Seven hours on a 1947 schooner and a flight the same evening. Every time below is 12-hour and every leg has a drop-dead. Boarding has moved to the MuCEM.
Yacine at Au Gré du Vent has confirmed it in writing: a boat fire in the Vieux-Port has closed the quays in front of the Hôtel de Ville, so your boarding has been moved.
New boarding point: Quai Germain Delauze, 13002 — the water’s edge at the MuCEM / Esplanade J4. Coordinates 43.29664, 5.36002. Your pin and the operator’s official pin agree to within 5 metres, so this is solid.
Boarding time is unchanged — 10:00 AM, be there 9:55 AM. The “Marseille Boat Tours” name showing on the pin is just the nearest business on that same quay; it is not a change of operator or boat. You are still on Le Don du Vent.
The natural way from your hotel to the MuCEM is west along Quai du Port — past the Hôtel de Ville. That is exactly the stretch the operator says is currently inaccessible. Assume a cordon, and do not find out at 9:45 AM.
Go inland instead: up into Le Panier via Grand Rue / Rue Caisserie, across to Esplanade de la Tourette, then down to the J4. Slightly longer, completely clear of the waterfront, and a nicer walk anyway.
From the hotel at 43 Quai des Belges. All three are sized to put you on the quay by 9:40–9:45 AM, comfortably inside the 9:55 AM call.
| Route | Time | Leave hotel | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🏋 Inland via Le Panier — recommended Grand Rue → Rue Caisserie → Esplanade de la Tourette → J4. Avoids the closed quays entirely. |
~20 min | 9:20 AM | Walk via Le Panier |
| 🚕 Taxi / Uber The insurance policy. ~€10. Cheap peace of mind on a day with a flight at the end of it. |
5–10 min | 9:35 AM | Drive |
| 🌊 Direct along the waterfront ⚠️ Passes the Hôtel de Ville quays — may be cordoned. Only if you can see it’s open. |
~16 min | 9:20 AM | Walk direct |
| When | What & where | Drop-dead |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 AM | Up. Sunscreen and swimwear go on, not in the bag. | — |
| 8:00 AM | Breakfast — hotel or a boulangerie on Quai des Belges. The voucher recommends eating first; lunch aboard lands mid-afternoon and there is no top-up in between. | finish 8:45 AM |
| 8:15 AM | ✅ Boarding point settled — MuCEM, Quai Germain Delauze. Save the pin to your phone now, offline, and screenshot Yacine’s email in case anyone at the quay needs to see it. Save the pin+33 7 66 10 41 41 |
— |
| 9:00 AM | Check out — Maisons du Monde, 43 Quai des Belges. Settle the bill, three bags into storage, confirm the 5:15 PM staging. Keep out: printed tickets, passports, sunscreen, hats, water, towels. Hotel |
9:20 AM |
| 9:20 AM | Leave for the MuCEM — inland via Le Panier. Grand Rue → Rue Caisserie → Esplanade de la Tourette → J4, ~20 min. ⚠️ Do not take the waterfront past the Hôtel de Ville — those quays are closed after the boat fire. Walk via Le Panier |
leave by 9:30 AM |
| 9:55 AM | At the boat — Quai Germain Delauze, MuCEM. Le Don du Vent, 32 m two-masted schooner, built 1947 — look for the two masts. Hand over the printed tickets. Booking GYGVN254GXYN, 3 adults. Can’t see her by 9:45 AM? Call immediately, don’t wander the quay. |
9:55 AM — hard |
| 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
The Calanques. Sailing, swim stops, buffet and wine aboard. You pass over Cap Morgiou — 37 m beneath you is the real mouth of the Cosquer cave you walked through yesterday. | — |
| 5:00 PM | Dock. Be near the gangway before she ties up — you have a flight and nobody else aboard does. | — |
| 5:15 PM | Off the boat, walking back to the hotel. | 5:30 PM |
| 5:25 PM | Hotel — collect the three bags, rinse the salt off, dry clothes on. | 5:45 PM |
| 5:30 PM | Pre-booked taxi departs for Marseille Provence. 25–40 min via the A55. ~€55–75 metered, ~€45–60 on an advance flat rate. Route to MRS T1 |
6:15 PM — abort |
| 6:05–6:25 PM | MRS Terminal 1. Bag drop first, everything else after. BA351, ref ZSHPPS, 3 checked bags included. MRS T1 |
— |
| 7:25 PM | Bag drop closes (working number). BA’s standard short-haul rule is 45 min, but Marseille listings put the BA desk at 60 min. Work to the earlier one. | 7:40 PM absolute |
| 7:30 PM | Eat airside. The buffet will have worn off, the flight is short, and dinner in London won’t happen before 10:30 PM. | — |
| 7:55 PM | Boarding, typically ~30 min before departure. Watch the screens. | gate close ~8:10 PM |
| 8:25 PM | BA351 departs MRS T1. | — |
| 9:20 PM London time |
Land LHR Terminal 3. Clock goes back an hour; about 1 hr 55 in the air. | — |
| ~10:15 PM | Holiday Inn London Heathrow – Bath Road, 276 Bath Rd, West Drayton UB7 0DQ. Ref 20573355. Restaurant on site for the late arrival. T3 → hotel |
— |
| Boat booking | GYGVN254GXYN · GetYourGuide · booked by Jennifer · 3 adults |
|---|---|
| Operator | Au Gré du Vent · +33 7 66 10 41 41 |
| Vessel | Le Don du Vent — 32 m two-masted schooner, 1947, Calanques National Park partner |
| Boarding point | ✅ Quai Germain Delauze, 13002 — MuCEM / Esplanade J4 · 43.29664, 5.36002 Moved from Quai du Port after a Vieux-Port boat fire. Confirmed by Yacine, Au Gré du Vent. |
| Boat times | 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (7 hrs) · be there 9:55 AM · printed ticket only |
| Hotel checkout | 9:00 AM (nominal 11:00 AM) · ref 7Q3BW8 · bags into storage |
| Taxi | Pre-booked 5:30 PM at the hotel · 25–40 min · ~€45–75 |
| Flight | BA351 · MRS T1 8:25 PM → LHR T3 9:20 PM · ref ZSHPPS |
| Bag drop closes | 7:25 PM working · 7:40 PM absolute |
| Tonight’s bed | Holiday Inn London Heathrow – Bath Road · ref 20573355 |
| Wednesday | Check out by 12:00 PM · AS 101 LHR T3 5:00 PM → SEA 6:45 PM · no terminal change |
The 10:00 AM departure against an 11:00 AM checkout is solved by packing tonight and checking out at 9:00 AM. The evening has real room — roughly an hour spare at the airport even on the conservative cutoff.
The boarding point is now settled — MuCEM, not the Mairie. Two risks remain, and both are solvable tonight: a printed ticket you can’t produce at 9:55 AM, and walking into the closed waterfront by habit. Print the ticket, and go inland through Le Panier.
No mistral, no rain, no cancellation to plan around. Go and enjoy it — and put the phone down between Sormiou and Sugiton.