Venetian Passageways

Hello Windstar and Windstar experts,

I need some help to clarify a confusion I have, please. On the Popular Highlights of the Venetian Passageways cruises it says (amongst other bullet ponts):

- Leave larger ships in your wake as you transit the narrow Corinth Canal

- Take time away from the magnificent ruins to enjoy the unusually bucolic setting of Butrint

This cruise interests us BECAUSE of these two destinations.

If, however, you look under Itinerary and Ports (or even under Shore Excursions) for these cruises, there is no mention of these destinations at all.

Have they been dropped? If not, why aren't they mentioned anywhere. We would only be interested in this cruise if it included these destinations. In the past they were mentioned!!

Worrying??! What am I missing?

Thanks everyone.

John

Windstar forgot to change the Popular Highlights section of the Venetian Passageways cruise when the itinerary was changed. Butrint is a National Park in Albania which was on the Venetian Passageways itinerary in the past (we were there in October). It looks like Corfu has been substituted for Albania. The Corinth Canal is not a shore excursion. Passengers remain on the ship when it cuts through the very narrow Isthmus of Corninth. Windstar had someone on board talking about the history of the canal while we cruised through it.

Hope this helps.

Thanks SMNYCruise,

Do you know this for a fact, or are you surmising (like we did)? I forgot to mention in my post above that I actually took the trouble to call Seattle and ask them the question. The young lady I spoke with didn't know and asked her Supervisor. The answer that came back was "those are two of the highlights of that cruise, why would we drop them? ... you can book with confidence". I can honestly say I did NOT trust that answer, hence my post here. It has to be said, it should not be this difficult to find out the itinerary of a cruise (and this comes from someone who loves Windstar).

I will ask one more time.

Thanks again J

Hi Jb-lhr:

I agree with SMNY, as we were on the exact same cruise with them beginning September 30th. We can say for sure that Butrint was on the itinerary back then (we actually sailed into a nearby port city of Sarande). And towards the end of the cruise we made the transit of the Corinth Canal. As for the future offerings, only Windstar can confirm what stops will be made. I've checked the Windstar website and one other travel-related site, and they both seem to confirm what SMNY observed -- Corfu seems to have replaced Sarande / Butrint. Unfortunately, Butrint is way too far from Corfu for Windstar to offer the park as an optional shore excursion.

Personally, the port of Sarande wasn't all that exciting anyway. A quick walk along the waterfront satisfied my curiosity. We were told that the Butrint shore excursion was very nice, although we chose to stay onboard. I can say that transiting the Corinth Canal was really cool. Personally, I think the best part of the whole cruise happened up-front (Venice, Dubrovnik, and Kotor, and to a lesser extent Hvar).

Maybe some other cruise outfit will offer a nearby port stop so that you can see Butrint. Good luck.

Jb-lhr: Its good that you are asking for clarification now. We once booked a Windsurf cruise based on the brochure highlight section which was inaccurate (it was advertised that we would be leading the Amsterdam Tall Ship parade when in fact we anchored before the parade started). Ended up being a wonderful cruise anyway. In any event, the supervisor is wrong. She should not be telling you to "book with confidence". You should call back and ask her to explain how you will get to Albania from Greece.

I would not hesitate to book Venetian Passageways. It was one of our best cruises.

I am booking this itinerary. Does the ship docks on the ports or do they use tender? Do you know which terminal they use in Venice and in Athens?

Hi travelberlin:

The Venetian Passageways itinerary features mostly dockside tie-ups as well as a few tender operations. The larger ports all allowed tie-up at the pier. Other than Venice and Athens, that also included Kotor, Katakolon, Itea and Nafplio. We tendered into Hvar, and since it was a rainy day it wasn't all that much fun. Dubrovnik has a pier up the coast, I believe, but the Star Breeze parked close to the old town and we tendered in. Didn't take long. Your cruise will now have Corfu in lieu of Sarande (the port for Butrint), so maybe someone else can tell you about that. Sarande had a nice port, and I'm pretty sure Corfu does as well.

Hi travelberlin:

 

The Venetian Passageways itinerary features mostly dockside tie-ups as well as a few tender operations. The larger ports all allowed tie-up at the pier. Other than Venice and Athens, that also included Kotor, Katakolon, Itea and Nafplio. We tendered into Hvar, and since it was a rainy day it wasn't all that much fun. Dubrovnik has a pier up the coast, I believe, but the Star Breeze parked close to the old town and we tendered in. Didn't take long. Your cruise will now have Corfu in lieu of Sarande (the port for Butrint), so maybe someone else can tell you about that. Sarande had a nice port, and I'm pretty sure Corfu does as well.

Thanks 👍

Oh travelberlin, I forgot to answer the other part of your question as best as I could. The Venice port terminal will almost surely be the smaller San Basilio quay. Smaller vessles like Windstar's motorized yachts (Breeze, Pride, and Legend) or the tall-masted Wind Surf and Wind Star just slide in alongside the dock and tie up. The huge main terminal at Marittima Basin is used almost exclusively by the giant cruise ships. If you are departing from Venice, make sure to splurge and pay Windstar for a shuttle from the airport. It's a good long hike from the Marittima gate to San Basilo, and on anything other than a perfect day you'll get pretty sweaty.

I can't say what the terminal is in Athens. That was our final port of call, so it didn't matter to us a bit. Again, we paid for a shuttle to the hotel. Very convenient.

One final tip. Others may disagree, but we found the city of Athens to be rather dumpy, and we were not amused by the air traffic controllers strike that upended our travel schedule for a day. The unions tend to have strikes really often in Greece. I wouldn't dare use Athens as a departure port, because a last-minute strike could prevent you from reaching the ship in time. We were so perturbed by the strike that we vowed to steer clear of Athens entirely in the future.

I have a bit of cognitive dissonance making that stance -- The Greeks we met were very nice and the old historic ruins at the Acropolis are bucket list things for any architecture and culture buffs. But one just can't deny that the Greek economy is in shambles these days, so you should decide for yourself whether this itinerary is really for you. (Hint: from the benefit of hindsight, I'd say the "Classic Italy & Dalmatian Coast" itinerary (Venice to Rome, or Rome to Venice ) is probably superior. But other folks can let you know for sure.)

Most strikes are announced in advance. I have a cruise booked that's leaving from Athens, and am not worried about it. Arriving a day or so before your cruise departure date can help.

I am more concerned about my LH flight than strikes in Greece.

We did the Istambul/Athens Cruise when Greece really went under that year. It appeared that Athens was affected, we saw no evidence of it in the islands, including Aegina, the island off of Athens. What we found were gracious, generous people happy you were there. Increcible sites: the new Acropolis Museum, the redone national museum with the X man that DaVinci drew, the Marathon Boy in bronz, Agenia with the miniture medieval churches that has the frescos, Temple of Athena where there was no one there it is part of the great equalateral triangle etc. The rich food culture. Most of all the warmth of the peope who were so generous and wanted to share their history and culture. They apologized for the grafitti and Athens being down and out looking. The airport was organized, subways ran. I would not hestitate to go a few days early and not worry, just enjoy. Have a great cruise.

Oh travelberlin, I forgot to answer the other part of your question as best as I could. The Venice port terminal will almost surely be the smaller San Basilio quay. Smaller vessles like Windstar's motorized yachts (Breeze, Pride, and Legend) or the tall-masted Wind Surf and Wind Star just slide in alongside the dock and tie up. The huge main terminal at Marittima Basin is used almost exclusively by the giant cruise ships. If you are departing from Venice, make sure to splurge and pay Windstar for a shuttle from the airport. It's a good long hike from the Marittima gate to San Basilo, and on anything other than a perfect day you'll get pretty sweaty.

 

I can't say what the terminal is in Athens. That was our final port of call, so it didn't matter to us a bit. Again, we paid for a shuttle to the hotel. Very convenient.

 

One final tip. Others may disagree, but we found the city of Athens to be rather dumpy, and we were not amused by the air traffic controllers strike that upended our travel schedule for a day. The unions tend to have strikes really often in Greece. I wouldn't dare use Athens as a departure port, because a last-minute strike could prevent you from reaching the ship in time. We were so perturbed by the strike that we vowed to steer clear of Athens entirely in the future.

 

I have a bit of cognitive dissonance making that stance -- The Greeks we met were very nice and the old historic ruins at the Acropolis are bucket list things for any architecture and culture buffs. But one just can't deny that the Greek economy is in shambles these days, so you should decide for yourself whether this itinerary is really for you. (Hint: from the benefit of hindsight, I'd say the "Classic Italy & Dalmatian Coast" itinerary (Venice to Rome, or Rome to Venice ) is probably superior. But other folks can let you know for sure.)

Thanks once more. Good to know that it will be San Basilio terminal in Venice. In relation to Athens, I understand you were there at a difficult time with strikes. This is unfortunately happening very often in Europe. For example in Germany with Lufthansa flights and about a month ago in the airports of Berlin. Very annoying indeed.

I have spent two years ago, one week in Athens and I have enjoyed the city, the culture (after all is all greek you know), the food, the sights and of course the people. This time I am taking the Windstar cruise to connect to another cruise in Athens at the day Windstar arrives in Athens. So I hope Windstar will not be late....

One more question, the cruise with Windstar will stay overnight in Venice. Do you know if we can board any time during those two days? I am planning my flight to Venice...

Hi travelberlin:

Boarding in Venice will probably happen around 1:00 to 2:00 at the earliest on day one. You can board any time thereafter on the first day, or even the second day if you must. I'd try to board as early as you can, get signed up for dining at Candles, unpack/settle in, and then wander the city after dinner when the crowds have subsided. And even more fun: get up early (just before dawn), and walk through the alleys and get lost. As one previous writer so aptly said, "pray for fog". It wraps the entire basin in a mysterious shroud, and the utterly quiet buildings, bridges, and alleys take on a 16th/17th century charm. Easy to imagine Venetian nobles in their tri

Totally agree Dan, Venice is at its best in the fog in early morning or evening. I am very excited for our 5/17 cruise. I hope for a bit if fog at 6 pm departure time. Happy Sailing.

Well, heck, travelberlin. My post was truncated, entirely beyond my control. Crud. Here is the rest of what I said:

Easy to imagine Venetian nobles in their tri-corner hats, capes, and masks as they round the corner, coming home after an all-night masquerade ball.

I got up early like that when we had our cruise in late September. When I got to Saint Mark's Square, there were literally a dozen people, including a happy oriental couple and a professional photographer taking wedding pictures. Later in the day, when our ship glided past Saint Mark's Square on the way out of port, there were 10,000 tourists jamming every nook and cranny. So do yourself a favor and go early or go late to beat the traffic.

Well, heck, travelberlin. My post was truncated, entirely beyond my control. Crud. Here is the rest of what I said:

 

Easy to imagine Venetian nobles in their tri-corner hats, capes, and masks as they round the corner, coming home after an all-night masquerade ball.

 

I got up early like that when we had our cruise in late September. When I got to Saint Mark's Square, there were literally a dozen people, including a happy oriental couple and a professional photographer taking wedding pictures. Later in the day, when our ship glided past Saint Mark's Square on the way out of port, there were 10,000 tourists jamming every nook and cranny. So do yourself a favor and go early or go late to beat the traffic.

Thanks for the good recommendations! Embarcation time seems to be quite late if compared to Azamara or other cruise lines. If you arrive early, lets say at 12.00 they would not allow you to board? Is there any possibility of having lunch at 2.00 pm at the ship?

By the way, once we were for Carnival in Venice. Lovely...We were also wearing the venetian capes and huts...

. If you arrive early, lets say at 12.00 they would not allow you to board? Is there any possibility of having lunch at 2.00 pm at the ship?

 

.

I've never been able to board before the official boarding time. On our last cruise, in December, we arrived around 3:00. Not a Windstar representative in sight (in Barbados). They'd already packed up and gone, though their sign was still in the terminal.

After we walked all the way to the ship, there was no food to be found until dinner. Not my favorite boarding experience.

To my eperience and knowledge WS does not let you board early, 1 o'clock ( 13 hours ). We like to board then, get unpacked, have lunch, relax, perhaps take a walk on the pier. The lunch is served until about 2:30. When you board there is a drink waiting and a little nibble. Very easy pleasant e perience, no waiting, no lines.

On our cruise in February, we boarded the Star Legend in Barbados at 3pm and they still had lunch going at Veranda til 4pm on embarkation day which I believe they did not do before. Good idea!

A few things to note...

We were affected by a strike in Rome two weeks before we were in Athens during the elections in 2012. There were strikes, shut downs, and other inconveniences. I am headed to Ireland in a few weeks, and the transit system is currently on strike. No worries, if it isn't done with a week before we leave I'll make other arrangements.

I don't think I've ever been on a vacation where something didn't go amiss. Have a plan, a backup, and a Hail Mary.

When we sailed into Venice, we sailed right by San Basilico and into the big port, even though I had confirmed with Windstar 10 days prior that we'd be tying up at the small port. Plan for changes and roll with them. It's what makes one a traveler instead of a tourist. :)

We thought Athens was much cleaner than Paris or Rome, and all are equally intriguing and have their own vibe. Embrace their differences and cultures. We found the people of Athens to be incredibly warm and welcoming, and truly grateful that we weren't scared off by their internal problems.

Keep an open mind and have some thoughts on backup plans and you'll have a great time!