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MS EUROPA Nice-Bilbao 5/29-6/12/18, daily narrative and pictures


Catlover54
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English Voyager posted my official CC cruise summary review a couple threads up under “MS Europa, new review”.

Now that I have had time to unpack, go back to work, pay bills, go to doctors, pet the husband and cats, sort things, and go see The Pretenders, here are a few comments and piccies from my journey. Expert photographer DH was not with me this time, and because I cannot carry much camera weight (I usually let DH do that :) ) all I have are pictures from my iPhone 8Plus with some edits, to just give a sense of the journey.

I had timely booked my flights to arrival in embarkation port Nice from the San Francisco area several months before the journey on British Airways, but unfortunately BA cancelled my return flight just a few days before departure and provided unacceptable alternatives. Two hours on the phone later, I landed up with Lufthansa flights in long-haul Premium Economy from SFO via FRA as a short notice cash alternative.

Other than late departure and a tense connection window in the huge FRA airport (getting to be more the exception than the rule on airlines), all was ok (who cares about mediocre food when you have two weeks upcoming on a luxury cruise?) . I enjoyed my living room recliner style seat with foot rest, the child-free cabin, movies, and read time, and stayed awake to acclimatize to EU time (9 hours ahead) while my businessman neighbor slumbered so as to be ready for grueling work on arrival to expand Germany’s GDP.

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I checked into a hotel on the main ocean boulevard I had booked online, also a few months ago, as a compromise, almost all luxury space was surprisingly full months before due to the Grand Prix weekend nearby in Monaco, so pickings were slim. The three star hotel ( name not mentioned to avoid incriminating the guilty) looked promising at first, with somewhat stimulating art on the facade to welcome me:

 

However, despite the nice facade, ocean view, lots of space, and high price, the room was stifling hot ( AC not keeping up), it smelled foul, the bed was hard, and the carpet was worn and dirty with black spots of unknown heritage. But the bathroom and tub were huge, (although missing conditioner and kleenex), and had pretty blue tiles, so in I dove to wash all traces of SFO, FRA, and LH off of me.

 

I needed to stay awake a little longer and air out the room smell ( there were no other view rooms in the hotel and I was too tired to find another place and move).

Post bath, off I went for a stroll through Nice nearby and saw street art that reflected my mood about the room’s carpet and AC:

 

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I love little alleys and how Europeans will put tables outside whenever possible:

 

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I tried sitting at one highly rated restaurant but was ignored for a half hour after I got a menu, so I left without ordering, and landed at Cafe Balthazar, a tourist-oriented promenade place that had surprisingly good service, decent food, and waiters who were not smug and did not patronize. It was perfect for people-watching on the boulevard near the sea, especially if solo, though there is road noise. After a nutritious cosmo cocktail, then some escargots with local wine, I had a light dessert to get in the spirit of the upcoming cruise:

 

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The cream was real, freshly whipped as I crave.

 

The waiter packed up the contents of an excellent cheese plate for me to back with me to my room in case of nocturnal cravings.

 

 

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I wanted to walk around some more but with all that food and wine and jetlag as soon as I saw this window display, decided it would feel pretty good to just go back to the hotel and turn in early:

 

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The next morning things looked brighter on my Nice walk-about and tram ride up to where the castle used to be. I had been to Nice environs and Monaco twice before (once for the Grand Prix with SS in 2014, when we also went to Eze, and once with the Europa in 2016) so in my fatigued state, did not venture beyond nearby old town Nice this trip.

 

Along with other international tourists milling about, among other strolls, I did the requisite walks to see some statues of nude men, women, and creatures in misc. squares that are mandatory on a trip to any French or Italian city:

 

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I also walked near the colorful open market, bought a pound of wonderfully fatty flavorful ham (“gekochter Schinken” style for any German speakers) to take with me to eat with breads, and saw a camel:

 

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My French was not good enough to go ask the owners about the story behind the camel and the odd decorations on his sides.

 

 

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I landed for lunch outside in a quiet alley near the opera at Le Frog restaurant, (nice English speaking waiter, and an English menu available for those whose French is only good enough to get into trouble but no further), where I had a perfect dorry in a rich sauce, and then panna cotta, accompanied by sounds of practicing musicians opposite me in the opera building.

 

Most people come here for frog legs and escargots but I had this:

 

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Boarding for my cruise on 5/29 was not until 4 PM, ( no early boarding) so I walked some more,and sought out a lunch of truffle specialties at a truffle focussed restaurant, sitting at an outside table, with terrific truffle dishes and wonderful wine. Service, though present, was in a French tourist town style, though in an almost empty restaurant.

 

Once onboard the Europa with my welcoming champagne, it created a sense of anticipation to see the decoration for this classical music Ocean Sun Festival cruise:

 

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I set out to tour the ship again after settling into my suite, as it had been September 2016 I was last on, for the same festival ( see my prior cruise review for detailed pictures of ship rooms, nothing has changed significantly other than we now have a nicer complimentary tote bag for the journey, with good zippers and straps and even towel holder velcro for beach trips, with an understated MS Europa logo so you can also use it after the trip without looking too tacky. I probably should not be excited about a nice tote bag when I pay HL prices for a cruise, but compared with the flimsy little open gauze sack we got on SB last year, it was a much nicer and practical touch:

 

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. The pool is 15 meters and is almost always uncrowded, 28C:

 

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Flowers were all over the ship, and on dining table.

 

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The ship is small, we were 344 capacity pax, full (rest of suites were with performers etc.) . I was in 527, good access to everything by walking and not riding elevators, with the veranda just above the water, so I can see the sea action from the bed.

 

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I went to the Gatsby’s bar and studied the fun cocktail list and photographed it so I could plan what I wanted to sample during the cruise:

 

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I think English speakers can figure out most of the cocktail menu even without knowing German, as so much uses English words, though you miss the enthusiasm in the descriptions, but the nice bilingual bartenders could translate if needed. BTW “Himbeer” is raspberry, we had lots of fresh “Himbeeren” this trip in varying presentations as you will see later. “Erdbeeren” are strawberries.

Very important, “Limetten” are lime. “Zitronen” are lemons (makes sense — the root is citrus)

“Eier” are eggs. “Champagne” is , well, champagne :), though “Sekt” is the sparkling wine generic. “Bier” is, intuitively, beer, and “Wein” is wine, “weiss” is white, “rot” is red.

 

English is a Germanic language, you can see the roots, and day to day German is infused with lots of English phrases especially in recent decades (and some French and Latin root words too if you know French or studied Latin way back when it was deemed important) and fortunately has more or less the same alphabet as English.

 

BTW the formal word for drunk is “betrunken” , and “ besoffen” or “blau”(blue) is informal for when you are sloshed. I did not see any incidents of unseemly drunkenness on this cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

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My opening dinner items were outstanding, as was service:

 

This was very tender flavorful meat, truffles on top, everything correct temperature and bursting with flavor.

 

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I cannot remember what they called this dessert but the real butter cream was divine.

 

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Day 2, Bastia

 

After a peaceful first night on board, the next morning we tucked into the harbor of the pretty northern Corsica little town of Bastia. The Lido (not Yacht Club, that is on Europa 2) outdoor dining area faced the MOBY ferry ships, and my perfectly prepared room service breakfast for my balcony faced the water.

 

We were the little ship with the orange and blue stack seen in the second photo from my walk:

 

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Bastia is a good tourist town with many fun places to walk on your own, restaurants, and views.

 

As on my trips the last couple years on Europa and Europa 2, it appears the popular fun style for some well-to-do German men on luxury trips, no matter how old, is still to wear brightly coloured trousers. I also saw green, blue, and yellow, though most guys just stuck to traditional beige. I do not know if Brit seniors also like this. Even in hipster San Francisco area I do not see senior men in such happy trousers, ( women, yes, even I have a bright red pair myself :)

 

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An excursion went to the nearby scenic village of Erbelunge, with twisty little alleys, steep, and this view spot:

 

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Some younger pax (this one on the rock a radiologist who works in Sweden) had steadier footing than I did:

 

 

 

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Some locals preferred to do things their own way and not follow directions:

 

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Others engaged in activities very similar to some young pseudocounterculture San Franciscans

(i.e., dress all in black

ignore the beautiful view and each other, and stare down at a social media account):

 

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I decided to have lunch back at the ship in the MDR instead of in town as it was getting warm and I craved AC. The MDR became my regular lunch base for the rest of the trip. It was uncrowded and all but once when I came late I was able to get a window table:

 

 

 

Staffing was good, and though menu items were limited, there were daily specials that did not repeat on the cruise, usually a couple international appetizer and entree items and also favorite home cooking dishes nicely prepared, like this chicken fricassee that tasted a lot better than it looked, with flavorful dark and white chicken and veggies bursting with flavor. I polished off my salmon tatar appetizer, the chicken, and various items from the salad bar fairly quickly along with crispy baguette, plus flavorful gelato with strawberries, whipping cream and a capuccino. I verbally gave my suite number for the 250 cc wine when I ordered, did not have to sign, and the coffee was complementary

 

 

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I happened to be wearing a peach colored linen blouse so I matched my table setting:

 

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That evening was the Captain’s gala party (“free”unlimited champagne flowed) with fancy appetizers, meeting the friendly captain in Gatsby’s , and formal night. Caviar was French, very tasty, with proper presentation and choice of extras (I did blini, egg white, onion, and sour cream, and of course vodka, like my babushka had taught me :).

The programme had excitedly encouraged ladies to put on their finest (no shame), and they complied. More ladies here wore formal long gowns than on SB formal nights, but others like me who do not take well to plunging necklines and clingy fabrics just got out the flowing shinies and some jewelry. Everyone I saw, from young crew in waiter black to 90-year-olds looked very nice and it made the evening special and was fun to watch, reflective of an older era. The lithe Ispacion dancers turned a lot of heads and dropped a lot of maws when they appeared in their civilian formal night garb.

 

In the Europa Lounge we had a “welcome” introduction to key crew members and a sample misc show from the varied entertainers who were on board, the dancers, the cabaret comedian, the magician, pop singer Irene Sheer, and the on board Austrian band Impulse.

 

That night and each night I found a fine chocolate (saved for sweet-tooth DH on return) or other surprise on my pillow along with a card with witty sayings or pearls of wisdom.

 

It was a very good first full day.

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Sailaway from Bastia:

 

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Day 3, Bonifacio:

 

Much as I enjoyed Bastia, Bonifacio on the southern part of Corsica was even more beautiful, with its city fortress wall and limestone rock plates.

 

Arrival in Bonifacio:

 

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I did a walking tour and individual saunter and boat ride to a grotto (where, alas, iphone was not helpful for pictures):

 

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It was hard to decide where to have lunch, given all the nooks and crannies and alley tables.

This place looked like it had my name on it — views, comfortable chairs, uncrowded, and some ginger feline company:

 

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But there was still more to see before the clouds brought rain:

 

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Europeans in tiny apartments of course still hang their laundry out their windows to dry, even if they live with beautiful views:

 

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I am not sure why but for some reason I like this odd picture that will win no awards:

 

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Here I am checking things out from afar:

 

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Ultimately I just went back to the ship for a MDR lunch of fresh fish with rice in a saffron sauce:

 

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As HL usually does, the ship’s doctor had a get-together with a dozen or so pax docs early in the cruise. This is not just a social event for docs to rant about expanding health care bureaucracies in their countries, but is also for the ship doc to have a sense whom he may call on to volunteer help in the rare event he finds himself in dire straights and unable to get to port emergently. Apparently he has called on pax docs to help a couple times in the past, e.g., when a depressed crew member wanted to throw himself overboard in the middle of a crossing, a retired American octagenarian psychiatrist passenger saved the day with his counseling and other supportive care of the crew member until the ship could get to port.

It often makes me a bit uneasy to know a ship with almost 1000 people on board (including crew) only has one doc and one nurse.

 

This cruise there was also a nephrologist on board hired to care for two dialysis pax and no one else, plus a dialysis nurse ( whom I met in the bar), and most nephrologists are also good internists. I think it is a good idea for the ship doc to hedge his bets by knowing who else might be around in a pinch. Even a retired allergist or dentist could potentially be useful.

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Internet was up and down, but had reasonable rates, one hour free:

 

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So I surfed a bit while enjoying the view:

 

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And testing my iphone 8 plus closeup limits:

 

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What I really miss just carrying an iphone for pictures if I am not with DH is telephoto and good low light capabilities. But I have to limit extra weight I carry ( I have relatively weak and painful arm muscles, cannot even put a loaded rollaboard into the overhead compartment) and usually have to haul other more important things ( lots of fluids, meds) so I compromise.

 

 

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What I really miss just carrying an iphone for pictures if I am not with DH is telephoto and good low light capabilities. But I have to limit extra weight I carry ( I have relatively weak and painful arm muscles, cannot even put a loaded rollaboard into the overhead compartment) and usually have to haul other more important things ( lots of fluids, meds) so I compromise.

 

Have you looked at compact cameras such as the Panasonic DMC-TZ200 with it's 24-360mm zoom lens?

 

 

 

 

 

A cheaper option, with an even longer zoom lens (24-720mm) is the Sony DSC-HX90:

 

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