Rome – Transatlantic 2009 Day 9 – Villefranche, France

Yesterday, we made a port of call in Villefranche, France. It was another tender port since there is no dock for cruise ships. The two primary points of interest in the area are Monaco and Nice. We had chosen to stay in the area and just walk around the quaint little town.

Having stayed up rather late the night before so Suzanne could do karaoke, we slept in and didn’t get up until almost 10:00. We decided to grab an early lunch before heading ashore. The tender ride ashore was very nice as we got to up on top and were provided a very nice panoramic view of the sheltered harbor that is the Villefranche. It was very picturesque and we should have some good pictures.

Savannah wanted to do some shopping a get a French beret hat. During our walk around town, we must have poked our heads into a couple dozen shops, but none had the hat she was looking for. In fact, Sean was the only one who bought anything as he got a Monaco baseball cap.

After about an hour or so of walking the town, Sean and I decided to head back to the ship. The girls stayed for another 30 minutes.

After returning, the kids went and did some Kids clubs activities while Suzanne caught up on some computer stuff (ie Cruise Talk blog posts) while I strolled around the ship and enjoyed some more looking at the countryside.

With last night being the first formal night, the girls wanted to show out. Sean and I wanted to clear out. We didn’t want to be near them trying to get ready. The battle over Savannah’s hair and other things is not pleasant. So, we left and went to the Martini Bar to relax while they got dressed. We gave them 90 minutes and then went up ourselves to get dressed. We then proceeded to our nightly pre-dinner spot, the CellarMasters lounge and enjoyed a California flight of wines.

Hate to sound like a broken record, but dinner was once again wonderful. Suzanne and I enjoyed Chateaubriand while Savannah had quail and Sean had lamb chops. Sean and Suzanne also enjoyed some shrimp cocktail, escargot and frog legs.

Being the first formal night, early in the cruise, it was also the Captain’s welcome aboard toast and opening Broadway style show. The Captain was very entertaining and quite funny – not like the ordinary Captain you seem to get. He was also very young – 41, I think, but that’s a funny story in itself that he told. I must say, I was impressed with him.

The Broadway show was okay. Suzanne liked it more than I did. There wasn’t anything wrong with it per se, I just didn’t think it stood out. It will be interesting to see what the cast does the rest of the cruise. As a formal night, the show is after dinner, so when it was over it was about midnight, so we decided to call it a night.

Today, we will make a port of call in Barcelona, Spain. Since we spent almost a week in Barcelona last year this time prior to that transatlantic cruise, we are unsure what, if anything we will do here. Perhaps we will get off the ship and just walk around the marina area.

Speak Your Mind

*