Almost Live - Viking Sky - Mediterranean Odyssey - April 2023

[OneSixtyToOne]

Departure Day - It’s Déjà vu all over again.

 

Yogi Berra’s words have never rang so true.
 

Just last January we were here at LAX dodging a torrent of rain from an atmospheric river hitting California and it’s been raining ever since.  I’ve never seen anything like this in almost 50 years of living here. Several major storms have hit us and it looks like that trend will continue. The good news is the drought has been officially declared over.

 

The bad news is our flight is at least 30 minutes late and that leaves us only 90 minutes to catch our connection in Frankfurt to Venice. Fortunately we have booked the pre-cruise extension. I tend to do this just to have a buffer.

 

We were notified that our departure from Venice on Monday has moved from 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM. The email had some boiler plate message about tides but IMO it has more to do with the Italian air traffic control strike on Sunday. Anyone planning to fly into Venice on embarkation day may have a problem.

 

So while we wait, I’ll repost a photo of our plane. This will probably be my last time on a 747, my first being a TWA flight to Rome in 1970. The last 747 built recently flew out of Boeing and had permission to have its flight path spell out 747 across Washington State. It’s definitely an end of an era.

 

To understand the impact of this aircraft, i’ll end this post with a link to one of my favorite TV series, Connections with James Burke. In this episode, he connects the 747 with the similar innovation of the fluyt freighter in Holland in the 16th century. This allowed the Dutch East India Company to become the richest corporation in the history of the world. (I thank Viking lecturer Russel Lee with providing me that bit of trivia.)

 

Here’s hoping my next post will be from Venice and not a hotel in Frankfurt.

 

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[SantaFe1]

Wishing you all the best and smooth flights and connections.  We had a connection in Frankfurt about three weeks ago and had no trouble, even about half an hour to enjoy the lounge.  I enjoyed your last postings and look forward to traveling vicariously with you again!

[springtravel]

Once you board the flight, all will be fine. It will be a great journey, no matter what happens from now until you arrive in Venice. We are in the Philly Airport, awaiting our 6:15 flight to Dublin, then onto Venice.  Safe travels.

[Azulann]

Looking forward to your almost  “live” trip report  on the coming days ! 

[OneSixtyToOne]

We just went through security and TSA is either training new dogs or they have implemented a new level of inspection. Before you get to the security check you are corralled into an area where you had to stop, then walk two-by-two past a dog handler that walked around you. There were several K-9 units to the side waiting their turn.🦮

 

On our last trip I mentioned LAX now has facial recognition boarding passes. Called eGates Boarding, I found an article about it.

https://www.airport-technology.com/news/lax-idemia-solution/

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[FetaCheese]

Will also follow your reports.  Thanks.

[cnd crsr]

Will be following along as we will cruising on the Sky early next year.

[coachma]

3 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

We just went through security and TSA is either training new dogs or they have implemented a new level of inspection. Before you get to the security check you are corralled into an area where you had to stop, then walk two-by-two past a dog handler that walked around you. There were several K-9 units to the side waiting their turn.🦮

Sounds like a Passenger Screening Canine team conducting training. The dogs were searching for a decoy passenger carrying a concealed training aid. My husband and I volunteer as decoys at Washington Dulles airport. If a passenger near you was carrying the training aid, the dog would excitedly follow the decoy as they exit the cordoned-off area. The handler rewards the dog with a toss of a ball! A supervisor oversees the training and knows which passenger is the decoy. Very smart dogs.

[OneSixtyToOne]

Day 1 - Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride

 

We arrived in Frankfurt about 40 minutes late but due to thunderstorms all flights were running late. We had arranged for mobility assistance at the airport and were whisked away in a cart and subsequent ride that would make the aforementioned Disney attraction envious. Weaving through a pedestrian tapestry, our drivers adeptly navigated countless obstacles of clueless men, women, and children at considerable speed. What a great way to get the heart pumping after a sleepless overnight flight. We thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

 

The ride took place in two segments, with a stop at passport control dividing the adventure. We were escorted through but the regular line was only about 5 people deep. I was expecting much worse, so Frankfurt was not the horror that I envisioned. It Is a MASSIVE airport. We had to travel from Gate Z to A and without assistance it would have been at least a 20 minute walk, with many of the moving sidewalks non-operational. Upon arrival at our gate we discovered our flight was delayed arriving. After boarding, we waited another hour because the thunderstorms caused ground crews to leave the tarmac and no baggage could take place. We finally arrived at Marco Polo airport around 2 hours late.

 

Upon arrival we noticed lots of red Viking luggage tags on the baggage claim carousel. Outside of baggage claim we met our Viking rep and a very large group of pax on the pre-cruise extension. After waiting for the inevitable “lost luggage people” we headed to the shuttle boat to our hotel, the JW Marriott.

It been 15 years since our last visit to Venice. Since then, they have constructed a modern boat docking facility for the water taxis. The dock use to be right by the airport baggage claim, a quick walk to a dock area. Now it’s a journey to the new facility, involving a couple of moving walkways.

 

Before our first visit I read that a famous writer once wrote that any first time visitor must arrive by boat to experience the beauty of the city. Back then we hired a water taxi, today we were were with about 60 fellow guests. This was unexpectedly quite a large group. On the way to the hotel our tour director notified us that there are 180 guests on this pre-extension. 😳

 
The hotel is located on a private island that use to be home to a hospital. During our 40 minute boat ride, the guide stated that it had its origins as a place to quarantine visitors, a procedure that started in another Adriatic port, Dubrovnik. The word quarantine is derived from forty, the number of days you were isolated when the Black Death was all the rage. The island is close to the Lido, south of Venice proper. See the blue dot on the map

 

The trip to the hotel passed Murano and the island that is used as the cemetery. Although overcast and not conducive to photography, I did get a few shots of the cemetery and the Campanile in the distance. The Campanile is where Galileo publicly demonstrated his first telescope. Little more than a rudimentary spyglass, the military and economic impact was immediate, The military could see potential enemy ships approaching on the horizon and merchants could identify what cargo ships were approaching and adjust their prices hours before others could react.

 

We docked at the hotel and learned there are shuttles to St. Marks every 30 minutes, with last return boat at 23:30. Viking is also running hourly shuttles until about 7:00 PM. Our room is large and comfortable. More about the hotel tomorrow, when we get a chance to walk the grounds.

 

After a short respite to recharge ourselves, we hopped on the 7:00 pm shuttle to San Marcos. It’s a 30 minute ride that leaves you right at the piazza. I took a couple of photos then we headed off to find a bite to eat. One block off the piazza, walk under the astronomical clock and take the first right and you’ll find the restaurant row of San Marco.

 

We chose the Golden Lion, Lione d’Oro. We got a great corner window booth and ran into two other pax we previously met at the airport. Being tired and hungry and Italian all I wanted was an authentic pizza and this place delivered with a great tasting 4 cheese pizza and reasonable prices. Two pizzas, salad, wine, and water for 50€.

 

After dinner we headed back to the dock for our return to the hotel. I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of Venice at night. Venice after dark is magical. Day trippers never know the experience. Everyone needs to spend at least one night in the city.

 

 

 

 

 

[Hobson1754]

Thank you - Brings back wonderful memories of Venice at night😀

[springtravel]

Glad you arrived safely, sounds more exciting than our trip. We were in the same area last night, but rain started, so didn't really get to enjoy our stroll back to hotel. Leaving soon to visit Rialto Bridge area and market, then over to Burano

[Frenchberet]

Happy to hear you arrived safely.  Looking forward to following along on your trip!

[DGHOC]

Oh how I love Venice, your photos are a delight. How lucky you are!

[OneSixtyToOne]

Day 2 - Like Butter 

 

Jet lag arrived and we were up before dawn so we were raring to go to breakfast at 7:00 AM. The hotel serves breakfast from 7-11 AM. Being one of the first to arrive I was able to take some unobstructed photos. I have never had a bad breakfast in Italy and this was no exception. Fresh squeezed orange juice, great coffee, omelet station, selection of fresh cheeses including ricotta, a first for me at breakfast, Italian cold cuts, breads, bacon, sausages, fresh fruit, ripe tomatoes, pastries, you name it, they had it. The only negative was the scrambled eggs. I have yet to see a hotel get them right, either to hard or too runny. Oh I forgot to mention the butter… two enormous buckets of butter (salted and unsalted). The chef saw me taking pictures of it and explained how it’s an Asian tradition and how they traditionally make it. Who knew?

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a full breakfast topped off with a few extra cups of coffee and plum cake we strolled the hotel grounds, taking photos as we headed for the docks. The weather changed dramatically overnight. The grey rain clouds disappeared and the sun was rising in clear blue skies. What a perfect day to explore Venice.

 

 

 

 

The first boat to arrive was the Viking shuttle. Unlike the hotel shifty, It docks four bridges east of Piazza San Marco. On our way into Venice, we encountered the hotel shuttle boat as well as a gondolier many miles from the city. 

 

 

 

As I mentioned earlier, your first view of Venice should be by water. Here is why.

 

 

From the Viking docking location we walked towards Piazza San Marco and had photo ops of the leaning church tower, Bridge of Sighs, and finally the Doge’s Palace. 

 

 

 

The piazza was teaming with people basking in the morning sun. The morning sunlight also bringing to life the gold on the cathedral and the bronze horses.

 

 

 

 

One interesting icon on the facade is a depiction of the smuggling of St Mark’s bones out of Islamic territory to Venice so the cathedral could be consecrated. Every Catholic Church requires a relic of the namesake saint to be placed in the alter. To accomplish this, his bones were hidden among slaughtered pigs.

 

 

The lines were too long to enter, but we had already toured it on our prior visit. Same with the Doge’s Palace, where I highly recommend the secret itinerary tour. Advance reservations are strongly suggested. Instead we went to the top of the Campanile where we enjoyed spectacular views of the city. I mentioned Galileo previously and there is a plaque commemorating the event high at the top of the tower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bells are impressive, even more so if you arrive at noon where they toll 100 times. We just happened to encounter that on a last trip and my ears are still ringing. Today we missed it. It’s also impressive to watch these massive bells swing to and fro.

 

 

From there we walked a few steps and went for a snack at the oldest cafe in Europe. Founded in 1730, at Florian you can have everything from an 14€ cup of coffee to a 400€ bottle Dom Perignon. DW had been looking forward to taking some photos there and we decided to splurge on some desserts.

 

 

 

 

A Japanese couple sat across from us and ordered afternoon tea and champagne. They spent several minutes arranging their tea to make it photo ready. After a few individual photos I offered to take a photo of the two of them. I then asked if I could photograph their beautifully arranged tea setting.

It was time to burn all those calories so we took a stroll towards the Grand Canal and widow shopped in the luxury district, walking across numerous bridges with their charming canals. On the way we stopped at the world famous Harry’s Bar. As you can tell, Harry doesn’t mind if he can’t make the scene. He’s got a daytime job. He’s doing alright.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ot was now time to find the the Rialto. We love wandering around Venice. It’s a city to be lost in but never get lost. We passed countless shops all with unique window displays and finally found the bridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then returned to the dock to head back to the hotel after a long day. Tomorrow we leave at 10:00 AM to board the Sky.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[OneSixtyToOne]

I’m interrupting this thread with a special announcement….

 

I 

I believe

i believe that 

I believe that we

I believe that we will

I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

 

Go Aztecs!

 

 

Edited April 2, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne
Link added

[SantaFe1]

17 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

I’m interrupting this thread with a special announcement….

 

I 

I believe

i believe that 

I believe that we

I believe that we will

I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

 

Go Aztecs!

 

 

Yes.  I believe  that too.  As former S. Californians, we know just what you mean.  Go Aztecs!  (Although I am from that basketball powerhouse, UCLA, well at least in my day).  But happy to see the underdogs win.  Fingers crossed.  The final two, right?  Or whatever they call it!  

Edited April 2, 2023 by SantaFe1

[SantaFe1]

PS, my, you are up late or early!  But enjoy your victory!!

Edited April 2, 2023 by SantaFe1

[Mitina]

8 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

Harry doesn’t mind if he can’t make the scene. He’s got a daytime job. He’s doing alright.

You’re the original Sultan of Swing

[OneSixtyToOne]

Here is a brief update of significance. We just boarded and were informed we set sail tonight at 9:45 PM. The reason given is high winds and the port authority has ordered us to depart. April 3rd in Chioggia has been replaced with a sea day.

 

I will do a full update of today’s activities later tonight or tomorrow.

Edited April 2, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne

[OneSixtyToOne]

Day 3 - Not “the ugly place”

We departed the hotel at 10:00 AM on what can only be called one long and boring boat ride. Very little to see and the tour guide talked non stop for almost 2 hours on a PA so loud people had their fingers in their ears. The major piece of information I learned on this ride was only one Viking ship can dock in Chioggia at a time. If another ship is scheduled, it docks at Fusina which the locals call “the ugly place.” This probably explains why some people are reporting their cruise is docking in Fusina and not Chioggia.

 

When we arrived at Chioggia the line to check-in stretched out the door. The building is tiny and not capable of holding 100+ passengers. There were no computer terminals, everyone was checked in using a phone. It also appeared they were training new people. It was a very slow process, not what we’ve come to expect. The other annoying thing was the sensitivity of the metal detector. It kept going off. I went through four times. The guard gave up and let me pass without wanding me. Great security.

 

While in line we heard the first rumblings that we were departing that night, missing a day in Venice. Those who were not on an extension had no time in Venice at all. They were not happy.

 

On a positive note, we became friendly with a couple we met at the airport on the pre-extension. When we went to our cabin, an aft DV1, we discovered they were next door in the explorer suite. They invited us in to look around. It is gorgeous. Maybe some day… It turned out they were celebrating the wife’s birthday and as a surprise the husband arranged for two of her close lifelong friends to secretly come along. One of them couldn’t afford it so he picked up the tab. A very nice birthday gift indeed.

Also of note the Sky is now using Starlink and download speed is great.

 

We sailed away at 10 PM with an unexpected sea day ahead of us. I did get one nice picture of the moon above the wake as we sailed towards Split at 7 knots.

 

 

[Azulann]

Oh you will love your DV1.  The picture of the wake as you depart is one of the major reasons. Our last two  cruises we had DV1 on the Orion and Venus.

Great to meet your lovely neighbors and get a tour of their stateroom. They are fabulous.  Our roll call starter had one on my first Viking cruise. He invited many of us to stop by one evening for drinks and snacks.

I like your itinerary, but  Venice looks like an ongoing problem as an embarkation port or ending port. 

Thank you for posting pictures and look forward to your live report in the coming days.

Cheers,

Patti

 

[shmabbies]

On 4/1/2023 at 10:24 PM, OneSixtyToOne said:

I’m interrupting this thread with a special announcement….

 

I 

I believe

i believe that 

I believe that we

I believe that we will

I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!

 

Go Aztecs!

 

 

I'm interrupting this thread with an updated special announcement...

I believe

I believe that

I believe that we

I believe that we DID

I BELIEVE THAT WE DID WIN!

I BELIEVE THAT WE DID WIN!

I BELIEVE THAT WE DID WIN!

Great cruise last month!

Great win this month!

 

GO UCONN HUSKIES!!  AGAIN!!

[springtravel]

We are sitting here, upper deck of Explorers Lounge, watching Sky pull in. Too bad we have breakfast being delivered at 8 and will miss the best part. 

[ddeprez]

So excited to follow this! Looking at booking this cruise for the same time next year, but was concerned about the weather. Any input from those who may have sailed this or a similar itinerary in early April? 

Have a great voyage!!

[OneSixtyToOne]

Day 4 - They Call It Stormy Monday

 

 

Today is the unexpected sea day so not much to report on. Winds are gusting and the ship is rocking. It’s also raining and all outside decks are closed.
 

The schedule was adjusted to have the Split port talk in the morning. There was an afternoon and evening session of trivia in the Explorers Lounge. DW is feeling the effects of the rocking so I soloed one game and cobbled together a team of walk-ons for the next. Our team almost won, coming in second place 16 to 18. 
 

The lectures have been pretty dry. I prefer it when the presenter is entertaining and has a personality. Let’s hope they get better.

They also scheduled a “tour” of the Bayeux Tapestry panels in the stairwells. I’ve seen the original on a Viking Paris-Normandy river cruise but with a sea day to kill why not take an educational walk around the ship? 

 

The “tapestry” is actually a long embroidery that tells the story of how William the Conqueror became King of England. One interesting thing shown in the “tapestry” is the Normans are fighting from horseback using the stirrup, while the Saxons use their horses as transportation to the battle, where they dismount and fight on foot. The stirrup is one of those inventions that changed the course of history by allowing swordsmen to fight from horseback. This in turn led to an arms race of bigger horses and heavier armor. The only thing at that that time that could stop a charging knight was another knight. And the only wealth that could sustain all of it came from land and the people that lived on it. So a king gave his knights titles and land in return for their help in times of war. To identify an armor clad knight insignias were needed. Thus the feudal system was born.
 

Tomorrow we arrive at Split and our first excursion of the cruise.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by OneSixtyToOne