It is only a short hop from St Tropez to Marseilles and we went for an early arrival as the full day tours were leaving shortly after 7 am. Apart from the regular city tours, there are also tours going deep into the Provence and that takes a bit of travelling by bus. Marseilles has been working very hard to accommodate the increase in cruise ship calls and therefore we had a beautiful and spacious berth to dock at. In the past I have docking at old cargo berths, where the sheds where almost falling apart but this dock was really beautiful.

As it was our first call, the local tourist centre had laid on a little show with a group of dancing ladies and men on old instruments playing folkloristic music. A few little shops had been set up to sell local products and knick-knacks and the tour buses could park right across from the gangway. All very convinient. The only issue with Marseilles is the long distance from the terminal to the town centre. That is the case for all the ships. The old port has been revamped as a Marina,and the nearest deep-sea berths are now exclusively in use for the ferries. All other traffic is docking quite a ways away. The port lays on shuttle buses for a nominal charge and they ran constantly during our call, so there was no delay for those not on tour to get into Marseilles.

I had hoped to go ashore here, there is a great nautical bookstore in the old port and a small but beautiful maritime museum but as it had been a short night between St. Tropez and Marseilles I needed my sleep. Hopefully next time. The port keeps up an old tradition of offering a memento, commemorating the first call of the vessel. By 11 am, I had the harbourmaster, immigration and the tourist bureau on board for a plaque exchange. Those plaques are hung on the bulkheads in the forward passenger staircase for all to see. The more new ports a ship does, the larger the collection. Especially ships on long and exotic cruises, such as our Prinsendam, accumulate quite a collection. The ship gives in return the ships crest and framed photos with dedication.

We were in port with the Disney Magic and the Thomson Celebration, which is the old Noordam. It was funny to see that ship now from the other side. I was part of the new building team of the ship in 1983 and she was my first regular command, also sailing in Europe. She is still owned by Holland America and now on a 10 year bare boat charter to Louis Cruise Lines, who in turn have chartered her out to Thomson. Bare boat means; renting out only the ship and the charterer takes care of the full operational side, including the crew. Thomson is an English package holiday company. They fly their guests to their own ships using their own planes, and offer pre and post packages all in house. My wife and I did the first shake down cruise of the ship as I wanted to see what they had done with my Noordam and it was a very pleasant product. Simple but enjoyable.

A beautiful invention they came up with over there was the roving beer pump. A beer pump on a trolley with a little philipino waitress behind it, roving around the deck and everywhere she saw a few men standing together, she stopped and sold a pint. As the British do like their beer it was a roaring trade. I must admit, that I was one of her most enthusiastic customers. When I work, I do not drink at all, sticking to Perrier water but I do enjoy a glass when off duty. A roving beer pump was an invention not to be missed. Instead of going to the Bar, the bar came to you. I thought it was a great idea.