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Splendor - Greeek Isles & Turkey Cruise - Review with lots of pictures


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We, DW Marie and I (Bill) just got back from a glorious 7 day cruise out of Venice to Turkey and the Greek Isles. I have enjoyed the extensive reviews that others have done so I figured I would give it a shot as well. Hopefully I won’t lose steam about half way through.

 

In 2010 we had the pleasure to take a western Mediterranean cruise with some people we met here on CC, (they had actually met on a 2009 cruise and we joined them on the second cruise). We started planning this cruise in early 2011 as soon as the 2012 schedule came out. Originally we booked on Voyager for a 10 day cruise that included and overnight in Istanbul but Royal in their infinite wisdom moved Voyager to China, what a waste. So we switched to the Splendour for a 7 day cruise out of Venice that would take us to Kusadasi, turkey and a few Greek islands.

 

On our 2010 cruise the leader of our group (Brett) set up private tours for us in all the ports. This worked great as it was more private, we could change the itinerary on a whim and it was cheaper than the ship’s tours. So we decided to do the same this time, Brett covered the Greek islands and I had Turkey and attempted Bari, Italy. I say attempted as we could never find a reasonable priced private tour, could be there is just not a big enough demand yet to build the tour company base. We were trying to find something that combined the trulli houses in Alberobello and the cliffs of Polignano a Mare. At one point, I had the crazy idea of renting a van at the airport and driving everyone around but thankfully I came to my senses. We ended up walking around part of the day and taking a short ship’s tour (more later).

 

So after a year of preparation, on May 9th Marie and I were flying out of Seattle on our way to Milan (via JFK). We were using airline miles for the flights which restricted us from flying all the way into Venice. So the plan was to fly into Milan and take the train to Venice. We flew with some of our 2010 cruise friends, Kelly and Curtis who drove up from Oregon the day before. Flight was relatively uneventful until landing at JFK. Visibility was extremely limited on the runway, I had a window seat and could not see anything until we were almost done. When I could see there didn’t seem to be much of a runway which I guessed correctly as the pilot gunned it and we were heading back up again. They then announced that they could not get any visual references on that runway so they were going to go around and try another runway. Better results with that one and we were down.

 

During the layover in JFK we met up with more friends, Brett and Bill K. Who arrived a few hours earlier from Florida. We joined up with them in the American Airlines lounge to chat till our flight boarded, great to see all four of our great friends again.

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Flight to Milan took off on time and was nice and quiet with no landing issues. The plane was to get out bags and take the shuttle train to Milan Central train station where we would catch our train to Venice. We purchased our shuttle tickets online so we just need to follow the signs to the train which leaves out of terminal one. That ride took about an hour with multiple stops. We had also pre-purchased our Venice train tickets online through Trenitalia during a sale period. We traveled second class which was fine as we still had reserved seats and plenty of room for our baggage. We bought “mini” fare tickets (non refundable). But it was worth it as for most of the tickets we paid 9 euros and a standard base 2nd class ticket is normally about 35 euros. We picked the 12:35pm train but arrived about 10am so we looked to switch trains. Well we found that with a mini fare you cannot switch trains so we kicked back for a couple hours to wait.

The way the trains work is about 10 minutes before the train departs, they post the platform number on the board. So when it is getting close to departure time, you will see big groups of people standing by the board and then a mad rush to the platform when it flashes on the screen. Like the start of a horse race. The train was very clean and comfortable with plenty of empty seat so we had a chance to stretch out and catch up on sleep. We had been told to keep an eye on our bags to we bought bicycle cable to connect them together. But there was a large area in the middle of the train car that was close to our seats that we grouped the bags so the cables were not needed. We were close to 24 hours into our travels so I don’t remember much of the ride. I was reading my Kindle but really just reread the same pages about 10 times as I dosed.

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Entering into Venice was exciting as we crossed the causeway to the Santa Lucia station. We hauled our bags off the train and out of the station and then it hits you, this is Venice. There are all these great old buildings and canals right in front of you letting you know you are here. We were staying at the Hotel Olimpia near Piazzale Roma and this is when we made a “small” directional error. We picked the hotel for its close location to the train station and ease to get to the cruise terminal. Well, we turned left instead of right to head to the hotel. So instead crossing just the new bridge and one smaller bridge near the hotel, we crossed 1,000 bridges to get to the hotel (ok it was only six). But they rivaled Mt. Everest in height and it had to be at least 100 degrees. Ok it was mid 70s but being from Seattle it felt like 100. But we survived it and finally made it out to the hotel and checked in. Marie and I had a room in the back building which we loved and it gave us a chance to enjoy the beautiful garden. Loved the hotel, just keep in mind this is a European three star hotel so the rooms are very small.

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Hi Bill...great review so far. So sorry Bob and I had to miss this one. Maybe next time. We would have loved to have met you and Marie and seen Brett and Bill K., Kellt, Curtis, Judy. Greg, Max, et al. Maybe next time!!? Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Laura:D

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It was about 4pm local so we elected to power through our fatigue and go out exploring. At the airport we met up with one more member of our group, Judy who had flown in from Wales earlier that day. We crossed Piazzale Roma to the vaporetto station to pick up our tickets. We ordered vaporetto (water buses) tickets online as it is cheaper. A 36 hour pass online is 21.50 euros, if you buy in person it is 25 euros. The Venice Connected website was easy, you can also buy a museum pass and toilet passes. We just typed in out pass code in the machine at the vaporetto station and it spit out our passes. Be sure to validate your pass every time you ride.

 

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The plan was to ride the vaporetto to St Marks square but it broke down at the Rialto station and they kicked us off. So we just followed the crowd and made our way to St. Marks on foot. Of course by the time we actually made it to the square we had broken up into several groups as some began early shopping. That would become a general theme for us. It is just breathtaking when you first walk out into the square.It was about 5pm and not overly crowded. At one point I just stood in the middle and did a slow 360 just to take it all in. Several of the group decide to take the elevator up the Campanile bell tower while the rest of us explore the square. I don’t have the words that equal what we saw so I hope the picture will suffice. Just amazing.

 

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We were getting tired as we are now about a day and a half into our travels but we still decided to walk back to the hotel by way of the Rialto Bridge. Let’s just say there was a few of us in the back of the pack wondering if we would ever see the hotel again. After a 10 hour hike (ok maybe an hour) we did finally make it back to the hotel. We were using the yellow sign that point to major destinations such as Rialto Bridge, St Marks and our destination Piazzale Roma. But sometime the signs would have arrows pointing in two different directions for the same location. After a while I felt like leaving breadcrumbs to see if we were going in circles. But we did survive that night and stopped at tables along a canal by the hotel for dinner. Some house wine (it’s taste great and much cheaper), caprice salad and then dinner. Pasta and clams for Marie, the special of the day (seafood pasta) for me. I think the special was anything that was swimming that day; clams, calamari, shrimp, octopus, fish. Some gelato to top it off and the first day in Venice was drawing to a close. A great but exhausting way to start the trip.

 

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WOW! WOW! and WOW!

Now I am really sad we couldn't do this cruise. The pics are gorgeous! It looks like something from a fairy tale!!!!

 

Laura:D

 

Hi Laura,

Sometime it felt that way. Even this day was fun and we were running on about 3 hours sleep in 28 hours. :eek:

Hope you can make the next one.

 

Bill

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Day two in Venice found Marie and me striking out alone to see some of the islands then San Giorgio Maggiore after a quick breakfast at the hotel. Today we figured we would try traveling like the locals, using the waterways instead of our feet. If I counted right we rode eight vaporettos today to get to all our destinations.

 

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We hopped our first vaporetto at Piazzale Roma and rode down to St Marks. We intended to take a trip through the Doge’s Palace this morning but I forgot the passes at the hotel (oops). So we just wandered up towards the Rialto Bridge the made a right and get to Foundamenta Nuove and our next vaporetto stop. The water bus would take us to the island of Murano which is known for its glass factories.

 

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From the Colonna vaporetto stop walked up the street along the canal, Fondamenta dei Vetrai. Marie found a cute little blown glass cat with a fish in its belly for our souvenir piece from Murano. She also found some what looks like heart shaped lollipops, also made of glass. I told her she may not want to give them to the grandkids as they may want to take a bite.

 

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We continue to wander and explore the many shops then stopped at an outside café for lunch. Marie had grilled scampi with polenta and I had a prosciutto pizza. We then wandered down by the lighthouse to the Faro vaporetto stop so we could ride over to Burano.

 

 

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Burano is famous for its lace and picturesque pastel painted houses. And we saw many of the brightly painted homes; they put on a great show for us tourists. I think some of the hanging laundry was done more to add to the ambiance than practical need. A very enjoyable and relaxing atmosphere, one of my favorite places. While on the island Marie picked up some lace shawls for friends and relatives. Now that she has them home she is having second thoughts about not getting one for herself. I get the feeling someone is going to miss out on a shawl.

 

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Burano also has a bell tower that leans like the one in Pisa, though it appears to not be as big. I snapped a few photos of it during out exploring of the island. We then headed back to the station and took a vaporetto over to St. Mark’s Square. Along the way we saw one of the sailboats that were there to compete in the America’s Cup World Series. It was a sleek looking boat but really looked out of places amongst the regular traffic around Venice.

 

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Once back at St. Mark’s we hopped a vaporetto over to San Giorgio Maggiore. San Giorgio Maggiore is the church-topped island you see across the lagoon from St. Mark’s Square. Our plan was to go to the top of the bell tower here to get a view of the surrounding area and tour through the church. I am not an art major but I do enjoy seeing history and that is what you get with many of the paintings in the various churches. In this one there are various Tintoretto’s such as his painting of the Last Supper. I had picked up a low light lens for my Nikon before leaving and it worked well in here as flash photography is not allowed.

 

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