Sun Sept 10, 2006 Marseilles, France

Whoever said that you can sleep late when on a cruise never had an excursion. We have a 6 am wakeup call so we can make breakfast. I slide open our curtains. It is dusk and from our balcony, we can only see water. I wonder if the port side always has the port view? I had a hard time sleeping since I can hear what are maybe the engines. Voyager is cruising at 22 mph to make our next destination.

As we depart our cabin for breakfast, I don't see our shuttle tickets outside our door so we pick them up from the Explorations desk. We also pick up extra tickets for a later date. The tickets are $6 one way and are good for any port. We learn that a passport is not necessary. Any photo ID would work so I put my passport in the safe and use my driver's ID. I can't go home if my passport is stolen.

Mary and I do the once around the Windjammer in search of Bill and Carolyn but can't find them. Just past the Windjammer is the Island Grill with an omelet station. We order omelets with everything on it except onions. The short order chef asks if we want cheese. I say yes and nearly a half cup of shredded cheese is dumped on it. I'm surprised they can even fold it. There's even picante so I ladle it on. As I walk by the buffet, I spot black sausage in a patty and English bacon. I'm always willing to try something different so I plop it on my plate. Bill is seated near where we had lunch yesterday. Carolyn appears behind me as I seat myself. The black sausage is non other than a dry blood sausage -- ground liver with no rice. I prefer the ones we had in Germany and Puerto Rico. The English Bacon is a heavily salted ham. I can pass on this. I down everything with passion fruit juice.

As we leave the Windjammer, we buy a big bottle of water. I don't mind paying for the water. I just don't like how they automatically add a 15% gratuity to anything we buy. The worker reads my last name and starts talking to me in Spanish. He wonders if I am Spanish. Mary had said that earlier on someone asked if I was Mexican. I tell the guy that I am not Spanish. He instantly switches to a dialect I don't recognize. Don't ask me how I know it's a Filipino dialect if I don't understand it. He smiles and says that many of his friends are Filipino. I tell him that I only understand my Mom and Dad's dialect.

The La Scala theatre is packed by the time we arrive. We are tour 10. Eventually, they call our tour number and we are led to the gangway where they slide our SeaPass (a cardkey) into machine which records who left or entered the ship. As we step onto the pier, the ship photographers snatch us...twice! They stall us to the point that we are seated in the back row. The back row wasn't too bad. I could actually shoot some good shots from the rear. Did I mention that I hate shooting from inside a bus? Especially one that lurches and bounces around? I'm gonna have to use Picasa to clean up these photos. The pictures look sharp. It just needs alignment.

Our tour today is 5.5 hours and is considerate moderate difficulty. Our tour guide is Jocelyn who said that we can call her Josie for those people who have problems saying her name. Our neighbor Vivian in Virginia could never say Josefa my mom's name so she always called her Josie. I don't see how it's so hard to say the name.

As usual, the cruise terminal is not very scenic since this is a freight area, but we have perfect photography weather -- blue skies with a little haze. It could be a bit cooler though. I've already lost my 10 sticker by the time we exit the bus for the first walking tour. Sept 10th is my birthday which is today. Interesting coincidence. I forgot about all about my birthday till now.

What can I say about Marseilles? It's a bit of disappointment. Long stretches of road have been ripped up which affects where the tour buses can park. Graffiti is everywhere. A condom dispenser is on the wall of a building that we past. In the States, you would only find those in the men's restrooms. A train track has been built to Marseilles, and it has become a tourist spot. Beforehand, it had lost a large portion of its populous.

Longchamp Palace is now Marseilles Museum. A beautiful park lies behind it. There used to be a zoo but no more.

We viewed the castle which inspire the Count of Monte Cristo. Many films were shot from here. I can't believe when we actually stop for a photoshoot.

Arches are popular in this part of Europe. They are used to commemorate almost any anything. This one commemorates a touchdown scored. See the green statue? I'm only kidding...

France has many Notre Dame cathedrals. In Marseilles, there is the Basilique Norte Dame de la Garde which is on the highest peak overlooking Marseilles. In the old days, pilgrimages were made to the church -- on their knees. Unlike the Spaniards, the French do believe in lifts. Expect lots of stairs if you hoof it. A functional drawbridge is retracted every night. It has a wonderful panoramic view of Marseilles. The entranceway to the church is breezy and cool.

It is Sunday, so church services are in progress. It is a small gathering area and is packed. I take a couple of shots then leave. I always feel awkward taking photos during a service.

We are given some free time to wander the city for souvenir hunting or sight-seeing on our own. So we are dropped off at Vieux Port or the Old Harbor where the fish market is in full swing.

The building behind the carousel is their Chambre of Commerce. Nice huh?

Our tour is only a half day so we arrive at the ship in time for a formal lunch. The line to board the ship was horrendous. Security flagged people that there was another line, but no one paid attention. I motion our group to follow and started a flood of people towards the bow entrance. Security was slow since people didn't know how to insert their cards or refused to remove fanny packs to be x-rayed.

For lunch, we did not sit at our assigned seating but instead at the Brasserie 30 on deck 3. Isn't that a fancy name for a bra? Arnold is our waiter. We sit at a little after 100. They hand out tickets for the Ice Odyssey between 130 and 230. No problem. Brasserie 30 supposedly serves its meals in 30 minutes. A young South African couple sits with us. They slip between English and Afrikaan as they converse with one another. Afrikaan sounds much like Spanish. I'd like to head back into town -- after all, we did buy those shuttle passes, but Mary is tired so we have a quick nap after I pick up the the tickets.

It's formal night, and I brought my tux. I bought it years ago when Mary's uncle was inducted into the CAF.

On the lift down, the elderly black couple I saw on our tour is trying to board but the doors are closing on them. Someone bangs the door open at the last open. The couple thanks them but tells them not to risk it because a doctor died in Houston that way. That's when we discover they are from Houston. We'll meet many people from Texas or Canada on this cruise.

Formal night means photo night as well. We have a photo taken near the stairs. We encounter the South African couple again. She is in an elegant black evening gown, and he is in a dark suit. The backdrops don't look so great here so we try another. It's the staircase of the Titanic. We pass on it.

During dinner, I try the escargot as an appetizer which was very good and not chewy at all...very buttery. The ship begins to move but I can't even feel it. We pass many of the sights that were on our tour. I wish I had my camera. Tomorrow, I'll shoot our departure and not have normal dining. The cherry jubilee would have been more interesting if it was prepared at our table, but that and the flaming Baked Alaska came to an end due to safety reasons.

After dinner, I decide to get my camera then Mary and I work our way to deck 11. Mr. Bunny is waiting on our bed along with our cruise newsletter and what's a newspaper without advertising? Notice the two thin mints. On Deck 11, it's very windy even though there are walls so we try Deck 12. It's just as bad. We figure we'll go to Deck 14 and check out the Crow's Nest.

It's 830. We pass through the Promenade Deck where they are serving champagne so we stop for a spell. Passengers are having their photos with the Captain. We are on the wrong lift and must make our way across the top deck to the next lift. Aside from the topside decks 11 and 12 only decks 4 and 5 travel the length of the ship and connect the forward and aft lifts. I order a BBC at the Crow's Nest while we wait for the Broadway Revue.

Mary and I catch the Broadway review at La Scala. See if you can figure some of them out by the photos. I recognize Stephanie as one of the assistants at Mandatory Muster. At the muster, I guessed I would be seeing her hear since it had her occupation listed as entertainer.