Today we arrived in Marseille, France which the oldest port
in France. The town was founded by the Greeks in 600B.C.
and is the oldest city in France.
Lots and lots of fishing boats line the Old Harbor which is
protected by two forts at the entrance to the harbor.Marseille is now a very large city of 860,000+
people.
We took the shuttle bus that the ship provided and it was a 20-minute
ride into the edge of the Old Town.Then
it was another 20 minutes until we reached the harbor.
The harbor is filled with boats and the street making a “U”
around the harbor is lined with more restaurants than we have ever see in one
place.
Once we were in the Old City, we took a break and had a
couple of Croissants and tea.Then we
walked around most of the harbor, doubled back and walked the side streets.
Finally at about 1:00pm we ate at a small sidewalk café along
the waterfront and had a dish that Marseille is famous for -Bouillabaisse this
dish was originally made with fish parts that were not sold; however, today the
dish is a little different and of course it was all fresh.The picture should show the ingredients.
Then we walked to the shuttle and took it back to the ship.
Of course we had a snack and then got ready for the evening.
The show tonight was a sax player from Wales and he was
outstanding and one of he best individual acts we have seen in a long time
Then we ate in Blue and Barb had Salmon and Ed had Braised
Short Ribs
Finally we ended the evening in the Casino
Tomorrow our next port is Niece, France a port we have not
been to.
This is the first of our two sea days and we slept in until
about 9am and it was wonderful.
This ship is sooo smooth and the room sooo dark, it sure
helps when you want to sleep.
We had breakfast and then were up on the top deck for some
sun before going to lunch at Noon.
Then at 1:00pm Ed played in qualifying round of the blackjack
tournament and did not qualify.
Then we went back up to be out in the sun; however, we didn’t
last long because it was only about 68 degrees and windy.
So, we came back to the room, rested, and then changed for
the evening.
Tonight the dress code is Evening Chic so we were down in
the center lobby with music early to people watch.
We then went to the show which was a production number by
the cast that we had seen before and we didn’t really like it the first time
and we feel the same after watching it again.
Dinner in Blu was
Then it was time to go to the casino for our last stop
before going to bed.
Tomorrow, we visit the port of Marseille, France and we are
looking forward to it.
Today is the day to begin our Celebrity cruise ship adventur.
We slept in a little and then went to breakfast and of
course it was wonderful
Everything is fresh and such a wonderful variety would
surprise people from the US who come here for the first time.Nothing is pre-packaged
After breakfast we quickly packed and had a bellman take our
bags down to our waiting car who took us to the cruise terminal.
Check-in was very quick as we were one of the first to
arrive.
At 11:10am they allowed us to board and we found our
stateroom and left our carry-on luggage and went up to the Ocenview Café for
lunch.
After lunch we came back to the room to unpack our carry-ons.Then we completed the safety drill and walked
around.
Back to the stateroom, we rested until our only big bag came
and they completed unpacking for the cruise.We cam on this trip with a carry-on each and one big bag and no
question, that was a mistake and we will not try that again on this long of a
trip.
Then it was time to cleanup and go out for the evening.
Before dinner we went to the 7:00pm show and the entrainment
was a comedian who was very funny.
There are several classes of cabins on the ship.The top category are the Suites, next is Aqua
Class, then Concierge Class and finally regular cabins.We are in Aqua Class as that is the class
that the casino gave us.For Aqua, they
have their own dining room called Blu.After the show, we went to Blu for dinner and sat next to a delightful
couple from Vancouver.
Then it was onto the casino.Before we had left, we had found out that the Casino Host was an
individual named Angle.If you remember our
previous cruise, Angle was the host on that MSC ship who surprised us.We have known Angle many years ago on a
Celebrity and he had left Celebrity, worked on his own and then joined
MSC.Tonight we found out that the host was
indeed Angle but this time a female – That was disappointing.
Tomorrow is a sea day so we plan to sleep in and hopefully
the weather will be warm enough that we an be up on the deck in the sun.
Night - night
Leaving the hotel
Lunch on the ship
Ed wanted sweets
From the ship at lunch
Time to go out for the evening
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
2024 European Trip
Day 1, 2 & 3 – September 30 – October 3
We believe that this was out first trip to Europe that we
started late in the afternoon and it sure made it easier packing.
We left the house at 2:00pm for our 4:23pm flight to
Chicago.In Chicago we had no time to go
slow as it was a long walk from the concourse, we landed to our Barcelona
flight.
We only had about a 15-minute wait and we boarded the plane
and left at 6:50pm, right on time for the 9-hour flight directly to Barcelona.
It was an easy trip and we had wonderful seats, at the
bulkhead and we could really stretch out.
When we arrived in Barcelona, we had a car waiting to pick
us up for the ½ hour ride to the hotel, the Marriott Renaissance Inn Barcelona
and it is a wonderful hotel, on the north side of the old city.
We spent the rest of the day and evening walking and when we
finally went to be at 9:30pm, we had walked 17,00+ steps!
We are 7 hours ahead of Merna.
This afternoon in Barcelona was all about going into the Old
City and it was fun with lots and lots of people!
It took us about an hour+ to walk the length of La Rambla,
then main pedestrian street and then we doubled back to go to the gigantic food
market called Mercat de la Boqueria.It
is an amazing place with a very extensive collection for all kids of food and
lots of different drinks.We ate our way
through the market and finally around 4:30pm ate dinner.In the morning there is a lot of fresh
vendors and other fresh meats.Later in
the afternoon, some of those stalls close and most switch to food and drinks
for the afternoon and the evening.
Then it was onto an amazing Flamingo show in a very small intimate
theater.There was a stage and only three
rows of seats.We were there early
enough to get from row seats right at the corner.For a video of this show, see one of our
YouTube videos.
Then we walked back to the hotel and crashed for the
evening.
On Day 3 (Monday we left, Tuesday was first day in Barcelona
and not Day 3), we had a wonderful breakfast and it was one of the best
Marriotts breakfasts we have ever had in a Marriott.It was a totally huge European breakfast with
no cereals. waffles, pancakes and “stuff like that. In the YouTube video you see what we mean.
Then we took a taxi to the Basilica de la Sagrada Family
Church.A Catholic Church that was
started in 1852 and is still not completed.
This is our third trip to the Church, one sometime around 1994,
we think and then probably 2012 and each time we see something new.
We got there with an hour ahead of time so we walked around
and had a bit to eat at one of the streetside restaurants and outside of
course.
We finished the tour in an hour and ½ and then visited the
Museum within the Church.
Then we walked back to the hotel, which was about an hour.
For dinner tonight we had to take a taxi as it was lightly
raining and we went to a Tapas restaurant we walked by the night before and it
had a huge line.Then the hostess said
if we came back tonight before 6:30pm.We got there at 6:00pm and we had a wonderful meal and hopefully the
pictures will show all of the courses.
It was only 4 blocks back to the hotel and it was hardly
raining so we walked back.
Today were 15,180 steps and we are tired.
Tomorrow, we board the Celebrity Equinox and we are looking
forward to the cruise.
Night from Barcelona.
Since we have highspeed internet we can add a lot of photos tonight.
Also, if these pictures look like we ate a lot - WE DID!!!
Leaving and Becker is not very happy!
On the plane
Time for a snack in the Market
So good!!
Walking and enjoying the sights and sounds
Time for a drink
Another snack
Shucking oysters in the market
\Lots of meats
Time for ice cream
and candy!
Yummy
The Flamingo Show performers
Wednesday
Our morning picture at breakfast
First course at breakfast
The outside of the Gaudi Church
Barb buying earrings on an umberlla from a street vendor
We’ve been to amazing, exciting, beautiful places . . . BUT
. . . we have NEVER experienced a cruise filled with LOVE like this one, well
maybe in Aruba when I almost died. .
. BUT that was a whole different situation – whew!!
This great experience started when we were walking about the
ship getting the lay of the land and heard “Barb, Ed . . .I don’t believe it!!!It was our Angel (his name as well as who he
is!) He was a casino host we had met 8 years ago on a Celebrity ship AND he
rememberd us!WOW!!
This cruise line, MSC is amazing if you are fortunate to be
in the Yacht Club (YC)!!They provide
you with your own Butler and while he has other cabins, he is ALWAYS there for
you . .ALWAYS!!
Then there is the YC pool deck with beautiful lounges, a
fabulous pool, outrageous food for breakfast, lunch and in between each of those
meals.Magically when we arrived each morning on the
pool deck there was a double lounger all ready for us, including towels and an
ice bucket with our drinks in it.There was any drink or wine that we wanted 24 – 7!!
THEN . . . yes, there’s more – a lovely YC dining room for
dinner with our own wait-staff, beautiful surroundings, great food and live
music.Right below the dining room there
is a wonderful lounge with live music all the drinks you want as well as snacks
always there.
Entertainment from our reserved section in the showroom was our kind of fun,
music we love. .I knew every song and
danced in my seat - - just fun. On othere ships there is usually a "throw away" show the isn't very good. On this ship the were ALL good!!
THEN!! We always get to know a lot of the casino staff but this
time it was unreal!! I could go on and on but let me sum it up by saying the
last night almost everyone including the bar staff hugged us and even a couple
of tears.We were dubbed Mama and Papa
and Angel said I am now officially his daughters “gram”.We face timed with her several times with
Angel and she was a delightful 2-year old.
As you can imagine, I was a mess BUT so touched by all the
love and we can’t wait until next time.
Today I can’t wait to hug all my family – we are truly
blessed.
We are at Ocean Cay, MSC’s private island and a marine
reserve and the tempeture is in the mid 80’s
They build the island on a former dump for the Bahamas. It is unique among the other cruise lines private
islands is that it doesn’t have huge zip lines, waterslides, and those kinds of
features. It is all about the beaches
and the water.
We left the ship with our butler leading the way to a golf
cart to take us to the YC private part of the island.
This YC part had a beautiful beach, its own private
restaurant and of course butler service.
It is going to be had coming back to reality, but we certainly will
enjoyed this kind of treatment while it lasted!!
We ate lunch at the beach and then took a golf cart back to
the ship.
Since the casino was open, we played a session there.
Then it was time to clean up and go out for the evening
after first packing for the flight home tomorrow.
Same routine –
1. The
lounge
2.The show
3.Dinner
4.Casino
We are predictable!!
The show tonight was a wonderful variety show be the
production cast and it was very good.
Night for our last day.
Tomorrow we are getting off first thing as we have a very
early flight to catch. Wish us luck in
making it.
Our next email will show a couple of videos that we took that
we could not load from the ship.
Night and see you all at home
Ocean Cay from the left
To the right from our cabin
Going out to Ocean Cay
Just relaxing
Going out for our last evening for this trip
Barb's Lamb Shank
Angel our casino host who we also met in 2018 on a Celebrity ship
About to leave the ship
Saying goodbye to our butler - wow - what an experience!!
Walking right pass the very long waiting line
In the Miami Delta Lounge
The Yacht Club pool deck
More from the pool deck
A party at night on the YC pool deck
The Yacht Club Section on Ocean Cay and going back to the ship
