Two years ago, during the pre-holiday period, our network experts set off for France, boarded a cruise ship in Marseille and, after two or three weeks, disembarked in Nice from a completely different cruise ship. At the end of last year, they repeated a similar venture, with the difference that this time they boarded a little further west than Marseille and, after two weeks, spent mostly on the cruise ship, disembarked in Normandy. Veterans Mario, Ivica and Hrvoje reveal to us how to get from the south to the north of France without using the Strait of Gibraltar, how cruise ships can be a source of income instead of an expense, and how to avoid the 15-minute parking fee for 65 euros.
The O2 trio set off on their 1,200km journey to Arles, France, at dawn on the first of December, and after spending the night in San Remo, completed the final 300km stretch of the motorway in the morning. The river cruiser MS River Chanson , which met them in the port of Arles, brought a smile to their faces, as it is a smaller ship, which generally means less work.
“Since we’ve already worked on a few ships like this, it wasn’t a problem for us to prepare ourselves mentally and materially for this type of work. There can be surprises, but with many years of experience we’ve already learned how to manage with what you have and get the job done successfully,” says Hrvoje, adding that after the first look at the ship’s interior and a more detailed survey, it became clear to them that they would be a bit stuck here and would have to show their resourcefulness.
The Renaissance-style MS River Chanson is a paradise for the eyes, but a hell to maintain
The ship’s enclosure, lack of inspection hatches and general accessibility to the corridors needed for structured cabling was a big challenge for our guys. The Renaissance-style ship with its numerous exquisitely executed stucco works was a paradise for the eyes, but hell for carrying out any regular maintenance, let alone carrying out new installations. For the first two days, they just opened up what they could and figured out how to do what was planned.
‘In some almost insoluble situations, the Dubrovnik team from GCC came to our aid and allowed us to use the existing infrastructure, which is not actually the practice among clients in this industry,’ reveals Hrvoje, adding that despite the hard work during the day, they found the strength and time to relax in the evening and socialize with the ship’s crew and other members of the restoration team, among whom were many of our compatriots.
The complexity of the task and the time frame in which they had to complete the two ships did not leave them much free time. However, after completing the most challenging part of the task, cabling the entire ship, they managed to hop over to the historic city center one afternoon and visit the Amphitheatre, which, along with the Pula and Roman arenas, is one of the best-preserved monuments of the Roman era.
‘Since we were in Arles during Advent, the city was full of life and various events, which would be nice to relive,’ says Hrvoje, who after scheduling the sections, testing and installing APs throughout the River Chanson, headed to the other side of France with Ivica and Mario.
There’s more work on the larger MS Bizet, but less pressure.
The journey to Rouen, 900 km away, took almost a whole day with stops, and even the gloomy and cloudy weather did not overshadow the beauty of the landscape decorated with numerous manors and castles. They boarded the MS Bizet on December 8th in the evening and prepared themselves for the work that awaited them the next day by walking around the ship.
‘The ship was bigger than the previous one and with more work, but the work went more smoothly and didn’t put as much pressure on us as the River Chanson. However, due to the volume of work and the time lost in Arles, our schedule was quite tight and tense,’ says Hrvoje, explaining that on the big ship everything was much clearer and more manageable, so they were able to start cabling from day one. There are always unplanned situations, he says, but they resolved everything without major problems in consultation with the ship’s staff.
‘We also spent a lot of time in the Wheelhouse to provide the captain with better connectivity and more reliable operation of the ship’s systems,’ reveals Hrvoje, adding that after the last completed task, they also managed to visit two landmarks a few minutes’ walk from the moorings on the Seine. These are the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Rouen and the monument to Joan of Arc , who ended her life at the stake in this historically capital of Normandy. After an evening meal and socializing with the crew on board, Mario, Ivica and Hrvoje prepared for the final disembarkation in Normandy and the return home.
Although it was not on their original return route, the boys decided to take the opportunity to see Paris , where, as in the rest of France, they encountered heavy traffic and tunnels that were too low, which often forced them to change their route.
‘When we got close to the Eiffel Tower, we decided to find a parking lot and walk to what is perhaps the most recognizable building in the world. The view from the tower is fantastic, almost all of Paris and its surroundings are in the palm of your hand (and that’s already on the lowest floor). But everything, including our parking ticket, comes to an end, so we moved on to Karlsruhe in Germany, where we spent the night,’ says Hrvoje.
How to avoid paying for 15 minutes of parking for 65 euros?
Finally, Hrvoje reveals that because of an optimistic attempt to save a few euros, they returned home 65 euros lighter. Snow accompanied them most of the time, so they took a bit of a break from their tiring trip to Austria.
‘Igrom slučajeva tu se nalazio i outlet kojeg naš kolega obožava više od života, pa smo stali i na parkingu zaradili kaznu od 65 eura. Pred centar smo stigli u 11:45, a parkiranje se naplaćuje do 12 sati’, objašnjava Hrvoje koji se s kolegama loše kladio da marljivi Austrijanac neće svoj posao revno obavljati do zadnje sekunde radnog vremena pa su se puni elana, energije i sa 65 eura manje u džepu te subotnje večeri vratili u bazu, na dobro znanu obalu Jezera Savica.
