the days are but note that the Casino (the big draw) is closed some days (it was the day we were there which is why we bypassed Monaco), and there is also a fee to get in some areas I believe. From what other pax said, Monaco is more of a get transport to and go on own type of location.

 

Now that the grand prix is over don't forget Monaco. If you want to see an enormous amount of wealth (boats and cars) and dream of what might be it is a pretty cool place to visit.

[pspercy]

For Cannes/ Nice, if you want to stay on the coast Antibes is nice, yacht harbour with some seriously large craft, Picasso museum, cafes etc. Otherwise go inland ten or fifteen miles, St Paul de Vence & Fondation Maeght, Tourrettes sur Loup etc, lovely places.

 

http://www.beyond.fr/villages/vence-provence-france.html

Edited May 31, 2016 by pspercy

[Wawa18]

If we could get a shared small tour that would be perfect. Will check the suggestions out. 80€ is a great price for a shared Limo if you have a group. Will search for this set up if I can find it.

[em-sk]

For Cannes, one option is to just do it on your own. The tender docks in the marina in Cannes. There is a beach to one side and if you walk down the street in the other direction you end up in the centre of town. Lots of small shops, restaurants, beach front, plazas etc. If your other stops have been very structured tours, having a day to do your own thing can be refreshing. In addition to the regular tourist shops, there are regular department stores and every-day shops.

 

As far as the tenders go, if you want to get off early, you can reserve a specific tender. By mid-morning you just show up and don't need a reservation. The run back and forth all day.

 

If you want to venture beyond the centre of Cannes, then Monaco is the place to go if you want to see casinos and how the rich live. That is short train ride from Cannes if you fell confident to take the train on your own. Personally I am not a big fan of Monaco. Otherwise there is the tours.

 

For the Marseille stop I would say Avignon is a must see. It is a bit of bus ride to get there. Buses get you close but can't get into the old part of the city so it very much a walking tour. Avignon was the centre of the catholic church before the Vatican. It a very interesting place to visit but a guide to explain the story behind the building is ideal.

Edited May 31, 2016 by em-sk

[jewelmick]

When are you going Wawa? We sail on July 10th. I am having a bit of a rough time with Cannes and Marseille too.

 

The one tour with NCL we like for Cannes seems like too much walking...the Cannes walk with monastery wine tasting. So I think we will just stroll around Cannes (seems to be an easy and convenient) and maybe take a ferry over to Île Sainte-Marguerite. I have read ferries run every half our or so and cost 15euros.

 

Marseille we are going with the ship tour for Les Baux. Our big/long days are Rome and Naples...so these two ports are recovery days. We still want to see stuff, but a more laid back pace.

[Badger-Badger]

We used Tour Designers (Provence-travel.com) and did an all day tour to the villages of the Luberon out of Marseilles. It was a wonderful day and we ran into virtually no other tourists other than a couple dozen in Roussillon. And you can chose how many of the towns you want to visit to make it as slow paced or as busy as you want. Eating lunch on the grounds of a 14th century church overlooking the rooftops of Bonnieux was a highlight of our whole

trip. It's not cheap, but it was worth the cost for us to get away.

 

We came into Villefranche so I have no ideas on Cannes. We just used public transport to visit Nice and Monaco - which was an adventure since there as a train strike going on that week!

 

 

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Edited May 31, 2016 by Badger-Badger

[Victress2007]

Several years ago we did a private wine tasting with 2 other couples. The tour was one we could just join, we didn't have to put it together on the roll call. It was wonderful!

 

 

 

We went to 3 vineyards, had an overlook photo stop and had lunch in a small village (on our own). It was a great trip.

 

 

Vic

[luv2gonow]

SHip docks right in town.

Easy port to just walk around by the water and look at the shops and have a nice lunch.

Happy planning

[Wawa18]

When are you going Wawa? We sail on July 10th. I am having a bit of a rough time with Cannes and Marseille too.

 

The one tour with NCL we like for Cannes seems like too much walking...the Cannes walk with monastery wine tasting. So I think we will just stroll around Cannes (seems to be an easy and convenient) and maybe take a ferry over to Île Sainte-Marguerite. I have read ferries run every half our or so and cost 15euros.

 

Marseille we are going with the ship tour for Les Baux. Our big/long days are Rome and Naples...so these two ports are recovery days. We still want to see stuff, but a more laid back pace.

 

Jewelmick,

 

We are going September 18th and can't wait. We were also thinking a little more low key but worried we'll miss something haha. Well probably need a vaca to recover from our vaca. Still debating tours..it's safe to do NCL but their itinerary not totally what I'm looking for...we will see. Give me a shout out when you get back with your suggestions 🗼🗼🗼

[Wawa18]

Several years ago we did a private wine tasting with 2 other couples. The tour was one we could just join, we didn't have to put it together on the roll call. It was wonderful!

 

 

 

We went to 3 vineyards, had an overlook photo stop and had lunch in a small village (on our own). It was a great trip.

 

 

Vic

 

How did you find the tour you could join without the roll call? The pics are great and I luv wine. Sherry

[Loonbeam]

This is the site for RIL tourshare..

 

http://romeinlimotoursharing.com/

 

We organized via roll call then used this to get signups and fill out groups.

 

When we did it in 2012, it was 500 Euros for a van that held up to 8, I would recommend 6 or 7 for comfort for the smaller vans used in Amalfi coast, if thats under consideration.

 

If you set up Rome, ask for Maurizio and let them find a Vatican guide for you. Ours was amazing.

[4774Papa]

For Cannes, there is usually a tour that includes some fascinating places like St. Paul de Venice, which is a wonderful place to visit.

 

Other choices are Monaco,

 

For Marseilles, do not stay in that city. Go to Avignon and Aix in Provence. We did an excursion that took in both cities from Marseilles.

[Victress2007]

How did you find the tour you could join without the roll call? The pics are great and I luv wine. Sherry

 

Search Provence Wine Tours. I'm not sure it was that exact name, but they get good reviews from tripadvisor.

 

Vic

[Wawa18]

This is the site for RIL tourshare..

 

http://romeinlimotoursharing.com/

 

We organized via roll call then used this to get signups and fill out groups.

 

When we did it in 2012, it was 500 Euros for a van that held up to 8, I would recommend 6 or 7 for comfort for the smaller vans used in Amalfi coast, if thats under consideration.

 

If you set up Rome, ask for Maurizio and let them find a Vatican guide for you. Ours was amazing.

 

We really want a knowledgeable guide do you get this with the shared Limo tours. If all they are doing is driving around I'm a little concerned. If the driver is knowledgeable or they have a guide with them it's great.

[Badger-Badger]

Rome in Limo is wonderful and the guides very engaging and knowledgable. We used them in Rome and out of Naples for a trip to the Amalfi Coast. The name is misleading; they are not just drivers!

 

 

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