Day four on Windstar’s Star Pride took us to my dad’s favorite port, Monte Carlo! Monaco is located on the French Riviera in western Europe. It’s bordered by France on three sides, with one side bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Its center is about 16 kilometers from Italy and is only 13 kilometers northeast of Nice, France. My dad’s lifelong dream was to go to Le Casino and this trip he was able to tick it off the ol’ bucket list!
Fortunately, I’ve been to Monte Carlo several times (here’s my 16 Reasons to Visit Monaco) so I made a phone call to my PR friends at Monte-Carlo SBM and they arranged one of the most incredible lunches we’ve ever had. It was at Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel’s Elsa Restaurant. Chef Paolo Sari uses all organic and locally sourced ingredients in his cuisine, influenced by the foods of both the French and Italian Rivieras. Last time I was here I had the golden risotto and would you believe it actually had gold leaf in it?! This time his creations looked so good I didn’t know if I should eat them or hang them on the wall (see photos below).
Good to know: Since most cruise ships internet is really slow and expensive go to Stars’ N’ Bars and sit at the bar and order a drink (I had a 2euro coffee) and use their free WiFi (you won’t be the only one). During the day it’s quiet but at night it’s loud and crowded.
Warning: Do NOT get suckered like I did and purchase the Monaco Telecom WiFi which was showing up in my cabin when we docked. I spent almost an hour trying to get it work and then to get my money refunded. Their representative said it was all taken care of but the $19 fee is still on my credit card.
Electric Ferry: Since my dad can’t walk that much we cut across the harbor in Monaco’s electric solar ferry (2 euro per person). It operates 7 days a week to both harbor shorelines of the “Port Hercule”, from the “Quai Kennedy” to the land strip “Fort Antoine” and back, every 20 minutes starting at 8 am to 7:50pm. The service is suspended in bad weather conditions.