Pre-Cruise

This cruise began in the south of France, where we’ve visited often. Rather than fly directly to Nice, we decided to spend several days in Paris prior to beginning the cruise. We used Oceania’s Air Deviation option, which allows you to either extend your pre/post cruise stays in the beginning/ending ports when using Oceania air, or to purchase your own air (and deduct the air portion of your cruise fare) – for a small extra fee. This gives us the time to explore the destination cities while choosing our own hotels – a much less expensive option than buying the Oceania pre/post packages!

The cruise on Marina began in Monte Carlo. Our last Oceania cruise (on Riviera) docked in the Port Hercule marina. This is an easy walk into town and ground transportation, and the Marina was docked in the same berth. We took the airport bus from Nice airport non-stop to Place d’Armes in Monte Carlo avoiding an expensive cab trip. We’d planned to take a cab for the short trip to the dock, but it was such a short downhill walk that we arrived at the marina before we could hail a cab. Read more