We are having our final sea day today, and I am at character breakfast while the boys are still sleeping and DH is going for a run around Deck 4. I had the blueberry pancakes for breakfast, but after 23 days of being fed, I guess it's time to start tapering off (LOL). So I know there are several of you heading to the Venice cruise shortly, so I thought I would report on the ports.
Venice: We arrived between 11:00 and 1:00... It takes a long while to sail in through the canal, so plan to have your camera ready and stake out a position on the starboard side. We found that the upper decks were crowded, but deck 4 was a great eye-level location for sail-in. People in San Marco Square were lined up to watch us coming in. The terminal is a bit of a distance from town, but there are several options. We did an excursion the afternoon we arrived to get a lay of the land and not waste precious Venice moments trying to sort out what the guide might just explain to us. It was a good decision. We did the Murano Glass and Burano Lace excursion. You get picked up from the ship on a motor launch (think Friendship boat from Epcot only bigger) and two tour groups went together. They give you a tour of the not-grand canal on the way and we stopped at Burano first for about 45 minutes. There is some shopping here and we took advantage of the time to get our usual souvenirs as well as some buranelli (I think that's what they are called) cookies that they make there. There is a public WC for 1,50¬ or you can get a stand-up coffee at a cafe and use theirs. Burano is noted for the colorful houses which make for nice pictures. There is a lace shop where a woman sits and makes lace that you can watch the demonstration. I would recommend going a little later in your time there rather than with the crowd... That's what we did... Those who went with the main group said it was crowded and hard to see.
From Burano, we went to Murano where we went to a glass blowing factory and watched a demonstration. If you have ever seen glass blowing, you know something about what to expect, but even so, this was amazing. After the 15-minute demonstration, they take you to their glass shop and show you some items and then you can wander thru their shop. We bought a really nice vase which they wrapped us seriously secure for getting it home. We had a total of 30-minutes for shopping both in the glass store and at the other shops lining the waterfront, but unlike our time in Burano where we got to see more of the island, we didn't see much beyond the glass factory. Then we returned to the ship, arriving back around 6:15. (our meeting time was 1:30). The weather was hot and humid... The worst humidity we had all trip.
To get from Venice to town, we opted to walk the 5-7 minutes from the ship to the People Mover which costs 1¬ per person each way to Pzle Roma to catch the vaporetto / waterbus. DH and I went out the first night to scope out how to get to San Marco Square as we had a tour there the next morning and needed an idea of how much time it would take. We bought the 24-hour vaporetto pass for 20¬ each which let us use their transportation, on and off as much as we like, for 24-hours. While at the ticket office, we also bought 12-hour passes for the boys so we wouldn't have to wait the next morning in case the line was long. We used the #2 line vaporetto to go down the Grand Canal to San Marco Square. Unlike the #1 that stops at each stop on the grand canal, the #2 stops at the busier ones, but takes less time to get there. It was sprinkling (the only rain I recall us having) when we got on, but by the time we got to San Marco Square, it had stopped. We left the ship just after 7:30 and with a few missteps along the way, we were at the Square before 9:00 so we figured a minimum of an hour's travel time was best to allow for the morning. The Canal was so cool to see in the dusk hour, and San Marco Square at night is so not busy that we were able to stop and look around without being jammed in a crowd. We took some pictures and then headed back as we knew the People Mover didn't run all night (it stops before 11:00 so double check the times before planning to use it... Reports are that it is a lengthy walk back from Pzle Roma although a closer stop on the other side if the port area is Tronchetta which we didn't walk that far over to see... Also depending on which spot the ship is in, that makes a difference.
The second day in Venice, we met up with some other DISers and made our way over to the square where we had tickets for the secret itinerary tour at Doge's Palace. We really enjoyed seeing this and having a guide to set the stage for us, and after the tour we were able to explore the Palace with the same admission ticket which took us another 45 minutes because even though we didn't linger, there is a lot of ground to cover there. We got to pass over the Bridge of Sighs which was pretty cool. The Palace has a museum shop and a cafe. There are also toilettes which have a lady who stands there directing traffic... They are small so she is the gatekeeper. It was funny to me to see the men lined up just like the women
After we finished at the Palace, we took some outside photos including the Bridge of Sighs so we have both inside and outside photos. We wandered through the square and then headed toward Rialto to get the vaporetto back to the ship. I would have liked more time to wander, but the boys were ready to get back and had been extremely patient, plus we knew it would take a while to get back. It took about an hour from Rialto to the ship because we had to wait for a vaporetto.
As it turned out, we didn't leave Venice for over an hour after our scheduled departure time because a couple was late and had left their kids in the Oceaneers Club, so we couldn't abandon the adults. It really made everyone mad because they were just shopping. It's not like they had a medical emergency or had lost passports or whatever... I can understand that. But the CMs are all reporting it was shopping. And the reason it upset people is that it messed up sail out for those on early dining. We should have passed by San Marco Square before dinner started, but it wasn't until 6:30 or so before we were there. I had plans to FaceTime a friend at home so he could watch but with the delay, he wasn't available any more, and because it wasn't fair to our servers to have us come to dinner so late, we tried to catch it but missed. Anyway, if you are sailing out of Venice and have early dining, I hope you are not delayed like our sailing was.
Dubrovnik: we arrived by 11:00 and had a private guide who took us to the Old City and then on a panoramic drive of the area. It was a lovey day and a beautiful area with a lot of history. He drove us to where the cable car takes you. Reports are that if you want to do the cable car, do it first before the line gets long. The price for the city walls is 90kuna for adults and 30kuna for youth.
Malta: since we did a tour last trip, we did laundry in the early morning and then went into town around 10:15. We walked to the Barracca Lift to get to the city and then to the archaeology museum in Valletta 5¬ entry). We wandered through some of the shops. Being a Sunday, it wasn't as busy. We stopped back at the gardens where I got some wifi and DH watched the presentation and firing of the cannons at noon which he reports was worth hanging around for.
So that's it. Sea day today which means packing.
So yea, um, I guess the WBTA is technically still in the running.
