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EPIC 4-Night Barcelona Roundtrip - First Solo Cruise - Photo Review!

LittleMissMagic
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Debitoo

Debitoo

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I came over from the Royal boards. I was wondering where you've been! Awesome opportunity for you to study abroad! Happy that you are back cruising and reporting. LOVE your reviews! I'm subscribing. :cool:

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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The sail away drink was okay, but they're never that strong. I had time for a second drink, so I went with a mojito.

 

Well, at some point during the sail away party, I lost my card. I didn't realize this until I went back to my room. So I had to go downstairs and wait in a super long line to get a new card printed. Luckily, it didn't take long at all. But I was late to the solo meeting which I thought was at 6:00.

 

I walked in and luckily there were still people there. I introduced myself, and the solo coordinator, Viviany, looks at me and asks how old I am. She then shakes her head and says, "I don't normally get people that age." I didn't really think there would be people in their early 20s, but I was thinking there might be some late 20s/early 30s. Guess not.

 

There was a debate going on about whether the meeting time was 5:30 or 6:30. This is when we learned that Vi had a group of solo travelers who just did the transatlantic from the US which she catered to. They apparently eat really early dinners and had already gone to the Manhattan room at 5:30. She told us that she couldn't make us any reservations because it was after 6:00. She told us that we were going to have to wait a long time for dinner. And then she left. So we were on our own to make dinner plans.

 

There were five of us. Two from the UK, one from the US, and one from Madrid. We headed to Taste and were seated immediately. Take that Vi! :D

 

After dinner, I walked around the ship and stumbled into Latin Night at Bliss. I've heard about this tactic for a while, but it was the first time I actually saw it in action - NCL had four men employees who danced with the ladies and kept the dance floor going. And it was very entertaining to watch, as these men were of course excellent dancers.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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The next day, we arrived in Marseille. I've never sailed the Mediterranean before, so I assumed the ports would be similar to those of the Caribbean where you could just walk off the ship and souvenir shop or find an excursion.

 

This was not the case. Most all of the Mediterranean ports (exception is Naples, surprisingly) are industrial, so in order to actually see the city, you have to take a shuttle, cab, or excursion.

 

NCL offered a continuous shuttle service for $12. Personally, I think this shuttle should have been free. However, I think the purpose of charging for it was for crowd control. It was already ridiculously popular at $12, I can only imagine the number of users and decreased efficiency if it were offered for free.

 

8753983283_431562430a_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I decided to purchase the shuttle service.

 

8753944967_eabef244d8_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

The drive into the city was about 20 minutes. The way they parked their cars along the streets made it look almost like a scene from a zombie apocalypse movie.

 

8755072542_bda4194f76_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

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jdvmd

jdvmd

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Absolutely wonderful review and pictures! Thanks for sharing.

P.S. Good luck with architecture! My daughter is an architect now in the Netherlands. She graduated last year from the University of Kentucky.

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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8753912611_bec1847f29_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

8753904147_3ec87c8e03_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

And then I came to this unique structure...

 

8753902819_ddc8fd0800_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

A simple pavilion with a roof that reflects the ground below it. Time for an architectural tangent.... I loved it. It was simple. But it was inviting, interactive, and engaging. It would be interesting to sit down and count the number of people that saw it from a distance, then walked under it and looked up at their reflection.

 

8753902265_9b2b77c4c0_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

8755024190_7232366dbf_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

8753900169_e89e846bf7_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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8753855201_42f701a925_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

8753849197_b57f615608_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Marseille was apparently gearing up for some art light show. I was told by another solo passenger at dinner that they were going to have a lantern show and light up the harbor. So they had some cool art... which was obstructed by these hideous fences.

 

8754977686_902774b1a7_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I complain when museums put their canvases behind glass... don't even start me on this tacky method of creating a barrier between the art and the observer.

 

8754968744_bd8c3161ef_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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8753844909_d989a4d9c0_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I was hungry, so it was time to go back to the ship. There was a long line to catch the shuttle back, but they had them running pretty regularly so I didn't have to wait any more than 20 minutes.

 

8754965448_e185539caa_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I love how NCl has the canopies set up with the chairs, water, and music going. It really makes me feel like I'm going someplace exciting.

 

I grabbed a shot of Wasabi while no one was around. The interior decks of the ship are really quiet while in port.

 

8754957340_d06fae724d_c.jpg

Day 2 by vshingl, on Flickr

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LittleMissMagic "Live from...." Rare

LittleMissMagic

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Was that Richard the cruise director in one of your photos?

 

Thanks so much for posting in such detail. I cannot wait to see your 7-day cruise review.

 

Yes, that's Richard. He was actually our assistant cruise director, but I saw him much more frequently than I did our cruise director, Dan.

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