Cannes Hop on Hop off through NCL?

[Macdooger4]

Has anybody done the hop on/hop off bus tour from Cannes? It takes you to Monte-Carlo with some stops along the way. Thinking this sounds like a good tour. Thoughts?

[marazul]

58 minutes ago, Macdooger4 said:

Has anybody done the hop on/hop off bus tour from Cannes? It takes you to Monte-Carlo with some stops along the way. Thinking this sounds like a good tour. Thoughts?

Maybe.  What are the stops?

[CruiserBruce]

If I did it, I would do it on my own, not through the cruise line.

[MeHeartCruising]

I see an NCL excursion named "Monaco Hop on Hop Off".   Is this the excursion you are referring to?

 

"See the attractions that you find most appealing and stay as long as you wish by hopping on and off buses as they make a continuous loop around Monte Carlo. There are a dozen stops along the route, so you will have plenty of options. You could even remain on board the whole time and take in the sights through the windows or from atop the double-deck bus. The amount of time that you spend at each destination will be entirely up to you.   You might hop off at the Oceanographic Museum, the opulent Monte Carlo Casino and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where in 1956 Prince Rainier II married Grace Kelly. The Princess Grace Rose Garden that the prince created as a poignant monument to his late wife is another popular spot. You will hear commentary along the way that describes the upcoming attractions, so you can easily pick the ones that sound best to you."

 

This sounds like a regular Monaco HOHO bus, which probably doesn't actually come into Cannes, I would think.  So I suspect you will be bused to Monaco from the ship to a HOHO stop location.  Then you're on your own.  I don't think the stops are between Cannes and Monaco.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  And you will be riding it with non-cruise passengers.  

 

HOHO buses can be very busy in peak season and you sometimes have to wait for the next bus.  So the experience can be impacted by how often buses actually come by.  This is mentioned in the NOTE at the bottom of the excursion webpage.  

[Macdooger4]

13 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

If I did it, I would do it on my own, not through the cruise line.

This is the one port I want to do through cruise ship, purely because the times are tight so this way we don't have to stress about getting back in time or about having the tour leave without us while we are tendering. 

[Macdooger4]

3 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

I see an NCL excursion named "Monaco Hop on Hop Off".   Is this the excursion you are referring to?

 

"See the attractions that you find most appealing and stay as long as you wish by hopping on and off buses as they make a continuous loop around Monte Carlo. There are a dozen stops along the route, so you will have plenty of options. You could even remain on board the whole time and take in the sights through the windows or from atop the double-deck bus. The amount of time that you spend at each destination will be entirely up to you.   You might hop off at the Oceanographic Museum, the opulent Monte Carlo Casino and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where in 1956 Prince Rainier II married Grace Kelly. The Princess Grace Rose Garden that the prince created as a poignant monument to his late wife is another popular spot. You will hear commentary along the way that describes the upcoming attractions, so you can easily pick the ones that sound best to you."

 

This sounds like a regular Monaco HOHO bus, which probably doesn't actually come into Cannes, I would think.  So I suspect you will be bused to Monaco from the ship to a HOHO stop location.  Then you're on your own.  I don't think the stops are between Cannes and Monaco.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  And you will be riding it with non-cruise passengers.  

 

HOHO buses can be very busy in peak season and you sometimes have to wait for the next bus.  So the experience can be impacted by how often buses actually come by.  This is mentioned in the NOTE at the bottom of the excursion webpage.  

Yes, this is the one! We start in Cannes so we will explore Cannes on our own (Don't think we need much time to explore there tho). And yes, it does go straight to Monte-Carlo, I prob didn't make that clear...I'm ok with non-cruise passengers. Hoping that in May, maybeeee the lines will not be as long? IDK tho.

[edinburgher]

Hoping that in May, maybeeee the lines will not be as long? IDK tho.

 

Unfortunately might be busier than you expect although it will depend on your date. Two important dates to  be avoided if possible..

 

Every year in the month of May the Cannes Film Festival takes place and Cannes and most of the other  towns both inland and coastal are packed out.

 

And Monaco hosts the Monaco Grand Prix every May. Preparatory works will begin at least one week before and the clear up takes several days afterwards. We have visited the day after and Monaco was an incredible mess and super noisy as metal barricades and stands  etc were removed and  many huge lorries were parked up waiting to be loaded before moving off. Several  centrally located roads along the F1 route were closed to traffic.  Fortunately we had visited previously and were able to plan our day away from the noisy and closed areas.

 

Best compare dates for both events with yours  and hope your day there doesn't fall on either event.

 

 

[Macdooger4]

1 hour ago, edinburgher said:

Hoping that in May, maybeeee the lines will not be as long? IDK tho.

 

Unfortunately might be busier than you expect although it will depend on your date. Two important dates to  be avoided if possible..

 

Every year in the month of May the Cannes Film Festival takes place and Cannes and most of the other  towns both inland and coastal are packed out.

 

And Monaco hosts the Monaco Grand Prix every May. Preparatory works will begin at least one week before and the clear up takes several days afterwards. We have visited the day after and Monaco was an incredible mess and super noisy as metal barricades and stands  etc were removed and  many huge lorries were parked up waiting to be loaded before moving off. Several  centrally located roads along the F1 route were closed to traffic.  Fortunately we had visited previously and were able to plan our day away from the noisy and closed areas.

 

Best compare dates for both events with yours  and hope your day there doesn't fall on either event.

 

 

Oh boy, we will actually be in Cannes at the beginning of the film festival...will need to check the Grtand Prix dates tho. We went ahead and decided to book a semi-private tour through the cruise ship due to the short time frames, etc....wanted to be on the safe side in this port, especially with the tendering process. Thank you for the response!

[edinburgher]

Thanks for acknowledging as not everyone does.

[Hlitner]

I will again mention that it is at least a 1 hour drive from Cannes to Monte Carlo.  If one does it along the coastal route it would likely be about 1 1/2 hours (each way) because this route involves many smaller towns, lights, and traffic.

 

For folks wanting to simply go to Monte Carlo (from Cannes) we think the best way is to simply take the train.  There is a regional "TER" train that spans the entire coast including Cannes all the way to Menton.  That train has stops in places like Antibes, Cagnes sur Mer, and Nice before getting to Monte Carlo.  It is a commuter-type train with no reservations and runs quite often.  One can walk to the Cannes train station in about 30-40 minutes (from the tender pier) so it does make sense to try and get a taxi.  It is the same in Monte Carlo (the train station is too far from most tourist areas) where using the local buses or a taxi makes sense.

 

Hank

[Macdooger4]

23 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I will again mention that it is at least a 1 hour drive from Cannes to Monte Carlo.  If one does it along the coastal route it would likely be about 1 1/2 hours (each way) because this route involves many smaller towns, lights, and traffic.

 

For folks wanting to simply go to Monte Carlo (from Cannes) we think the best way is to simply take the train.  There is a regional "TER" train that spans the entire coast including Cannes all the way to Menton.  That train has stops in places like Antibes, Cagnes sur Mer, and Nice before getting to Monte Carlo.  It is a commuter-type train with no reservations and runs quite often.  One can walk to the Cannes train station in about 30-40 minutes (from the tender pier) so it does make sense to try and get a taxi.  It is the same in Monte Carlo (the train station is too far from most tourist areas) where using the local buses or a taxi makes sense.

 

Hank

Thank you. We decided to go through the cruise line for this tour instead of doing it ourselves. Due to the right time frame, this way we are guaranteed the ship will wait for us (right?)