delacruz

14 hours ago, tweety33 said:

Boy this is a quiet roll call. Less than 6 months to go now. Woooowhoooo!!

 

Yes, it is quiet here! I pop over periodically to see if there's something new and aside from your couple of posts not much. I've been meaning to post here to 'wake things up'-lol-but I always get sidetracked. There are actually 2 pages for our sailing on a certain social media platform and although not 'hopping' has much more frequent activity.

Today we are going to book our specialty dining. The availability seems to be wide open, but we know we will be booking them, so may as well get them done so we don't get disappointed later if our preferred dates and times get full. This cruise is for my husband's 70th birthday, his retirement, and our anniversary, so we have a lot of celebrating to do!

Our next step is to plan our day at Amber Cove. We wouldn't mind spending some time at the pool in port but prefer a beach day. Does anyone have recommendations? We have read that it is best to take a ship excursion rather than venture out on our own at this port. In our 'younger years' we would have ignored the advice and book our own excursion - always saved $$ and had more personal experiences, but except for some exceptions we have lately been booking ship excursions - takes the worry out of getting back in time. 

These are our plans so far:

- St Thomas - we have been to this port probably more than any other port, and although we have enjoyed beaches and sightseeing there (Sapphire, Coki, Magen and on St John Cinnamon Bay & Trunk Bay), wanted something different. Our last time in STT we had planned to take the ferry to Honeymoon Beach (we were on a Celebrity Cruise at Crown Bay cruise terminal (an easy walk to the ferry to Water Island where the beach is) but when we realized how small the ferries were and how infrequent the schedule was, we bowed out. And on that cruise we took an AMAZING catamaran excursion from St Kitts to Nevis, that included snorkeling, a Nevis beach, and then essentially our catamaran turned into a party boat on the way back that was so much fun, so we picked the Kontiki Party Boat excursion to combine the fun with the beach we wanted to visit.

- San Juan, and specifically OLD San Juan is one of our favorite places and we have taken many cruises out of that port, always spending time before and/or after the cruise in town. We will do our routine of having Mallorcas and Puerto Rican coffee at our pick of our favorite breakfast cafes, walk down Paseo de La Princesa, then mosey around till we're ready for our traditional Pina Colada at Barrachinas. Some shopping and more wandering, and maybe lunch before heading back. May sound boring to some but for me and Paul, it is one of our 'happy places'.

- Amber Cove I think we lean towards a beach or beach All-Inclusive excursion. Haven't focused on picking one yet. Open to recommendations!

- Grand Turk I think we'll head over to Jack's Shack for an early but relaxing beach day.

- Half Moon Cay - another beach day. Still contemplating doing the Sting Ray Adventure - we did a snorkel with Sharks and Rays in Belize and it was too disorganized and crowded to really experience it, but will likely just make it our last beach day. Although Paul is retiring and looking forward to some R&R, with me still working and taking off 2 full weeks, I'll need the rest before I have to hit the ground running. Disappointed we can't rent an umbrella - we like the sun, but have to be careful, and the clamshells seem like they'll get too hot. We even considered splurging on a cabana, but even though we're treating ourselves well on this trip, that seems a bit 'overboard'.

Hope to see more activity here soon. In exactly 6 months from tomorrow we will be boarding this beautiful ship. 6 months from today many of you will be exploring NYC - my hometown - and having a great Sunday! (We are taking an early Amtrak in the day of - with enough cushion to take a later Amtrak or drive in case of any major issue, so we feel OK with that decision to not leave our fur-babies the extra day).

@KaiBlue - At first glance I thought the decor was a bit over the top, but it has grown on me. Our only previous Carnival cruise was on the Pride, and I thought it was rather dark in the interior spaces - the Venezia looks much more interesting

@dferreira7-  Dan & Donna - looking forward to getting a first hand report on the ship from you for your 2023 sailing!

A handy bit of information if you are 50+ and a member of AARP. (and if you are 50+ but NOT a member of AARP the annual membership is usually $16/yr, but currently on sale for $12/yr:

AARP sells Carnival Cruise Gift Cards that can be purchased at a 10% discount. They come in $500 and $100 value, so they cost $450 and $90 respectively. As opposed to some other cruise lines that only let you use gift cards for your initial down payment and nothing else, or only OBC, there does not seem to be any limitation to what you can use this on. 

We splurged a bit on this sailing with a wraparound Premium Vista balcony in the Terrazzo Carnivale section, and plan to purchase the Cheers Beverage packages (celebrating a big birthday and a retirement), so getting 10% off makes a nice balance.

On 2/4/2023 at 9:36 AM, broadwaybaby123 said:

Good morning everyone!

 

Just booked this cruise for next year!  This will NOT be my first cruise, this will be my 28th cruise.  I've cruised across all lines, but this will be my first time on Carnival in about 5 years.  I've done the itinerary before, with the exception of Amber Cove.  Does anyone know if they allow GoPros on the zipline?

 

My niece has no idea, but she's booked on this cruise with us.  She's 10 years old (will be 11 by the time the cruise rolls around).  She's only been on 2 cruises (Bliss and Oasis) and is about to go on her third (Anthem).  This will be a first for both of us, as neither of us have been on a cruise on (in essence) a brand-new ship (my understanding is that Costa is signing the Venezia to Carnival and it's currently being refitted).  My parents are coming with us, and as a family, we have a YouTube channel dedicated to cruising, so you bet the Venezia will be on there!

We have ~the same number of cruises under our belts as you, but this will only be our 2nd Carnival Cruise - the first was the Carnival Pride in 2009. There were things we liked about that cruise (always being able to drive to port is a big plus, and much more so with so many major flight glitches the past couple of years), but there was a huge group of Baltimore Ravens fans onboard, and at times it felt we were at a really bad frat party. After years of Royal Caribbean, as much as I've enjoyed all the sailings, it's starting to feel like the 'same old' thing, and we're looking forward to so much that will be different and new to us on this ship.

That's wonderful about your niece's intro to cruising. I love seeing multi-generational family groups on cruises and miss out on that - we have some family members that are afraid they will be seasick and some that don't enjoy cruising or visiting the same warmer climates that we do, so we haven't been able to organize a family sailing.

18 hours ago, ETski said:

My husband and I just booked this cruise. Sounds like a great itinerary. We have done all the ports except Amber Cove. 

'Welcome Aboard'!

We never get bored going to St Thomas and San Juan and are really looking forward to the 3 new ports for us - T&C, HMC, and Amber Cove.

My husband Paul and I just booked this cruise! We were looking for a sailing with a stop at Turks & Caicos, which along with HMC and Amber Cove are the few ports we've not yet visited. This ship and itinerary checked all the boxes for us. Looking forward to chatting between now and then!

Hope the OP is on board and having a great time. We ALSO sailed out of San Juan in Oct 2019 and 2018 on RCCL, back when we didn't have time slots. Both times we wanted a leisurely morning and brunch in OSJ, so we didn't rush to board, but my photos show that we were checked in and enjoying our first drink at 11:55am and 12:55pm respectively...lol! 

(Can you tell we are creatures of habit?? 🙂 )

We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott in Miramar in Oct 2018. We were budgeting and liked that Miramar was closer to OSJ than the pre-cruise hotels we had been staying at before in Isla Verde. The hotel itself was just fine, and we found the restaurant 'Comedor' to be excellent for all meals. We enjoyed the little gourmet market diagonally across the street for coffees, snacks and takeout. 

However, it may be because we were there a couple of years post- Hurricane Maria, but we found ourselves a bit uncomfortable with the number of panhandlers in the immediate area. The following year we stayed at the Decanter Hotel in Old San Juan and loved everything about it.

I know this is an old post, but I was just reading the boards gathering info for next year's cruise sailing from San Juan and came across this.

On my last cruise out of SJ in 2019 I Casablanca and Decanter were at the top of my list, but for that time period, Casablanca had a 2 night minimum, so we booked the Decanter Hotel. We loved it, and our only issue was out of their control - it rained so hard we didn't get to enjoy the amazing wrap-around terrace we snagged. For our trip next year, Casablanca allowed a 1 night booking, but being $80 more and hoping to get use out the Decanter balcony, we booked it again.

Yes to Barrachinas for Pina Coladas. After 5 years in a row there we decided to try another highly rated bar/restaurant for our celebratory start of vacation drink, but immediately decided to go back to Barrachinas for next time.

On 3/12/2022 at 8:43 AM, like2cruise said:

My daughter must of shopped well as she got ones that sound very similar to yours.  I was surprised how sturdy the somewhat thin wire cable was.  Ours was a pack of 4.  Our labels are printed, in the holders and ready to put on our suitcases next week once we arrive in FLL.  

When we stopped getting mailed luggage tags I went through the rigamarole of covering the printed paper tags in clear packing tape to prevent them from tearing or getting wet, but the plastic holder were great, and the wire cables are so strong I ordered some for our regular luggage tags.

From posts for my 4/2 Apex sailing it seems to be 50/50 whether the eDocs will download. Seems to be another IT glitch, because definitely my eDocs are ready.

Although we don't NEED eDocs in hand, I like to at least have them downloaded (maybe it's my cruising OCD?). A call to Celebrity got them emailed to me immediately. 

I have several playlists I made on youtube also that I have used for Zumba, and had to add a bunch of Zumba Gold so I could handle it. Marc Bosmans is one of the instructors that makes it interesting but easy. @burm, I will take a look at your video suggestions.

Yes, Bloch shoes (and similar split-sole styles) really helped me. I had originally worn Ryka Studio shoes, and then Ryka or Asics shoes with a good pivot point. But I was finding my toes were feeling numb after a 1 hr class, and my knees getting worse. First I found in 2016 that my high arches were way higher than I thought - shopping for good walking shoes for a cruise to Europe and walking on the electronic mat - only the heel and ball of my foot touch the ground. The split sole Blocks, although they don't appear to have arch support, allow my arch to stay as raised as it naturally wants to be, and I have much better flexibility. For the floors I was dancing on I didn't find them to be slippery.

When they started wearing out, I got Skazz by Sansha Majestic m13m. There was a Dec 2019 sale where I got 2 pairs for the same cost as the 1 Bloch pair. 

@Anita Latte the extra weight I've been putting on and not regular enough activity is playing havoc with my knees again. Luckily, my scale weight also doesn't quite show on my body, which has changed over the years. Even though I haven't worked out regularly, I am wearing the same size as I did 20 years ago when I was 20 lbs lighter. 

Thanks for asking about my experience- I felt relatively lucky during my bout with Covid. I had been very careful by mid-March, and doing all but wearing a mask, which wasn't being recommended at the time. I work on computers, and I would ask the client to step 6' away, and I'd sanitize their keyboard and mouse before and after working on it. I can't pinpoint 100% where I got it and none of my clients did, but while at behind the reception desk at a vets office, one of their customers came in to buy dog food, hacking up a lung, and claimed it was allergies - the staff sprayed Lysol everywhere as soon as she stepped out! I hadn't been to a store or socializing for 2 weeks prior. Several days later I got conjunctivitis, then a few days after that I started coughing with a fever. I went home and slept for 22 hrs, and that was my main symptom - fatigue, and some fever and shortness of breath. After 2 weeks of barely being able to stand in the shower, my energy came back bit by bit, until 6 weeks from the beginning I felt mostly normal. I didn't start back to attempting to get some exercise till a month later, but in that time all I wanted to eat was comfort food. I think my residual fatigue is from my weight, not exercising regularly, and a bad routine of staying up too late.

I'm glad to see this thread resurrected! I just skimmed over some old postings here, and see that most of what I had to contribute was my difficulty staying on a consistent path of diet and exercise.

Part of why I was having trouble staying totally connected and consistent with a Zumba class was that my previous gym changed instructors frequently, and some were lackluster, and I didn't have a connection with anyone in the class. After a year of paying dues in 2018, I realized I was REALLY out of shape, and my knees were bothering me more often than not.

In Jan 2019 I found a Zumba Gold class that I thought I'd try. When I walked in I thought I was taken aback at how everyone hugged and greeted each other with such authentic friendship. After a few classes I finally felt comfortable to join in. This group, which met an hour twice a week, also was did soul line dancing, and the more advanced members not only performed wherever they could, but also socialized often at monthly meals, galas, parties for any occasion. I found the Zumba to be much easier than my previous classes, but as I was getting into my mid-60's (I turned 65 last week), much better for my knees and stamina. Eventually I started doing the line dancing and then was asked to join their performing group 'First State Steppers'. Unfortunately, like you've experienced, that came to a halt in March. I also got Covid at that time (good thing I didn't expose them), and with my number 1 symptom and side effect being fatigue, it took until May before I could even attempt to work out again. Once we realized we weren't getting back to our classroom, Ida started offering free classes on FB Live, and sometimes Zoom on a Saturday, but I couldn't quite get into 'the groove' not being in person, and that she couldn't play copyrighted music on FB. We've since started meeting at a parking lot once or twice a week, weather permitting, and that's been SO much better, although we do SLD more than Zumba. I also just bought a year subscription to 'Body Groove', which has been fun, I just need to rearrange for a better place in my house where I can have a larger TV (I cast the app from my tablet to the TV) and more open space.

A couple of weekends ago, AARP sponsored a Zoom dance event that was Latin music, and Beto taught a segment of it. It was so much fun, but I realized how my stamina has changed from the years ago when I could do a much higher impact and intensity routine. I felt bad about it, but at least I'm moving!

Anita, that sucks about your iPod and playlist! I have to get to work, but I'll think about what songs have worked well. Since we're oldies but goodies ourselves, our instructor has thrown in a bit more Motown and oldies than any other class I've been in, but of course still adds several Latin or World music. For sure my favorites have been Bailando, Despacito, Vivir Mi Vida, Danza Kuduru, LImbo (Daddy Yankee), Fireball, Shake Senora.

Reading back, I noticed some discussion on shoes. I'm putting this here as a reminder for me to followup with some input on shoes, since knees have become a problem for me.

3 hours ago, yvrbos said:

I have done my research and I believe that this is one of the sweet 16 balconys but I wanted to be sure. I wanted to avoid the obstructed view balconys that are larger. I just want one of the larger balconys. Has anyone stayed in this balcony? Anyone have pictures?

 

Thanks everyone,

 

Yes, definitely cabin 6029 on the Summit is a Sweet 16. On all the Millennium class ships the first 8 balcony cabins on either side of deck 6 forward are twice the depth as the standard balconies.

Before our 2015 Summit cruise I used this thread to verify it, and you'll see a picture is worth a 1000 words.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/topic/1289058-sweet-16-cabin-question-on-summit/

Our travel agent at the time insisted there was no such thing (the deck plans don't show it), and even after sending her that link, I finally just stopped arguing and had her book 6035, 6030, and 6021 for us, our daughters, and son-in-law. 

The only pics I took are attached. On the first one you can see how we had a nice clear view towards the aft of the ship because we stuck out (this was the repo from Bayonne to San Juan - so the Verrazano). In the next pic (it was my 60th bday and lots of gifts sent), you can somewhat see that the balcony was deep enough that we had loungers not regular chairs.

The first half of the balcony is covered by the balcony above, but the outside half sticks out. It's great for extra sun, but cruisers in the above balconies can look down.

The first 3 forward Sweet 16s on each side are encased in steel framing and DON'T get the full sun - they are a bit darker. But the first balcony -  6021 - was perfect for my redhead daughter who avoids sunbathing and wanted some quiet privacy and fresh air for studying for grad school. 6029 has the regular deep and open balcony.

Enjoy it!

We did this recently, although our flight wasn't quite that early. But we took a taxi to Joe's Café at the Harbor Shops off SE 17th St - 1913 Cordova Rd. They open at 7am, so don't rush from the airport, since it's not more than 15 minutes away.  For us it was only a 4 night cruise, so we didn't have full size suitcases, but we sat in one of the outdoor swings and were able to set our suitcases besides us. We had a leisurely breakfast - nothing fancy, but hearty and tasty.

There's a Publix a few doors down that sells wine, and past that is a Total Wine - I think they opened by 9am.

The Uber to Port Everglades was under 10 minutes.

On my preview it shows both Countdown Clocks side by side- which I prefer, but here it shows one over the other. Any suggestions on how to change that?

I went crazy yesterday because the website wouldn't let me edit my signature, make or post or anything. Thought it was just me, so created a new user, cleared cache, tried every browser and another computer to no avail. Today I was able to do so, but noticed that one of my old posts still has the old signature. Testing here to see if the new signature works properly.

Aha. So a friend recently did a cruise starting in Barcelona and ending in Venice and paid VAT for items on board. We did a round-trip from Barcelona, and everything was duty-free, so I assumed it was a difference between round-trip or not. But we stopped at Croatia, they didn't, so from what everyone's saying, that non-EU stop was the reason?

We returned 2 weeks ago from our cruise with a stop in Villefranche and thought I'd pipe in here with details of our train and bus ride between Villefranche and Nice.

We took the train to Nice, partly because we understood it would take climbing steep hills to get to the bus. The walk is very easy - just turn right as you face the town and walk along the waterfront until you see the sign for the SNCF and turn left. Go up the stairs, but half way up go through the tunnel to access the Ticket Office.

The one-way ticket to Nice was 3.60 Euros each. Walk back the way you came out of the tunnel and continue walking up the stairs, and wait for the train on the platform.

It's a quick train ride - less than 10 minutes. Don't get off at Nice Riquier, wait until Nice Ville.

The Nice Ville station was undergoing construction while we were there, but I take every opportunity to find a good public restroom. :rolleyes:Decent, and .80 Euro. When you exit the station, walk towards your left, and head to Avenue Jean Medecin. You'll see the tram stop there without crossing any streets. If you choose to take the tram it's 1.5 Euro and you have to buy the ticket at the machine at the stop. However, unless you have mobility issues it's a very easy stroll to get down to the waterfront, Cours Saleya, and Old Nice.

To return we decided on a change of scenery and took the bus back (and knowing we'd be walking DOWN hill in Villefranche was good! There is a lot of misinformation on where to catch the #100 or #81 because construction over the past few years has moved some bus stops.

We ended up using the GPS on our phone (in airplane mode - no need to use data) to get to the stop. Study a map and look for 'Le Port'. It was another easy walk once we were in Old Nice.

The bus was 1.50 Euros. We disembarked in Villefranche at Octroi. It was easy to recognize by the park-like setting of the street there. (We did Google Maps street view beforehand to be comfortable with where we were).

We continued walking 1/2 block in the direction the bus was going, and angled to the right onto Avenue du Marechal Joffre, turned right (same street name), and sort of merged onto a larger road. Not quite sure what we did then, but after crossing a larger road there was a pathway down, and we came out near the Welcome Hotel right where we started near the tender pier.

I hope that helps!

Delacruz - do you know if they have a "special" on the shuttle for ships that overnight in Venice? I thought somewhere I saw something like $40 for a pass for both days.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I can't answer any questions about the Shuttle that is a ship excursion (it was $25 on our cruise, and I was never clear if that was a 1x round trip or all day). All I know am sure about was the pricing on the ACTV Vaporetto day pass, which is 20 Euros for 1 day, 30 for 2 days.

Out of curiosity, I searched CC to see if I could find more info about the Shuttle, but instead found this thread, that you've already posted on. I think that thread is quite informative about transportation, and I wrote a post with my 2 cents there.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2326873

I know this thread is about getting TO St Mark's Square, but I’d like to throw in my 2 cents that (unless you are meeting a tour there) maybe that is NOT where you want to go when you first arrive in Venice.

We returned 2 weeks ago from a cruise that included an overnight in Venice. When we sailed through the Lagoon into Venice and saw the MOB of people at St Mark's Square, we immediately changed our plan for the day. We originally planned to take the People Mover to Piazza Roma, buy the 24 hr ACTV pass for 20 Euros, and take the #1 Vaporetto, using it as a 'tour bus' to view all of the Grand Canal from the water, then disembarking at one of the San Marco stops.

Once we saw the mob, we decided to get off at the Rialto Bridge, tour around there a bit, get some pizza that I was craving, take our Gondola ride, and then head to San Marco as the sun went down and the tour buses had left with much of the throng. We also returned early the next morning to take the elevator up to the top of the Campanile for pictures.

In hindsight, if I could do it over again as my first trip, I’d still continue on all the way to San Marco on the Vaporetto for that first full effect of sailing the length of the canal, and THEN backtrack away from the Square until the crowds thinned out.

We were never planning on getting the Ship's Shuttle from the Pier to San Marco for $25. The ship's excursion desk will have you thinking this is the ONLY way to get there. First of all, even taking into account the additional cost of the People Mover, doing it ourselves was more cost effective. Second, as said, you have so much more versatility built into using the ACTV with all the different routes. And third, isn’t part of touring to have the experience of local life?

That said, for those with mobility issues or just not comfortable with DIY, the shuttle is certainly easiest.

We were going to get the 2-day ACTV pass (30 Euros), but figured out by the time we first activated the 24 hour pass (we docked at 3pm, boarded our first Vaporetto at 4pm on day one), since we were departing at 6:30 the next day, even if we used the Vaporetto past the 24 hr mark, we’d only be using it to return to the ship and that would be 7.5 Euros, so we'd only be 27.50 Euro into Vaporetto costs rather than 30. We ended up wandering and walked back to P. Roma on our last afternoon, so we were perfectly fine with the single day pass. Of course, you need to take into account what hours you’ll be docked to make your decision.

I don't even think there was any one thing or place in Venice that stands out to me, it's the overall experience. Being somewhat OCD, it was hard for me to 'let go' and wander, but on our last afternoon we put the GPS and maps away, walked away from the crowds, and that was our best time!

Delacruz....if we're taking a private tour that leaves from St marks square, is that easily walkable to from where ship docks or would we need to utilize some transfer as you've mentioned?? Thx for feedback!

 

Mark

I'm sorry that I've diverted the topic of the thread, but I before we sailed we appreciated every tidbit of info!

I would hope that as the sailing after ours, which included more of the Eastern Med recently returned, others will pipe in to share their experiences with formal nights. I know it can change at a whim from sailing to sailing.

Mark, although I usually avoid the ship provided excursions and shuttles (I think most are a rip-off if you can DIY), your best bet, although the most expensive ($25 RT), might be to use the ship's shuttle service. This really would be your most direct and shortest way to get there. That would entail:

- taking the shuttle bus to the main terminal,

- getting on a boat close by there (I think it was well marked),

- direct trip with no stops to near San Marco Sq,

- short walk to the Square to meet your guide.

- now you have energy to enjoy your tour.

I'm not so sure you'll want to walk to St Marks Square from the dock (IMHO anyway). First of all, all that I know about the walk from the piers to Piazza Roma (which will essentially be the starting point for any way you get there - except the ship's shuttle) is that I've heard it's not a pleasant walk, part of why the People Mover was implemented. So, we did take the people mover to Piazza Roma, whether we walked or got on the Vaporetto.

Once at Piazza Roma, there are a gazillion routes you can take to walk to San Marco, and starting from either side of the canal. But I personally would only do this walk if I didn't have a time commitment. Although all over Venice you'll see signs on the corners of buildings with arrows pointing to San Marco or to Piazza Roma (and often multiple arrows - either by the nature of the paths, or by vandalism!), the route there entails winding roads, sometimes dead-ending at alleys, canals, stairs, bridges, etc. You'll eventually get there if you keep going, but you'll be meandering. I tried using GPS on my phone a few times, but often lost signal. We also had a map, but there are so many little streets that it's hard to get your bearings until you're back at a landmark. You just can't appreciate all that's interesting around you when you're looking down at your device or map!

The other way I'd go is to take the #1 Vaporetto from Piazza Roma. Make sure to buy your ticket first, and then scan it before entering the platform. You can either take it to one of the San Marco stops or get off at the Rialto Bridge (not the Rialto Mercado unless you want to cross the crowded Rialto bridge) and walk to San Marco.

I'd say that from start to finish will take just under an hour - YMMV. In this case, the ship's shuttle is more direct and I'll have to guess much faster.

I hope this helps!

Great review, thank you. I am doing this same cruise on July 1.

 

I am also in a hump cabin on starboard side - just a little further aft than you.

 

I have read so much information but I'm still confused about transfers to and from the port in Venice [emoji53].

 

 

~ Vicki ~

I just returned, and I'M still confused about transfers to and from the port in Venice! :p

The cruise terminal in Venice is somewhat at the southwestern tip of Venice. If you can sort of picture the shape of a fish, its sort of the mouth. (lots of sort ofs!) The Grand Canal 'squiggles' from Piazza Roma, sort of the eye of the fish, and comes out at Piazza San Marco. (You may have to look at a map, cause that might sound wacky).

Pretty much the only way to get around Venice is by:

- walking (quite easy, we spent an afternoon starting at the furthest point and weaving in and out of little streets and alleys to get back to Piazza Roma) or

- boat:

- Vaporettos - which are water buses that run 7.5 Euro per trip, or 20 Euro for a 24 hr pass (the ACTV which we took has more options than the Alilaguna),

- Water Taxis - very expensive,

- Gondolas - not so much for getting around, but a novelty much like taking the horse and carriage through NYC Central Park, about 80 Euro for 40 minutes (more if it's after 7pm or if you expect singing!),

- and Traghetti - the poor mans version of Gondolas:rolleyes: - they take you across the canal if you need to get across where there's no bridge - I think that's 2 Euro.

Our ship was docked at the furthest point of the Cruise Terminal. The ship pushes selling a round trip shuttle ticket from the Terminal to a 5 minute walk to San Marco for $25. I'm not certain if that's for a single round trip, the whole day, or the time we're in port, but I figured that a $20 24-hr pass on the Vaporetto, which also gave us different options (we could take any of the local lines, even going to Murano or Burano) was a much better plan for the cost of one RT shuttle.

Anyway, when we walked off the ship for the first time in Venice and through the terminal, we could see the People Mover, and it was quite a long walk, but we were about to head there when we saw buses in front of the terrminal marked something like 'Royal Caribbean Free Shuttle'. We asked one person if that would take us closer to the People Mover, and they said we had to be on an excursion; someone else said we could take it.

Since we didn't have a straight answer we walked. There is a Main Terminal at the top of the pier, and we met friends who said they took the shuttle. They purchased their 24 hr pass inside the little souvenir shop there, but for some reason it was 24 Euros, not 20 as expected. We could also buy our People Mover tkts there (1.5 Euro). I think the pass we bought was more of a tourist card, and we could have purchased the regular day pass once we got to Pl Roma. Same with the PM tkt - easy to buy at the machine

Anyway, by the time you get on the shuttle bus, wait for it to load, and then walk a decent distance from where it lets you off to the People Mover, you may as well walk to the People Mover. Basically the walk from the pier to P Roma isn't very nice, so that's why they built the PM. When you get to the PM, you go upstairs, and take the tram to Piazza Roma - NOT to Tronchetto. They run every few minutes.

Coming out of the station you'll see a big bridge, cross a plaza towards it, but don't cross it if you want to buy a ticket for the Vaporetto.

In our 24hr+ in Venice, we took the Vaporetto 3x - as I said, we ended up doing a lot of walking. Don't be afraid to get lost in Venice - since it's an island, you can't go too far!

Sorry if this is discombobulated...I'm trying to get this done before I head out.

Please write a review, would love more info on ship and ports before we sail on 9/11, I know we have many long port days

My review was just published - right now it's at that in between stage where it's viewable by my link, but not listed under Brilliance reviews. Sorry that it's so wordy and I'm still tired from the trip (and staying up late to finish my photobook) so I didn't edit properly, but anyone that knows me by now knows that's par for the course!!:rolleyes:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=535791&et_cid=2633025&et_rid=16937955&et_referrer=June%202008%20Boards%20Mailing

We just returned from the May 14 Mediterranean sailing, and we had 2 formal nights - Day 6 and Day 11 - both sea days.

All other nights were listed as Casual - there were no Smart Casual days during the 12 night cruise.

Truthfully, with the very port intensive itinerary and many of us choosing to experience the local cuisine off the ship, we and quite a few people chose the Windjammer for a bite, rather than sit for a full meal.

I'd like to start a list of which cruise lines have Zumba classes. It is an important part of my weight control strategy while cruising. I've only done it on Princess so I'd like to know about the others. Anyone?

 

Zumba Cruise List

 

1. Princess

Sorry I don't have any definitive information for you, but I mostly sail Royal Caribbean, did one Carnival before I began Zumba-ing, and one recent Celebrity.

I haven't seen it formally on Royal Caribbean, although I've noticed a member of a Royal Caribbean Facebook page will give Zumba classes when she's on a cruise. And I've been on several ships that would offer 'Latin Fitness Dancing', essentially Zumba without a certified instructor, but they are totally hit and miss as to whether to expect them and the quality.

I've only sailed Celebrity once, and on the 6 day cruise I can't remember if it was officially Zumba or Latin Fitness Dancing type classes, but classes were offered 2-3 times that week and were decent, but for a fee.