Cannes Embarkation

[Frankmac]

We are considering a cruise on Seaview in September, starting in Cannes, France.

Just wondering is embarkation done through a tendering process ?

Edited March 8, 2019 by Frankmac

[Fostelo]

I have the same cruise booked in October and was wondering the same thing 😊

[Frankmac]

Well it seems that if you arrive there as a stop on your cruise, you have to tender off the ship, so I'm inclining to the belief that you have to do the same for embarkation.

[Hlitner]

If your cruise truly embarks from Cannes (and not another city/port in the region) you will definitely need to tender to your vessel.  Cannes does not have any pier capable of handling a cruise ship.  Just make sure to verify, with your cruise line, exactly where you are supposed to go for embarkation.  It is unusual (but not unheard of) to use a tender port as a major embarkation place since it becomes a logistical nightmare.  The normal tender dock in Cannes is located on the Quai du Large at the Vieux Port (old port).  

 

Hank

[Frankmac]

Thanks for that Hank. Would make me think twice, or even more, about booking that cruise. Sounds horrendous.

[SeaSunset22]

The Seaview is embarking in Cannes this year and Hlitner is correct it is from Quai du Large. 

I have booked it and the more I think about it the more I am worrying !!! 

I have asked on several forums re people with previous experience of embarking in Cannes. To date nobody has ever replied......I am hoping once the season starts someone will be able to comment.

I keep having images of climbing up rope ladders with my suitcase strapped to my back !😂

[Captain-John]

I wouldn't imagine boarding by tender is that much of a problem. The tenders are relatively large vessels. I'm sure the crew will assist with loading and securing luggage, so you won't have that to contend with. I imagine they'd have to separate you from your luggage to security screen it anyway.

 

What may be a problem is if the weather is inclement and the ship can't operate the tenders at all/they Cannes altogether. Not sure how they would handle that other than transport you to the next port.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Captain-John

[SeaSunset22]

21 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

I wouldn't imagine boarding by tender is that much of a problem. The tenders are relatively large vessels. I'm sure the crew will assist with loading and securing luggage, so you won't have that to contend with. I imagine they'd have to separate you from your luggage to security screen it anyway.

 

What may be a problem is if the weather is inclement and the ship can't operate the tenders at all/they Cannes altogether. Not sure how they would handle that other than transport you to the next port.

Yes I thought of that as well. The next port is Mallorca so that should be interesting ! 

I did wonder if they might go to Marseille or Toulon and transport us there. Really hoping that I will not find out.

Thanks for your reassurance re embarking.

[hamrag]

2 hours ago, Captain-John said:

I wouldn't imagine boarding by tender is that much of a problem. The tenders are relatively large vessels. I'm sure the crew will assist with loading and securing luggage, so you won't have that to contend with. I imagine they'd have to separate you from your luggage to security screen it anyway.

 

What may be a problem is if the weather is inclement and the ship can't operate the tenders at all/they Cannes altogether. Not sure how they would handle that other than transport you to the next port.

 

I agree, and would expect dedicated tenders for embarking passengers....fully crewed to handle luggage i.e. you board the tender, and do not require to handle luggage from that point!

[bigilla]

12 hours ago, SeaSunset22 said:

The Seaview is embarking in Cannes this year and Hlitner is correct it is from Quai du Large. 

 

We will be cruising on the Seaview in July and one of the ports to visit is indeed Cannes. Does the ship stop at Quai du Large , from Quai Laubeuf or the new Gare Maritime please? We would like to do a tour on the Petite Train and would like to know whether we can reach its starting point on foot from where the tender boats leaves us. Thanks in advance.

[Captain-John]

1 hour ago, bigilla said:

We will be cruising on the Seaview in July and one of the ports to visit is indeed Cannes. Does the ship stop at Quai du Large , from Quai Laubeuf or the new Gare Maritime please? We would like to do a tour on the Petite Train and would like to know whether we can reach its starting point on foot from where the tender boats leaves us. Thanks in advance.

 

Cannes is a very walkable place. Unless you have mobility issues, it's a 10 minute walk around the harbour (Le Vieux Port) from one drop off point to another. As the train boarding point is so close to the Gare Maritime I'd figure a maximum 20 minute walk (at a very leisurely pace) if you end being dropped off at Quai du Large/Quai Laubeuf.

[bigilla]

11 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

 

Cannes is a very walkable place. Unless you have mobility issues, it's a 10 minute walk around the harbour (Le Vieux Port) from one drop off point to another. As the train boarding point is so close to the Gare Maritime I'd figure a maximum 20 minute walk (at a very leisurely pace) if you end being dropped off at Quai du Large/Quai Laubeuf.

Thank you very much for your helpful answer. We dont have mobility issues, so it will be nice to go for a walk as well. 🤗

[Hlitner]

19 hours ago, Captain-John said:

I wouldn't imagine boarding by tender is that much of a problem. The tenders are relatively large vessels. I'm sure the crew will assist with loading and securing luggage, so you won't have that to contend with. I imagine they'd have to separate you from your luggage to security screen it anyway.

 

What may be a problem is if the weather is inclement and the ship can't operate the tenders at all/they Cannes altogether. Not sure how they would handle that other than transport you to the next port.

I guess that 40+ years of extensive cruising experience makes me more skeptical :).  At best, tender operations have their issues...especially on larger ships where thousands of passengers must be moved back and forth.  You are dealing with some folks that have mobility issues, people who are not sure-footed, sometimes folks that get seasick on the tenders, etc.  The crew on most cruise ships are well-trained in how to conduct tender operations and assist those in need.  But now you add to that a certain number of passengers who are disembarking along with embarking passengers...mixed with thousands of others who are simply enjoying a port day.  And then you have the extra issue and delays associated with moving lots of luggage on and off tenders and properly securing the items (you cannot have luggage flying around if the tender hits a wave or swell.  

 

Another issue at Cannes is that there is no port terminal building (like at most major embarkation ports) and the waiting area is not well suited to a large crowd.   This means making some temporary preparations (such as a tent) which could be further complicated if the weather does not cooperate.   We look forward to reading the posts of folks who actually experience the process.  Would we take such a cruise?  Absolutely :).  But DW and I are somewhat adventurous.

 

By the way, looking at the itinerary....getting passengers to the next port (if necessary) would be a challenge.  One of those ports is Palma!

 

Hank

[capitalbarry]

Did this embarkation in Cannes in 2016, WAS horrendous …. Worst port to embark.. a lot  of stairs , up and down, no help what so ever from anybody. Very limited for any passengers to get to and from the tender to ship... I would avoid embarkation here, would go to Geno , Italy instead ….

[iwtobek]

Bumping this old thread up, as we are considering booking a YC cruise from Cannes. We already had a cruise on another line stop in Cannes, but that was not our embarkation point, so we're not sure about how MSC deals with this.

 

Those who did embark from there, was it as painful as previous poster on this thread imagined?

Do you recall if there was a dedicated Yacht Club/Diamond cruisers desk?

Do we have to think about bringing an umbrella just in case? 

Do we have to bring all of our cases with us on the tender boat? (Hopefully not)

Can we bring unlimited carry-on with us? (Hopefully so)

 

Thanks fellow cruisers for your feedbacks!

[iwtobek]

Bumping once again, we booked from Cannes. Hopefully will post some more info soon for the needy few cruising from here.

 

One quick question if anyone remembers: our ticket shows a port arrival time at 14:30. The boat drops anchor at 8:30 and we're sailing YC. We'd rather board earlier but, we would like to rule out the possibility that MSC has no crew to handle luggage before 14:30.

 

What do you think? what would you do?

[sealynx]

I haven't done boarding in Cannes, but I did see it happen when it was a port of call on my cruise from Genua. The ship didn't use its own tenders, but a vast fleet of local ships was operating a constant shuttle service. (Dis)embarking passengers had their own dedicated ships, and apart from that barges were used for luggage. Also a dedicated part of the quay was used for these passengers, but don't expect crowds since most passengers will board in different ports.

I don't know how to answer your question though, sorry. Crew handling luggage shouldn't be a problem though, since they can save luggage up on the quay for later. In most ports its not a problem to come early. If I were you, I'd give it a shot. Worst case scenario is that you'll have to wait a little longer while in Cannes, for which I would find a nice little park or spot on the beach and make it a pick nick with one or more cruise ships on the horizon.

[perakcruiser]

On 9/4/2022 at 11:57 AM, iwtobek said:

Bumping once again, we booked from Cannes. Hopefully will post some more info soon for the needy few cruising from here.

 

One quick question if anyone remembers: our ticket shows a port arrival time at 14:30. The boat drops anchor at 8:30 and we're sailing YC. We'd rather board earlier but, we would like to rule out the possibility that MSC has no crew to handle luggage before 14:30.

 

What do you think? what would you do?

I boarded in Cannes and liked it. Walking distance from the train station and much smaller crowds. Certainly the process to start the boarding takes longer than normal, so even with a YC booking I would not show up at 9 or so. Waiting there is ugly as there is nothing, maybe also no YC facilities landside. But you also don´t need to wait until 14:30, something in the middle should be fine. 

Edited September 5, 2022 by perakcruiser

[Hlitner]

I am puzzled by a few of the posts.  The only place we have ever tendered in Cannes is at the old port area which is near the marina and Radisson Blu.  It’s is very close to a parKing lot (Laubeuf).  This is about 1 mile from the train station and quite a hike through town.  We have often walked between the station and port which is fine if you want a 20 min walk (for long walkers) through part of town.  We do not recommend this with luggage.

 

We have only been to Cannes about a dozen times so perhaps things have changed

 

Hank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[iwtobek]

15 hours ago, sealynx said:

I don't know how to answer your question though, sorry. Crew handling luggage shouldn't be a problem though, since they can save luggage up on the quay for later. In most ports its not a problem to come early. If I were you, I'd give it a shot. Worst case scenario is that you'll have to wait a little longer while in Cannes, for which I would find a nice little park or spot on the beach and make it a pick nick with one or more cruise ships on the horizon.

Thanks for the suggestion, that's what we've been thinking as well. 

 

5 hours ago, perakcruiser said:

even with a YC booking I would not show up at 9 or so. Waiting there is ugly as there is nothing, maybe also no YC facilities landside. But you also don´t need to wait until 14:30, something in the middle should be fine. 

We were thinking about showing up around 11am. Fingers crossed weather will be with us 😅
 

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

The only place we have ever tendered in Cannes is at the old port area which is near the marina and Radisson Blu.

That's where we expected MSC would be embarking their guests. We've cruised two times around the Med (another line) and stopped in Cannes, that's where the tender boats were. They also have an X-Ray machine at this place to speed things up on the ship. 
 

We've been thinking on booking the Radisson Blu though it seems reading recent reviews the hotel is now a shadow of its past (since Covid). Spa facilities now closed, and no bar service whatsoever until 6pm… kind of defeats the purpose of having a “base” near the port — unfortunate as their location was golden. 

[RD64]

On 3/8/2019 at 12:06 PM, Hlitner said:

If your cruise truly embarks from Cannes (and not another city/port in the region) you will definitely need to tender to your vessel.  Cannes does not have any pier capable of handling a cruise ship.  Just make sure to verify, with your cruise line, exactly where you are supposed to go for embarkation.  It is unusual (but not unheard of) to use a tender port as a major embarkation place since it becomes a logistical nightmare.  The normal tender dock in Cannes is located on the Quai du Large at the Vieux Port (old port).  

 

Hank

In the glory days of the transatlantic trade both the Italian Line and American Export Line embarked / disembarked passengers by tender at Cannes. Not only passengers - but also luggage and automobiles.

[perakcruiser]

8 hours ago, Hlitner said:

This is about 1 mile from the train station and quite a hike through town.  We have often walked between the station and port which is fine if you want a 20 min walk (for long walkers) through part of town.  We do not recommend this with luggage.

Oh! I found it was a very nice 1km walk thru pedestrian only area. And my 73 year old mom could do it easily with her suitcase to and from the ship. Of cause "luggage" is different, some have wheels, some have not and I also would not be motivated to carry a golf bag or so. The end of the journey is indeed the Radisson Blu hotel. 

[iwtobek]

Bumping this thread with more info, as we finally embarked from Cannes today.

 

I have to say the process was a total breeze. Much smoother than we anticipated and in fact much better than our last cruise from Barcelona!

 

We arrived at the port around 11am, porters were ready to assist with luggage. No “yacht club” tent per se, but a butler promptly arrived when we said the magic words, and escorted us through a separate (albeit small) building where everybody could be seated until tender was ready. Bottled water and prosecco was available — and for non-YC guests, there was infused water.

 

We waited a few minutes then were escorted through security, and given priority embarkation on a tender (one of the ship's lifeboat actually). Had to wait ~20 minutes for the ship to fill up. The sea was kind of rough and the boat had to manoeuvre a few times before being able to reach MSC Grandiosa.  From there it was the only pain part of the embarkation process, as guests debarked the tender as quickly as possible (granted it was very bumpy on board) and were eventually all stuck at the entrance of the ship to perform check-in. So many people in fact they had trouble taking pictures. However MSC enforced Yacht Club priority as much as possible and after a few minutes we got through, and on our way to Top Sail Lounge escorted by a butler.

 

TL;DR: we rightfully so had doubts embarking in Cannes was a right choice. Turns out MSC handled it above our expectations. Would probably do again in the future.