Cannes - Monaco excursion/day trip

[Gabstarnz]

We are cruising on the Seaview and due to be in Cannes from 8.30am to 5.30pm on a Thursday.  We would love to do a day trip to Monaco and would like to maximise our time there but not sure if it would be better to do it on our own or just book with an MSC shore excursion.  

 

MSC offer a couple options but the "Monaco and Monte Carlo" - 6 hour excursion - seems like it would give us the most time there (includes walking tour and some free time).  If the excursion is listed as 6 hours, and the bus ride should take around 1 hour, does that mean we should get around 4 hours in Monaco?

- or will part of the time also be the tendering process and general fluffing around before we get on the coach?

 

It doesn't seem that we be likely to get much more time if we do it by ourselves (assuming that we will not be able to get a priority tender and therefore maybe arrive at the Cannes train station around 10am and into Monaco around 11.15/11.30am)?

 

Has anyone done this or a similar excursion?

 

TIA!

 

[Stockjock]

We have the same stop and we did the MSC tour that went to Eze.  Eze is very pretty and it’s a nice drive there, but I’d probably avoid that one.

 

I usually stick with the MSC tours because the ship waits for you if you are late, plus they’re usually well-priced.  Obviously you will usually get a more personal experience with a private tour, but if something goes wrong you’re on your own.

[Chocolate Teapot]

Not sure if this helps, but I did a similar excursion on NCL Epic and the itinerary was:

 

Tender boat from ship to quayside

Bus journey to Monaco (it is further than you might think)

Tour of the casino in Monte Carlo and free time to admire the row of Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins parked in front

Walk from casino, past tyre marks in the road from the Formula 1 race, to the Palace and Old Town area

Short walking tour of the Old Town, pointing out the landmarks

Some free time (I think it was about 1-2 hours) before returning to the bus

Bus back to Cannes and return tender boat to ship

 

I think the excursions team will organise 1 tour group on the same tender boat, so they can be "herded" from the ship straight to the bus on the quayside.

[CruisingFox27]

I did an excursion with another cruiseline and it too was similar to the one posted by chocolate teapot.

 

The 6 hour duration will indeed include the tender and any general fluffing around.

 

To see Monaco from Cannes, I'd be more inclined with the security of a ship tour, JMO though.

[sidari]

Did these two places on Brilliance of the Seas quite some years ago, got the train from Cannes to Monaco, if you do it be sure to follow people down the stairs from the platform as the station is underground, it brings you out near a small roundabout in the road and across from the swimming pool. From the roundabout the Casino is up the hill to the left.

We also did Cannes a second time but took the train and spent the day in Niece.

[*Miss G*]

On 8/6/2019 at 10:49 AM, Stockjock said:

Eze is very pretty and it’s a nice drive there, but I’d probably avoid that one.

 

Why would you avoid that one, if you don’t mind me asking?

[Stockjock]

2 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Why would you avoid that one, if you don’t mind me asking?

Eze is nice to look at, but basically it's a bunch of shops.  So you go for a very long drive, which is mostly fairly scenic, get to Eze, and it's a tiny area with little other than some shops and a restaurant or two.

Not sure if it still stops there, but they also took us to a perfume factory that seemed more like a revenue opportunity than an interesting stop.  I thought it was a waste of time.

Kind of a funny story, although it wasn't funny at the time.  In Eze they only had pay toilets.  And when not in use, the toilet actually retracts into the wall.  I had to go but didn't have a Euro to use the toilet.  Hit up several shops and finally got change.  Paid, entered the stall, and right in the middle of my business, it retracted into the wall.  I can laugh about it now, but it wasn't funny at the time.

[Chocolate Teapot]

46 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Eze is nice to look at, but basically it's a bunch of shops.  So you go for a very long drive, which is mostly fairly scenic, get to Eze, and it's a tiny area with little other than some shops and a restaurant or two.

Not sure if it still stops there, but they also took us to a perfume factory that seemed more like a revenue opportunity than an interesting stop.  I thought it was a waste of time.

 

And Eze is horribly steep, which in hot weather is not fun. The perfume factory will be Fragonnard, who happen to make all the perfumes I wear, but unless they have some new products, you don't need more than 20 minutes there*. There are free public toilets there though!

 

*If you happen to be in Paris, the Fragonnard Museum by the Opera is much more interesting with a history of perfume and displays of unusual bottles. 

[*Miss G*]

Thanks for your responses on Eze.  They were very helpful.

[Gabstarnz]

Thanks everyone for your responses.  I think the ship excursion sounds like the best option for us.  The description does not include a visit to Eze or the perfume factory (like a couple of other excursions do), so I hope we can focus on Monaco.  Thanks again!