It's been years since I was last in Venice. This time is unique in a number of ways. First, I took the water shuttle (Alilaguna) from the airport to Lido Island and later took it to the cruise ship terminal so, I could scout it out in advance. I wanted to know where exactly I had to go this Saturday.
Second, I've stayed overnight in Venice. Best Western has a very nice hotel called the Sant' Elena which is off the path of the tourist crowds but within 5 minutes by waterbus from St. Mark's Square. The hotel is in a converted convent and has nice rooms, free WiFi and a fine breakfast buffet which I tried this morning.
Third, this will be the first time I've ever sailed out of Venice or done an European cruise. Yesterday, Oceania and MSC cruise lines had ships in port at the cruise ship terminal. It looks like a very nice facility and millions of people have done cruises out of Venice thanks to it. It was something to see the MSC Armonia sail down the Guidecca Canal on its way out to sea last night all lit up. Royal Caribbean's Splendour of the Seas is supposed to sail at 4:30 p.m. (the ship I'll be on) and should have some awesome views of Venice as we sail out. Stay tuned for some pics on that.
Fourth, I'll get to sail on a different class of ship for the first time. It's Royal Caribbean's Vision Class ship. It's the 2nd smallest class ship they have. I'm looking forward to exploring it and finding out what it offers. Royal Caribbean has another Vision Class ship called Grandeur of the Seas which will sail out of Baltimore beginning in May 2013 and, I'd really like to do a cruise on that ship. So, it'll be handy to know the layout of the ship as each of the ships of a particular class are pretty much the same.
That's all to tell for now. I'll leave you with a picture I took of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice yesterday while exploring. Happy travels all!
2 comments:
Hello, thanks for your insightful comments. I'm planning a similar cruise this year in the Eastern Mediterranean and I was wondering if it would be rainy or chilly. As per your photos it seems that it was right, is it true? Best regards
Julio from Canada
It depends on when you go Julio. I went at the end of October. It was rainy and chilly in Venice but, it was fine around the Greek Islands and Kusadasi, Turkey. In fact the guide for the excursion I did to Ephesus said I had come at the right time because it wasn't so hot and, it wasn't wall to wall tourists.
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