An Evening at the Opera- Should we have dinner first?

Hi Everyone, My husband and I will be going on the Viking Sun's maiden voyage from Venice to the Adriatic on October 4th. The first night we'll be going on an excursion called An Evening at the Opera from 7:15-10:45. This is the write up "Sample one of Venice’s most renowned musical traditions during this special evening outing. Your guide will accompany you on a leisurely cruise along the Giudecca Canal and the Grand Canal, passing St. Mark’s Square and Doge’s Palace. On arrival in the historic Cannaregio District, follow your guide on a 40-minute walking tour across bridges and steps to the Palazzo Zeno. This 16th-century palace is home to the Zeno family and is not typically open to the general public, but Viking has reserved it for a private performance. You’ll enjoy refreshments in the lavish surroundings, then be treated to an intimate concert performed by the talented singers of Ai Musicanti, a renowned local opera company. Enjoy a selection of arias, classical music and famous Italian melodies. Smart casual dress will befit the style and ambience of this evening’s venue." Do you think we should eat dinner ahead of time? Or do you think the snack will be enough food? I have no prior experience with this type of thing. I appreciate all the input. Thanks, Pat

Hi Everyone, My husband and I will be going on the Viking Sun's maiden voyage from Venice to the Adriatic on October 4th. The first night we'll be going on an excursion called An Evening at the Opera from 7:15-10:45. This is the write up "Sample one of Venice’s most renowned musical traditions during this special evening outing. Your guide will accompany you on a leisurely cruise along the Giudecca Canal and the Grand Canal, passing St. Mark’s Square and Doge’s Palace. On arrival in the historic Cannaregio District, follow your guide on a 40-minute walking tour across bridges and steps to the Palazzo Zeno. This 16th-century palace is home to the Zeno family and is not typically open to the general public, but Viking has reserved it for a private performance. You’ll enjoy refreshments in the lavish surroundings, then be treated to an intimate concert performed by the talented singers of Ai Musicanti, a renowned local opera company. Enjoy a selection of arias, classical music and famous Italian melodies. Smart casual dress will befit the style and ambience of this evening’s venue." Do you think we should eat dinner ahead of time? Or do you think the snack will be enough food? I have no prior experience with this type of thing. I appreciate all the input. Thanks, Pat

Personally, I would eat dinner before the concert; you will be doing a lot walking. Refreshments is not a meal and you will not be returning to the ship until 10:45pm. You will have plenty of time to have dinner in the buffet before you have to assemble for the tour at 7pm.

WOW, that sounds like a wonderful evening.

I too vote that you eat a light dinner early , then be ready for a fabulous evening in Venice.

I googled the Palazzo. It is gorgeous. Enjoy the evening!!

Thanks for all the great advice. I'll have to get a comfortable pair of walking shoes and we'll definitively have a light dinner before hand. Any recommendations on where we should have the light dinner on the ship? So excited for our first Viking cruise:) Pat

the world cafe ...or you can order room service

:):)😊The World Cafe sounds great or even room service. Any ideas on how the men and the woman will be dressed for this type of excursion ? I'd really like to be in a comfortable outfit because of all the walking. I'm open for any suggestions on how dressy you think it will be. Thanks again for any input. Pat

:):)😊The World Cafe sounds great or even room service. Any ideas on how the men and the woman will be dressed for this type of excursion ? I'd really like to be in a comfortable outfit because of all the walking. I'm open for any suggestions on how dressy you think it will be. Thanks again for any input. Pat

According to the tour description: Smart casual dress will befit the style and ambience of this evening’s venue,

Since men aren't required to bring sports coats for dinner, you can take it from there. Pants not shorts, shirts with collars for the men not T-shirts. Capris, skirts or pants for the ladies.

That's great to know. I'll dress accordingly. I'm not very versed on these type of things :) I'm so excited!

Hi Everyone, My husband and I will be going on the Viking Sun's maiden voyage from Venice to the Adriatic on October 4th. The first night we'll be going on an excursion called An Evening at the Opera from 7:15-10:45. This is the write up "Sample one of Venice’s most renowned musical traditions during this special evening outing. Your guide will accompany you on a leisurely cruise along the Giudecca Canal and the Grand Canal, passing St. Mark’s Square and Doge’s Palace. On arrival in the historic Cannaregio District, follow your guide on a 40-minute walking tour across bridges and steps to the Palazzo Zeno. This 16th-century palace is home to the Zeno family and is not typically open to the general public, but Viking has reserved it for a private performance. You’ll enjoy refreshments in the lavish surroundings, then be treated to an intimate concert performed by the talented singers of Ai Musicanti, a renowned local opera company. Enjoy a selection of arias, classical music and famous Italian melodies. Smart casual dress will befit the style and ambience of this evening’s venue." Do you think we should eat dinner ahead of time? Or do you think the snack will be enough food? I have no prior experience with this type of thing. I appreciate all the input. Thanks, Pat

Yes. Eat dinner first. Unless you don't mind having a very late dinner after the performance.

Thanks for all the great advice. I'll have to get a comfortable pair of walking shoes and we'll definitively have a light dinner before hand. Any recommendations on where we should have the light dinner on the ship? So excited for our first Viking cruise:) Pat

Light should be easy at World Cafe and when you return to the ship, they start serving the Split Pea soup at Mamsen's about that time

It all sounds like so much fun:) I love the sound of the World Café from the other threads on this board. It looks like the weather will be high of 64F and low of 48F so we'll have to dress for fall weather. Really looking forward to it:)

My daughter and I are considering this same excursion our first night in Venice. Has anyone been on this excursion before? Would you recommend it highly? Or should we just wander through the city or St. Mark's that evening? Or just exploring the ship? My concerns are (1) it's the Saturday night of Easter weekend - would that change the crowd level in the streets? and (2) we are flying in from the states that day so we could be exhausted by the evening. Or we could be running on adrenaline - who knows? But I'd hate to embarrass myself falling asleep during the opera! :o

My daughter and I are considering this same excursion our first night in Venice. Has anyone been on this excursion before? Would you recommend it highly? Or should we just wander through the city or St. Mark's that evening? Or just exploring the ship? My concerns are (1) it's the Saturday night of Easter weekend - would that change the crowd level in the streets? and (2) we are flying in from the states that day so we could be exhausted by the evening. Or we could be running on adrenaline - who knows? But I'd hate to embarrass myself falling asleep during the opera! :o

Hi Kentucky Kat, We were in the same situation with the long travel day and if I could do it over again I wouldn’t do the Opera. I would have loved more time to explore the city on my own. You’ll be with a large group so that slows you down and you have to follow their pace. You visit a large private home and you sit in a room where you’ll have 4 different opera singers performing different songs for you and then you walk back to the boat. Save your money and go enjoy the beautiful city at your own pace. Have fun because you don’t have a lot of time in beautiful Venice! Enjoy the cruise😊Pat

My daughter and I are considering this same excursion our first night in Venice. Has anyone been on this excursion before? Would you recommend it highly? Or should we just wander through the city or St. Mark's that evening? Or just exploring the ship? My concerns are (1) it's the Saturday night of Easter weekend - would that change the crowd level in the streets? and (2) we are flying in from the states that day so we could be exhausted by the evening. Or we could be running on adrenaline - who knows? But I'd hate to embarrass myself falling asleep during the opera! :o

Hi Kentucky Kat

My daughter and I are also arriving in Venice that day - I believe we may be on the same cruise !!! We have booked the Evening at the Opera for the evening. If you decide to go we can poke each other to stay awake :) We signed up for the included walking tour on Sunday and we were planning to stay in the city after and wander on our own. As you pointed out it will be Easter on Sunday - didn't think about that - wonder what will be open in the city?

Did this on the Sea in 2016 and loved it. We took about a 45 minute nap after unpacking. Ate at the world Cafe and then headed out for this tour. Most people were dressed very nicely. Most I PT. Part wear comfortable shoes. We took the Mureno island tou the next morning, and then explored Venice on our own. Didn't do a gondola but instead took the water bus down the Grand Canal to the end and then took the people mover back to the boat. Great day

Thanks Pat. We may forego the opera and perhaps set out on our own - it's just such a late night. I'd like the flexibility of not having any commitments.

Hdcmn - if we choose to go to the opera, we will definately poke each other! We are also doing the included tour on Easter and, like you, we plan to just explore from there. Maybe we'll meet up. I'm toying with the idea of a hop-on-hop-off valperetto pass for the day. It seems like there is so much to see. I was in Rome and some Southern cities years (and years) ago but I have never been to Venice and my daughter (18) has never been to Italy.

Thanks Pat. We may forego the opera and perhaps set out on our own - it's just such a late night. I'd like the flexibility of not having any commitments.

Hdcmn - if we choose to go to the opera, we will definately poke each other! �� We are also doing the included tour on Easter and, like you, we plan to just explore from there. Maybe we'll meet up. I'm toying with the idea of a hop-on-hop-off valperetto pass for the day. It seems like there is so much to see. I was in Rome and some Southern cities years (and years) ago but I have never been to Venice and my daughter (18) has never been to Italy.

Kentucky Kat

Looking forward to the trip and wandering around Venice - We have been to Venice before and its a very interesting city. I would be great to meet - we are signed up for the meet and mingle on board the ship

Thanks Pat. We may forego the opera and perhaps set out on our own - it's just such a late night. I'd like the flexibility of not having any commitments.

Hdcmn - if we choose to go to the opera, we will definately poke each other! �� We are also doing the included tour on Easter and, like you, we plan to just explore from there. Maybe we'll meet up. I'm toying with the idea of a hop-on-hop-off valperetto pass for the day. It seems like there is so much to see. I was in Rome and some Southern cities years (and years) ago but I have never been to Venice and my daughter (18) has never been to Italy.

We took the boat over in the morning to do the included tour and decided to skip that and go off on our own just wandering the city and stop in whatever shops we wanted to or relaxing and getting a bite to eat. I love your idea of the hop on hop off Valperetto pass and let fate take you were it may. We walked back to the boat which was really nice too. We got confused at one point and just asked for directions. The city itself is the prize in my opinion! Enjoy this special moment with your daughter:) Pat

Yes to Dinner. One of the best excursions we had in Venice. We made the city part of a 3 day pre-stay on the front end of the cruise.