Boundless Horizons

Day 2 – May 21 – Toulon, France

Ashore 06:30 – All Aboard 16:45

Our original port times were 08:30-16:45, but a couple of weeks ahead of the cruise they extended to 06:30-16:45. I’m not a morning person so it didn’t make much difference to me!

Rhys woke up just before 6am as we were docking and snapped a few photos. This is one of the reasons why we love having a verandah, Rhys usually wakes up before me and can sit outside to enjoy the morning air. We were docked across the bay from Toulon in La Seyne-sur-Mer and we didn’t have any specific plans for the day, though we’d decided to get off the ship for a walk. As it was a Sunday, we’d read most things would be closed in Toulon, so we thought we’d just check out the local town.

We left the ship just before 10am to stroll into La Seyne-sur-Mer. There were a few stalls set up with local products, people in local traditional costume, and a Tourist Information desk with maps. A really nice welcome! There was also a shuttle boat to Toulon itself. Leaving the port, we turned right and followed the road along to the town centre. It was an easy walk, and despite the wet ground the rain stayed off for us.

The town of La Seyne-sur-Mer was nice. We found the cathedral, and nearby there was a supermarket which allowed us to stock up. The supermarket looked quite small on the outside but inside it was huge! We’d decided to buy one bottle of wine each in Barcelona knowing we’d have plenty of opportunities to get more, and it gave us an excuse to get off the ship when we didn’t have tours planned so we grabbed another bottle each here. We also picked up some pastries for a late breakfast.

We took a slow stroll back towards the ship and found a spot along the harbour to eat and take photos, which is where the photo from the top of this post was taken. As the weather looked like it might start raining, we got back to the ship around 12:30pm.

After dropping off our shopping in the stateroom, it was time for some lunch at Cabanas. We actually didn’t make it to Cabanas at all on our previous cruise so we were curious to see what it would be like! Our last cruise was only 3 nights and with all of the covid restrictions in place we stuck to main dining rooms where we felt it was easier to keep distance. The mistake we made was ordering so many courses for each meal – we ate so much that we felt ill! This time we were determined to eat smaller meals so we could enjoy it.

I was really impressed by Cabanas! I don’t usually care for buffets but everything we ate was really good. There was a good variety, and the food didn’t taste like it had been sitting out too long – though I guess with how popular it is, there must be a reasonable amount of turnover. The little 25th anniversary decoration on the desserts was a nice touch.

Tonight was formal night, which was also the Silver Anniversary evening. We had booked a Champagne tasting at 4pm then it was the Captain’s Reception before dinner, so we decided to get dressed up before the tasting.

I’d debated whether to keep this tasting after seeing mixed reviews. Some people had drinks freshly poured each round whereas others reported drinks pre-poured (therefore going flat during the session) and even sparkling wines from other regions. We joked that since we were docked in France, serving non-Champagne at a Champagne tasting would be illegal! Ultimately we decided to go for it, and I’m glad we did.

Our drinks were freshly poured for each round, and the sommelier leading the session was really interesting. We had glasses of: Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Pommery Rosé, Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, and Bollinger. Very tasty!

After the Champagne tasting, we watched us sail away from Toulon as we headed over to the Captain’s Reception. The characters were out in their Silver Anniversary attire, and the officers were there to meet guests. There were also servers going around serving a selection of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Dinner was in Enchanted Garden. Again we skipped straight to the main course as neither of us were interested in the starters, soups or salads. Rhys had the slow roasted prime rib, while I had the marjoram-scented roast chicken. For dessert, Rhys had the chocolate brownie sundae, and I had the warm sticky date pudding. All pretty tasty!

After dinner was the Silver Anniversary Soiree, with another chance to mingle with the characters in their special costumes, and more drinks. There was a little bit of time before the fireworks, so we decided to get changed into warmer clothing for going up on deck! I’m not a big fan of fireworks but I wanted to check these ones out, so we grabbed a spot by the window on deck 11 on the starboard side. We were really glad we’d changed as it was pretty chilly! We grabbed some warm drinks from the beverage station to sip while we waited.

The Silver Anniversary fireworks build up was a bit odd. It felt like there wasn’t a real show as such, just entertainment cast members asking some families about their favourite cruise memories. Then our Cruise Director came out to do a quick speech with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy before the fireworks started. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but I thought we might have had more of a show.

We headed back to our stateroom and found our host had left the 25th anniversary commemorative print for us! This is a really cute gift, I still need to decide where we’ll hang it. Given the lack of anniversary merch available to buy, it was nice to have this as a souvenir. I also appreciated that it was framed and came with a certificate of authenticity.

We enjoyed a glass of wine on the verandah, then it was off to bed!