A Very Late Review / Serenade Med Cruise October 22, 2013

[paylady]

Day 7

Another day to sleep in!!

 

It took me until Day 7 to get to Deck 4 of the ship. I had been on the ship for six nights and hadn't seen every nook and cranny. This is usually unheard of for me but all that touring either kept me busy or too tired.

 

We didn't arrive in Venice until mid-afternoon which meant we could relax. The ship was overnighting in Venice which meant we didn't have to cram in touring all in one day.

 

We went outside to take pictures of our arrival through the Grand Canal. For some reason we only took the point and shoot camera.

 

Piazza San Marco

 

In the photo below, you can see the domes from the basilica peeking above the Doge's Palace. Once is entirely encased in scaffolding. You can also see a crane. There were many cranes in town. I imagine there is much repair going on .

 

 

Look at all the people at the foot of the photo.

 

 

Moving along to the port

 

 

 

Last ship to enter port that day.

 

[paylady]

Hello, is anyone there? I haven't heard a peep out of anyone in a while but I'm ready to continue with our first evening in Venice.

 

Day 7, continued.

 

I thought we would have loads of energy during the evening in Venice since we rested for a day and a half. You will see later that I was very wrong! Venice and the remaining ports would be DIY touring for us. I had researched the varporetto process, the different lines, the ticket purchase and all important validation process and was ready to conquer traversing the Grand Canal. First we had to leave the terminal. There was a trip review on Carnival that had excellent photos of the ports so I was a little familiar with how to move along to the People Mover, or so I thought. Once we departed the terminal, we walked, then we walked, and then we walked some more to reach the People Mover which for 1€ would take us to the vaparetto stop. Yes, Virginia there was a free shuttle bus from the ship to the end of the port!! :o This would have saved us from the long walk in the port area. As it turns out, I could have used that energy walking around Venice.

 

The Venetians were ready for us and had set up a temporary ticket area before the People Mover. I'm not sure whether this saved time or not since there are self-service ticket machines but we opted to pay at the temporary place.

 

After exiting the short ride on the People Mover, we bought vaporetto tickets. Now that I had gotten us that far from my copious research, I was uncertain where exacting to find the right vaporetto. We figured it out pretty quickly, validated our tickets before boarding and were off. I will have more about ticket validation on Day 8.

 

I decided we would stop at Rialto and exit there since I didn't want to deal with the crowds in Piazza San Marco until tomorrow and figured the crowds would be smaller in the early morning. I'm skipping the Grand Canal photos from our trip to Rialto. The vaparetto was crowded and the weather was overcast with clouds.

 

When they say you can easily get lost in Venice, they aren't kidding. This is a great little city to walk in if you like spontaneity, crowds and getting lost. It felt as if it was virtually impossible to find a certain store or restaurant in Venice. I had to ask someone how to find a glove shop Melanie told me about. I had the address and still couldn't figure how to find it. It turns out it was just a block away.

 

 

My planning skills were of no use to me in Venice!! Finally, (huge pause)the left side of my brain just gave up.

 

There were tons of shops in the Rialto area. We ran into the same Roll Call folks we toured with in Florence and Montserrat. They steered me to a reasonable priced glass shop. I was happy to at least find a good selection and found some nice things to bring home with me. They had these reasonably priced, colorful little dishes that I use for all the bar soaps I bring back from my travels. Both pieces have air bubbles in them but I really don't care. It's too bad I can't show you a photo of a vertical glass rendition of a part of the male anatomy. It will have to stay in my private photo collection as I don't want to get kicked off these boards!

 

Speaking of Venice shopkeepers, there are many non-Italian shop owners in Venice now. The young people are moving away for job opportunities and the shops are getting bought out by non-Venetians. I had read about this but it was still odd to experience walking into a small Venetian store owned and operated by someone who clearly was not Venetian. :confused:

 

The Rialto Bridge on foot

 

Edited January 2, 2015 by paylady

[paylady]

After walking around the labyrinth of streets for what seemed forever, I was too tired to care about my great plans to find a nice place to eat.

 

We did take a few shops of dusk from Rialto before departing for the evening though.

 

 

 

 

 

I had mapped out a few restaurants but what good would that do me when I couldn't find a blessed thing in that town unless it was really big like the Rialto Bridge (pictured above) or the Doges Palace?! So we hopped on the vaporetto and headed back to the People Mover where we found a shuttle bus to the terminal.

 

Walking through the labyrinth of streets and up & down and up & down the bridges drained my energy which took some of the fun out of exploring the city that evening. Besides, my feet were hurting from the high heels I wore the night before to Chops. I was done in. It's pathetic when you prefer to have dinner on the ship instead of Venice at night. Neither of us had the energy.

Edited January 2, 2015 by paylady

[paylady]

Day 8 Venice continued.

 

This is where the ticket validation story comes in. We ran into Suzanne and Mike, our Amalfi Coast touring partners, before the People Mover. I showed them where to buy vaportetto tickets. I didn't even think to tell them about getting their tickets validated because they had been to Venice before. Wouldn't you know it, the lady checking tickets on the boat decided to make an example of them since their tickets hadn't been validated before boarding!! :( She kept talking about a really high fine, etc. for not validating. Geez. A local was giving her a really hard time since she was giving tourists a real hard time. It was evident that they paid for the tickets a few minutes prior but she wouldn't give them a break. She made them get off the vaporetto with her at the next stop. I felt awful! Later on they told us she said she had to make an example of them and merely validated their tickets and sent them on the next vaporetto. Okay, back to our touring.

 

Venice was the most crowded of any city we visited this trip. It was a good thing I had planned for us to get to Piazza San Marco relatively early in the morning. We had room to breathe and take photos before exploring the Doges Palace.

 

The piazza

 

 

The Campanile

 

 

A resident pigeon in flight

 

Edited January 2, 2015 by paylady

[paylady]

Day 8 Venice Part 4

 

St. Mark's

 

One of the onion domes was under construction so it was difficult to get a nice photo. I just tried to avoid that part of the structure because the scaffolding we really ugly, IMO.

 

 

 

 

 

[paylady]

Day 8 Venice Part 5

 

I purchased our tickets for the Doges Palace in advance. Yes, I actually remembered to do this properly this time unlike the Accademia in Florence. :p I opted for independent viewing of the Palace and didn't take a tour. I still feel this was the right choice for us at the time but others may want to consider one of the tours offered. There was plenty to see on our self-guided walk. We spent a lot of time here and strolled around everywhere we were allowed to be.

 

Doges Palace, outside in the piazza. It's a shame the replica exterior in EPCOT looks so much better. ;)

 

Between the palace and St. Mark's

 

 

We walked up a staircase similar to this one to begin our self-tour.

 

[paylady]

Venice Part 6

 

The Doges Palace was opulent as you will see in the photos below. Aside from the wall and ceiling art, there were many artifacts that Brian enjoyed. As with most of the historic buildings there's no air conditioning so they actually had the windows open which made touring very comfortable.

 

Again the art work was amazing. Walls, ceilings, you name it.

 

 

 

An upstairs shot of the view over the sidewalk by waterfront --- taken from a window from a window

 

Edited January 3, 2015 by paylady

[paylady]

Venice, Part 7

 

Other outdoor photos from the palace tour

 

 

 

[paylady]

Venice, Part 8

 

We walked around for a little while around the piazza before strolling around in search of food and the little shops. I had read that prices were a bit higher in Venice and that was probably true.

 

My fascination with European street lamps continues.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2015 by paylady

[Cheryl H]

Loving your report. So the DIY Venice part sounds complicated to me. If you had it to do all over, would you rather have had a guide? It all looks so beautiful.

 

Cheryl

[paylady]

Venice, Part 9

 

It was nice to stroll around moderate weather and we now had a bonus, sunshine!

 

 

Okay, I would have never expected to find one of these in Venice. Rome yes, an old city like Venice, no.

 

 

We fell upon this place for lunch, Amma Bella.

 

 

Very tiny with maybe six tables at most and some were two tops. The food and wine were good, which is all that mattered. Restaurant prices were higher here but that's what I had expected.

 

Cafe on the piazza

 

Edited January 3, 2015 by paylady

[paylady]

Venice, Part 10

 

Views as we rode the vaporetto

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Coolcruise02]

Enjoying your review and great pics! Brings back wonderful memories. :)

[crusinpeg]

Hi Marla..Peggy (and Ernie) here! We met up with Steve and Donna yesterday in Orlando for lunch

after a cruise they were on (yes we had Man Sized Beers) and Steve mentioned you were doing a review( don't know how I miised it..I live on CC) anyway I found it and am enjoying reliving our cruise so much!!

Will we ever live down the beer story!! I was only looking out for Ernie and worrying about the bathroom shortage and drinking big beers!!

Anyway your review is awesome and brings back so many great memories can't wait to read more.

Edited January 6, 2015 by crusinpeg

[paylady]

Loving your report. So the DIY Venice part sounds complicated to me. If you had it to do all over, would you rather have had a guide? It all looks so beautiful.

 

Cheryl

 

The DIY part that was difficult occurred when I wanted to find a specific store or restaurant tucked away in the labyrinth of canals and streets. The major attractions are easy enough to get to with research. From what I've read, the guides would help with more in depth knowledge sharing of history and current culture.

[paylady]

Enjoying your review and great pics! Brings back wonderful memories. :)

 

Thank you. I understand the wonderful memories part, that's why I love to read others' reviews. :)

[paylady]

Hi Marla..Peggy (and Ernie) here! We met up with Steve and Donna yesterday in Orlando for lunch

after a cruise they were on (yes we had Man Sized Beers) and Steve mentioned you were doing a review( don't know how I miised it..I live on CC) anyway I found it and am enjoying reliving our cruise so much!!

Will we ever live down the beer story!! I was only looking out for Ernie and worrying about the bathroom shortage and drinking big beers!!

Anyway your review is awesome and brings back so many great memories can't wait to read more.

 

Hi Peggy!! Brian and I will be moving to Central Florida this year. As I recall, you're on the Gulf Coast. It would be great to meet up.

[paylady]

Ravenna

 

Had the weather been hot, I think we would have definitely opted for the beach that Kreuzfahrtneuling showed in her review. Alas, it wasn't the right time of year so we went into town for lunch. We took the ship shuttle to town and the plan was to stroll around. The bus dropped us in the central part of town and was convenient to the Byzantine churches with mosaic art as well as everything else around town. I had checked restaurants on Tripadvisor and knew where we would like to have lunch. We weren't disappointed.

 

I will post a few photos of our walk along the way. It was a pleasure to walk in Ravenna given that I could find my way around and wasn't walking up and down bridge stairs all day. :D This town is a bicycle town, to be sure. Forget about a Vespa or a Fiat, the bicycle is king and was the most common means of wheeled transportation for locals.

 

The blue banners say, "Ravenna 2019 Candidate City European Capital of Culture

 

 

A few more shots of our walk.

 

 

 

[paylady]

Ravenna, again

 

We ate at Trattoria al Cerchio. The Tripadvisor reviews were spot on. I had mapped the restaurant on Googlemaps and printed the results before leaving home.

 

We had olive oil and bread along with a Sangiovese table wine and Pelligrino water to accompany our meals:

Tagliatelle al Ragu

 

 

Spaghetti Aglio Olio Peperoncino

 

 

Salsiccia alla Griglia

 

 

Vendura alla Griglia

 

 

Some type of marscapone dessert that was delish!

 

The port area was not picturesque, so I opted to exclude photos.

[paylady]

A show in the Centrum that evening.

 

 

Jack in the Beanstalk, maybe night 6?, from one of the higher floors.

 

 

 

Next up, Dubrovnik. It may be a while.

[minnie101]

Marla!

 

How are you and Brian? I hope you and Brian are doing well. I just stumbled on to your review. Your review brings back so many fond memories :). This cruise to the mediterranean was certainly one of the most memorable cruises Kelsey and I have been to. Taking the tour with Rome in Limo was one of the highlights of our trip!

 

We're taking the kids on Oasis this April - Easter Caribbean. I'm glad Dynamic Dining has been postoponed!

 

Take care and thanks for taking the time to write this wonderful review.

 

Cheryl and Kelsey

 

PS. I'm still kicking myself for not getting those leather gloves in Florence!!! lol.

Edited January 7, 2015 by minnie101

[paylady]

Marla!

 

How are you and Brian? I hope you and Brian are doing well. I just stumbled on to your review. Your review brings back so many fond memories :). This cruise to the mediterranean was certainly one of the most memorable cruises Kelsey and I have been to. Taking the tour with Rome in Limo was one of the highlights of our trip!

 

We're taking the kids on Oasis this April - Easter Caribbean. I'm glad Dynamic Dining has been postoponed!

 

Take care and thanks for taking the time to write this wonderful review.

 

Cheryl and Kelsey

 

PS. I'm still kicking myself for not getting those leather gloves in Florence!!! lol.

 

Cheryl:

 

It was nice to hear from you! Wow, just the flight to FLL/MIA for Oasis will be a journey. That's a long flight for your family. I'm sure the kids will love the ship. :)

 

I have such fond memories of taking the kids on cruises. I didn't like struggling with my little guy over wearing a sport coat and tie, however. The little stinker was in a snit. We went to the Captain's Reception and he just sat there with a frown and his arms crossed. Of course the waiters fawned all over him, bringing him chocolates and rewarding his bad behavior. :D That was 20 years ago and I still remember!

[Hailzmick]

😕Please don't stop. Your review is awesome. I'm holding my breath that you'll come back!!! 😊✌️

[paylady]

I will do my best to add more at the end of the week. We were out of town over the weekend and just returned. Work will get in the way of finishing for a while. :)

[Hailzmick]

(Not so) patiently waiting lol :-)