Marseille help

[Mals1]

My family and I (Husband, 2 kids age 9 & 7) will be traveling on our first Mediterranean cruise in June. This is also our first trip to Europe and first cruise ever. I have figured out tours/excursion for every port except Marseille. I don't know what will best suit our family. I originally thought we would like to see Cassis and the calanques since I know my kids will be bored going to museums and churches. However, my 9 year old is obsessed with all things France, so I thought maybe we should go to Aix-en-Provence. After watching youtube videos, and reading what to do in Aix, I'm afraid my husband and other daughter would get bored. I have found tour companies that can combine both Aix and Cassis (thanks to all the Cruise Critic recs), but it would make our third long port day of our trip and I'm afraid it would tire out the kids too much. Marseille is our second to last port on our itinerary. We also have a long port day scheduled the following day in La Spezia. My other option is our ship (Oasis) has come out with a Cassis excursion that's 6 hours long, and it seems we have some time on our own to explore. Will we be able to fill the time in Cassis? If you've traveled with school aged kids, what worked for your family? This is at the end of our trip and I have no idea how tired we will already be. Thanks!

[Hlitner]

We all wish we had a crystal ball when it came to what works with kids :).   We have previously posted (elsewhere) that our DD (who was 9 at the time) loved simple things such as an ice cream/gelato break, Orangina break, etc.  And just when you think you know what will interest your kids, they will surprise you with an unexpected reaction.   What can you do in Cassis with time on your own?  Its a nice village where most folks will walk, browse shops, and perhaps stop for a snack or lunch.  Another option (we hope some others such as Euro Cruiser jump in on this idea) might be to simply stay in Marseille.  No, it is not a favorite place of ours or even on our top 100 places to visit in France.  But it would be an easy day, you could enjoy a nice lunch in the Old Port area, and take the kids on a boat ride over to the nearby Chateau d"If (Count of Monte Cristo fame).   None of this has the romance of going to a place like Aix, Casis, or even Avignon....but it does mean no long rides.  Get to town in the morning and take yourselves to the fish market (the kids will either think its cool or gross).  I believe there is still a petit train in Marseille so you can take them on that for a ride and the view from the higher elevations.

 

I want to again emphasize that Marseille is no a favorite destination ours and we seldom recommend it for cruisers.  But in your case it might be a very good compromise.

 

So come on Francophiles.  Jump in on this topic :).

 

Hank 

[marazul]

Here is a thread where I posted some info about visiting the Calanques and Chateau d"If by boat.  Cassis is in the middle of the Calanques.  There might also be boat excursions that take you to Cassis by boat so you can spend a little time there and show you a couple of the Calanques along the way.    

There are a number of casual restaurants along the Cassis port that would be a good choice with kids.

 

[mkaalong]

On ‎2‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 2:45 PM, Mals1 said:

My family and I (Husband, 2 kids age 9 & 7) will be traveling on our first Mediterranean cruise in June. This is also our first trip to Europe and first cruise ever. I have figured out tours/excursion for every port except Marseille. I don't know what will best suit our family. I originally thought we would like to see Cassis and the calanques since I know my kids will be bored going to museums and churches. However, my 9 year old is obsessed with all things France, so I thought maybe we should go to Aix-en-Provence. After watching youtube videos, and reading what to do in Aix, I'm afraid my husband and other daughter would get bored. I have found tour companies that can combine both Aix and Cassis (thanks to all the Cruise Critic recs), but it would make our third long port day of our trip and I'm afraid it would tire out the kids too much. Marseille is our second to last port on our itinerary. We also have a long port day scheduled the following day in La Spezia. My other option is our ship (Oasis) has come out with a Cassis excursion that's 6 hours long, and it seems we have some time on our own to explore. Will we be able to fill the time in Cassis? If you've traveled with school aged kids, what worked for your family? This is at the end of our trip and I have no idea how tired we will already be. Thanks! 

Hi!  We are a family of 5 travelling on the Oasis in June too!  If you feel like sharing, I would love to see your excursions for each port that you are using?  Our first trip to Europe, but not our first cruise though.  We are also spending time before and after in other France/Spain cities, so that has taken up a lot of my time planning...so I am just starting our ports  😉

 

The only one that I am getting ready to book is in Mallorca, I found a company called Explora Mallocora!  

[biffco]

Family of 4 with two older teens (19 and 15) sailing in August on the Oasis.  Definitely much more difficult planning excursions on these Med cruises.  So far we have a mix of ship-based and private excursions, but nothing for Marseille either.  Our itinerary so far:

 

Mallorca - Caves of Drach (RC excursion) + tour Palma on our own

Marseille - Nothing yet, but looking ideas!

La Spezia - Private boat charter of the Cinque Terre

Rome - Private car service - Rome on our own

Naples - Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius (RC excursion)

 

Any great ideas for Marseille would be appreciated!

 

Rob

 

[Mals1]

Thank you for Marseille help replies! I will take advice and use this as an easy day. After some internet searching, it seems the Cassis tour is pretty easy through RC and I will look into boat rides to see the calanques. A leisurely day in a charming town sounds good to me!

 

mkaalong, we are staying in Rome a couple nights before our cruise and for one night after. We have tours booked through Rome Private Guides: one private Colosseum tour/Roman Forum and a small group Early Vatican Tour. There were many recommended tours and tour companies to choose from based off Cruise Critic and just picked one that best fit our needs and budget.

For our Naples port, we are going on the RC Taste of Sorrento tour. I thought stopping at the farmhouse and seeing how they make olive oil and mozzarella along with tasting seemed interesting for the kids. Then we go to Sorrento and guided tour of Pompeii last. It is 8 hours. While I would love to see the Amalfi Coast, I think 8 hours about all they can handle after our busy days in Rome. It seems the tours including Pompeii and Amalfi Coast was 10 hours at least. They kids really want to see Pompeii as do I so this tour is a compromise. 

In Barcelona, I've signed up for a half day tour with Barcelona Day Tours based off recommendations here. It seems to hit all the highlights and we have some time to wander around by ourselves once the tour is over. The full day tour included Montserrat and I thought that was pushing it for us. I was going to tour this city on our own, but the rates were reasonable and I chickened out being my family's sole tour guide in a city I've never been to. 😉

I've chosen a beach day for Palma de Mallorca. I struggled with seeing sights but ultimately I think a relaxing beach day with wandering around would be best for us.

Marseille I'm still struggling with, but I feel like just going to Cassis is a great fit. RC recently came out with an excursion to Cassis I'm thinking of doing that's not too long.  I have also been in contact with a recommended tour company that would see Aix, Cassis and Marseille, but the tours are 8 hours long. The company was Italytours.eu and they were very prompt in replying back to me. If I change my mind, I would chose them. 

In our final port La Spezia, I'm using Umberto CT tours. My kids really want to climb the Pisa tower, and I want to see just a little bit of Cinque Terre since I'm missing the Amalfi Coast. None of the RC tours fit what my compromise, and I was too nervous to try to figure out the train/bus schedule so I booked through them. I also looked at Bella Italia tours and Papillon based off suggestions from here. Papillon does other ports as well. All three seemed like good tour companies and had good response times to my emails. 

 

Sorry for the long winded response!

[marazul]

biffco-

Older teens would enjoy an excursion to Les Baux and Avignon.  

For something active, the boat trip to the Calanques with swimming would be good.  However, you are doing a private boat charter of Cinqueterre the next port, so go for something different.  Les Baux and Avignon are beautiful places and nothing like they have seen before.  If possible, do a private excursion rather than the ship's. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by marazul

[mkaalong]

All-this is SO helpful!!!  Such good starting points for my research.

 

Biffco (Rob)-I agree, planning for this cruise has been more challenging than I thought, so all the tips and ideas are appreciated by all!  We have 2 older teens also (2 boys, 18 & 15) on this trip with us  🙂

 

Mals1-THANKS for sharing your port ideas...and no need to apologize!!  I will save ALL that info!! 

 

Kristina  🙂

[biffco]

23 hours ago, marazul said:

biffco-

Older teens would enjoy an excursion to Les Baux and Avignon.  

For something active, the boat trip to the Calanques with swimming would be good.  However, you are doing a private boat charter of Cinqueterre the next port, so go for something different.  Les Baux and Avignon are beautiful places and nothing like they have seen before.  If possible, do a private excursion rather than the ship's. 

 

Thanks marazul...will definitely look into private Les Baux and Avignon tours

 

Kristina...enjoy your trip!

 

Rob

[abanks75]

I have 2 kids (9,12) and have been going through what to do at Marseille. It's our last stop for a 10 night cruise so I know everyone will be tired by then so not sure a full day tour would work. I too considered Les Baux. It looks awesome...just not sure we are up for all of the driving and a full day. I think we may do a boat trip to see the Calanques. You may want to check into Bleu Evasion if this sounds like something you may like. We will most likely do the morning 1/2 day tour from Port Veiux and then walk around and check out the city. Just trying to keep our last day low key. Happy Planning!!! :)

[LondonTowner]

In Marseille from the Vieux Port you can take a ferry boat which goes to Chateau D’If ( Count of Montecristo) and on to Ile de Froulle. The boats run frequently and I think the fare was only about €11 return. We had a delicious lunch and took a boat back. I think you may be able to hire bikes.

[Mals1]

Thanks for the tips abanks75 & LondonTowner! I am currently looking into your suggestions!

[LipstickLeslie]

Great thread. This stop has been the hardest for me to figure out. We're a family of three teens - 13, 15 and 17 on Oasis in July (I wish some of you were on my cruise). We've decided to book our own private tour/van to go to Arles and Les Baux. We are either going with https://www.provence-travel.com/ or www.facebook.com/simonsaysprovencetours/ both look pretty good - about 550 Euro for a van/guide for the day. 

 

We're doing Cinque terre on our own, with the train/bus/walking pass. In Rome we booked our private with "Can't Be Missed Tours" so we could do both inside the coliseum and Vatican and in Naples we're doing the Pompeii, Sorrento and Ammalfi coast with www.italytours.eu. In Palme we hired a catamaran for 4 hours (we're also with our parents, so we a group of 9 people total, makes it easier to split up costs for private tours). We'll spend 3 days in Barcelona before the cruise, then afterwards we take the train to Paris for 3 days. It's our first trip to Europe too and I feel like I'm spending HOURS and HOURS researching and booking things.

 

Thanks everyone for sharing, it's nice to read what others are doing with kids!

[mkaalong]

22 hours ago, LipstickLeslie said:

Great thread. This stop has been the hardest for me to figure out. We're a family of three teens - 13, 15 and 17 on Oasis in July (I wish some of you were on my cruise). We've decided to book our own private tour/van to go to Arles and Les Baux. We are either going with https://www.provence-travel.com/ or www.facebook.com/simonsaysprovencetours/ both look pretty good - about 550 Euro for a van/guide for the day. 

 

We're doing Cinque terre on our own, with the train/bus/walking pass. In Rome we booked our private with "Can't Be Missed Tours" so we could do both inside the coliseum and Vatican and in Naples we're doing the Pompeii, Sorrento and Ammalfi coast with www.italytours.eu. In Palme we hired a catamaran for 4 hours (we're also with our parents, so we a group of 9 people total, makes it easier to split up costs for private tours). We'll spend 3 days in Barcelona before the cruise, then afterwards we take the train to Paris for 3 days. It's our first trip to Europe too and I feel like I'm spending HOURS and HOURS researching and booking things.

 

Thanks everyone for sharing, it's nice to read what others are doing with kids!

sounds familiar and some fun excursions!!  This is our first trip to Europe, and we are also going to Barcelona, Paris, and a few other cities to watch some women's World Cup games before/after our cruise.  I AGREE...I feel like planning this trip has been a part-time job since January  🙂  We have 2 boys (18, 15), me, hubbie and my mom...5 total in our group.  Trying to plan some adventurous things in conjunction with ALL the sight-seeing  🙂 And trying to book varying shorter days mixed with longer days.

 

Here are our ports:

Mallorca-Explora Mallorca-it's an adventure excursion of coasteering 

Marseille-looking at L'Eden boat...great reviews of a private boat company that will take you to see the calanques and swimming

Florence-might just do a short trip to Pisa via a shuttle bus or something

Rome-full day with italytours.eu

Naples-tour of Pompeii with MondoTours (we need to provide our own transportation there).  Recommended by Rick Steves.

 

Another tip for Barcelona...we are using Runnerbean tours for 2 walking tours.  Found the suggestion on a Facebook group.  They have great reviews...we are doing the Gothic Walking tour & a night time one...fun!!

 

[LipstickLeslie]

On 4/11/2019 at 7:22 PM, mkaalong said:

 

 

Another tip for Barcelona...we are using Runnerbean tours for 2 walking tours.  Found the suggestion on a Facebook group.  They have great reviews...we are doing the Gothic Walking tour & a night time one...fun!!

 

 Thanks for the walking tour ideas in Barcelona, the night tour sounds really fun! What else are you doing there? Since this our first trip to Europe, trying to figure out a rough schedule for the first few days has been tough for me. I arrive at 8am and have to wait until 1pm to check into our AirB&B, not sure what to do with that time. I hope the next day everyone will be ready for a full day tour. Then the following I'm thinking of a chocolate tour I found on airB&B (my kids really want to do a food tour but most are expensive and include alcohol:  https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/169232?location=Barcelona%2C%20Spain&checkin=2019-07-03&checkout=2019-07-07&adults=9&source=p2¤tTab=all_tab&searchId=16db6edf-dab6-407b-859a-be641614dcac&federatedSearchId=908a04d4-010e-4c4e-811b-38f86087b6f3§ionId=cc24540b-102a-4836-8b8e-9f82734f210f )

I'm also thinking some beach time since my youngest LOVES playing in the sand still (age 13).

 

This is a great thread! Thanks everyone.

[mkaalong]

26 minutes ago, LipstickLeslie said:

 Thanks for the walking tour ideas in Barcelona, the night tour sounds really fun! What else are you doing there? Since this our first trip to Europe, trying to figure out a rough schedule for the first few days has been tough for me. I arrive at 8am and have to wait until 1pm to check into our AirB&B, not sure what to do with that time. I hope the next day everyone will be ready for a full day tour. Then the following I'm thinking of a chocolate tour I found on airB&B (my kids really want to do a food tour but most are expensive and include alcohol:  https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/169232?location=Barcelona%2C%20Spain&checkin=2019-07-03&checkout=2019-07-07&adults=9&source=p2¤tTab=all_tab&searchId=16db6edf-dab6-407b-859a-be641614dcac&federatedSearchId=908a04d4-010e-4c4e-811b-38f86087b6f3§ionId=cc24540b-102a-4836-8b8e-9f82734f210f )

I'm also thinking some beach time since my youngest LOVES playing in the sand still (age 13).

 

This is a great thread! Thanks everyone.

We will only be in Barcelona an evening and a full day.  I received ideas from Rick Steves Barcelona guidebook, Facebook groups (there is one that is called Travel Fashion Girls that is SO helpful!) and just some general research.

 

So evening we are doing the Runnerbean night tour...and then next day is...

morning-Sagrada Tour (get tickets in advance)

early afternoon-Camp Nou (we are a big soccer family)

late afternoon-Runnerbean Gothic Tour

evening-walk around, Citadel Park, Chocolate Museum, La Boqueria Market..who knows??  Keeping this open  🙂

 

I've heard Barcelona is an amazing city!  I've heard food tours are awesome and the beach is cool too  🙂  That chocolate tour sounds fun!!

[prish]

Another thumbs up for Runnerbeans, they have free walking tours which are excellent. Should try the night one too next year when we’re in Barcelona...😊

[LipstickLeslie]

Any chance any of you are in Marseille on Tue July 9th? We will be hiring 2 vans to see Arles and les Baux for a tour and have room for 7 more people. Our group is 9 people and each van only holds 8 people, so it would be nice to have another group join us to help keep the price lower. Just message me if you have any interest.

[cruise_co]

On 3/6/2019 at 9:26 AM, biffco said:

Family of 4 with two older teens (19 and 15) sailing in August on the Oasis.  Definitely much more difficult planning excursions on these Med cruises.  So far we have a mix of ship-based and private excursions, but nothing for Marseille either.  Our itinerary so far:

 

Mallorca - Caves of Drach (RC excursion) + tour Palma on our own

Marseille - Nothing yet, but looking ideas!

La Spezia - Private boat charter of the Cinque Terre

Rome - Private car service - Rome on our own

Naples - Pompeii & Mt. Vesuvius (RC excursion)

 

Any great ideas for Marseille would be appreciated!

 

Rob

 

We are also doing Oasis in August, starting from Rome.  We are a family of 6, 2 parents and 3 adult children + 1 spouse. 

 

We have several days in Rome pre-cruise and we have booked Rome Cab Transfer for all airport/cruise transfers and tours. He was recommended to us by Ciro (Taxi Mr Cab driver Naples.) We are doing the regular tourist attractions + a tour of the "Snow White" castle and some foodie stops outside of Rome.

 

Naples - private tour with (Taxi Mr Cab driver Naples) doing Pompeii, Positano, Sorrento

 

Barcelona - was just there so doing half day Montserrat through RC

 

Palma - just going to the beach as a break from all the touring

 

Marseille - Avignon via RC

 

Florence - Historical tour through RC

 

 

[mousefan73]

On 2/24/2019 at 9:45 PM, Mals1 said:

My family and I (Husband, 2 kids age 9 & 7) will be traveling on our first Mediterranean cruise in June. This is also our first trip to Europe and first cruise ever. I have figured out tours/excursion for every port except Marseille. I don't know what will best suit our family. I originally thought we would like to see Cassis and the calanques since I know my kids will be bored going to museums and churches. However, my 9 year old is obsessed with all things France, so I thought maybe we should go to Aix-en-Provence. After watching youtube videos, and reading what to do in Aix, I'm afraid my husband and other daughter would get bored. I have found tour companies that can combine both Aix and Cassis (thanks to all the Cruise Critic recs), but it would make our third long port day of our trip and I'm afraid it would tire out the kids too much. Marseille is our second to last port on our itinerary. We also have a long port day scheduled the following day in La Spezia. My other option is our ship (Oasis) has come out with a Cassis excursion that's 6 hours long, and it seems we have some time on our own to explore. Will we be able to fill the time in Cassis? If you've traveled with school aged kids, what worked for your family? This is at the end of our trip and I have no idea how tired we will already be. Thanks!

Hi, just found this thread.. We are also on the Oasis Departing rome on June 12th.. I am trying to figure out what to do in Marseille.. We are family of 4 with a 14 and 12 year old. We avoid any tours as we can do the same for a lot less on our own. I am trying to decide on either Aix or Cassis. both are reachable super easy with the Train. we are most likely only doing one of those and maybe a bit of walk in Marseille. the point is we would prefer to make this day a semi "sea" day and get back on the ship by 3.30  or 4 latest. Ship leaves at pm.. I am more leaning to Cassis as it offers more scenery wise... we live in Germany so quaint european villages (AIX) we see all the time. 

[Lisichka]

On 4/18/2019 at 3:55 AM, mousefan73 said:

Hi, just found this thread.. We are also on the Oasis Departing rome on June 12th.. I am trying to figure out what to do in Marseille.. We are family of 4 with a 14 and 12 year old. We avoid any tours as we can do the same for a lot less on our own. I am trying to decide on either Aix or Cassis. both are reachable super easy with the Train. we are most likely only doing one of those and maybe a bit of walk in Marseille. the point is we would prefer to make this day a semi "sea" day and get back on the ship by 3.30  or 4 latest. Ship leaves at pm.. I am more leaning to Cassis as it offers more scenery wise... we live in Germany so quaint european villages (AIX) we see all the time. 

I think our cruise leaves on the 13th, not the 12th.

We also are looking for ideas for Marseille.

[georgiacrzr]

We had the best day with Simon says yours out of marseille 

 

We had the best day with Simon!  It was so easy to find him as we came off our cruise ship.  He took us around beautiful areas of Provence.  Aix en Provence had some great shopping and we ate some delicious croissants and pastries.  He then took us to the beautiful town of Cassis where we toured around and had a magnificent lunch and Cassis wine.  We went up to the Caps Canaille that had a gorgeous view. We    stopped at the Notre Dame de la Gare Basilica, and showed us interesting parts of Marseilles.

Simon is smart, funny and a pleasure to be with.

Simon is good was great with both my dad and my kids.

I was so impressed with this area and could totally see coming back and spending more time here.

 

You will be happy with Simon!

 

Simon has a Facebook page - Simon says Provence tours 

 

he also has a nice van that comfortably fit 7 of us