chefestelle

July 21 Day 5: first I want to tell you about dinner in the Tamarind. DD pronounced it the best place she has eaten on this trip and I wholeheartedly agree. She started with some salmon sushi that she said was awesome. I had the soup with quail eggs that was also remarkable. I also had the satay sampler which was frankly big enough and delicious enough to be a meal in itself. She had the duck and I had the wasabi tenderloin. Heavenly! I don't usually go for dessert but the Tamarind chocolate sounded too good to pass up. DD had the ginger bread pudding. It was all so good and we were very full when we left.

Anyway, today we were in Katakolon and Olympia. I'm not much of a person for ruins and I had heard a number of reports from land travellers that this really is just a pile of rubble and some pillars. However, it is Olympia and we are in an Olympic Summer games year, so I did want to see it. In my youth, I was in track so I wanted to have at least the ubiquitous starter block photo. Besides, some helpful CC members chimed in to say that the magic of history did indeed linger at this site. With my equivocal impression of the stop, I wasn't that interested in trains, public transit or other independent means of reaching this site.

On that point, there are lots of ways to get to Olympia which can be very expensive for private tours or very crowded and slow for big tours. There are also many options in between, including local transportation. CC has lots of helpful hints for those who want to do this on their own. Just check the port boards and you will see! We opted for an excursion to the site and Olympic village. It was on a motor coach with about 50 people. The tour guide was excellent, the fellow passengers did not keep us waiting (nor we, them) and the bus was nicely air conditioned.

The site is well laid out but this is not a location for the mobility challenged! The path from the point where buses and taxis must drop everyone off is not terribly long but it is uneven gravel. The loo is down some steep steps to the right and there was the perpetual lineup at the ladies. The tickets, if you are not on a tour that includes them, are sold at a kiosk just opposite the path to the loo. Again, a lineup. Not terrible, though. Once inside, there is plenty of shade afforded by the many trees. It made for a comfortable paths inside are uneven and there is not really anywhere to sit without sitting on monuments. I do not recommend this as it seems disrespectful. Thousands of crickets sound endlessly. Some Americans said they call them cicadas. I'm not sure they were talking about the same insect but they didn't sound like crickets from home. It was more buzz-like.

I'm not regretting I went. I saw what I expected and I got some lovely photos of what remains. However, you must come with a good imagination because time, thievery, and war have destroyed most of what must have once been quite spectacular. Our very well informed guide painted the missing visuals in a half hour tour then left us to explore for another half hour. It was enough. Then we walked through the cafe and shop area where we had twenty minutes to shop our hearts out. DD and I just got sodas and sat in the shade after exploring the goodies.

Once back on the bus, it was a short trip to the centre of the Olympic village. Evidently it is only alive in tourist season and it exists to sell us Greek wares. We had an enjoyable hour to shop for jewellery, clothes and shoes. Then it was back on the bus to head back to Katakolon. Our guide gave us some good information about things to see and do in Athens on the mostly quiet trip back. Those who wanted to were able to disembark the bus in town to wander some more. The rest of us stayed on the bus for the ride to the port. It is completely walkable from the ship to the town of you find yourself in Katakolon and not wanting to trek to Olympia or the neighbouring wineries. There seem to be lots of shops and cafes waiting to cater to tourists.

Would I go back? Perhaps if I was travelling with someone really keen on Greek history or mythology. I could see myself staying a day or two in Katakolon or Olympia village so long as there was a pool and the hotel was nice. It does get very hot in the afternoon!

On that note, I remembered to pack our Icy Cool Towels. I may never go anywhere without one again in summer or hot climates! It was a godsend and kept me very cool and comfortable. A CC member recommended them and I'm so grateful!

Dinner was again in the Tamarind and was again awesome. I had the wonton soup and DD had the chicken and rice soup. I had the duck and she had the red curry chicken. They were so incredibly tasty. I recommend the oyster and shiitake mushroom side. We both broke our decision not to have dessert. Yes, we were too full but the descriptions were yummy. Mine was the mango cloud and it was ok. Not something I would repeat. She had the donuts and said they were lovely and light rather than heavy.

So now we are watching a very red sun fall below the horizon. Tomorrow is Athens and is another early day...

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July 20 - today, we arrived in Saranda, Albania. You can tell that it is not a wealthy region despite being the perfect resort location. We had to anchor offshore and take the tender in. The tenders are our own lifeboats. It's a quick and easy way to access ports where the docks are too small or the water too shallow. Once on the pier, we simply walked up a steep cobble road to the waterfront road. There was a customs booth but it seemed to be only for the people coming from Corfu on the Corfu-Saranda ferry.

DD and I wandered down some stone steps to dip our toes in the sea. The water was surprisingly cold but we found it refreshing. It is extremely hot out. The beach is comprised of rocks bigger than pea gravel but smaller than the decorative rock used in xeriscaping. It is hard on the feet so we kept our shoes on til we were close to the water. There is a narrow strip of sand making the ankle deep wading more comfortable. The water is cold and clear, with tiny, unimpressive fish swimming by.

After that refreshment, we stopped at the beach stand to purchase sodas. I didn't have a small enough bill (4€ for two sodas) so one of the servers had to run off for change. No one really speaks English and I cannot even say thank you in Albanian so we did our discussions in monosyllables and gestures. It worked well enough. This includes shopping in the little stores lining the streets. I did find an Albania beach towel for 5€ to add to our collection. At another store, we bought crisps for our room: tzatsiki and oregano. I'm happy to report that the flavours are stunningly accurate!

After this, we pretty much saw what was to be seen. If you find yourself in Saranda on a cruise, you could spend a pleasant enough day if you brought sunscreen, a towel, reading material, water and some euros to rent a sun bed/umbrella combo and to buy lunch. We hopped the tender back to the ship and grabbed a couple of loungers by the pool instead. It was quiet and even slightly breezy up there.

While DD was resting inside later, I was reading outside. I watched some guys who were obviously inexperienced yahooing around on jet skis. They were having fun til one fell off. They disappeared soon after. Not long after that, I heard five distinct gunshots. I leaped to my feet just as the last couple were sounding and saw a flash. Though it did not sound like it, it may have been five distinct one-pop fireworks. I heard nothing after. The flash was about three streets up from the shore. I am unlikely to ever know if it was benign or more dangerous. Perhaps it was even just a power box shorting out. There were no sounds of alarm from shore so I returned to my relaxation.

Saranda turned out to be a pleasant diversion but it is not likely a place I would return to very soon. I expect it will one day develop into a lovely seaside resort but I believe that is at least a decade away. I am not disappointed that we came and the day was rewardingly restful. DD, on the other hand, would like very much to go back for a visit.

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Thanks everyone! I am going to try a pinnacle lunch. It's on my bucket

July 19 Day 3: We are at sea. My only rules for DD on sea days are that she have breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner with me; she tell me where she's going to be; and she check in if she's changing location. While there do seem to be many young families on board, there are not that many teens. And the Loft didn't hold the meet and greet like they did at Xmas. There was only the open house and no one was there when we went by. Consequently, DD and I spent most of the day together.

I'm a reader so I enjoy a rest in the sun with a good brain candy book. Of course, I'm also open to a friendly chin wag. I don't care if I take in activities or entertainment but I'm also curious enough to participate if the mood takes me. It's a holiday. I play it by ear.

We ordered room service breakfast for much later than we usually eat, thinking we would sleep later. Well, we did sleep a little later but not as late as we thought. We were good and hungry by the time breakfast arrived! Unfortunately, in DD's words, breakfast disappointed. It came at the late end of our requested time. The coffee and tea were good and hot. DD ordered eggs Benedict which came for both of us, were hard and were not hot. The bacon was nice and crispy but my milk for my cereal was warm from being on the delivery cart so long. She got her orange juice (warm) but my grapefruit juice was replaced with a grapefruit. Now I wouldn't have minded that except the fruit wasn't well cut. I don't care for being sprayed in the face, chest and hair by recalcitrant fruit just because I don't have the right tools to extract its flesh! Never mind, as DD also said, at least we are not starving children from anywhere.

There were a number of activities lined up in the On Location for our sea day. I will be scanning it in once home so I won't list it all here. It includes drink events, dance lessons, spa specials, specialty group meetings, computer and digital photography workshops, cooking things, scavenger hunts, gambling things and trivia. Nothing grabbed my attention except I decided to go to the port information session at 11:00. I deposited DD on the seaview pool deck where all loungers were claimed though a good third of them were 'vacant'. We set her up on the pool side decking and I headed off to wait for the port lecture. I only stayed long enough to hear that there is a lovely sea walk in Saranda lined with cafes and shops, the latter selling hand made linens and trinkets like fridge magnets. It is a tender port. I learned later that they picked Saranda because the people on the first leg had already done Kotor and Montenegro. Based on cruisemom42's advice, wish I had checked here earlier because I think there is an excursion to Butrint! It leaves early, though so I'm not sure I can persuade DD to change plans now...

When I got back up to the seaview pool area, DD was already ready to go back and sit on our verandah. In the time I had been gone, all the claimed loungers had filled. I was ok with reclining in privacy though we had no sun shining on our deck.

Lunch was in the MDR (yay!) and was a small but delicious serving of cheddar soup and the luau platter. The latter was a little less pleasing because the pieces were all more bone than flesh. It was still tasty. We were joined by an American fellow named Bill (from Chicago) and a Dutch family Core, Yvonne and their daughter whose name I never learned. It was an entertaining and enjoyable lunch.

We spent a really pleasant afternoon napping and reading. Then it was time to get ready for our first gala night. We decided on long but subtle. That worked fine as we had an MDR reservation for 6:00. There were lots of very well dressed children and many women in sparkles both long and short. But I would have to say most people just dressed nicely but not fancy. It wasn't until we were getting ready to clear out that we saw more gowns, some tuxes and some very fancy suits. Even later, we slipped out for cookies and cheese at the Lido which was supposed to be open til 10. By 9:00 only cookies and cheese as well as the coffee station were still open. However, there were many very nicely dressed people in the Canaletto, even a couple of tuxes, and some gowned people swept by on their way to somewhere else. So it looks like the fanciest crowd comes out later.

We had dolphins entertaining us at dinner and a gorgeous sunset to toast once in our room. All in all, it was a most satisfying sea day!

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July 18 Day 2: After a restless night (just me, nothing wrong with the bed, the a/c or really anything!) we woke early to room service. The bacon was crispy, everything was hot that should be and we were suitably fed to face the day.

I really wanted to see Murano. I love the glass and I wanted to see if I could find some jewellery for upcoming birthday gifts. You can buy this glass anywhere but I thought it would be lovely to have something direct from the source. DD had been awed by the glass blowing process she saw here in March and urged me to take in a demonstration. We have seen this before in Halifax, Nova Scotia right at the harbour, but this impressed her more.

I had priced out some Murano glass in the square and in a shop down a side street just off the Hotel Noemi down the lane opposite 913. The same small disc pendant of mosaic glass was 15€ in the square and 9€ in the lane shop. Earring baubles were 110€ in the square and a matching necklace was 55€. I couldn't see the prices in the lane shop and it was closed though I suspect there is a similar difference in prices. But this gives me a baseline for whether I buy my treasures on Murano or wait til I'm back on the 29th to revisit the shop. Those discs were 6€ in Burano. The earrings were all over the map with a lot more variety starting at 35€ and the necklaces were also all over the map, with more than one bauble and the attendant higher prices. I saw some gorgeous strands for 80€.

We also collect cuff links, beach towels and Christmas baubles from our travels. I don't expect to find beach towels on this trip, but you never know! Christmas baubles might be a challenge too! And cuff links are always tough if you're looking for ones that are representative of the place you are visiting. Murano glass cuff links are a thing, though, so that's what I was after. I failed in that quest so I'll have to look in the lane shop when we are back. I have to go back to the neighbouring shop for a tattoo mask.

Anyway, part of my research had been to find excursions to Murano and Burano. I know you can do this on the vaporetto but a friend who went last year said it is very crowded and hot for this trip of 45 minutes. Hot and crowded transport is really not my thing and I wanted to hear a bit about the location as well. It is, however, the cheapest way to go if you are up for it. Also, with a Rick Steves guide, you could do without the tour guide too. If you don't want your nose in the guide book, I believe he has audio tours you can download. We usually study the guides in advance and then keep our heads up and eyes open. I did pack his little pocket guide along anyway. Haven't looked at it yet...

The HAL excursion is $70US per person. It is a half day and takes you to Murano and Burano. I found other options online which were cheaper. One did Murano, Burano and Torcello in the same amount of time for only $30 CDN each plus the cost of getting to the pickup point. That one seemed too rushed, though the reviews were very good. I'm glad, in retrospect, that we did not take this option as it would have been far too rushed. Reviews of the HAL Murano and Burano excursion were good except they noted not enough time to actually explore shops after the glass blowing demonstration in Murano. Dilemma. Take the nice comfy trip with HAL but no exploring, or take the hot and crowded trip with time to explore on our own?

One insight into our planning decisions: I need options that would take the stress out of timing. I'm happier taking my time and dawdling where I want or zipping along when I choose (unlike the schedules of an excursion) without having deadlines (like all aboard). With deadlines, I stress about timing, traffic, etc and cut myself short just to make sure I'm not late. In that sense, cruise travel is not the best fit for me. It also takes away from DD's enjoyment if I'm distracted by these things. I know excursion companies often come with worry free guarantees but it is cold comfort to be left behind even if I am flown to the next port. It's a very short holiday and I don't want to spend any part of it flying to catch up. Or waste valuable gawking time fiddling with my watch and chewing my lips with worry. This is one of the factors, therefore, that went into our selections. I am happy to pay more to eliminate this factor. I'm glad we did. While the boat trip was long and the tour guide talked all the way, I could see the public transport and it was crammed!

Embarkation for the excursion was quick and easy. As always, some people were late for the meeting time, holding up their party, their excursion and all the rest of us. Because the excursion was tendered in a sense, boats were swirling around in the harbour waiting to come alongside. Honestly, some people are so precious! I did notice a couple of older ladies who were both hard of hearing who were sitting in front of us struggling to hear what was going on. One had forgotten her hearing aids and the other didn't have any. The excursion guy was not terribly helpful and was soft spoken. So I told them what he had told us. They were lovely ladies but they had been through an ordeal. Their luggage had been left behind in Philadelphia and they had been living in the same clothes for four days. Hope it catches up to them! Their excursion had also been cancelled and they had been told to just show up to the excursion cattle call to rebook another. That's pretty outrageous and I think when they are less discombobulated they will take on HAL for dealing with the many other excursions we have now had cancelled.

Speaking of which, we are now going to Saranda, Albania and I have looked over HAL's excursions there. Nothing appeals. I've searched what's in port and nothing appeals. I'll search toms port guides next.

Once on board our vessel to Murano and Burano, the tour guide gave a lively and detailed account of everything we passed. I'm sure it's an excellent rendition but it was 8:30 am and I would have appreciated a breather or two in there to gather my thoughts. He was very knowledgeable, though, if a bit dry.

Murano was a too-brief stop. Once there, you traipse in to the furnace room. I thought the display of changing melted sand into vases and horses was fascinating but DD said their school visit to a different factory was better. Afterward, we had too little time to take In the glass room presentation (very interesting!) and browse this and other shops. I did get some of my list acquired, though.

We sat up on the open deck on the way to Burano. It's quite exposed and you don't move fast enough for a good breeze but the view is much more expansive. In Burano, you walk to the town square, see a brief demonstration of lace making (which has its own wow! factor) and then have a bit too much time to explore the shops filled with lace items. There are some quite expensive, authentic items but many more manufactured lace clothes, table cloths and the like. They are made in Italy but are not quite as exquisite. There are also lots of tourist trinkets and masks for purchase. We opted for a refreshing soda and Brie and crudo pizza in a little cafe off the canal. I may never eat pizza again but at least it was a refreshing meal. The trip back seemed very long and I'm glad we didn't spend it on crowded transit. We were let off right at the main terminal and walked back to our ship.

Not long after we re-boarded, we had the muster drill. It would have been efficient but for the precious people who waited til the very last minute to show up so they didn't have to join the rest of us standing in the baking sun, and for the people we could see sauntering back onto the ship indifferent to the discomfort of the rest of us. And yes, those who were on the back to back were required to repeat the drill.

Sail away was on our verandah. We went up to the Lido for my regular and DDs mock Bellinis, the sail away special. They were more like warm mimosas out there! I prefer the crushed ice Bellinis... There was music being set up and a festive atmosphere was building. There was a fellow at the other bar in a row with the bartender about how many drinks could be served at once on the special beverage card. He ended up calling guest services and then demanding the bartender come to the phone to speak to the person on the other end. The bar was understaffed and Henri was getting flustered. The policy, however, was clearly noted on the handout sheet and he stuck to it.

Once we got moving, it was quite splendid watching as we drifted by Venice. It's such a lovely city with so many fascinating adaptations for their life on the water!

Dinner tonight was booked in the Pinnacle. I had the yummy lobster bisque and superb lamb chops. DD had the lemongrass chicken soup - which she pronounced just pleasantly spicy - followed by the chicken dish. We had the Brussels sprouts with pancetta and Parmesan as well as the creamed spinach. It was all too much! The creamed spinach was more puréed than creamed and not to my liking. The Brussels are worth trying again. Neither of us were up to dessert so Irwan brought fresh berries for us to share while I had my coffee and brandy. We were well served by Irwan and Remli who made the evening quite pleasant.

We spent the evening reading on our deck. It was a great way to end the day, drifting out to sea and feeling the gentle breeze.

Italy is definitely on the return list. DD loves Venice and would come to study if she could identify a university. She'd better find a way to learn Italian first! I would definitely go back to Murano for more glass!

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I do believe that breakfast was subpar as you say. It's very much like the super budget hotels the students stayed at during their budget trip and was not at all what I expected from this much better hotel. I have already enjoyed one much better breakfast on Eurodam now!

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Thanks everyone! Here is today's report:

July 17: today was Embarkation day. We overnight in Venice but who can complain?!

I suspect it's to accommodate an overnight for people doing the back to back. It turned out great for us because... more time in Venice!

We had the included breakfast at our hotel. DD is used to this experience from her recent trip but I must say it was a bit of a jolt to my system. I'm not much of a breakfast person but I understand its important role in fuelling me for the day. I like fresh juice, fresh fruit and, on holidays, probably bacon and eggs. Coffee is the most essential item. So European hotel breakfasts are buffet style. The fruit is fresh but the juice is a nasty concoction in a machine. The eggs are all omelette style triangles and the bacon is soggy fried. I opted for cold cuts and Swiss cheese with a small serving of fruit. DD actually likes this style of breakfast so she was content with cold cuts, juice and machine made cappuccino. I went with black coffee. It's actually just like Keurig coffee. It was alright.

We left soon after, having the wisdom to book a porter. We were a bit sore from struggling with our bags the day before. He was amazing. He loaded our cases and one heavy bag onto his industrial dolly and roared through the crowds at speeds we could barely keep up to. I also realized that the locals were drafting behind him making their passage much faster through the congested masses. It's amazing how many people just stopped and stared instead of moving as he yelled attenzione! He took the bags right to the alilaguna boarding area while we lined up for our tickets. Now this is a really organized process I urge you to use. It is a little slower than a water taxi but very efficient. You cannot possibly buy the wrong ticket or get in the wrong lineup. They also help you heave your bags on board. Had I known that, I would definitely have gone with alilaguna and not the water taxi from the airport. I don't begrudge the lovely experience, though, of our own small boat. The whole cost of porter and alilaguna was 50€ and it got us right to the main terminal. The porter is 15€ for the first bag and 5€ each bag after. He didn't charge for the carry on he popped on top. The alilaguna was 8€ each and the rest was for the baggage at 3€ for each suitcase. Well worth it! Especially when I consider a taxi from my home to airport is about $60. Puts it in perspective. The only thing that would put a damper on it would be crowding. There was a very large crowd embarking it at the airport yesterday and disembarking it at San Marco this morning. That might make it less joyful.

Once at the main terminal, HAL people were greeting us to ensure we headed to the correct terminal. They were dotted along the way and signs were clearly posted as well. Very little chance of going the wrong way! We were processed quickly at the tagging area - I don't think I'd bother printing the tags from home since they didn't use them and were quicker fixing their own, more durable ones on. The rest of the boarding process for check in was super quick and efficient. Partly this was because we got priority boarding but also partly this was because there just weren't that many people waiting! Whisked through embarkation, we quickly found our way to our stateroom. I am proud to announce that we took the stairs from deck 2 to 6. Just getting ready to wear off the meals we will eat!

We have the navigator app on this ship. I'm hoping it gets updated as it currently has the old excursions attached to the new ports. We had another cancellation, this one of Kusadasi. We are going to Saranda, Albania instead and it is our first stop. I can't presently think of what to do there, but I've never been to Albania. The excursion guide in the room has our updated itinerary but none of the excursions in the new ports look like our thing. Hopefully we will find something on the inet we want to do.

For the HAL regulars, our captain is Werner Timmers, Charles Vanderwaal is our hotel director, Joanne Valerio is the Guest Relations manager, Simon is the Cruise Director, Sam is the Culinary Arts cooking show host, Isolda is the show host, Tom is the location guide, Tonya and Danny are in the Billboard, and Debra is the cruise consultant. There does not appear to be a designated non-denominational pastor and the Catholic priest is not named.

We were originally booked in verandah 7024 but got an upgrade to a signature suite, the total cost being roughly the same as the per person cost difference would have been had we booked it in the first place. We are now in 6090 and it is spacious, well appointed and lovely. We want only for more drawer space for clothes but I am using the shelves and DD is using all the little drawers around the room. We will manage.

We have purchased 1000 inet minutes which should last. DD has roam like home which she can use in every port. I'll use free wifi where I can find it. Unfortunately, ship inet is super slow so I doubt I will be loading pictures or on locations til I get home!

Our two stewards are Asep and Esha. They introduced themselves while delivering luggage. They could not seem to offer enough help or encourage us enough to use their assistance.

We had lunch in the main dining room which thrilled me because I do not care to eat in the Lido. DD had a mini pulled pork sandwich and really delicious broccoli soup. I had an odd buttermilk chicken breast. Very crunchy and lightly seasoned. The wilted greens with it were divine.

As soon as we were back in our stateroom, I checked our excursion and dinner reservations. There were some dinner reservations missing but a quick call to 88 reassured me that we were reserved and would get our confirmations the day of.

Thanks to Ruth C and Globaliser, I knew before we got to the port that we would be able to wander off again as we pleased and return whenever. Great to have the option whether you choose to use it or not. In our case, we decided to wander our ship, indulge in some lazy time on our marvellous deck and enjoy a very relaxed afternoon. Good thing because when we tried to leave after dinner the scanner broke down and caused the poor security officer so much consternation we just left. I think DD is still signed off the ship though he insisted she was not.

My TA gifted us dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. We were well served by our stewards, Remli and Irwan. Darwin (?) is the wine steward and he steered me well. We had a really delicious dinner of planked halibut and scampi (DD) and crab with 5 oz lobster (me).

We stopped in to listen at the Adagio. I was really pleased to see signs asking people,to be quiet during the performance. This did not happen on the Veendam and people were quite disrespectful. We also stopped in at BB King's All stars who were wonderful.

Now we are relaxing on our verandah, digesting before our early bed for our early morning excursion to Murano and Burano.

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Oh, we have LOTS of shoes!

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Sauvignon blanc with lunch

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I read Beverly Sellars' They Called Me Number One over the last couple of days. Be prepared to cry. Sellars is a former chief, lawyer and activist from Soda Creek, BC. This is her story about her life as a small child sent first to the Sardis hospital though she wasn't ill and then to Indian Residential School. Her heartwarming memories of home are juxtaposed jarringly against the nightmare of her life in these prisons and the effects of this cultural experience over several generations. She is a woman of great courage. If you live in Canada, the US or Australia, this is a must read for insight into why first people mistreatment and resulting tragedy have been so hard to overcome.

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Thank you! And I'm pleased with the ports too. I know some people would have liked to see Albania and more along that coast added but I'm fine either way! And just as we were about to hit the hay, the fireworks started. Turns out we can see them right from our room!

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St. John's is a delight, for sure!

We received notice of a big itinerary change right before we left St. John's. Istanbul was dropped and we picked up Mykonos, Rhodes and Heraklion. This was before the attempted coup so we still had Kusadasi at last report. We will roll with these changes and send out thoughts of hope and comfort to the people of Turkey.

July 16: Venice: Here we are! The flight, food, seats, entertainment were all too hideous to mention so I'm skipping right along.

When booking our hotel, we had hoped to also book transfers to take the burden off the red eye trip and extra luggage. The HAL package for all transfers was a staggering amount: between $794 and $1365 per person. I just need a ride, for pete's sake! After more investigation, I was able to get some other options. For 242 €, we could get a transfer to the square and walk to the hotel. I told my TA that for that price I want someone to haul the bags, fan me and feed me peeled grapes. Nope, not included. Not even feed-yourself grapes. Interestingly, the HAL transfers were not significantly higher than any of the other transfers I priced online for the same service. [emoji33]

Then I was cruising around the Venezia port site on this webpage http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-cruise-terminal.htm and discovered another link to Viator that gave me more options than the app did! For $88 CDN going in and $106 going out (total! Not per person) this seemed too good to pass up with extra luggage. So I booked it and now we're set. Unfortunately, I overlooked goofygame's really handy link to Venice Link Shuttles in one thread which produced the best fares at $77 for two: http://venicelink.com/en/products/shuttle. It would have been about $11 cheaper, but I can live with that.

The hotels are pretty dear too - it is Venice, after all! They are better if you go to the Piazzale Roma which is really convenient to the port. You can access those hotels by land bus too, making life a bit easier (and cheaper). Getting into the San Marco area from there is also reported to be super easy and not that expensive. However, we finally decided on the Royal San Marco just off San Marco Square. DD fell in love with Venice on her spring break trip and really wanted to be near San Marco. There is so much more she wants to do without a crowd and pre-set itinerary. In fact, I foresee a big Italian trip in her future. Maybe she will even let me come along!

The ride into town was shared by one other couple. It is a long walk to the pier but DD was in charge of the complimentary luggage cart and did a great job steering it. Once we got to the boat, there was a bit of confusion between the dock number and the taxi number. But it sorted itself out. The alilaguna docks in the same place so everything is made pretty easy. The view is best taken from the stern with your head popped over the top. However, the ride is quite choppy, so hold on!

So the current plan is to take the alilaguna water bus between the hotel and port on each end of the cruise. Thanks to cruisemom42 and dogs4fun, all the options from price to schedules were available to me before we ever left home. With the extra luggage from Newfoundland, I may buckle under the pressure and take a taxi. It's just not that easy to toss heavy suitcases around after dragging them along rumbly, uneven stone streets!

After dropping our luggage at the hotel, we wandered off in quest of breakfast. Coming up empty for a place that serves that repast, we settled for a sidewalk cafe on a back street - no service charge, no cover charge - for a cappuccino and a latte. It's so much more delicious when sipping coffee in Venice while men hauling carts march by, calling attenzione! to the milling crowds. I never gave garbage removal a thought til I saw the men hauling the steel garbage carts along, stopping to collect from each store as they went. Or the carts full of crates of soda, milk and other delights. It was a moment of pleasure and fascination watching Venice unfold for the day!

We wandered and rested some more before scouting out another sidewalk cafe for a slice of 4 gusti pizza. I'm not a huge pizza fan but I had to make an exception here. It was thin crust and quite tasty. So was the Bellini! Besides, anything eaten at a sidewalk cafe in Venice is perfection!

Then it was time to rest up. We were dead on our feet by then and not smelling our freshest either! The room was ready when we returned. It is TINY but has a good bathroom and comfortable beds. Just what you need for a one night stop. We slept long and well.

After a too-big dinner in a delightful cafe we returned to our hotel to divest ourselves of everything but our room key, camera and a small bit of cash. Our maitre d told us (as you can expect) that it was going to be very crowded and there would be lots of pick pockets. He urged us to take as little as possible. So we did. It was already very crowded when we went there around 8:30. We walked almost the whole board walked taking pictures of landmarks shining under the sunset, party boats rocking to really loud music, the yacht with the helicopter, and snippets of quieter canals. There was a lot of security presence in the form of the usual security guards, lots of police, tons of rescue teams and, of course, the military. We really wanted to stay for the fireworks but we walked so much today, we just couldn't make it to 11:30.

Tomorrow is embarkation day!

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HAL has cancelled Istanbul for our cruise departing Venice July 17. We pick up Mykonos, Rhodes and Iraklion. I'm sorry to disappoint the wonderful people of Istanbul but at least we keep Kusadasi.

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To wrap up our stay here in St. John's we took a whale watching tour that hoped to give you glimpses of the puffin colony, humpback whales and icebergs. We knew getting on that icebergs had not been spotted this far down this year but my real hope was for the puffins. We did see plenty but the colony had already dispersed for the season. They are like penguins in flight and are fun to watch. The humpbacks did not make an appearance. There was one minke whale behaving abnormally and sticking close to the surface.

It had started as a gorgeous day but turned quite cold. Because we are in open sea, there was a whole lot of rocking and rolling, and sometimes the horizon disappeared on one side! It is not a trip for even the slightly queasy. We are most fortunate in our inner ear functions...the rain did drive us inside eventually. You can't see much from there but we watched anyway.

If I had just a day in port, I wouldn't do a whale tour. The risk of not seeing any of the advertised delights is too high compared to any other whale watching area we have been in, and we have been skunked in some of those better places! What makes up for the lack of sightings is great scenery. You can't see scenery when huddled inside averting your gaze from the poor sea sick folks lolling around like drunken sailors.

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July 15: It's hard to believe it is time at last! I have been scouring CC, pouring over Rick Steves' guide books and haunting the Internet for ideas, excursions and cruising tips. Whatsinport.com, tomsportguides.com, Viator and tripadvisor have all been most helpful to me for deciding what we would like to see and do in each port. I'm very grateful, as well, to CC for the useful tips and great posts. Just see my thread "Mediterranean Musts" for an example of some excellent tips submitted by CCers. Or the "Tipping in ***" threads I started on the ports of call boards to gain the benefit of the experience of locals or former locals to the regions.

In the style of Oscar winners everywhere, I'd like to thank POA1, RuthC, Hlitner, KrazyKruizer, Fouremco, Kazu, sail7seas, Cruise_More_often, DeeniEncinitas, Cruisemom42, Boytije, 3rdGenCunarder, (cue the hook-her-off-the-stage music) and everyone else who has chimed in to offer great advice and insights. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

Our flight to Venice is a red eye. I've been at a conference all week so it was a packing challenge to plan for Newfoundland and then the Mediterranean. Newfoundland is pleasant in the summer (if it's not raining) but not scorching hot like home or like the Mediterranean. As we approached our departure day, it looked more and more like it was going to be quite cool and rainy for our week in St. John's. I had to pack for hot, cool or rainy options. DD had it easier: she is young and fit so she can wear leggings! They roll up into tiny bundles smaller than my underwear. We planned originally to post our cool weather clothes home at the end of that week, but then strike action began to loom for Canada Post. I looked up courier companies but none looked close enough to be able to squeeze in a side trip to drop off a package. So it was looking like we were taking cold weather clothes to the Mediterranean with us! In the end, we packed for both places and the hotel arranged a courier package for us to send home.

So now we are on our way to Venice. We land at 7:30 in the morning, giving us a full day to explore Venice; then we embark the next day. These flights were booked with Air Canada and its partners. After the San Diego fiasco, I will not fly on connections that are not partners! Note I didn't say never...

I will have to remember to get healthy snacks for the flight to Venice. In December, the flight had not been provisioned so it was dehydrated soup or cashews or Twizzlers. Now, I love Twizzlers, but not for dinner! This could be even worse: we're flying Air Canada Rouge. Sigh. What I won't do to get in to Venice early...

I had planned to purchase the unlimited internet plan on the Eurodam if it was available so I could do a live thread every day, but that plan hasn't reached our ship. Depending on the reliability of the Internet, I still hope to go on once in a while to do a semi-live thread. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I pre-purchased the unlimited laundry for $84 at $7 per day. I also pre-booked some dinners in the Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind. We have explore4 included so that has a dine around night too. I didn't make much use of the beverage package at Christmas (it was also a promo added to my package, so no loss) but I will need more water on this cruise. Also, having discovered they have almond milk and rice milk in the Explorations Cafe, I plan to have more lattes.

We had a lovely time in St. John's even if I was in a conference. DD was able to sleep late, have lunch with me, wander the streets and then connect with me for some afternoon and evening sightseeing. So if you plan to take a cruise to St. John's, Newfoundland, a fairly fulsome report of what we did is under its ports of call.

I've got some books tucked away in my carry on for this flight: They Called Me Number One by Bev Sellars plus everything on my iPad should see me through.

So here's hoping there are no delays, food is palatable and the seats are not too horrible!

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Thanks! I'm so excited!

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My pleasure: https://shopsanuk.ca/?utm_source=sanukusa&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=redirect?utm_source=sanukusa&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=redirect

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I am! I went to the Reluctant Chef for dinner tonight and I could not be happier! What an incredible dinner! It's a five course dinner and you can get half wine pairings (which I recommend if you have to walk to your ship or hotel after). Perfection!

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Oh, I have standing pants too! But they're standing pants because they are linen. I mean, who buys linen?! But they were gorgeous and I couldn't resist. Like a gorgeous pair of shoes you know you can't walk a block in. Sigh. Love is a many splendored thing

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Today we took the step on step off trolley. It was actually a city bus dedicated to the route. I'm not sure whether that's normal or if the trolley is broken down. The driver was absolutely wonderful, taking time with every query to offer options. I still can't tell where cruise ships dock but the trolley makes several stops along water street and though it shuts down after August, it runs any day a cruise ship is scheduled to be in port in the fall. So it must be close to the cruise ship terminal. I haven't found any tourist shops that would stand out, though I have now been in several. However, we did pass a craft shop on the top end of Duckworth that looked well worth popping into. It's in a grand old painted lady and can't be missed.

The trolley passes all the highlights. For a cruise passenger wanting to maximize time at the sites in a short period of time, I would take it to the Newman Wine Vault, tour it, walk to the Railway Coastal Museum, tour it, hop on and carry on to the Cabot Tower at the top of the hill. Don't get out at the Geo Centre or the Interpretation Centre. Get out and see the sights at Cabot Tower, walk down to the Interpretation Centre (it's steep but winding and doesn't take very long). The Interpretation Centre is not a long visit unless you stop for the twenty minute film or take in the Queens Battery or stay for Taps, or have a cup of hot chocolate at the Chocolate Cafe. From there, it's a fairly short walk down to the Geo Centre. It covers the astronomy and geology of Newfoundland. You can catch the trolley here and carry on along for the rest of the trip. If you ask, the driver will let you out at the right stop with a transfer for the city bus that takes you by the Rooms. Walk down to Water Street from there and get back on the trolley at the start of its route! That would cover all the highlights. You could get out anywhere along Water Street or Duckworth to shop or eat. It's only $5 for the day so it's a bargain, for sure.

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We all have to sit sometime...

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Well, we went to dinner at the ubiquitous Jack Astor and then moved on to George Street. It is a short, fun street bursting with pubs. Take your pick! We went to O'Reilly's on the recommendation of our taxi driver (from the airport). I even got screeched in. Luckily they use rum now instead of moonshine. I think rum runners used to follow this maritime route so it's probably been a screech in option for some time!

We also took a taxi ($11 each way from our hotel) to Signal Hill and took in the mist laden sights. There is a lot of mercantile and naval history there for people keen on that sort of thing. A word of caution, though. The wind really blows up there. It was driving the misty rain fiercely sideways and we were thoroughly chilled to the bone. Wear an anorak or some such other jacket over your warmest sweater if it looks at all grey in the skies on your visit day. Newfoundland does not get particularly warm at the best of times so that's not going to be fun if you're not dressed for it and it's rainy.

We walked down from the tower to the visitor information centre where we took in a charming twenty minute history film and viewed the small exhibits. It's only about $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for youths and seniors so don't expect much. Attached to it is the Chocolate Cafe where you can order hot beverages, ice cream, chocolate and goodies made or dusted with various forms of chocolate. The prices were reasonable. The ticket desk will call a cab for you if you do not want to walk down the hill to the bus stop. City transit will bring you to the bottom of the hill and pick you up from there. It's only $2.25 each way. Have exact change. Still, on a cold rainy day the taxi is worth it!

Another option if you're there Wednesday to Sunday is the step on step off trolley. It's $5 and takes you to all the main sights: Cabot Tower, the Railway Museum, the Newman Wine Vault and the Geo Centre. I think the whole circuit takes about an hour. I'll report more tomorrow after I've taken it!

I still haven't figured out where the cruise ships put in as none have been here and I've seen nothing that screamed passenger terminal. I'll probably see it from the trolley tomorrow. I'll report back!

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Shoe divas, I have made an important discovery. I'm in Newfoundland pre-cruise. It has been pouring rain so I'm wearing my Skechers instead of my pumps. Then I decided to wear my sanuks for a quick dash across the street and back. They got wet. I re-entered the hotel and gingerly started across the slippery tile floors. I decided to try the slip factor and discovered to my great delight that the sanuks do not slide when wet! I may have way more comfortable shoes to wear up to the Acropolis etc!!!

Ezra Levant is a right wing media type. I don't think Rebel is an actual organization but a media blog of some sort. Levant considers himself a rebel media personality because of his outspoken irreverent views. I'm surprised there are 120 such people in Canada but, apart from being loud, I doubt they would trouble you. Eh.

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Brucelegs, I love Nordstrom Rack! How do you find sizing accuracy on zappos and zulily? DD has size 11 but narrow. So she can often wear an open toe 10. We just never can tell which size to get her and shopping in our town is abysmal for her!

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As promised, here is my review of St. John's, Newfoundland as viewed from a cruise perspective though I am on a conference. We have arrived in Newfoundland after a fairly arduous series of flights from British Columbia. I can't say much about St. John's yet as we were pretty delirious. But we did pop out for a brisk walk before dinner. We are at the Delta and can see down to the water where I assume any cruise ships would dock. It's misting rain but blowing which made for a chilly walk in 9 degree weather. It never gets particularly warm here but 9 is harsh in July.

The down town core is very walkable if you are not mobility challenged. It has been described as a mini San Francisco, which I poo poo'd when I first heard it. Suffice it to say that our glutes, calves and thighs got a really good stretch on our walk. We walked a good length of Water Street, turned up and then walked back along Duckworth. Water has lots of shopping though nothing particularly gripping to my 15 year old DD. I'll examine the shops more closely for places that may appeal to cruisers. This street is just up from the waterfront and so it should be accessible from your cruise ship without transit. I'll see if I can nail down where the ships come in.

Duckworth is gloriously speckled with restaurants. We can't wait to try as many as we can for lunches and dinners. There are chains, to be sure, but most look to be independent bistros and the like.

George Street above Duckworth is the pub row and a must see. So we shall see it - when we are less tired!

And the painted ladies! I haven't seen Jelly Bean Row yet, but the painted ladies are everywhere and done in marvellous colours. I'm anxious to get out with my camera.

I'll report more on all of this once my conference is done for the day. Last night, we retired after a simple dinner of cod au gratin for me and fish and chips for DD. We were well satisfied.

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