Most Marseille (Nice) Excursions Removed? Epic/Europe

[mal&jason]

So I went on to see if there were any new excursions for Marseilles for our Epic Med trip in September and all the excursions, save one, have been removed. The one that remains (Les Baux de Provence) has a price of $0 so I'm not sure if that's even going, either. Has anyone heard of a change in itinerary?

 

Thanks,

Mallory

[mal&jason]

I just called the NCL excursion line and they said they, too, did not see the excursions in their computers, but that "they may just be updating them." That would make sense given the recent attack. I would love to know if there is a change in itinerary, though, 62 days before the cruise!

[BreeYark]

The Nice excursions still show up for my Back-to-back cruise on the Epic, from August 28 to September 11.

 

I dropped my plans to visit Nice on my own, not from fear of another attack , but from fear that all the reinforced security measures could cause unpredictable transportation delays.

[DevCruise]

I just checked out Sept 7 Epic cruise and they're all still there for both of the France ports.

[BirdTravels]

I would not expect any major changes. Just because there was a mass shooting in Orlando, do you cancel all tours to Orlando or cancel all tours to Florida. Probably not.

[Chocolate Teapot]

I have just returned from the Epic sailing covering Bastille Day and had booked a tour of Nice and Monaco. All that happened was that our itinerary was changed to a full day in Monaco instead.

 

From what our guide said (she was there in Nice when the attack happened) the whole area around the seafront had been sealed off for police examinations, so the tours would not have been able to visit anyway. Apparently a ship due in the following day had cancelled its docking (and excursions) altogether.

 

I also noticed more police and armed soldiers patrolling public areas, particularly in Marseilles.

[mal&jason]

I have just returned from the Epic sailing covering Bastille Day and had booked a tour of Nice and Monaco. All that happened was that our itinerary was changed to a full day in Monaco instead.

 

From what our guide said (she was there in Nice when the attack happened) the whole area around the seafront had been sealed off for police examinations, so the tours would not have been able to visit anyway. Apparently a ship due in the following day had cancelled its docking (and excursions) altogether.

 

I also noticed more police and armed soldiers patrolling public areas, particularly in Marseilles.

 

Thank you for your response. I can imagine that was a little nervewracking? We had a private tour for Nice and Monaco but I think we'll make it Cannes and Monaco instead. Would you agree?

 

Thanks,

Mallory

[riclop]

So I went on to see if there were any new excursions for Marseilles for our Epic Med trip in September and all the excursions, save one, have been removed. The one that remains (Les Baux de Provence) has a price of $0 so I'm not sure if that's even going, either. Has anyone heard of a change in itinerary?

 

Thanks,

Mallory

 

Great and they should be.

[pspercy]

Thank you for your response. I can imagine that was a little nervewracking? We had a private tour for Nice and Monaco but I think we'll make it Cannes and Monaco instead. Would you agree?

 

Thanks,

Mallory

 

Or take a trip to "the country behind" (the coastline), St Paul de Vence, Tourettes Sur Loup and the like.

 

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

Edited July 20, 2016 by pspercy

[Chocolate Teapot]

Thank you for your response. I can imagine that was a little nervewracking? We had a private tour for Nice and Monaco but I think we'll make it Cannes and Monaco instead. Would you agree?

 

Thanks,

Mallory

 

It wasn't really nervewracking, but the news was not announced on the ship*. I only found out when assembling for the tour in the theatre and one of the excursions team was checking my ticket. His words were "After last night's terrorist attack, you will be going to Monaco and Monte Carlo instead of Nice." To which my reaction was "What?"

 

For some reason, I thought Monaco was quite close to Cannes, but it was about an hour's travel on the coach and it was very hot. The Casino is spectacular and well worth seeing and the old town around the palace is very charming.

 

*Normally there are several TVs in the public areas with rolling news channels, but these had all been switched off.

[mal&jason]

That's strange that the TVs were all turned off. I mean, I can understand them not announcing it over the PA but to specifically *avoid* its discovery is weird. Anyway, thank you for your responses. Did you enjoy the rest of your trip? What was your favorite/least favorite thing?

 

Mal

[Seininya]

Was also on the Epic last week, docked in Cannes the day after the attack. We did not know of the attack until seeing people'a chat posts. We bought tickets to Nice but it seemed like a lot of trains were delayed, so we went to Antibes instead (and wasted some euros as we paid for the fare to Nice). Antibes is fairly nice and quaint French town too.

 

The next day, in Marseille, as another poster have mentioned, at the train station, there were a lot more police presence.