Oosterdam - Venice to Barcelona -Immensely long cruise diary

[Luke Warmwater]

We were on the 24 June sailing of the Oosterdam – 12 days from Venice to Barcelona. I started keeping a diary but my computer packed up about half way through. I have now got it back from the shop and retrieved the files so am now in a position to post my thoughts. I hope they are useful to those planning to go on this cruise. I do not start from the position of being negative – I have now completed 64 days cruising on HAL and it is still my favourite line. I fully intend to cruise with them in the Caribbean this winter and the Med again next Summer. But it is always easier to notice those things which do not seem as good or are worse than last time. I am not trying to put anyone off, far from it, but I would have benefited some years ago from hearing the full story from someone else. The spellings are English by the way, not errors. We decided to go based on price and itinerary . We have sailed on both Westerdam and Zuiderdam several times so wanted to see what the Oosterdam was like.

 

 

 

Wednesday 24th June 2009

 

EasyJet flights from Bristol to Marco Polo landed at 9.30, a bit late. Bumped into several people going to the same ship, many first time cruisers. I always go into Venice from Marco Polo airport by the ATVO transport, the blue buses rather than the yellow ones, as there is more space under the bus for luggage and you don’t have to carry it on board. Indeed, they do not let you take anything on board bigger than a small rucksack. You can get a ticket for the bus at the kiosk set into the wall of the main exit hall, to the left of where you exit customs, where the attendants speak very good English. There is an alternative in that there is a ticket machine in the luggage reclaim area but this gives instructions in Italian (I may have got this wrong but I could not make it do anything else but Italian). The single fare to Piazzale Roma, the furthest you can get into Venice in a motor vehicle, is €3 (Euros). The bus goes from stop number 1, outside and to the right of the airport main entrance. They are about every 30 minutes most times and 15 minutes in busy times. Late at night they may be 40 minutes apart. The last time I sailed from Venice we stayed in a hotel opposite Mestre Railway Station and there is a bus to there as well. Happily, Piazzale Roma is an area where there are taxis arriving regularly. We managed to get one who took us to the check in point where we had to deposit our luggage. One couple who did the same thing reported after that they had been taken to the wrong ship and had to trundle their luggage back along the dock, so be careful that you are explicit in your instructions, ie. Cruise line, ship name, etc. On previous cruises, we checked in our luggage at a big hall from where we went to a proper check in desk to get our room key. Because it was, by this time, after 11pm, we had to enter by a side gate, get the luggage x- rayed there and take it with us to the gangway about 100 yards away where 2 people took it from us and promised it would be with us soon. I’m not sure what time the normal check in closes but at least they did not turn us away. The man at the top of the gangway looked at our tickets and passports and told us to go to the Purser’s Desk for our room key. We went there and stood in line behind a few people who were doing the same thing and others who were getting routine things settled. I was glad that I had prepared by entering the check in details online so that I could just present the printed form at the desk, together with the immigration form they had provided. If I hadn’t done this, it would have taken about another 20 minutes. I hate holding lines up because I have not planned ahead, if only others were so considerate. Got to our room and the luggage was there, quite impressive considering previous trips when it did not arrive for hours. Arriving outside the rush has its advantages. Suddenly remembering that we had not eaten since a slice of cake some 9 hours before, we hoped that there was some food still on. Indeed there was as the Asian buffet hour was not yet finished (available until midnight). The only minus point was the incessant, tuneless jazz style music in the Lido and, as would be discovered later in the cruise, outside and in the library. I don’t know whose idea it was to subject every guest to this stealth torture but it is unwise to assume that everyone will like it in the same way as the playing of thrash metal would not be the choice of the majority I would suspect and would lead to protests. A quick scan at the next day’s list of activities and we were asleep.

 

 

 

Thursday 25th June 2009

 

Woke up a little early as it is always a bit difficult to get used to a different bed and the pillows were not right. My wife explained that she always feels a little uncomfortable when she can smell previous users through the pillow case and she’s right. So she requested at the front desk that the pillows be changed and, within the hour, a set of brand new pillows was despatched to our room. Much better. After a breakfast at the Lido, we got off and started out to Venice. We usually do this by taxi back to Piazzale Roma which costs about € 15 but today we decided to walk to see how arduous and time consuming it would be. We managed to get there inside 20 minutes without getting out of puff, which was good because we carried on walking through the streets of Venice to the Rialto Bridge, stopping on the way for a cappuccino at a street café to watch the world go by and admire the architecture. As the walk (mostly slow) and the stop had taken just over two hours, it was logical to assume that the walk back would take longer which would have cut it a bit fine for the 2.30 departure. So we took a vaporetto back (€ 6.50 per single trip) and went to the stop after Piazzale Roma, which was Tronchetto, to see if it was any nearer the ship as it appeared to be nearer on the map. The Tronchetto stop is in the harbour area and is the one used for the ferries. However, it is on the other side of the water and the walk back to the ship took 15 minutes. A little nearer but not a lot. The sail away from Venice is always good to see but I got the feeling that the woman doing the commentary was reading from a sheet when she said “the church was built by …..as a thank you to God for saving Venice from the plag.” (instead of plague!!). Formal night so dressed up in the tux, one of only 12 guys int he dining room who had bothered to go the whole way. Our first foray to the dining room for anytime dining worked OK but after I tried to book for 7 and was told they could put us on a table of 6 for 6pm, so I took it. I still do not understand why 7pm was out of the question When we got there, most of the tables were empty and stayed so for the whole duration, which was 2.5 hours for reasons beyond our, or the waiter’s, control. Two people at our table were so self absorbed in their dietary requirements, that they did not consider the other diners on the table. Having previously ordered three courses off the special Kosher menu , one of them insisted on ordering extra courses, taking one sip or bite and declaring that it was fine but she did not want any more. Then, when other meals arrived, she liked the look of the vegetables and ordered her own………….more than once. “I want asparagus, other people have got asparagus and I’ve seen broccolli so I want that. When it arrived and was eaten, she then asked for another plate to be obtained and delivered. All the time this was going on, we were all waiting for our food which was there and going cold waiting for her to finish her course. OK, you eat vegetarian and Kosher, just get over it! Just managed to make it to the Northern Lights where the DJ had an entertainment quiz organised which we managed to win, probably by having some Canadians with us, a nice couple called Annabella and Andrew Nadon from Vancouver Island who filled in the gaps of our knowledge on stateside trivia. Our knowing the names of the three tenors helped as well. I was a bit concerned that our host referred to the forthcoming cruise as “brutal” in view of the number of city stops and considered myself warned. The stage show, Stage and Screen II, was as professional and glossy as ever with great costumes and songs. We had seen the original Stage and Screen previously on the Westerdam and this was just as good. Unfortunately, one of the dancers slipped and hurt herself during a routine and was helped off by a male colleague. Hope all is well but it got me to thinking about what a ship’s dancer would have to do if he or she was injured during a cruise. I must find out. Late buffet that night was Asian and OK. Sleep that night was easier, thanks to our new pillows.

 

 

 

Friday 26th June 2009

 

Next day saw us arrive in Dubrovnik, a place where we had been before and rather liked. The memory was, however, still prominent in that it rained heavily last time and there was a crush trying to get on the shuttle bus back to the ship with the weak and frail suffering to wait longer in the wet in favour of stronger and less supportive trippers who mobbed the bus door. So we wanted to wait to see what the black clouds would bring before committing to the trip to town. New to us was the intended $16 return fare on the shuttle which I thought was a little extreme. Thirty two bucks to get two people to town and back, a distance of 2 miles in each direction, about 35 minutes walking. This is where I found myself concerned about the future of the human race when I looked over the side of the boat to see a line of over 100 people, some of whom had not yet bought their shuttle tickets as the main office had sold out. They were going to pay on the bus by room charge, which delayed the trip even longer as each ticketless person had to sign a form at the door of the bus and many had no idea of their room number and, I suspect, their names! This was surprising because others were getting straight down the gangway into taxis which advertised, on a big sign board about 30 feet from the lengthening bus line, that the trip to town would be € 10 per car (75 Kunas. local money). So four passengers could get there and back for the equivalent of about $7 each and in much more comfort and speed. I don‘t know who told the bussers that foreign taxi drivers sell cruise passengers into slavery to be able to afford their Mercs. but they did a damn fine job in giving the cruise ship companies a chance to make a quick buck by charging over the odds for a trip that used to be free. Moral - do not make a decision of your transport arrangements until you know all the options. If you are fortunate enough to have any Kunas lying around, the local buses 1, 1A, 1B and 3 leave from the port to town at the cost of 10 Kunas, about a dollar. How the locals can finance a bus service at that price but Holland America need $16 each beats me. However, I’m not an accountant, just a cash conscious traveller. Anyway, we decided to stay on the ship as some rain spots were felt so we enjoyed the quietness. I took a walk to the supermarket which was within feet of the ship, but the other side of the dock fence, so the walk was about a mile and a half there and back. Of course, they priced everything in local currency although they may have been persuaded to accept Euros for those essentials you needed to get such as water (much cheaper than the ship), band aids, etc. Glad I remembered by passport before setting off as they would not let anyone back through the gate without some form of photo ID. Croatia is very keen on this, more so than many other places. A film on the cabin TV in the afternoon and a short sleep before dinner which was not affected by food obsessions and was rather pleasant, except that the vegetables had not been washed properly, either on board or when they were frozen, and were gritty. We noticed that this affliction was fairly widespread in that the seafood cocktails in the Lido were often a bit gritty as well. This was perhaps a sign of falling standards. Another that we noticed was that the light blue pool towels did not appear to be terribly clean, having some stains. Time for replacement I think.

No show that night but a film (The International starring Clive Owen) was being shown in the Vista Lounge. We went to the 9pm showing and had our first encounter with the group of people, who crop up on every cruise, we call “The Poppers”. These are people who assume for themselves superhuman powers and try to demonstrate them whenever a film is shown. They pop up in the cinema about an hour into the action, stand at the back and discuss what is happening. They then sit down, confident that they can pick up any story immediately and adequately follow it to the end. After 15 minutes, they usually realise that there is a chunk of Kryptonite under the seat which prevents them from using their powers properly and then get up to leave. They have managed to materialise at every film show I have ever tried to watch on a ship. Do not confuse this group with “the Impatient” and “the Confused“. The Impatient are those who decide it is a great idea to go to see a film but can’t figure out what is happening, or is not happening quickly enough, and leave after about 10 minutes. The Confused are those who, no matter what information is available to them, still manage to miss the start of the film by ten minutes. It has just occurred to me that they may turning up to replace those from The Impatient group who have just vacated their seats. Maybe I have misunderstood and there is a new world order which involves Tag Team film watching and I am the odd one out. The Screening Room on the Oosterdam is quite comfortable but I cannot figure out why, with a 40 seat capacity, people will assume that there will still be a seat for them if they turn up as the film is starting. With a ships complement of 2000 people, that is optimistic in the extreme. But it still happens every time. And can someone explain to me how you can watch a film while listening to an IPod? Someone tried last night! I give up! Another late night buffet and a time change, forward one hour, before we hit Greece the next morning.

 

Saturday 27th June 2009

 

Try as I might, I cannot say that Corfu Town is in any way attractive. We got a shuttle bus, provided by the port authority, to the dock gates. A 20 minute walk from there saw us sitting for a coffee at a fairly small café, chosen for the likely cleanliness of its toilets, an important consideration in every part of Greece. All did not auger well when we noticed the coffee was being prepared, a cup at a time, in a small copper pot over an open liquid gas camping stove. Maybe they hadn’t paid the bill or maybe there had been a power cut, who knows. It was OK as were the toilets. A big political rally in town, in advance of a local election, had seen 2000 police drafted in and someone told us they had the power, and inclination, to stop the traffic for an hour at a time, a fate which was suffered by many on organised tours from the ship. The coaches just sat there doing nothing. Hope the aircon was working. We decided to go to a beach and took a taxi (€ 35) to Glyfada. The taxi driver said he would return at 3.30 and take us back to the ship. This left two hours for the 25 minute drive back, provided he showed up. The beach was fine but I just wished that the people with the chair and sunshade concessions had done a little more to clean up the beach. Fair enough brushing the gum and cigarette ends away but only to the edges of their “patch” where they were piled up. Would it have taken that much extra to remove them altogether? The beach had cafes and changing facilities and was just the good side of adequate but the weather was good and, even better, the taxi driver turned up on time. Beach bars were, I thought, good value. Back to the ship for a shower before dinner which was taken in the Lido. Somewhat disappointed with the food so we got twice as much as normal just so, by picking it about, you could make one good meal. Some person strangling another saxaphone over the speakers. Could have been Kenny G but he would at least have made the tune recognisable. Left as quickly as possible to prevent my brain from becoming mush. Comedian tonight, Danny Stutz, who did not specialise in sophisticated humour, including jokes I fell out of my crib laughing at 55 years ago. Example: “Two cannibals sitting by the fire. One says to the other “I don’t like my mother in law.” The other one said “Well, just eat the potatoes”. Time to go. Took in a film at the Screening Room, Adam Sandler in some kid’s fantasy story but it filled 90 minutes. Not too many Poppers. Ah well, tomorrow is Argostoli in Cephalonia.

 

 

 

Sunday 28th June 2009

 

Argostili - Tender port today with tickets to be obtained from Queen’s Lounge. Had breakfast in Pool area (no jazz). By the time I had finished, 9.15 there was no need to obtain tickets as most of the passengers were on tours and had gone on earlier boats. As it was Sunday, there were few shops open although I bought a belt and some peaches from the roadside vendor. Very cheap and good quality. At the waterfront, I saw the fishing boats cleaning their nets and throwing dead fish overboard, attracting fish and the occasional turtle to feed. Got a great view of the wildlife. Very sunny and hot today. Went to the back of the ship and got a lounger but could only take the sun for 30 minutes before I took lunch. Good job too as the jazz in the pool area had changed to high volume guitar scraping with no discernable melody. In the afternoon, parts of the ship were out of bounds as they were setting up for a pool party. Although nothing was said, it was clear that people couldn't have their fun in certain parts of the shop as they were being prepared for people to have their fun in those same parts fo the ship. Strange, but, I expect, unavoidable. A couple of things I noticed that were different from my previous HAL cruises – the provision of fresh fruit (primarily berries) at the ice cream station was a very welcome change (we don't all like bread and butter pudding on a daily basis). There were a few deficiencies in the Lido today caused by lack of attention to detail. The English Breakfast tea bags ran out very early. It didn't matter to me as I always bring my own favourite brand but some were commenting on the fact that the crew in that area stated that they had run out, rather than getting some more. Clearly, they were not telling the truth as some more appeared later that night. I also had a cherry stone in my cherry pie. Not ideal. Also, there was cream (for coffee) in the 2% milk jug. This actually happened about three times in the cruise. Have youever tried cream in tea? Yuk. That night was the ever popular music trivia in Northern Lights run by Jay which I enjoyed every night. This was a Dam Dollar event, with the daily trivia, and I thought that this was much better than the old idea of small gifts for the winners at each event. In redeeming the Dollars at the end of the cruise, I was surprised at how much you could get. On a previous cruise it was 45 Dam Dollars for a T-shirt and 75 for a sweat shirt. On this one it was 25 and 35 respectively. Much better. I will sketch over the fact that the music trivia was a three way tie and I won after a dance off. Not bad at 58 but don't tell the kids. The show was Preston Coe, a tenor.

 

 

Monday 29th June

 

Computer playing up. Santorini all day today. I have been many times before and just did not want to face the line for the cable car and the smell of the donkeys just to look at some cheap jewellery. Stayed on the ship all day. Can't remember much else about that day, sorry, but I was so convinced that my computer problem would just be a charging issue, I anticipated that I would be able to record all my thoughts before bedtime. No such luck. It would transpire that it would be far more serious. Or maybe I was just being lazy.

 

 

 

Tuesday 30th June

 

Day at sea and desperately looking for something to do and found myself in the Culinary Centre learning how to make bread ornaments that look like animals. Because we were in port until 11, the dining room was empty so had no trouble getting a table that night. In fact, because there are only two of us, we had no trouble getting a table on any night at any time we wanted with our open dining arrangement. One thing I noticed is the guys who usually give out the mints at the end of dinner. They were still around but used primary to turn the tables around and reset them. I think that they only did their mint duty with the allocated seating on Deck 3 and not the open seating on Deck 2. Met a few people at the trivia, John and Carol Hamilton, some very pleasant companions from Kissimmee. Slightly suspect expert knowledge of country music but we'll let that one pass. Now we were nearly a week into the cruise and had not yet received a TV guide as with previous cruises. Usually, you got some brief information on the films being shown, who was in it, when it started. As one who is impressed with the standard of films available on HAL, when compared with other companies, I like to plan well in advance. When I asked, the only guide available was on the TV but showed only the film title and the time it was starting. This only applied up to five hours in the future so checking on the evening schedule in the morning was impossible. Much preferred the paper guide. Went to see the front desk about who could have a look at my definitely broken computer and Fretzel promised to find out and get back to me. Tried the on board computer person who oversees the internet cafe and the seminars and he was not helpful at all. True to her word, Fretzel phoned me at the appointed time and told me to present myself at the front desk where a technical type chap with lots of gubbinry would try to ascertain the problem. Sadly he couldn't but he confirmed that the charger was OK, the computer wasn't. At least he tried. The only other annoying thing today was the totally American slant to the trivia for the first time. On a sea day and with so many different nationalities on board, some variety would have been nice as was the case on just about every other day. What the heck, a few more Dam Dollars for the collection.

 

 

 

Wednesday 1st July

 

Catania in Sicily today. Had breakfast in the lido and noticed for the first time that, once it had stood for a while, the “freshly squeezed orange juice” separated between orange and a much lighter watery liquid, as though water had been added to some glasses to make it go further. I don't recall this ever happening on a previous cruise. It has to be said that this is an ugly port town with lots of inconsiderate drivers. They park all over the allocated foot route through the port to the gates so that pedestrians are forced to walk in the path of trucks going in and out. You may also have to avoid the odd mangy dog, several of which roam the dock area. The town is not much better and there is a recommended walking route to the centre indicated on a map you can pick up in the port. We were warned later, when deviating from it, that bag snatching is a danger in the port area. Lots of graffiti and traffic, when it is not parked on the sidewalk, and not much to see until you get to the cathedral which was quite impressive. The police, being Italian, are busy posing and trying to look cool in their shades. Every police car I saw was carrying a good looking girl as a front seat passenger. I liked the range of fresh fruit in the open air market. Bought some fruit and nuts and walked back to the ship. Today being Canada Day, there was some acknowledgment of that event which was nice. A Sommelier Dinner was advertised today at $69 in the Pinnacle, six courses and wines. No show tonight but the film Mamma Mia was shown in the Vista Lounge and many turned up to sing along. I chose to sit on the deck and watch Stromboli erupting which was an experience not to be missed.

 

 

 

Thursday 2nd July

 

Naples today. It has been said that the terminal building, with its marble interior, is the best building in town. I can quite believe it. Decided to try to get to Sorrento by train. Taxi to the station was quite expensive compared to last time. Its about two miles and the meter clocks up, in addition to the usual fare, one extra cent per second so a trip in Naples rush hour traffic can really up the bill. A daily runabout ticket on the train costs €9. The trains, however, were very old, crowded, rattly and hot so we decided to get off at Herculaneum and have a look at the ruins (we had been to Pompeii last time). If you plan to do this visit, remember to walk all the way down the hill from the station and not follow the road signs which send you the other way! Entry was €11 and the site was really interesting but much smaller than Pompeii. Started thundering and looked like rain so, as we were a little tired, we decided not to go on to Sorrento and returned to the ship. A taxi back form the station can stop either opposite the port gate or it can turn round and drop you nearer the ship. Be aware that, in order to turn round, the taxi has to go a long way down the road to turn round and drop you the right side of the road. This can add a substantial amount to the fare. So taxis to the station and back were a little over €30 (about $43) Not cheap.

 

 

 

Friday 3rd July

 

Civitavecchia. Breakfast in the lido was served form 5.30 today to accommodate those on tours. We ordered breakfast from room service which was a little late but we got a call a few minutes before the ordered time explaining that it would be delayed. A nice touch I thought. It was only two minutes late in the end. Free shuttle to the port gates and then a 15 minute walk to the station which was full of people from the ship and also the NCL ship moored next to us. €9 return ticket which you can get from the news stand if the ticket windows are busy. You can also get a ticket which includes buses. You MUST validate your ticket in the yellow box before your journey to avoid a large fine. Decided to see the Coliseum on this trip, accessible by the subway train from the main stations. Bear in mind that the lines for tickets are about an hour long at most times and the cost is €12. You can hire a guide (English speaking) outside for €10 each and bypass the lines. The information you get also adds considerably to the experience. Glad we did this. Walked into town after and found a good pizza very near the Termini Station before going back to the ship in good time for departure. However, the trains leave from platform 28 wich is a good 10 to 15 minute sfrom the main entrance to the station so leave plenty of time to get there. No show tonight but Pink Panther 2 wa shown in the Vista Lounge. Bed for me though, after a Taste Of Italy at the 11pm buffet in the lido.

 

 

 

Saturday 4th July

 

Livorno. Breakfast in the lido was served from 5.30 today to accommodate those taking tours to Florence. Shuttle bus to the town for $5 round trip. Alternatively, Hertz and Enterprise turned up at the dockside with cars for rental – from €90 upwards for the day, depending on the vehicle. While checking out the car rental situation, I was watching what was going on on the dockside and there was a substantial replenishment of supplies going on. Every load on the fork lift was examined by security with a metal detector and some were swabbed for, I presume, drugs or exposives. Interesting. Taxi from the town will get you to the station for trains to Florence which is always worth a look. It being Independence Day, there were odd things going on throughout the ship but not over the top. Today , strangely, was a voluntary formal night!! Billed as a formal night originally, someone then remembered that a deck barbeque was planned so the tux did not come out. The show was one I had not seen before – called Garage Band, and quite enjoyable. Late night snack – guess what – yes, All American. Excellent spread.

 

 

 

Sunday 5th July

 

Today was a day at sea until we reached Barcelona at 5pm. When we did, everyone wanted to get off which was a nightmare. The dock is quite remote and there were other ships in. Getting ashore, there was a line for taxis and another one for the dock bus. Only two taxis turned up for the very long line waiting for them. We were told later that it was Sunday and very few taxi drivers work on Sunday. The dock bus therefore had to work overtime to try and reduce that line which took ages. Better to stick around on ship for a while and do something else rather than stand in the sun for hours. The bus cost €3 for the round trip and it WAS a long way. Once ashore, the populer thin got do was to walk up La Rambla which was very busy with tourists looking at the mime artists and local stalls selling souvenirs. To some it was great but it was tacky to others. As we were overnighting here, there was no big panic to get back to the ship so the return buses were more civilised.

 

 

 

Monday 6th July

 

Disembarkation day and, following last nights rush for the buses, I knew exactly what to expect. The taxi line was up to 300 people long by 8.30 and the buses – forget it. There was another ship disembarking on the next dock making the situation worse. Plenty of taxis this time though. We had arranged a latest possible depature from the ship (9am) but, having checked out the taxi line, waited in the hall having found some available seats. Our flight from the airport was not until 2.15pm so we had plenty of time to spare. The taxi line was down to about 30 people by 10.30 at which time the local staff were getting uniforms on to meet the next load of pasengers who started arriving from that point. Got a taxi straight to the airport which took about 30 minutes and cost €30, including 4 bags. There are other ways of getting to the airport (bus to town, subway to centre, bus to airport for €6 from there – buses every 6 minutes) but the taxi was much more convenient and we got a long ride for the same price as a 4 mile return trip to the station in Naples. I found the airport to be not too bad for waiting around in. Not the best but certainly adequate. And then home.

Summary? Enjoyed very much. Some food could have been hotter and better but this changed from day to day. The jazz even relented towards the end of the cruise being changed for some mellower more commercial stuff.

 

Was it good value for money? Oh Yes, having paid for a guaranteed inside and then allocated an outside, 8 grades higher was a bonus. I would have been happy with what I had booked.

 

Would I go again? Certainly, although perhaps not with so many city stops at once. Only one full sea day in twelve put the pressure on.

 

There were certainly odd bits and pieces to suggest that staff had been cut and those who were left were working very hard but it did not impact too much on the enjoyment. I have no doubt that other lines would be nickel and diming even more.

 

HAL is still my favourite line.

[newcruiser551951]

Thank you so much for posting this excellent review. My son and my new daughter-in-law are on a plane from JFK to Paris, (then on to Venice), as I'm reading your review.

 

The are taking the same Oosterdam Venice - Barcelona cruise beginning Thursday.

[Luke Warmwater]

My pleasure.

[magandab]

thanks so much for your review. I'm taking this exact cruise in September, and this was invaluable. We have booked HAL tours in each port and it sounds as thought, for first timers to each location, this is a good thing, to get through traffic, etc more efficiently.

[gdetanner]

Luke, thank you for the excellent review, we are taking the same trip in October and staying on for the Trans-Atlantic to Fort Lauderdale. Lots of useful information, we are a group of six(6) with anytime dining.

Cheers

[micro yaya]

Thanks for your very funny review........we too are on barcelona to venice in august.......