Marella Explorer 2 | Toulon Tour Truth | Honest Vista Restaurant Review!
Welcome back to Marion And Me! In today's cruise travel vlog and Mediterranean port guide, we are exploring the vibrant, unpretentious streets of Toulon, France, during our latest holiday cruise itinerary onboard the Marella Explorer 2. If you are currently planning an independent DIY port day on a Mediterranean cruise and trying to decide whether to book expensive ship excursions or navigate French port cities on your own, we are breaking down our entire day trip layout, complete with food reviews, onboard entertainment updates, and local transit tips.
We start our morning stepping off the ship and boarding a tender boat that feels more like a private luxury yacht. Once ashore in Toulon, we decide to save our legs after a long walking day in our previous port by booking the local Petit Train tourist road train. Costing a budget-friendly €10 each, this small road train features an English and French audio soundtrack detailing local architecture, including the 17th-century Atlantes balcony carvings by Pierre Puget at the old town hall. However, we share a hilarious, transparent review of why this train ride was absolute chaos and bedlam! From carbon monoxide fumes on the main roads to roaring motorbikes, flying dust, and a route that literally drives you through a local car park and past a brutalist municipal sports centre, find out if this train is actually worth your money.
We also highlight the spectacular local Toulon Rugby Union club stadium on match day, capturing the incredibly good-natured singing, costumes, and chanting of the local fans celebrating their Saturday match without a hint of trouble. Following our city tour, we escape the touristy port promenade to experience a real, ordinary French town layout. We track down a lovely, low-cost local artisanal boulangerie (the French equivalent of a Greggs bakery) to sample authentic local cuisine. We review a classic croque monsieur, a traditional sausage roll, a rich crème pâtissière custard pastry, a strong espresso coffee, and a dense chocolate chip pastry reminiscent of a Caribbean leg pipe that is heavy enough to feed us for a week!
Back onboard the ship, we freshen up and grab a well-earned premium cocktail before heading to the Broadway Show Lounge. We give a glowing review of the spectacular "Movie Greats" musical theater production before sitting down for a premium dinner inside Vista, the ship's popular Italian specialty restaurant venue.
We break down our dinner course by course, reviewing our starters: the crispy mushroom arancini balls, a beautifully presented tomato and mozzarella salad, and tender calamari served with rich aioli (alioli). For our main courses, we evaluate the mushroom ravioli paired with a house side salad and a beautifully tender lamb dish served with mint sauce, courgettes, and potatoes. Finally, we critique the restaurant's included red wine quality, share a laugh about inherited tablecloth stains, and review our desserts—including a berry cheesecake and an Italian bread and butter pudding featuring a legendary "inner thigh wobble"!
If this Marella Explorer 2 Toulon port guide and honest Vista restaurant review helps you plan your next cruise vacation, please drop a like on the video, leave a comment below, and subscribe to Marion And Me for more authentic cruise vlogs!
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Yacht-Style Tender Boat Arrival in Toulon, France
00:44 - Booking the Toulon Tourist Road Train (€10 Ticket Cost)
01:30 - Historic Architecture: Pierre Puget’s 17th-Century Atlantes
02:50 - Honest Review: Why the Petit Train Was Absolute Chaos & Bedlam
04:00 - Spotting the Toulon Rugby Stadium & Match Day Fan Costumes
05:40 - Exploring Real French Town Streets & Port Promenade Prices
07:15 - Local Boulangerie Food Review: Croque Monsieur & Dense Pastries
09:10 - Broadway Show Lounge: Reviewing the "Movie Greats" Production
10:00 - Entering Vista Italian Restaurant & Included Red Wine Critique
11:48 - Starters Review: Mushroom Arancini, Calamari & Mozzarella
14:27 - Main Courses: Tender Lamb with Mint Sauce & Mushroom Ravioli
16:12 - Dessert Review: Cheesecake & Bread and Butter Pudding Wobble
17:01 - Technical Lost Footage Mishap & Meeting the Ship Photographers
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