Ship's Excursion - Villfranche

[tetaf]

Has anyone taken the shore excursion from Royal Caribbean from Villefranche to Monte Carlo to Monaco, lunch in Eze, to Old Town Nice and back to Villefranche. I don't usually care for ship excursions, but I want to see a bit of all these areas and going a week before the Grand Prix. I understand traffic is horrible as it is. I was going to diy because it seems so easy, but if I'm going to get stuck somewhere, I'd rather it be with a ship excursion. Thanks ahead for your input.

[Hlitner]

Regarding the Grand Prix, it really will not have a big impact on traffic until the day before the race other than in Monte Carlo where it can a bit messy as they work on the race course. As to RCI excursions, if you enjoy being on a bus with 50 other cruisers and paying high prices than you will be fine.

 

Hank

[texancruzer]

We did the Royal Caribbean excursion while we were at Villefranche in Nov. 07. We first went to Nice, then Eze and finallay Monaco/Monte Carlo. While we normally do not do ships tours we found this one to be really nice and enjoyed our day ALOT.

 

We did have some unusual circumstances tho. The night before we came back from dinner to a note on our bed...... explained that the tour would not be going into Nice but doing a "scenic" tour instead as the new French president would be there and they were concerned over demonstrations/riots. We had the opportunity to cancel w/full refund, change to another tour or go on this one. We went. Well first we drove around a bit on the freeway (scenic tour) then we headed back down to the Boulevard de Anglais where we stopped and were told we could get out. Seems there were no big crowds etc and the police had not closed the roads etc. We walked down to an area where the market was just getting set up to open and were given some free time to explore. DH and I had a coffee and bathroom break. We then walked down a block or two and saw a TON OF SECURITY guys (on the roofs etcetc) We asked "whats going on?" and were told the President would be here in 4-5 minutes. Right here ? Yep ! Only about 100 people in the square so we decided to wait. Well - long story short.....we not only saw him but he walked right by us as he was walking the perimeter shaking hands with the crowds. Really quite neat !

 

Then on to Eze.......plenty of free time there and lunch included (very very good I might add)

 

Then to Monaco (the rock first) and plenty of free time there too. We walked to the palace and looked around, then to the cathedral where Princess Grace and Prince Rainier are buried, then a quick run thru of the Jaques Cousteau Oceanographic Museum. Then met back with group and down to Monte Carlo. Plenty of free time there too. We opted to look around some of the $$$$ shops and then have a coffee and crepe at the Cafe de Paris right outside the casino. Some people went in with the guide (she had passes so no entry fee). Then back to the ship.

 

Long day but got to see alot and was hassle free. While we enjoy DIY - sometimes when you want to go to multiple places in a short amount of time it can be a hassle. We felt we got a good value for our money and enjoyed our day !

[tetaf]

We did the Royal Caribbean excursion while we were at Villefranche in Nov. 07. We first went to Nice, then Eze and finallay Monaco/Monte Carlo. While we normally do not do ships tours we found this one to be really nice and enjoyed our day ALOT.

 

We did have some unusual circumstances tho. The night before we came back from dinner to a note on our bed...... explained that the tour would not be going into Nice but doing a "scenic" tour instead as the new French president would be there and they were concerned over demonstrations/riots. We had the opportunity to cancel w/full refund, change to another tour or go on this one. We went. Well first we drove around a bit on the freeway (scenic tour) then we headed back down to the Boulevard de Anglais where we stopped and were told we could get out. Seems there were no big crowds etc and the police had not closed the roads etc. We walked down to an area where the market was just getting set up to open and were given some free time to explore. DH and I had a coffee and bathroom break. We then walked down a block or two and saw a TON OF SECURITY guys (on the roofs etcetc) We asked "whats going on?" and were told the President would be here in 4-5 minutes. Right here ? Yep ! Only about 100 people in the square so we decided to wait. Well - long story short.....we not only saw him but he walked right by us as he was walking the perimeter shaking hands with the crowds. Really quite neat !

 

Then on to Eze.......plenty of free time there and lunch included (very very good I might add)

 

Then to Monaco (the rock first) and plenty of free time there too. We walked to the palace and looked around, then to the cathedral where Princess Grace and Prince Rainier are buried, then a quick run thru of the Jaques Cousteau Oceanographic Museum. Then met back with group and down to Monte Carlo. Plenty of free time there too. We opted to look around some of the $$$$ shops and then have a coffee and crepe at the Cafe de Paris right outside the casino. Some people went in with the guide (she had passes so no entry fee). Then back to the ship.

 

Long day but got to see alot and was hassle free. While we enjoy DIY - sometimes when you want to go to multiple places in a short amount of time it can be a hassle. We felt we got a good value for our money and enjoyed our day !

I normally don't go this route, but definitely wanted to see all that's listed. So thanks for making me feel better about my decision. Really looking forward to it.

[WNcruiser]

As to RCI excursions, if you enjoy being on a bus with 50 other cruisers and paying high prices than you will be fine.

 

Hank

 

Is this a fact? I have heard that they use smaller vans in Villefranche for the ships tours, can anyone confirm? I think their prcies for a 4 hour tour are very reasonable.

 

Also interested in how far the walk is from the tender to the road where they pick you up. Is it uphill? We are travelling with some folks who will be limited in walking and are thinking of the "Scenic French Riviera" tour on RCI. Thanks,

 

Steve

[texancruzer]

We were definately on a large bus. Was truly amazing how they can fit them in (and turn around) in the port area in Villefranche. There are very very old huge walls all around the area and it is quite small.....but those buses get in and out just fine.

 

The walk is not excessively far. After exiting the tender you must go thru a small port building and thru a parking lot. Might be a slight incline after that but not "uphill" as such.

[Baseboard7]

Texancruiser,

 

Thanks for the info. The RCI cruise description says you get half an hour in each of Eze and Nice. Did you have more time than this?

[texancruzer]

Nice: Maybe a tad more. Seems that because of our "unusual circumstances" as posted above...... we would have had even more time in Nice.....but we drove around a bit first - scenic tour (which wasnt). I wasnt too impressed with Nice, you can only walk so far (and back to the meeting spot) in a short amount of time. Not like strolling around for hours and exploring.

 

Eze: Also seems like more than 30 minutes. We walked around quite a bit on the rock - ducking into small shops etc. Then back down for lunch at the White Horse Restaurant at the specified time. Very good lunch too.

 

Monaco/Monte Carlo: Had alot of time here. First to the "rock" and checked out the palace (just outside) the cathedral (inside) and then we did a quick walk thru of the Oceanographic Museum. We walked out of the museum just as the group was meeting to go back to the bus. Then down to the downtown area (by casino) and we had a nice visit there too. Went to some shops and then sat at the Cafe de Paris for crepes and coffee. Then walked around some more in front of the casino by the waterfront.

 

A really nice day. Long but got to see alot and not have to worry about anything but being back at the meeting spot by a certain time - which was easy.

[Baseboard7]

Texancruzer,

 

I was thinking that maybe I wouldn't do the multi-city tour at all and just stay in Nice, but now that you say there wasn't much to do there, I'll have to rethink this. Thanks for the information.

[texancruzer]

Baseboard: didnt really say there wasnt much to do there......just that we didnt have alot of time to do much exploring. We had really unusual circumstances - as posted.....the French prez was coming that day and they SAID that we werent going to stop in the old part and opt for a "scenic drive" but we ended up (just our bus) doing a short drive and then a short stop in the old section. We walked a bit and ended up seeing the French president up close - like real up close...... 2 feet away close. So because of all the mix up I think we ended up with less time than normal....so not much time to walk and explore. I am sure that Nice has some neat stuff.....just we didnt get to really find it.

 

FWIW: I enjoyed Eze and Monte Carlo/Monaco alot more than Nice. Also Villefranche is kind of neat too.... I was tired when we got back and took a short nap before dinner....but dh took another tender back ashore and wandered around Villefranche a bit. Charming small town.

[cotomom]

 

Eze: Also seems like more than 30 minutes. We walked around quite a bit on the rock - ducking into small shops etc. Then back down for lunch at the White Horse Restaurant at the specified time. Very good lunch too.

.

 

Would you mind elaborating about the lunch? Type of food, quanitity, wine included, length of time, etc. etc.? Also, did you see if anyone did NOT join for the lunch and ate on their own (to spend more time wandering perhaps?)

 

Thinking about this exact excursion and I'm a foodie at heart! Thank you!

[texancruzer]

Cotomom: Sorry took a while to get back to your question....just got back from a land trip to Costa Rica !

 

Lunch was really good as I remember. Just don't remember what it was :eek: It was Nov. 2007 and I have trouble remembering what I ate 2 days ago :rolleyes: Sorry.

 

I do remember lunch was the last thing we did in Eze and I don't really think that time would allow you to eat elsewhere. In France they eat leisurely (a good thing btw) but you are on a tour and have time constraints.

[cotomom]

Thanks so much for the reply! I too probably wouldn't remember from back then! Hope you had a good trip!