Has anyone attended the Monaco Grand Prix while on a cruise?

[Leejnd4]

I posted this question in the France port forum. Someone suggested I cross-post my question in this forum, as they thought some Azamara cruisers might have done this.

 

We will be on a cruise in May that will be in Monaco on the first day of the Grand Prix. I've been to Monaco before and don't really feel like I need to explore it again, and we think it would be fun to go see a race. Anyone ever done this? Suggestions, thoughts, warnings? We're not tied to this, but my husband is a car enthusiast and if it's not too difficult to accomplish, it seems like it could be a good opportunity to witness something we never would normally (we're not such big enthusiasts that we would purposely travel to go see one).

[terry&mike]

We haven't done this through Azamara, but we are the type of people who would travel to see a race, and are F1 fans. We've been in Monaco for a Formula 1 Practice Day, and we'll be in Azerbaijan in 2025 for the actual race. 

 

I've looked into attending Monaco while on a cruise ship, including Azamara. I know Azamara sells their own packages which include transfers, and seating in a designated section, and they can sell out. The official ticket sales point for Formula 1 is formula1.com look for Tickets at the very top, if you'd like to buy them direct.

 

You mention being in Monaco for the "first day" of the race, so I want to give you some basic info. First, I'll start by saying the Monaco circuit is one of the most popular races on the calendar, and always sells out. F1 weekends follow a pattern of Friday is Practice Day, allowing the drivers to get a feel for the track and the performance of the car. Saturday is Qualifying, where they compete to determine their starting position in the actual Race on Sunday. Sunday is the actual Monaco Grand Prix Race. I see there are tickets for Thursday for sale on the web site, and Monaco used to have a practice session on Thursday, but they phased it out, so I'm not sure what you will see if you go on Thursday, but it will be interesting to a car enthusiast. Other classes also will be about practicing, racing, etc, such as Formula 2 and Formula 3. 

 

No matter what, I can tell you that Monaco during F1 weekend, and Monaco the rest of the year, are 2 different experiences. The energy in town is up, signs and decor everyone, lots and lots of vendors, cars being unloaded, driver sightings, celebrity sightings, general excitement and so on. On the down side, there will be lots of blocked streets, as this track is a "street race" (meaning it goes through town), lots of tarps up, crowds.

 

As you said "first day", I'm guessing you are there on a Practice Day. If I were you, I'd buy 2 tickets directly from Formula1.com, for one of the lower priced admission categories, and go for a couple of hours to soak up the ambiance, see cars and driving activity, walk by some vendors, and enjoy. To give you a rough idea of costs, generally speaking for Monaco, you can attend a Practice Day in cheap seats starting from about 50 euros pp, and attend a Race Day in cheap seats starting from about 800 euros pp. There are many different type of packages, seating, and access available, from 1 day to the entire weekend. 

[Leejnd4]

4 hours ago, terry&mike said:

We haven't done this through Azamara, but we are the type of people who would travel to see a race, and are F1 fans. We've been in Monaco for a Formula 1 Practice Day, and we'll be in Azerbaijan in 2025 for the actual race. 

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH! This is exactly the type of information I was looking for. 

 

We will be on a Crystal cruise, in Monaco on May 23rd, which is a Friday. According to the schedules I've found online, Thursday is the practice day for F2 & F3, and Friday is the qualifying races for F2 & F3, and practice races for F1. (Please don't hate me that I have no idea what F2 & F3 means! I'm sure my husband does. I will google it, I promise.) 😉 

 

We'd be happy to see any of it, including practice races. I imagine it will be easier to attend if we are able to do it via a Crystal shorex, so I will reach out to them to find out if they will be offering them. Given our cruise is still 8 months away, I expect it's just way too early for them to appear. But if they will not be offering them, I will definitely look into purchasing tickets through the site you mentioned.

 

Funny coincidence: the only other time I was in Monaco was about 12 years ago, when on a Regent cruise with my mother, and it was during the Grand Prix! Neither of us were interested in going to the races, so we did a private excursion that took us to the main sites of Monaco, avoiding the downtown area entirely. We then walked around town in the evening, went to the Casino and lost a bit of money, had THE MOST EXPENSIVE MARTINI OF ALL TIME at the Hotel de Paris Montecarlo, and enjoyed the exciting vibe. Yes there were many blocked off roads, barricades, crowds, and of course the track, but we were walking so it didn't bother us. I remember seeing the most OPULENT yachts I've ever seen, and tons of super high-end cars like Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bugattis etc, just parked all over the place like they were daily drivers.

 

So once again I will be in Monaco during Grand Prix! How cool is that?

 

Thanks again for this detailed response. Cruise Critic comes through again! Full disclosure: I've never been on an Azamara cruise. But now that I see how friendly and accommodating Azamara cruisers are, I may have to change that. 😉 

[terry&mike]

I'm happy that I could be of help. I've learned so much for CruiseCritic over the years, so I am always happy to pay forward when I can. 

 

Friday will be a good day for you to be there. The crazy isn't at it's full peak yet, the ticket prices are MUCH more affordable, and there is still a lot of action to take in. Again, Monaco always sells out for the race (Sunday), but Friday tickets will remain available for a longer period. 

 

F2 and F3 are the categories/classes of cars below F1, which is the top. The drivers move up the ranks, usually starting as children in karting, and continue through FE, F4, F3, F2, with the hopes of being an F1 driver some day. There are only 20 F1 drivers in the entire world at any time, so it's a difficult ladder to climb. 

 

Have fun! I'd love to see a post of your experience, if you do attend. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Leejnd4 said:

Thanks again for this detailed response. Cruise Critic comes through again! Full disclosure: I've never been on an Azamara cruise. But now that I see how friendly and accommodating Azamara cruisers are, I may have to change that. 😉 

Welcome to the Azamara forum!  Yes, this is one of the friendliest forums on Cruise Critic – and it reflects the passenger vibe on Azamara ships.  Do look into sailing on Azamara.

[Leejnd4]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Welcome to the Azamara forum!  Yes, this is one of the friendliest forums on Cruise Critic – and it reflects the passenger vibe on Azamara ships.  Do look into sailing on Azamara.

 

I absolutely will! We've been living abroad on our sailboat for the past five years, but we just moved back to terra firma and are now stepping up our traveling on cruise ships. So far we've done Paul Gauguin and now an upcoming Crystal cruise, but I've heard great things about Azamara and I'm eager to investigate options. Thanks for the welcome!

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Leejnd4 said:

I absolutely will! We've been living abroad on our sailboat for the past five years, but we just moved back to terra firma and are now stepping up our traveling on cruise ships. So far we've done Paul Gauguin and now an upcoming Crystal cruise, but I've heard great things about Azamara and I'm eager to investigate options. Thanks for the welcome!

I was going to suggest booking a Club Continent suite, but if you're used to living on a sailboat the small bathrooms in the regular cabins on Azamara won't be a shock...  😀

[LoneMoose]

Yes, we have been in Monaco for the Grand Prix and it was fun!  We were on an Azamara cruise in 2018.  We purchased tickets through GooTickets (my husband thinks they are on the F1.com site as a reseller) and bought a package giving us 3 different locations for the weekend: a rooftop/VIP suite overlooking the pit exit on practice day, the hairpin at the Casino for qualifying, and opposite the pits on race day.  Each location had it advantages but the important thing to remember is that because it is a street race, it’s difficult to see much of the track from anywhere and you will end up watching the Jumbotron most of the time (except when watching all the people!)

 

The ship was not in Monte Carlo on practice day but we took the train from Cannes.  Actually we took the train the day before also, in order to pick up our tickets and figure out how to get to the various locations.  So if your cruise takes you to a nearby port, you could do that for qualifying or race day.  Because there are so many people concentrated in that location for the weekend, it was an ideal time for train workers to go on strike and be felt.  So they did.  Based on what other people were saying, they seem to do it every year.  Trains were running, but not as frequently so just be patient and don’t cut it too close!

 

We purchased tickets directly rather than using the cruise line excursion because 1) it was much cheaper and 2) you weren’t told where the seats were until very near the race.  Although there will be food available at concession stands near your grandstands (wherever you are), we found fresher sandwiches and pastries by walking a couple of blocks away during a break in the activity and eating in a little park.

 

Have fun!

[Leejnd4]

3 hours ago, LoneMoose said:

Yes, we have been in Monaco for the Grand Prix and it was fun!  We were on an Azamara cruise in 2018.  We purchased tickets through GooTickets (my husband thinks they are on the F1.com site as a reseller) and bought a package giving us 3 different locations for the weekend: a rooftop/VIP suite overlooking the pit exit on practice day, the hairpin at the Casino for qualifying, and opposite the pits on race day.  Each location had it advantages but the important thing to remember is that because it is a street race, it’s difficult to see much of the track from anywhere and you will end up watching the Jumbotron most of the time (except when watching all the people!)

 

The ship was not in Monte Carlo on practice day but we took the train from Cannes.  Actually we took the train the day before also, in order to pick up our tickets and figure out how to get to the various locations.  So if your cruise takes you to a nearby port, you could do that for qualifying or race day.  Because there are so many people concentrated in that location for the weekend, it was an ideal time for train workers to go on strike and be felt.  So they did.  Based on what other people were saying, they seem to do it every year.  Trains were running, but not as frequently so just be patient and don’t cut it too close!

 

We purchased tickets directly rather than using the cruise line excursion because 1) it was much cheaper and 2) you weren’t told where the seats were until very near the race.  Although there will be food available at concession stands near your grandstands (wherever you are), we found fresher sandwiches and pastries by walking a couple of blocks away during a break in the activity and eating in a little park.

 

Have fun!

And more great info! Thanks, this is very helpful. 

 

We have a sea day right before our day in Monaco, which is our day right after embarkation. But we have two days in Villefranche immediately after. I just checked Rome2Rio (if you don't know about this website, it's the best way to find how to get from anyplace in the world to any other place in the world!) and it shows that it's just a 15 minute train ride from Villefranche to Monte Carlo. So....maybe we should get tickets for Saturday and watch the actual qualifying races of the F1s! We can pick up our tickets while we're in Monaco on Friday, then train it to the race on Saturday. Assuming there's no train strike, of course! But there's always the bus, which is only 38 minutes. All sounding very doable.

 

Thank you again! 😄 

[terry&mike]

7 hours ago, Leejnd4 said:

But we have two days in Villefranche immediately after. I just checked Rome2Rio (if you don't know about this website, it's the best way to find how to get from anyplace in the world to any other place in the world!) and it shows that it's just a 15 minute train ride from Villefranche to Monte Carlo. So....maybe we should get tickets for Saturday and watch the actual qualifying races of the F1s! We can pick up our tickets while we're in Monaco on Friday, then train it to the race on Saturday. Assuming there's no train strike, of course! But there's always the bus, which is only 38 minutes. All sounding very doable.

 

Thank you again! 😄 

This is also a good idea. Villefranche is usually a tender port, and you can walk to the train station in about 10 minutes (you probably know this, but be sure to buy tickets for Villefranche-sur-Mer, not Villefranche-sur-Saone). You can also walk from the Monte Carlo station to the track. The trains will be packed. 

As Saturday is waaaay more popular than Friday, I would suggest to purchase your tickets as soon as you are sure of your plans - some ticket categories for Saturday are already Sold Out. You won't have to pick up any tickets, you will receive them electronically. 

 

[Leejnd4]

6 hours ago, terry&mike said:

This is also a good idea. Villefranche is usually a tender port, and you can walk to the train station in about 10 minutes (you probably know this, but be sure to buy tickets for Villefranche-sur-Mer, not Villefranche-sur-Saone). You can also walk from the Monte Carlo station to the track. The trains will be packed. 

As Saturday is waaaay more popular than Friday, I would suggest to purchase your tickets as soon as you are sure of your plans - some ticket categories for Saturday are already Sold Out. You won't have to pick up any tickets, you will receive them electronically. 

 

Oh, great idea! I'll buy the tickets online and that way we don't have to try to pick up tickets on Friday. 

[LoneMoose]

14 hours ago, Leejnd4 said:

So....maybe we should get tickets for Saturday and watch the actual qualifying races of the F1s!

Excellent plan!  Quoting Fernando Alonzo: “The real race is on Saturday.  Sunday is just a parade of cars.”  

Perhaps not always true, but it is difficult to pass on this street circuit.

[Riocca]

We were on Azamara Journey’s 2018 Monaco GP cruise which put us in Monaco for both the Saturday & Sunday. We were tendered into Fontvieille Port but the walk to the circuit was fairly easy, however sea conditions can be challenging which made tendering difficult so although further away Nice or Villefranche although further away can provide a more reliable access for the GP.

Our then travel agent had a specialist Grand Prix department so we bought tickets for both days from them. Their recommendation was Tribune (Grandstand) High T which is opposite the pit lane so you get to see more of the action especially during Qualifying on Saturday. If you’re into celebrity spotting it’s the ideal spot and Saturday is by far the best day for that, there’s also a big screen showing the action around the track. It’s recommended to take some ear defenders as it can become extremely noisy.

 

 

Edited Saturday at 04:57 PM by Riocca

[iana1212]

We were there in 2022 with Azamara. Originally we were to berth at Villefranche but ended up moored in the bay and tendered in. This gets you pretty much directly into Monaco - maybe 20-30 minutes walk to the grandstand (if you are at the harbour). It takes longer to get back as it is very busy as thousands of fans funnel into streets which are not that wide. The tender was ok but we did get warnings that it could be rough or not run, I suspect for Grand Prix weekend it would have to be very rough for them to cancel. The harbour will be busy as there will be a number of cruise ships all tendering at the same time, we didn’t have long to wait but we  heard from others who did.

We bought our tickets directly through the Automobile Club de Monaco who run the race, they have their own website. The tickets are around 20% cheaper than Formula 1 and other resellers. There is availability for 2025 but not many for the popular stands. 

Most of the stands are uncovered so you may get very wet (we did) or very hot.

 

There is catering but as you are in the town itself you can go to a supermarket or bar/ restaurant for drinks and food.

It is worth doing once but not a race we would go to again. 

[NeilWM]

We were due to tender to Monaco on the Wednesday before the Grand Prix this year but it was cancelled because of rough seas.