08 Oct. 2015, Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Today we were in Monte Carlo and we docked, which made us the biggest yacht in the port. I do not know if I can say also the most luxurious, but I wonder: How many of these mega yachts would have a soft ice cream machine on board?  That is for me a very important luxury item.  Right under our bow we had several yachts anchored/docked in rows. The two which I instantly recognized;  the Lady Moira and the Christina Onassis. The Lady Moira is normally the largest yacht in port but this time she was not docked at the inner corner of the port but next to Christina O. near the exit. Either getting ready for deployment or having moved to a cheaper location?

Lady Moira to the right, The Christina O with the sleek long bow in the center, unknown yacht to the left.

The Christina O. is still a yacht with more traditional lines and thus looks more like a ship than a floating gin place or cocktail bar. There was a lot of work going on, with railings being sanded and varnished and white paint applied everywhere. Not done by the regular crew but by contractors so I assume there was some sort of refit going on.

Although both cruise ships and private yachts are luxurious and cater for guests, there is a distinct difference, at least for the officers. We on the cruise ships battle with the danger of fatigue and carefully monitor our hours so we get enough rest; while on the yachts there is often the battle with boredom. Some yachts go out for charter but some are just waiting for their owner, who might never come or just once or twice a year. When that is, is often unknown and so they wait, and wait and wait. You can keep cleaning the yacht and touching up but there is a certain moment when there is nothing to do any more. The yacht world has recognized this issue and tries to offer solutions for it.

We can dock here in Monte Carlo as they built a Pier some years ago. Before that time all the ships had to anchor. There is a funny story attached to this. When the dock was completed, the port authorities put a limit of 40,000 tons on it. This because it is not a dock that sits on the ground but it is a floating construction attached to anchors running into the bay. Monte Carlo is built on a cliff and that cliff goes straight down to about 150 feet and more and that makes it hard to build a foundation, so it floats. Thus 40,000 tons was going to be the limit to ensure that there was not too much strain on these anchors.

Docking always beats tender service for comfort. Even if the tender is a scenic ride into Monte Carlo.

When our Noordam asked in 2007 for permission to dock, it was granted. The port authorities were expecting our old Noordam III of 34,000 tons to come in and where quite shocked when the Noordam IV of 90,000 tons popped up. But promised was promised and so the much larger Noordam was allowed to dock. The authorities reviewed the situation, found that there was really no issue with these anchors taking a bigger strain and now all the large ships are allowed to dock.  But 300 meters is about the limit as the dock is not much longer.

The Tour buses can come to the gangway and those not on tour can walk into town by going around the port. For those who do not like the Casino, there is the Museum of the Sea; there is a Car museum and a museum of Napoleon.

Although Napoleons interest was way beyond focussing on a little princedom on the south coast of France, Prince Rainier was an avid collector of Napoleontica and he amassed a very impressive collection.  I once met a collector in Holland who had a special coin or medal which was linked to Napoleon and there were only a few of them in existence. So he got what he called “Rainier’s yearly begging letter”. As Prince Rainier wanted that item for his collection. The letter came year after year, until his daughter started to beg for a car, so dad gave in but had to find the money, to please her.

I sent my school class ashore this afternoon, to follow the footsteps of the rich and famous and hopefully they are able to keep their spending under control. Monaco is very expensive, even the local supermarket.

We will have a sea morning tomorrow, and then arrive in Barcelona at 4 pm. in the afternoon. We will be staying overnight here as the 2^nd day is a changeover day.  As mentioned before, the ship is doing an 88 days cruise but it is cobbled together from several segments.  The first segment Rotterdam – Barcelona, 14 days, will thus finish in Barcelona.

Weather Forecast:  Mostly sunny 71oF / 21oC.  We remain lucky with the weather. The rain and nastiness which were forecast for Livorno never occurred. So we keep on having mild summer weather although it is October. The people who are leaving in Barcelona have had a very nice cruise.