An earlier start is just the first of many insults to the soul that happen on disembarkation day, as any regular cruiser will attest.
However breakfast is still wonderful, and although chef tries to give us a new creation, we stick to regular egg tagine - today’s is pea, bacon, tomato and gruyere - yummee. The view over Port Hercule, Monte Carlo harbour, and the casino is wonderful.
After that it’s just downhill - scanning out for the last time, more goodbyes to the staff, officers and captain as they line up on the dockside. Then a transfer to Nice Airport, only forty minutes and very picturesque, which does lift the spirits again, as we travel the Grande Corniche.
We say our final goodbyes to various chronies we’ve accumulated over the cruise, including the wonderful Margaret and John, and the mad bunch I call the Southerners! The coach driver isn’t strong enough to open the section with Margaret’s walking aid, she asks me to try but I fail to open it far enough, so I crawl in the hold to recover it - no idea what was blocking the door but whilst I was there I push a load of other cases out too, more importantly Margaret is happy now.
We’re also at the wrong terminal (we got allocated the wrong coach) so we jump on the tram across to T2, only to learn that SleazyJet are adhering to a two-hour baggage-drop rule - which is stupid since they also say arrive three hours before your flight. The fact is we’re eight hours early, but it would have been ideal if we could have dumped the bags - instead it costs us €70 to put our five bags into left luggage for the day.
Which makes our walking tour back towards town quite an expensive one, but no matter. We head back past T1 and beyond, following the Bay of Angels right back to Nice harbour, past some great architecture.
On the way we reminisce of a week in 2003, and the amazing look of Negresco, we didn’t stay here but had a wonderful dinner one night.
We continue well past the marina, marvelling at the enormous Corsica Mega Ferry disgorging up to 550 vehicles, before we turn around, even walking a half-mile on the Inferior Corniche, then dropping into town.
We’ve earned lunch so get filled baguettes and cans, and find a bench in Place Grimaldi near its fountain. Afterwards we thread our way along the tiny streets filled with restaurant after restaurant - so many eating places - it’s exactly how we remember from many years ago when we stayed here.
The return walk is uneventful but lovely in the sunshine, passing many more restaurants and the opera as we wind back to les Promenade des Anglais, and as we pass by we drop into the Raddison, where we did stay last time, just because we can.
Over the last three weeks we’ve been impressed by how many water bottle fillings stations are now available, usually just a standpipe or even fire-hydrants. In Nice it’s wonderful to find chiller-dispensers AND a choice of still or sparkling - wow!
Returning to T2 we’re still an hour too early so sit around waiting for the checkin staff to allow us in, but at least it’s quiet, and security only takes five minutes so before long we’re sat at the gate waiting as patiently as is possible, me writing this and Hubby doing fiendish Sudoku puzzles.
Compared to the utter madness of MAN three weeks ago, everything goes smoothly, and we pass through baggage-drop, security and immigration within 20 minutes, and hardly any queues anywhere.
Flying out we see a small section of the many private jets we’d walked past earlier, the harbour and some lovely views over the coastal areas nearby such as Antibes.
It was an easy and very enjoyable drive home, even had the roof off for most of the journey. Dinner was underwhelming (but expertly cooked) and the turn didn’t show up!
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