With children to the Cote d'Azur + Mediterranean cruise + Amalfi

With children to the Cote d'Azur + Mediterranean cruise + Amalfi Coast June 17-27, 2023.

The travelogues from each destination can be found below:

• Travelogue: can
• Travelogue: Monaco and Nice
• Travelogue: From Cannes to Marseille. Boarding the ship.
• Travelogue: ON BOARD THE MSC GRANDIOSA
  
• Travelogue: BARCELONA
• Travelogue: Tunisia
• Travelogue: Palermo, Sicily
• Travelogue: Naples and Pompeii
• Travelogue: Amalfi Coast
• Travelogue: Vesuvius and Pompeii Architectural Complex

Mom, when are we going again?

After our incredible transatlantic cruise from Europe to the Caribbean in December 2016, (which you can see HERE), when our children were 1.8 years old and almost 6 years old at the time, they’ve often asked over the years: “When are we going on a cruise again?” Their memory of it was so memorable and wonderful that they wanted to experience it all over again.

That's why over the years I've often searched the Internet for all kinds of offers, I've compared prices, but we've never reached a second for them (and a third for us, the parents) cruise. In 2022, I had found an extremely profitable cruise in the height of the summer with MSC, but mandatory vaccination against Covid was required, and this conditions stopped us.

And so until March 2023, when I broke my ankle in Israel and then had enough time at home for relaxation, rest, making new ambitious travel plans. Then I firmly decided that we would go on a cruise in the summer, regardless of the prices and the route. Let it be a ship! I looked at the offers, there was nothing very profitable. Finally, I chose a route that was interesting and included ports we had not been.

The final choice!

The cruise I chose was from the MSC cruise company with Grandiosa from 19 to 24.06.2023 (5 nights, 6 days) and included the following stops:
Marseille –> Barcelona –> day by sea –> La Goulette (Tunisia) –> Palermo (East of Sicily) –> Naples.

With no plans to skimp, I booked a balcony stateroom, which significantly increased the price of the cruise compared to the cost of an interior stateroom, but it was definitely worth it. (Why? — you’ll find out later in the travelogue.)

I booked through the website at Orbitz, from where I then received $30 cashback (return minimum amount) through the site topcashback.com.

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Since there are no direct and cheap flights from Bulgaria to Marseille, I decided that we will fly from Sofia to Nice on a Wizz Air flight, there we will spend 2 nights (3 days) and tour Cannes, Nice and Monaco. Then by train we will get from Cannes to Marseille, where we will board the cruise ship and get off in Naples. There we will have 3 more nights in the area to visit Naples, Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and whatever else time remains.

the route

In summary, the entire route looked like this:

17.06. Flight from Sofia to Nice with Wizz Air. Transfer to Cannes. Walk. Overnight in Cannes.
18.06. By train/bus to Monaco. Walk. Then to Nice. Walk. Overnight in Cannes.
19-06. Train transfer from Cannes to Marseille. Transfer from the main train station to the harbour cruise terminal. Boarding the ship. First impressions.
20.06. Barcelona - FC Brcelona Stadium - Camp Nou. Citadel Park. Picasso Museum.
21.06. A Day By Sea
22.06. La Goulette, Tunisia - Sidi Bou Said, Carthage, the American Cemetery, the Medina in the capital city of Tunisia
23.06. Palermo (Sicily Island)
24.06. Naples. Disembarking from the ship. Transfer to the city of Pompeii. Walk. Overnight in Pompeii.
25.06. Transfer to Salerno and from there by intercity bus to Amalfi, Positano, Raffaello, Sorrento.
26.06. In the morning - climbing the volcano Vesuvius. Afternoon - Pompeii archaeological complex. Overnight in Pompeii.
27.06 Transfer to Naples airport. Flight from Naples to Sofia with Wizz Air

The itinerary mentioned above underwent some significant changes, especially during our stay in Pompeii, due to circumstances we hadn't anticipated (or rather, due to a lack of prior knowledge

The good thing was that all the cities would be new to us except for Marseille and Barcelona.
The bad thing was that we didn't have enough time to look at everything in detail.

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11 day trip expenses for 2 adults + 2 children:

Cruise With MSC Grandiosa in a cabin with balcony – $1,518 = BGN 2,730.
Train: Khan-Marseille - 72 euros = 140 BGN.
Flight: Sofia-nitsa - 20 euros/person + Flex + 3xpririty = BGN 300.
Flight: Naples–Sofia – 39 euros per person + Flex + 3x Priority = 130 euros = 260 BGN.
2 nights in Cannes – 529 BGN on Airbnb
3 nights in Pompeii – 550 BGN at Le fanciulle di Pompei Suites
Admission to FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium – 230 BGN
Admission to the Pompeii archaeological site – 18 euros per adult = total 72 BGN. Free for children under 18.
Taxi in Tunisia – 70 euros for the whole day
Other transportation (city and intercity) – 100 euros
Excursion to Mount Vesuvius – 20 euros
Food and souvenirs – 500 BGN

Total: just under BGN 6,000.

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