Come away with me to Cannes!
Ship: Norwegian Epic – docked in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
A little bit about Norwegian Cruise Lines. (Tip: Frequent cruisers who are loyal to their cruise line brands will benefit, if you purchase at least 100 shares of Norwegian Cruise Line stock (same for Carnival). The benefit is $100 ship credit for cruises over 5 nights, $50 ship credit for less than that). I’ve taken advantage of this benefit every time I have sailed). We like to cruise because it gives us opportunities to see many places during one trip. It also allows us to bring our tennis racquets, because we can plan in advance, opportunities to play tennis during our trip. In addition, cruise ships allow us our other passion, to ballroom dance. The Norwegian Epic did not disappoint.
Our special story from our Norwegian Epic cruise! First of all, great cruise. We embarked in Barcelona Spain. We cruised to Pompeii, then to Pisa, Florence, Rome, Marseilles (our favorite excursion electric bike through Marseilles) and Cannes! The Norwegian Epic had many performers on the ship.
We enjoyed all the entertainment aboard the Norwegian Epic; however, our favorite was the Summer Breeze duo. The woman played an electronic cello and the man played either the piano or guitar. They played a wide range of music, which allowed us to dance. In addition to playing tennis, we love to ballroom dance (thanks to our instructors from Fred Astaire, Morristown). One evening, we asked the performers if they knew “Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones. They said, unfortunately, they did not. We didn’t think much of it, because the music they played was wonderful. On our last evening of the cruise, they made an announcement to the audience. They had learned our wedding song “Come Away with Me.” We danced our waltz. We were very touched that they had learned the song especially for us. Norwegian Epic’s performers are top notch!
Back to our Cannes experience:
After a few days of shore excursions to Pompeii, Florence,Pisa, and Rome, we we ready for our Cannes tennis outing, followed by a great excursion to nearby Abbaye de Lérins.
Before you embark on your vacation, contact Cannes Tennis Club and let you know when you will be visiting, to reserve your court.
Our ship arrived at the Port early. There is a short walk to exit the Port. (it is 5 minute walk through the parking lot, immediately outside the parking lot is hotels, businesses) We were pleased to find that UBER was in France! TIP: Download UBER app on your phone before your trip! Reserve, an UBER. Your UBER will pick you up outside the Port. It was about $7 Uber ride to the Cannes Tennis Club (The UBERS in Cannes were immaculate cars with very polite, smartly dressed drivers).
The Cannes Tennis Club is nestled in a neighborhood setting. When you walk out of the club you are surrounded by balconies of apartments. The courts are hard court. We were welcomed immediately and were set up on our court. Tennis in Cannes. It was a very special outing.
After we played our singles match, we showered and changed in the club’s locker room. We ordered an UBER and went back to the dock. Once we got back to the dock, we bought our ferry ticket to the Saint Honarat Island.
The ferry was filled with locals and tourists, who would spend the day at the beach on the island, or hike, or have lunch at the Michelin rated restaurant, La Tonnelle.
Tip: Once you arrive on the island, make your reservation at the restaurant for indoor or outdoor seating. The restaurant is set, overlooking the French Riviera
After we made our reservation, we hiked around the island. We found that there are beautiful vineyards that are run by the Monastery on the Island. The island was absolutely stunning. Lunch was amazing, also. We tried some of the Abbaye de Lerins Chardonnay with our lunch. It was as impressive as the lunch.
We walked around the island, and then took one of the ferries that runs about every hour, back to our cruise ship. We ended up buying a couple of bottles of the monastery’s wine.
It was a special day…tennis at the Cannes Tennis Club, followed by a lovely hike with lunch on the French Riviera…then back to the our cruise ship for dinner and dancing! It doesn’t get better than that!