MSC Poesia World Cruise Marseille/Toulon Embarkation Jan 6

I woke up at 3am and was awake until 5am. I fell asleep and woke up again at 9am. I hurriedly packed all my stuff and was ready for a taxi at 9:45. The front desk told me a taxi would take 30 minutes, so I grabbed an Uber for 20 euros that came in 3 minutes.

We arrived at the Marseille port cruise terminal, and I had to show my boarding pass twice to get through the gates. He dropped me near terminal A for check in near Costa Firenze. I was confused, but it was the correct place. I showed my passport, and received a number 11 card to board a bus that left in ten minutes about a third full. The couple beside me had number 48 so I have no idea what the number card was for. The shuttle to Toulon took 90 minutes via a very circuitous route up into the mountains. 

We went through some very seedy parts of Marseille and a market where you could buy back the stuff that was stolen from you. I joked that it was a "Best of" excursion tour.

Once we made it to Toulon, the embarkation was very easy. There were no lines. They looked at my passport and boarding ticket and gave me the room key. That was it.

I walked onto the ship to a welcome gathering. There was a shore excursion booth, but he was only giving out shore excursion booklets. I had to wait until 3pm to book an excursion or to ask any questions.

I went to lunch in the dining room. They directed me to go to the welcome buffet explained that I preferred the dining room.

I ordered Osso bucco, and it was delicious!

At 2pm, I went to my stateroom (now ready) and showered. My luggage had not arrived yet so I had to rewear my dirty clothes. 

I am happy to report that the upgrade to obstructed ocean view mid ship is beyond my wildest expectations from the inside Bella cabin that I booked. This cabin is a more than adequate home for the next 85 days.

I headed out to explore the ship and met some folks I had corresponded with on Cruise Critic prior to the cruise. We chatted until 4pm when I realized I should get my bags outside my stateroom door and prepare myself for dinner. Around this time, the captain made an announcement that we would have rough seas and high winds tonight and to use the handrails.

I unpacked and already wished I brought more hooks. I requested a robe and slippers from my room steward. 

At 5pm I went to muster drill and at 6pm I went to dinner.

Dinner was interesting. My table mates were a couple from San Francisco who were late and took a long time to order. Consequently, we finished dinner in about 95 minutes.

I ordered Salmon Coulibiac (which was delicious). When my table mates saw it, they didn't eat whatever it was they ordered, and ordered the same. That also slowed us down a bit.

After dinner, the ship tipped very much towards the port side. I made my way carefully to the theater and stopped in to see the end a French style opera. I elected to skip it, and given the rocking and the lean to port, I just went to sleep. All in all, the day was great once I got to the ship.

First impressions: The drink package will be perfect for me. I get beer and wine free which doesn't do anything for me. However, I also get 1 liter bottles of mineral water for free. I drank a liter with each meal and took two liters to go. Also, I get free specialty coffee in the dining room such as cappuccino. My room is excellent. The room steward cleans it in the morning and turns down the bed at night. I really appreciate the attentiveness to detail. My robe and slippers we were waiting for me at bedtime.