Marseille excursion necessary?

[newbie30]

Hi,

 

We are off on a cruise which stops at Marseille in August this hear. We are already taking expensive excursions at Livorno and Gibraltar,so wondered if people thought it was necessary to take a planned excursion from Marseille or whether a shuttle bus and stroll around would be ok? We have two young children with us so taking a taxi somewhere isn’t an option. I have read a lot about aix and cassis. Are we really missing out not visiting these places? Is the shuttle bus/walk into town a nightmare?

 

Sorry for all the questions - I just don’t want to waste a day if possible [emoji4]

 

 

 

 

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[Hlitner]

Lets start on your question with a simple statement of fact, "It is NEVER necessary to take an excursion in Western Europe. There are always other options including Do it Yourself (DIY) or private tours (often booked with others via the CC Roll Call). In addition, many of the high volume cruise agencies are now marketing tours (handled by third party tour providers) that are generally less costly then similar tours booked via a cruise line.

 

Getting to your Marseille question, the two young children (you do not say how young) is always a major factor. The fact that you say you cannot take taxis makes me think you are not bringing your own car seats. Some folks do bring their own car seats, but we do know what a hassle that can be with 2 children. On the other hand, shuttle buses do not have car seats. From Marseille you are going to need some kind of transportation into town..which can be done by a shuttle bus (depending on the cruise line this may have a price) or a taxi. I am not sure that strolling around Marseille with young children will be very rewarding, but it is an option. Depending on their age you could take them on a boat ride over the Chateau d'If (many say this was the inspiration for the Count of Monte Cristo). Otherwise, if the children were old enough we might recommend taking a train up to Aix en Provence or even Avignon (if you have a long port day).

 

Marseille is considered, by many, to be a "gateway port" to a good portion of Provence. There are nearly an unlimited number of options for those that rent a car...but that's another issue.

 

Hank

[newbie30]

Lets start on your question with a simple statement of fact, "It is NEVER necessary to take an excursion in Western Europe. There are always other options including Do it Yourself (DIY) or private tours (often booked with others via the CC Roll Call). In addition, many of the high volume cruise agencies are now marketing tours (handled by third party tour providers) that are generally less costly then similar tours booked via a cruise line.

 

 

 

Getting to your Marseille question, the two young children (you do not say how young) is always a major factor. The fact that you say you cannot take taxis makes me think you are not bringing your own car seats. Some folks do bring their own car seats, but we do know what a hassle that can be with 2 children. On the other hand, shuttle buses do not have car seats. From Marseille you are going to need some kind of transportation into town..which can be done by a shuttle bus (depending on the cruise line this may have a price) or a taxi. I am not sure that strolling around Marseille with young children will be very rewarding, but it is an option. Depending on their age you could take them on a boat ride over the Chateau d'If (many say this was the inspiration for the Count of Monte Cristo). Otherwise, if the children were old enough we might recommend taking a train up to Aix en Provence or even Avignon (if you have a long port day).

 

 

 

Marseille is considered, by many, to be a "gateway port" to a good portion of Provence. There are nearly an unlimited number of options for those that rent a car...but that's another issue.

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

 

Thanks for all the information. It is really helpful. They are only 6 and 2 and we are hoping to avoid bringing car seats by arranging transfers/tours that supply them.

 

I will definitely look into our options some more. A boat trip in particular would be very popular with my son so thanks for that suggestion [emoji4]

 

 

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[onyx007]

Hi Newbie

My parents and my sister just were on a cruise day in Marseille some weeks ago with my 6 year old nephew.

What Hank wrote is right;

I think there is one of this Little Tourist-Trains, which for sure will be great fun for the Kids.

http://www.petit-train-marseille.com/circuits-petit-train-marseille-en.html

[Hlitner]

This thread really does cause me to think about car seats. It is a huge problem for travelers...especially folks traveling with more then one toddler. In many places it can be nearly impossible to find a taxi with approved car seats for little ones. And buses have nothing...not to mention trains and even planes. On one hand many countries have encouraged (or made it the law) putting little ones in approved car seats. And yet, there has been little progress in requiring taxis to have approved car seats.

 

So now we get to one of my favorite topics...which is Uber (I cannot speak to Lyft since we have yet to use this service). Uber does provide the ability to request a vehicle with a car seat :). And yet, in many places there is a campaign (often led by taxi drivers) to ban Uber. Taxis do not want to carry car seats because they cost money and take up space that is often needed for luggage.

 

Getting back to parents (and Grandparents) who want to travel with toddlers...it seems to me that we simply must make the effort of carrying our own car seats (a complete pain) or perhaps not travel with the little ones. Otherwise we are often forced to compromise the safety of our little ones :(.

 

Hank

[funat55]

Hi Newbie

My parents and my sister just were on a cruise day in Marseille some weeks ago with my 6 year old nephew.

What Hank wrote is right;

I think there is one of this Little Tourist-Trains, which for sure will be great fun for the Kids.

http://www.petit-train-marseille.com/circuits-petit-train-marseille-en.html

 

This is exactly what we are going to do. Our upcoming cruise on the Symphony of the Seas, is very port intensive, only one sea day. We plan on making our stop at Marseille a half day adventure so that we can get back to the ship and explore some of its amenities as we have three very long days in Italy.

[nacsivmw]

When we were In Marseille we took a shuttle provided by our cruise line (Holland America) and found our way easily to the train mentioned. It was a nice way to see the city as we made our way up to a beautiful church that had an amazing view of Marseille and the waterfront. We had originally thought about traveling out of Marseille for the day, but were happy with our decision to stay and explore this pretty city a bit.

 

 

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