This was our very first cruise and overall we were very pleased with how comfortable it was and how friendly the staff were. The staff really made it very enjoyable for us! I was unfortunately disappointed that we never seemed to have any decent conversations with any of the other passengers though, even though most of them were F1 fans as well. They were mostly white. The British ones in particular were standoff-ish and never bothered to say hello, or if they did, it was in a very disinterested and curt way. Not very friendly at all. If it weren’t for the friendliness of the staff, it could have easily become a rather poor experience based on the snobby behaviour of the other passengers.
But we were mostly busy going about in ports on excursions or at the F1 track, so we had a good time anyway.
The White Night Party was held on the evening of race day and the ship stayed in the Monaco harbour for several hours during the party. So it was a beautiful and glamourous way to enjoy the views and have a great time in Monaco!
It’s a lovely and very comfortable way to attend the Monaco Grand prix and travel in style!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Quick and easy! Went much earlier than assigned time with no hassles, no line-up!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The main dining room, Discoveries, was excellent! Breakfasts were expertly prepared to my liking and the croissants were perfectly crisp and flaky! Dinners were amazing gourmet affairs with 5 star service! The buffet was pretty good, depending on the choices I made. The scrambled eggs were awful though. Desserts were more than plentiful and delicious! Too many to choose from. With the excellent dining choices in Discoveries, we never needed to spend more money for the more upscale restaurants. We stuck with the basic included drinks package and that was more than enough for us. I’m not a big drinker, so the premium package would have been a big waste. They have nice house wines. I especially liked the rose, which was from the Pays d’Oc region of southern France. A nice refreshing dry rose, crisp on the palate from lime minerals and delicate floral bouquet on the nose, hint of citrus.
Discoveries Restaurant
5 out of 5
Excellent service and gourmet foods! Treated like a VIP!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Enjoyed jogging on the top running track early in the morning in fresh sea air. Did enjoy using the hot tub once and lounge on the pool deck and on the much quieter Deck 5 in the shade.
The Drawing Room
5 out of 5
Absolutely gorgeous and a nice quiet place to read in comfortable chairs and sofas.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The Living Room band was lively and performed very well. The bands during the White Night Party were all great and made it a really fun night! Got me and my husband dancing at the finale! And we never usually like to!
Children's Programs
No children
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All the staff were phenomenal, courteous and welcoming! Special thanks to our cabin steward, Bernadus, waiters in Discoveries: Tyrone, Napoleon; and Narayan on the pool deck! They made our first cruise experience a very wonderful one!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Really like how the ship is small enough that you can never get lost and it’s easy to find all the amenities. The crew did a great job to scrub all the decks clean every morning and all the common interior spaces as well. Wish that there were more lounge chairs more readily available on the pool deck.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
It was ok for the price and the fact that we booked rather late. It was an obstructed view with tender lifeboat and the cabin was smaller than most rooms in this class. We didn’t have a couch or table to be able to get room service. On the plus side, more than enough drawers and closet space for all our clothes and things. When we were in port, the tender boat in front of our window would be lowered for use as a tender, so we woke up each morning with a lovely view! It was beautiful in Monaco seeing the palace walls among the sea cliff side right outside our window! The bed was very comfortable and the bathroom, though small, looked very nice and the shower pressure was perfect.
Ship tip
Pay for laundry service and pressing instead of trying to use the self service laundry to save yourself time and headache, especially during a sea day when just about EVERYBODY ELSE wants to do their laundry at the same time! I found it far too stressful and wasted a lot of my time running back and forth to do another load, put wet clothes into the dryer and pick them up in time before someone else moved them into a pile on the floor. It wasn’t worth saving the money!
Got one of our carry on bags stolen right under our noses by professional thieves several years ago. Don’t like needing to be so cautious and anxious about pick-pockets. Made us afraid to go out at night. All the main sights tend to get overrun with too many tourists. Will skip it entirely next time. It was worth it to do a day trip to Montserrat to see the unusual and beautiful mountains.
St Tropez itself has nothing of interest to me. The excursion to Gassin, Ramatuelle and the Bertaud Belieu winery were far more interesting and beautiful.
We only wanted to go there for the F1 Grand Prix race weekend, and it is a beautiful venue for that. Otherwise, it’s far too posh and expensive for my budget. I would never go back there for any other reason than seeing a race. Good to go once to check it off our bucket list.
We requested early debarkation and it was very quick and easy with just carry-on luggage. They had a special early buffet breakfast. Once we asked staff where to disembark, which was on Deck 3 Forward, it was very quick to scan our card and find a taxi waiting next to the port.
Great itinerary. Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising. Of course, your experience is nothing like the big ocean liners (yours was more intimate), but the general idea is the same. You unpack once see various ports of call. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Hope you try more.
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