Live from JessyCruises European Vacation: Amsterdam, London, Venice & Explorer of Seas

[JessyCruises]

On Wednesday June 7th, it was time to head to London!  We had a 7:40 flight booked on British Airways. The flight was uneventful except for it was delayed for a bit because one of the overheads would not close and they had to call an engineer to come and fix it.  We were supposed to arrive at Heathrow at 8:00am, we were only a few minutes late even with the delay.

 

We used our Oyster Card and took the Piccadilly line to Earls Court station and we walked with our luggage for about 2 minutes to our hotel which was Heeton Concepts Kensington. When we arrived at the hotel at about 10:30 AM, they said the room was ready but it would be 10£ to check in early.  We opted to just leave our bags in the storage room and head off to explore. 

 

I have to say, the hotel was great.  As mentioned it was incredibly close to Earls Court Station which made for an excellent jumping off point.  I think the hotel was recently purchased by Heeton and newly renovated.  The design was very modern and “trendy”.  When we booked with Hotwire, we chose the option for the hotel to pick our room to save a little money.  We ended up with a Double Lite room.  It actually had a Queen bed but it was a tiny room.  The bathroom was smaller than a cruise ship one, but the size of the room was fine for a few days.  The hotel did have an option that if you opted to skip housekeeping on any given day, they gave you a complimentary drink at the bar.  You could still get fresh towels and essentials whenever you wanted.  We chose to take them up on their offer for  the entire stay of 3 nights.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Before talking about what we did, I have to say that the Londonpass and Oyster cards were fantastic. We paid £238 for the Londonpass and another £60 for the Oyster cards.  We also had to pay a shipping fee to get the Oyster card shipped to us so we would be able to use it from Heathrow.
 

 

For the Londonpass, you could do as many of the activities as you wanted.  Before buying it, we looked up the price of the attractions that were must do for us and compared that to the price of the Londonpass. It was a no brainer for us as I knew I wanted to go to several of the palaces and most of them were around £30  each.  We did end up taking advantage of the pass and doing stuff we never would have paid to do otherwise, so it worked out well for us. 

 

For day 1, we originally had booked Kensington Palace for noon on the 7th, but after some feedback from a London FB page, we decided to skip Kensington and headed to Hampton Court instead.  Hampton Court and the Tower of London were the two places I was most excited to see.  I took a ton of photos everywhere we went so won’t be posting all of them, but will be sharing a few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hampton Court was the only thing we did on day 1.  By the time we were done, we were exhausted and it was about an hour train each way so we just went to a pub for dinner then headed to the hotel to crash.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Day 2, June 8, we ended up doing way more than we had planned, but we knew we wanted to be at the Tower of London at the opening as we had been told that you need to see the Crown Jewels early unless you wanted to wait in a long line. Hampton Court and the Tower were everything I expected and more. The tower was about a 30 minute tube from Earls court Station.  There was a line at the main entrance when we arrived at 9am, but it moved quickly.  Our Londonpass included the entrance, but it was an additional £5 to get the audio tour which I did pay. The audio tour had been included at Hampton Court. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The history at the Tower is fascinating.  I was especially moved by being able to visit the monument to the executed and The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula where Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey are entombed, along with 1000+ others. The flower laid on the floor by the altar marks where Anne Boleyn is located below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

After leaving the tower, we headed to Tower Bridge. Not sure I would pay the entrance if it was not already covered. I think I would have been just as happy to cross the bridge by foot on the vehicle level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a reservation for that evening at View from the Shard for 8:30pm.  Because we were already on the right side of the city, we decided to drop in and see if they would be able to let us go early.  Luckily it was not busy and they let us change our tickets.  This is the tallest building in Europe and the views were amazing.  
 

We did see something on the way in which could have ended very badly.  As we were on the way down the escalator toward the entrance, there was a man leaning against the base/wall of the Shard directly in front of us in front of the escalator. All of a sudden we saw something hurtling toward him from above and then a very loud smack. A poor pigeon had hit a window high above and plummeted to the ground.  It landed about half a foot from this poor guy.  I would hate to think what would have happened to him if it actually landed on him! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[DandDM]

Thanks for posting!  Enjoying so far and looking forward to more!

[sgmn]

Glad you're enjoying London. We have annual passes for Historic Royal Palaces which includes Tower of London, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court so have visited a few times. Quite a few films have been shot at Hampton including Bridgerton.

 

There's a heatwave in UK at moment so I hope it's not too hot for sightseeing.

 

 

[h20skibum]

It looks like you had a beautiful, clear day in London.  Great photos that bring back memories. 

[sandebeach]

Thanks so much for sharing and your pictures are beautiful. 

[Happy Cruiser Girl]

I'm loving this review!

[JessyCruises]

10 hours ago, sgmn said:

Glad you're enjoying London. We have annual passes for Historic Royal Palaces which includes Tower of London, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court so have visited a few times. Quite a few films have been shot at Hampton including Bridgerton.

 

There's a heatwave in UK at moment so I hope it's not too hot for sightseeing.

 

 

 

It was definitely not the weather we were expecting, but in a good way. It has been beautiful every day since we arrived in Europe/UK

[JessyCruises]

After the visiting The Shard, we realized it was still pretty early and we would have enough time to get to Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace and decided to get there by redeeming our hop on hop off bus voucher with https://www.bigbustours.com/en/london/london-bus-tours which was included with the London Pass. We sat on top of the Double Decker bus and loved seeing the sites as we headed over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Westminster Abbey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomb of Edward VI

 

Tomb of Elizabeth I and Mary I

 

 

 

 

Tomb of Mary Queen of Scott’s

 

Tomb of Anne Neville, daughter of a Richard Neville Earl of Warwick (The Kingmaker) and wife of Richard III.

Tomb of Anne of Cleves, wife # 4 of Henry VIII (the 2nd divorce).

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

We had also stopped at the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace where the current exhibit is called “Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians”. If you like Bridgertin/Queen Charlotte, this I’ve is for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would love to see someone try to walk through a door in this one…

 

We ended the day by taking the hop on hop off bus back to Kensington instead of taking the tube. We had a lovely walk through Kensington Court on the way back. I would totally live there but could probably not afford to.😂

BTW, did you know there was a Tardis at Earls Court Station? It turns out it’s bigger on the inside…

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

On the morning of Day 3 in London, we headed to Little Venice and took Jason’s Canal Boat tour to Camden Market.  It is a great spot and we had a nice lunch.  Paul got a curry and I went with Korean fried Chicken with Chow Mein.

[JessyCruises]

On the morning of Day 3 in London, our last before flying out, we headed to Little Venice and took Jason’s Canal Boat tour to Camden Market.  It is a great spot and we had a nice lunch.  Paul got a curry and I went with Korean fried Chicken with Chow Mein.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the boat the tour was on after we disembarked in Camden.

 

 

Sonita who runs this curry station was amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

After we were done at the market, we hopped on the tube/train and headed to Windsor Castle. Our Londonpass included entrance but not until after 1 PM. Photos were not allowed in most of indoor spaces.  St George’s Chapel us where Queen Elizabeth I and Prince Phillip are buried, along with Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and slot of other monarchs and nobles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we finished at Windsor, we headed to Chiswick where we had a Fullers Brewery tour booked for 4PM. If you have and interest in brewing, it was a really interesting tour.  The best part is that is ended in a beer/cider tasting that lasted about 30 minutes. You could try as many as you wanted that were on top and several bottled options.  It was covered by our pass, but otherwise cost £25.  The tasting was worth that alone IMHO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

And just like that, we were done with London.  Between Amsterdam and London, I have never done so much walking in my life. My feet are on constant fire, but it was very much worth it. 🙂

 

Our flight to Venice was scheduled out of Gatwick this morning at 6:40AM. We had prebooked an Uber for 3:10 AM for £73.  Flight was great and once again I slept most of the flight.  When we landed in Venice, there were machines all over the place where we could turn our bus/vaporetto voucher into a ticket.  We just had to scan the QR code from the email receipt and the tickets printed.  

Our hotel shuttle driver was waiting for us right outside of baggage. It was a short 10 minute or do drive to the hotel,  Hilton Garden Inn Venice Mestre San Giuliano. Our room was not ready yet so we stored our bags with conceriege and headed to the bus stop in front of the hotel to head into Venice. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the bus stop in relation to the hotel. It could not have been more convenient.

 

We took the bus across the bridge and then took a vaparetto to St Marks square. This is a beautiful city and I took tons of photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[JessyCruises]

Sorry for the duplicate photos. I was in the process of deleting the pics and adding text when the edit option timed out.  For lunch we had Carbonara Tagliatelle from Pasta Pasta to go and Cicchetti and Prosecco from All’ Arco. 
 

We needed up heading back to the hotel around 3:30.  We were just too exhausted to walk anymore.  For dinner, we ordered Pizzeria ERAORA via UberEats. I was surprised that there were not many options for ordering in.  We had carbonara again, along with Bruschetta Diavola and Pizza Diavola.  Everything we ate today was outstanding.  I could live off the Cicchetti.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[dani negreanu]

1 hour ago, JessyCruises said:

St George’s Chapel us where Queen Elizabeth I and Prince Phillip

 

Queen Elizabeth II 🌺

 

Thank you for posting such beautiful pics, which bring back fond memories.

[JessyCruises]

And now we are headed to bed shortly as we have to be at Tronchetto station at 8:30AM so we can catch the RCL shuttle  to Ravenna because tomorrow is CRUISE DAY!!!!

[JessyCruises]

1 minute ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Queen Elizabeth II 🌺

 

Thank you for posting such beautiful pics, which bring back fond memories.

I am so sorry.  No disrespect intended. I just have fat thumbs.

Edited June 10, 2023 by JessyCruises

[barbeyg]

14 minutes ago, JessyCruises said:

And now we are headed to bed shortly as we have to be at Tronchetto station at 8:30AM so we can catch the RCL shuttle  to Ravenna because tomorrow is CRUISE DAY!!!!

Happy cruise day!  Hope you both have a restful night. 🙂

[JessyCruises]

And now back to your regularly scheduled cruise programming…

 

We got to the bus station a little early for the next bus which was at 8:05. It came promptly at 8:05.  As soon as the doors closed I realized I had forgotten my travel wallet on the bench.  This is not like me.  I hit the stop button so I could run back to get it and wait for the next bus while Paul continued on with the bags, but the driver would not stop, even at the next bus stop.  I luckily had our passports in my purse, but our nexus cards and some other documents were in it.  Desperate, I called the hotel and ask that someone run out to the bus stop and see if my travel wallet was still there.  Hallelujah it was!!  I asked that they hold it for me until we check in next Sunday as I did not have time to run back to the hotel to get it and we did lot really need anything in it for this cruise.  Fingers crossed it is still there as it will be a pain in the butt to replace birth certificates and social insurance cards.

 

The bus ride was short, but I think we got off a stop too late as what I thought was supposed to be a 9 minute walk to the Tronchetto People mover turned into a 20 minute walk.  Along the way, the wheels of one of our big roller suitcases broke so hubby had to basically drag it for 10 minutes.  What a morning - Is it beer o’clock yet?

 

We were supposed to be at the shuttle by 8:30 for a 9:00 departure but we ended up being about 10 minutes late and arrived at 8:40.  That was five as there was a big line of folks waiting to board the busses.  When you arrive, it is hard to tell where to go and there is no signage, but if you go through the few market stalls and around the corner to the left, there is a representative with a yellow safety vest and a clipboard checking names off and then you get in line to wait to board the bus. It is good they had the list, my passes are in the travel pouch I left behind.  If you do not have Royal Luggage tags with your stateroom number on your bags, they have some there and will write them up for you.  

 

There is no toilet on the bus for use.  There is a pay to use one at the meeting place.  It was €1 and only took a €1 coin.  There was an attendant that can provide change. 

 

After boarding the bus, we were told in about 1.5 hours there would be a stop if anyone needed to use the bathroom and that the total ride should be about 2.5 hours. The bus pulled out of the parking lot at 9:07. I  am currently on the bus now.  They do have bottled water available if you need a drink.  There is no charge for it.

 

So aside from losing my travel pouch, breaking a suitcase and a 20 minute walk with two 50lb bags in the heat, it’s been an ok morning.

 

I am really going to need those five Diamond+ drinks when I board 🤣
 

At least the drive has been nice so far…

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises

[BecAus]

Thank you so much for your wonderful review so far and all your beautiful photos.

Am very interested in your review as we have all your cruise stops with RCI next year (including a day trip to Venice from Trieste) and I've not been to any of those places so it's all new to me!

After RC we will be catching a train from Barcelona to Paris for a few days and then train from Paris to London for a few days (3 probably) so I wrote down heaps of your info from London so thanks for that! We won't be going to Amsterdam unfortunately because that looked amazing too!

Hope the rest of your bus ride goes well and you have an amazing time on the cruise.

Thank you for taking us along with you!

btw.  what an amazing work trip your husband had - wow!!

[JessyCruises]

We are still on the bus.  We got stuck in a bit of traffic.  At least there is something to look at…

 

 

Right now we are at the tourist/truck stop so anyone could use the washroom.

 

 There is also a tiny little market.  This also appears to be the parking lot of an Abbey that is close by, The Abbazia Pomposa. Paul strolled over to the Abbey for a peek while I waited in line for the ladies room.

 

 

 

There is a lovely farm area right behind the stop. Looks to be lavender and grapes but I could be wrong.

 

 

 

 

It cost €.50 to use the washroom.  I am sorry to post a bathroom photo, and a bad one at that, but I have never seen a ladies room with this type of “toilet” before.  It was just a porcelain hole in the floor with a flush. I guess this is where the expression “pop a squat” comes from (do we only say that in Canada?). There were several stalls.  I am not sure what was in all the others but I know at least one of them was a regular toilet but it had no seat.

 

 

We just left the stop, we had about 20 minutes there.  The driver says we are about 45 minutes from the port.

 

Edited June 11, 2023 by JessyCruises