MSC World Europa | Marseille, France

We boarded the MSC World Europa in Barcelona on January 31st. Still feeling dizzy from jet lag, we rested well after boarding and arrived at our first stop: Marseille, France.​ In Marseille, we didn’t join a tour. The port has free shuttle buses to the city center. So, after a leisurely breakfast, we got off the ship, followed the green signs, and smoothly found the white booth for the shuttle bus to start waiting.​ ❤️ The shuttle bus was supposed to come every 20 minutes—was it because the French are too laid-back? We waited a full 30 minutes, and finally saw a bus approaching. But it stopped less than 100 meters from the platform. We watched it sit there for 20 minutes, being and refusing to come closer. Some tourists couldn’t wait and walked over to ask the driver, but whatever he said made them leave dejectedly. In the meantime, more people chose to take an Uber.​🤣 We arrived at the platform around 10:20, and by 11:10, we finally couldn’t help but check Uber. And then! It slowly drove over! After waiting 50 minutes, we finally got on board!​😍 The French really are laid-back, huh? The bus drove extremely slowly, trailing behind a container truck the whole time. Just as I was getting a headache from the noise of a family (speaking some unknown language) standing behind me, the driver suddenly had a change of heart, overtook the truck, and the whole bus cheered “Bravo!” In short, this shuttle bus is all about ness—definitely recommend taking the first morning trip.​ Once we reached Marseille’s Old Port, we walked to the Cathedral. The stained glass windows and main altar were particularly beautiful. I’d seen a video before of a pianist living in Marseille exploring the Cathedral at night; the electric piano and pipe organ in the church basement looked familiar.​🤣 Marseille had occasional light rain. When we walked out of the church, we turned around and saw a huge rainbow—it made the rain worthwhile 🌈.​ Walking back toward the port, we reached the ticket office for the mountain train, which took us up to Notre-Dame de la Garde. Winding up the mountain with sea views all the way, the sea breeze was so pleasant.​ At the top, we saw another rainbow arching over the entire city 🌈.​ After taking the train down, we said goodbye to the unreliable shuttle bus and took an Uber back to the port. A six-seater car cost 28 euros and took us directly to the port—so comfortable!​🤣 Waiting for the bus wasted too much time, so we only visited two attractions in Marseille, and the weather was just so-so. But seeing those huge rainbows was deeply healing.​ We didn’t get to try the main restaurant, but the buffet on the Europa was still “fresh and exciting.” After eating our fill, we soaked in the Garden Pool for a while and chatted with a Greek aunt in the pool. She said the Europa is the best cruise ship in the Mediterranean—favorite of European aunties and moms. She warned me that starting tomorrow, with three stops in Italy, if we take Italian trains, they’ll be very unreliable. “Italy is just unreliable,” she said. Maybe it’s because ancient Rome conquered ancient Greece—some lifelong disdain engraved in the bones?​❤️ Remember to book the magic show, then had a great sleep 😴.​ #Marseillenice #Marseillegood #Marseille#mscworldeuropa #MarseilleFrance #msccruise