![]() We would now be disembarked back in our old friend Savona! Two and a hour hours away from Nice. However, after I had rearranged our taxi pick up to Monaco, Star Clippers changed the plan again. So, of all the changes we were to sustain, this one would matter the least. This was not going to matter too much as the journey time from this port to Nice airport is about the same as from Cannes. The initial version of the new itinerary planned to disembark us in Monaco. We finished our dinner at about 11.00 pm.ĭisembarkation was a muddle. Our meal was interrupted by the lengthy safety drill. The ship arrived an hour or so after we did, but we were lucky to be one of the first few aboard at 8.00 pm - others were much later. After the shock at the port of Cannes, we took a three hour bus trip to Savona, Italy (passing Nice Airport en route). The embarkation day was really uncomfortable. Each and every change had a negative impact: the only parts that were enjoyable were those that were unaltered. Taken as a whole, the new itinerary was substantially less attractive than the itinerary that we had booked and paid for. The port of Savona was a very unsatisfactory substitute for the port of Cannes both as a location and scenically. It appeared that these destinations had been selected merely for their geographical location rather than for their tourist appeal. Neither were interesting places to visit, the second being particularly poor. Although the first offered an excursion, the second did not. Instead of four ports in Corsica, we were taken to two new ports in Sardinia. It was easy to see why a cruise planner would select these and we were very happy to visit them. In each case, there were excursions available and the locations were in themselves interesting to visit. There had been no advance notice of these changes and, when I enquired later, I found that our cruise agent had had no warning either.įour ports were retained from the scheduled itinerary: Lerici, Elba, Monaco and Alghero. We were given a brief explanation that we would be need to take a 3 hour bus journey to Savona in Italy and that we were to find that the itinerary had been changed. In reality, the ship was not in port when we arrived in Cannes at 2.00pm on 3 August. Attractive cruise package straight forward journeys to start and finish. There would be eight stops in all before returning to Cannes for disembarkation.įurther, travel from UK would be relatively easy: short flights to and from Nice with 40 minute transfers to and from Cannes port. After Cannes, this cruise was to take us to ports in Italy, Elba, Sardinia, Corsica (where the ship would make four stops) and Monaco, most of which we had not previously visited. We selected this cruise because the itinerary was just seven days and offered a number of ports that we had not visited before. I have now the time to add more facts to my earlier posting. Obviously, this line is not going to appear in our future travel plans! ![]() We hope that the company’s financial arrangements do not lead to any further changes before the end of our week. Today, we hear a few words of regret that we had been inconvenienced, but it is pretty clear that the comfort of passengers is low in the priorities of Star Clippers. We now have to rearrange our departure arrangements. Plates of half eaten dishes were left as we stood around, fuming and sweating. ![]() This was interrupted by a lifeboat drill at 10pm. We finally got to our cabin at 8 pm (luggage a bit later). There, we found that the ship was still at sea. So, instead of a relaxed boarding at 4pm, we found ourselves being bussed to Savona, 3 hrs away. Thus our itinerary has been changed: several destinations dropped in Corsica and we will end in Monaco rather than Cannes. We understand that a dispute concerning the Flying Clipper construction has led to the French authorities threatening to seize our vessel if it enters French waters. The current Royal Clipper voyage (3 Aug) started disastrouslyĭue to sail from Cannes, every passenger arrived to discover that the ship had gone to Savona, Italy. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |