Monaco - Friday 11 October

It was great to find out that another ship had cancelled their berth, and so the Ruby Princess was able to dock in Monaco, rather than use tenders to get passengers to shore. This took a lot of stress off the need to get back to the ship one load at a time.

As we headed for breakfast, an urgent announcement came over the speakers, interrupting the message being given at the time - a 'code one message' calling for staff to go immediately to Caribe 509. Obviously some sort of medical emergency for some poor traveller (actually, we found out in the evening that it was a heart attack). I would have to say that this cruise comprises mainly people over the age of 60, and the balance is probably tipped more towards the over 70s - quite different than our 2009 cruise on the Crown Princess. Also, Jan says that we're pretty much the only ones she's met on board who aren't on our second or third cruise this year!

It was lovely watching the sunrise over the ocean while we had breakfast (it was no doubt a lot warmer than when Ross and Liz last watched their special sunrise). We walked off the ship at 8:20 am, knowing nothing would be open but that there'd be plenty to see. I had read up on the best ways to get up to the Old Town and other key sights on 'The Rock', without needing to do a steep climb or use stairs - elevators and escalators are provided all over the city, to make moving around easier.

We enjoyed revisiting the gardens at the top, and wandering around the narrow streets of the Old Town. It was good to get into the square in front of the Palais, and see the views from all sides there, before it got too crowded.

We went back to the Cathedral, where Princess Grace was married, and she and Prince Rainier are now buried.

By 10 am we were ready to use the discount vouchers we'd picked up in a tourist booklet and go into the Oceanographic Museum. This was set up in the early 1900s by Albert I, and the renowned Jacques Cousteau was a dIrector for many years. We both found it absolutely amazing, and were so glad we had gone in. It had the best displays we had ever seen in an aquarium. We spent a couple of hours there and then headed slowly and carefully back towards the ship because my knee wasn't coping.

My legs are starting to 'give up the ghost', my ankle is getting quite swollen when I'm on my feet for a few hours (the one I broke about 3 years ago), and an area a couple of inches below my right knee is finally flaring up and catches badly. When it gives out I'm not sure I'll be able to walk.

After lunch I got lots of photos of Monaco from up on the deck, then we enjoyed sail-away with the spectacular views. Then we headed back to our cabin and began packing..... After a while we had a break in the bar and the Barrows joined us and we compared notes from our day, and looked ahead to disembarkation in Barcelona tomorrow.

We had our last dinner on the ship, and farewelled the team who had served us so well. We sat beside two women from Philadelphia, and they were interesting - one works in 'Wealth Management' and we had a good chat about politics.

We attended our final Show, first featuring a Comedian, and then singer, Paul Stone. We had a few final laughs thanks to our Cruise Director, and then headed to bed. Everyone seemed subdued tonight, perhaps feeling sad about leaving the cruise and their holiday ending...