Sunday, 12 January 2014

The Cruise - Part II

A night's sailing brought us to our next port of call...Toulon, where passengers could take a tender boat to shore and climb onto buses for excursions to Marseille! As this area is within driving distance from home, we decided instead to stay on board to settle in, and visit by car, another time, on another holiday!

Arriving in the harbour at 7 a.m, we found the French navy was already there in force!

An unusual diversion for those staying on the ship was the weekly lifeboat drill later in the morning. Quite rightly, RCL take safety very seriously, and the drill was carried out meticulously and obviously choreographed to a carefully planned routine. The boats are numerous - something like 50 in total - and a lot bigger than they look in the photo!

Looking around the ship on this day was a good idea, as most people had gone ashore!  The gymnasium was quiet, and other than taking a look, we did not get too energetic!

The pool deck - unbelievable!! But the weather was pretty cool, and only a few hardy souls got themselves wet!

and one of several  Jacuzzis - this one hangs off the side of the ship. See the later photo!

Dressed up and ready for our second night on the ship, a very special dinner at the Captain's table!

Note the lovely necklace and earrings I am wearing - a treasured gift from Jean who makes jewellery, and also has a French blog.

Places of honour at dinner on the Captain's table!



The ship moved onwards that night, arriving early the next morning at Villefranche, the port for visits to Monaco and Monte Carlo.

Going down 9 decks in the lift, on the way to take the tender boat to shore.

Arriving at Villefranche. A lovely French port, and we were lucky with the weather!

We took the  train along the coast to Monte Carlo's underground station.

Above ground, the buildings of Monte Carlo!  Bottom right you can see some grandstands being erected, as it was Formula 1 weekend and the whole of the car racing world had moved into town for the Monaco GP!!

A few exotic cars for sale at Monaco Motors! Note the absence of price stickers. As the saying goes,"if you have to ask the price, you probably can't afford it!"

Beautiful stylish buildings!

The harbour, crammed full of millionaires' and billionaires' expensive boats!

The Ferrari F1 pits...


and Williams, whose factory is in our old home town of Wantage, Oxfordshire in the UK!

back at the ship, and looking up at that Jacuzzi  you saw earlier!

A stunning sunset over the Mediterranean!


One of the few pets allowed aboard - a silver bull terrier!! What craftsmanship!

and a towelling rabbit.  The guy who looked after our cabin was a master at making different animals from towels!


Watch this space for Part III, on to Italy and the Leaning Tower of Pisa!



see my daily photo diary  HERE
http://photodiarydps.blogspot.com

and also - My Life Before Charente Updated 12/01/2014 
Sorry the latter has taken so long to update!!


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49 comments:

  1. jaz@octoberfarm12 January 2014 at 22:06

    what a fun trip this must have been. i love monte carlo!

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    1. Diane13 January 2014 at 10:11

      Jaz I would like to visit Monte Carlo again when FI had not taken it over for the weekend. It was quite difficult finding your way around as lots of barriers were in place! Have a good week Diane

      Delete
  2. Amanda12 January 2014 at 22:45

    What a lovely trip! I have been on a cruise only once. I had foot surgery and was not allowed to fly so I took a cruise down to Mexico for 8 days. It was nice but I think that I will appreciate it better when I am older.

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    1. Diane13 January 2014 at 10:13

      Nadege I think it is probably easier to relax and take it easier on a cruise when you are older, but if you want to stop off and see places you only have day to do it and then you need to be pretty fit! Have a good week Diane

      Delete
  3. Louise12 January 2014 at 23:50

    What a great post...lots of memories of my own cruising the Med experiences...and my "second home" Villefranche...many thanks!

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    1. Diane13 January 2014 at 10:14

      Glad you enjoyed this post and it brought back memories, that is what blogging is all about I think. Have a good day Diane

      Delete
  4. R's Rue13 January 2014 at 00:32

    Pretty!

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    1. Diane13 January 2014 at 10:15

      Thank you, Hope that all is well with you. Diane

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  5. DeniseinVA13 January 2014 at 00:35

    Your cruise was certainly a magnificent way to travel. All the places visited were lovely and I especially enjoyed the ones of you and hubby and at the captain's table. Now to visit your other post, part 1.

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    1. Diane13 January 2014 at 10:16

      Denise is was a very grand experience and one we are never likely to repeat. Glad that I can share it with a few others. Take care Diane

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  6. Gaelyn13 January 2014 at 03:23

    This ship is absolutely amazing. I think it's bigger than my town.

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    1. Diane13 January 2014 at 10:17

      Gaelyn, I am sure it is bigger than your town, ours would just disappear on one floor alone! Have a good day Diane

      Delete
  7. the fly in the web13 January 2014 at 04:47

    I must say that those beads look the works...or is it the way you carry them off.....

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    1. Diane13 January 2014 at 10:19

      Fly they are beautifully made and Jean did a good job, but of course the wearer has to carry them off as well :-)))) Have a great week, Diane

      Delete
  8. Anne in Oxfordshire13 January 2014 at 14:36

    Hi Diane , How fabulous you and Nigel look , and I love the necklace , it is beautiful. YEAH Villefranche sur mer and Monaco , I was there the week after you and Linda and I sat near to those Yachts, it was amazing. See that you got Williams garage and Ferrari's too .. Sorry I should be focusing on the ship :-) look at you at the Captains table , woohoo, take care xoxo Anne

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    1. Diane13 January 2014 at 14:58

      Success Anne your comment made it this time, not sure where they go to when they go AWOL!! Williams was much more important than we were :-) Pity we were not all there the same day. Take care and keep warm Diane xox

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    2. Anne in Oxfordshire13 January 2014 at 21:47

      Hooray success at last , Absolutely not more important than you :-) I know we missed each other by days . Trying to keep warm , it just feels so damp ! take care xox

      Delete
  9. Noushka13 January 2014 at 15:15

    WOW!
    Your photos are fantastic, that is truly great footage!
    And what amazing luxury!
    I bet you had a ball!
    I had a look at you previous post too but the pics here are even better!
    I love the dog, it would look great on my terrace!
    And you are so chic dressed up for a dinner at the Captain's table!
    Cheers Diane, keep well

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    1. Diane13 January 2014 at 19:42

      Thanks Noushka, I would have liked to have put that dog in my suitcase but it was a bit too big :-) Thanks for all the kind comments. Have a good week Diane

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  10. diane b15 January 2014 at 07:18

    Woohoo!! Look at you two living it up. Way to go, Diane. Great ship, great clothes looks like great fun.

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    1. Diane15 January 2014 at 17:43

      Diane B it was quite amazing to live like this for a whole week. It was an experience finding our how the other half live :-) Take care Diane.

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  11. Pam15 January 2014 at 15:18

    Great pics, Diane! You had to have a blast on your trip. And seated beside the Captain, woo hoo! Your outfit looks great with the jewelry and I love the pic of Villefranche, gorgeous I bet!

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    1. Diane15 January 2014 at 17:44

      Thanks Pam for the kind comment. It was an amazing trip. Keep well Diane

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  12. SAPhotographs (Joan)15 January 2014 at 15:28

    That pool deck does look like fun but I think my favourite would be the jacuzzi hanging over the side of the ship. What a great cruise and trip Diane.

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    1. Diane15 January 2014 at 17:47

      Joan the weather was not good while we were on the ship. The jacuzzi would have been great because of the warmth, sadly we never ventured there in the end as you will see in the next posts, I ended up finding out what the medical quarters were like as well!! Have a good day, Diane

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  13. Unknown15 January 2014 at 18:13

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    ReplyDelete
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    1. Diane18 January 2014 at 21:09

      Thanks Sandy for your visit and kind comment. Sorry the replay has taken so long but I am having a lot of trouble with Google at present and I am struggling to get into my own websites! Hope to see you return. Have a good day EDiane

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  14. Unknown15 January 2014 at 18:48

    The pool deck sculptures seem to have been made by Niki de Saint Phale. Amazing!

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    1. Diane18 January 2014 at 21:12

      Not sure who did those sculptures but you could well be right. Thanks for the comment J.M. Have a good weekend. Diane

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  15. Anonymous15 January 2014 at 20:30

    What a wonderful and memorable trip…the ship is beautiful. I'm sorry to read from your comment that you had to visit the medical quarters…that wasn't good. Karen

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    1. Diane18 January 2014 at 21:14

      Karen it could have been much worse just annoying and stopped our trip to Rome. Sorry about the long delay in reply, Google is giving me lots of hassles at present!! Have a good day Diane

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  16. Amelia16 January 2014 at 07:07

    Hi Diane, wow... lovely cruise. Thanks for the tour and sharing the very well taken pictures. You look gorgeous in that lovely gown. :))

    Have a wonderful week ahead, regards.

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    1. Diane18 January 2014 at 21:14

      Thanks Amelia, Hope you enjoy the rest of the tour as well. You have a good week as well Diane

      Delete
  17. magda17 January 2014 at 10:54

    Με πολύ ενδιαφέρον διάβασα την αφήγηση σου και καμάρωσα τις πανέμορφες φωτογραφίες σου!!
    Τι όμορφα βραδινά ρούχα που φοράτε και είναι μεγάλη τιμή που είστε ένθεν και ένθεν του καπετάνιου!
    Να έχεις ένα όμορφο Σαββατοκύριακο!
    Πολλά φιλιά

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    1. Diane18 January 2014 at 21:16

      We were very honoured to be at the Captain's table, it was a fabulous evening, Thanks for the comment., Keep well Diane.

      Delete
  18. LindyLouMac17 January 2014 at 19:54

    Happy New Year my friend. Great to be back catching up on your blog and enjoying some armchair travel, amazing what we see and learn from each others blogs.

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    1. Diane18 January 2014 at 21:19

      Happy New Year to you as well and I hope that 2014 is a vast improvement on 2013. Sorry this reply is slow, Google is giving me endless problems at the moment and apart form struggling to get into my own blogs I have not been able to comment either. Keep well, I think of you often, Diane

      Delete
  19. GaynorB21 January 2014 at 08:01

    Don't you both look super smart! It looks like a fantastic trip.

    Happy New Year..... better late than never!

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    1. Rhodesia24 January 2014 at 21:42

      Thanks so much for the kind comment Gaynor. A happy New Year to you as well. I hope that 2014 will be a good year for you. Take care Diane

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  20. Chubskulit Rose24 January 2014 at 13:28

    I have never been to a cruise yet so thank you for bringing me with your tour. These are beautiful captures Diane.

    PS. So sorry if I haven't visiting lately, been so busy with kids and this past week, we all got the nasty flu.

    Be safe.

    Rose

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    1. Rhodesia24 January 2014 at 21:43

      Hope that you are all feeling better Rose. Thanks for taking the time to comment. Take care and get better very soon. Diane

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  21. Hilary Melton-Butcher24 January 2014 at 15:00

    Hi Diane .. what an amazing ship ... having never been on one - to think of 15 decks and over 4,000 passengers ... is rather beyond my comprehension .. but seeing jacuzzi suspended just staggers me ... I think you were right to just take time out and look round when everyone else was out and about.

    Love the captain's table .. and our photo - fabulous shot by someone else, I know. Then the Grand Prix weekend - that was good timing ..

    Lovely and now looking forward to part III .. cheers Hilary

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    1. Rhodesia24 January 2014 at 21:47

      Hilary thanks for the comment. The size of the ship is hard to believe, even being on it, it is still very hard to take it all in. I think there was many parts of the ship we still did not see!!

      The captain's table was interesting and we met a lovely couple from South Africa there who lived close by where we used to be!

      Will try to get part III on the blog ASAP ;-) Have a great weekend Diane

      Delete
  22. linksdistodaquilo24 January 2014 at 22:45

    Feliz ano de 2014!!!
    Beijo.
    Nita

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    1. Rhodesia25 January 2014 at 14:45

      Feliz Ano Novo para você também. Graças Diane

      Delete
  23. This is Belgium28 January 2014 at 18:08

    enjoyed your post, enjoyed looking at all of you, and at that unbelievable boat!

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    1. Diane13 February 2014 at 21:09

      The ship was amazing and we did not get to see all of it! Keep well Diane

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  24. My Little Space13 February 2014 at 11:52

    Oh boy, its such an honour joining the captain for dinner. You're such a lucky lady.
    Kristy

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    1. Diane13 February 2014 at 21:10

      Thanks Kristy it was an honour if fact the whole cruise was an honour :-) Keep well Diane

      Delete

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