Nancy717

We are just of the Constellation, and my daughters are vegetarians and BF isn't vegan.

There is a special menu, which they choose from, and also they found the pizza place made them vegan pizza daily..

They said the choices were very good and were never hungry.

Also there is the pasta bar and a stir fry bar at the buffet.

..and lastly, they do have soy milk !

Venice...

We all were now in Venice, minus 1 piece of luggage, after a few phone calls to Air France, we were no closer to finding the luggage...so a little shopping was needed..

My DD was able to purchase a few items in the Rialto shopping center, and then we were off to San Marco...we were there in the early evening and it was just wonderful, few crowds, and much cooler..

We had a light dinner of pizza...and then off to bed as everyone was tired and the next day we were going to Murano and Burano,

How much is the transfer thru celebrity? I am 75 and can't handle all the luggage.

Our driver took care of all the luggage

We booked a taxi, used the same company from airport to hotel x 3 from hotel to cruise ship from cruise ship to airport.

There were 6 of us with a lot of luggage, driver there early with a sign, helped with luggage, very easy .

But I did see a lot of taxi's available, but since we were a party of 6 I wanted to make sure we would have 1 taxi

We were just there and luckily the only ship that day:)

Our driver did tell us this was happening, he said although they rely on tourism, he is happy for the limitations.

We had a perfect day, with few waits, we walked right onto the tender, and straight to the ticket booth for the cable car and up we went.

On the way back there was about a 10 minute wait.

There was a Celebrity crew member at the entrance to the cable car in communication with the ship keeping track of the number of passengers still on land.

He told me sometimes the line for the cable car is 2 hours long...

...Venice

My oldest daughter and I explored Venice while we looked forward to the arrival of my 2 younger daughters and their husband and BF.

I had never been to Venice and was not disappointed, it was beautiful, I have some mobility problems and was not physically prepared for the amount of walking and numerous bridges,

We did use the public water bus, a 24 hour ticket was 20e, for those not familiar, the 24 hours begins when you first scan it. They do sell multiple day tickets and 1 Way tickets for 7.50e.

Because we were all arriving at different times, we were not as efficient with our purchases as we could have been.

Also,as fun and easy as it was to use, it is a local transportation system and took time.

That being said for the 6 of us, we used a combination of walking, public water bus and water taxi's .

...Friday was the arrival day for the rest of the group, so it limited my DD and I to morning activities, as I wanted to be at the hotel when my other DD arrived.

I being somewhat of a helicopter mom followed all flights on my phone app.

We decided that everyone did not need to have international phone service, so my SIL and I each did a $10/ 24 hr Verizon travel deal. You only get charged $10 if you use it. I'm sure there may be other plans ,but this seemed easy.

Both younger DD left from Washington DC different flights, but at the same time 9:05, layover in Paris, but different times from Paris to Venice, which meant 2 taxis from the airport..:eek:

....so DD and her DH arrive at Marco Polo call,me that DH husbands luggage is lost, they fill out the paper work and are on the way....they arrive at the hotel, and decide to shower/rest while we now wait for DD#3 and her BF..

....DD #3 and her BF land, and her luggage is lost:'):').

....they arrive at the hotel...and our now abbreviated ,but much anticipated Venice adventure begins..:)

...next up Venice adventure .and lost luggage

We just returned from our fabulous 10 night Greek Island cruise..

So,here is our review..

Background: we traveled as a family of 6, myself, my 3 DD ,1 husband and 1 boyfriend. We have all cruised before and have also been to land trips in Europe.

This was a very special trip, as it was the 1 year anniversary of my youngest daughters kidney transplant, which she received from her sister. It was also my daughter, the donors 3rd wedding anniversary..

Pre-trip

We all,arrived separately in groups of 2 in Venice , my oldest DD and I left from Miami on Wednesday, my 2 younger DD with DH, and BF left from D.C. on Friday on 2 different flights ( my youngest daughter and her BF were originally scheduled to leave with me on Wednesday, but had some abnormal lab work that the doctor wanted to re-do, she was fine)

We, My oldest DD and I flew Delta, no issues all on time, we arrived in Venice , got our luggage, went to the ATM for some Euro and easily found the taxi I had pre-hired.

Off we were to our hotel Santa Chiara , it is located in Santa Croce, the taxi was able to drive us there. ( 40 Euro)

I choose this location after reading many reviews about the challenges of pulling luggage around Venice.

It worked out well for us, not centrally located but traveling the waterways in Venice was part of the fun, we could walk to the vaporetto.

The hotel was beautiful, it was a former convent, the rooms were big, with views of the canal, great a/c, big modern bathroom, elevator and we booked with full breakfast, the breakfast area, both in doors and outside overlook the canal

.....next up arrival with lost luggage

Hi Su,

How easy is it to DIY to Olympia? We are confident travelers but have not looked into distances from port to Olympia or how to get there. From these posts I’m thinking there may be a train?

 

Thanks for any info,

Libby

 

 

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We just returned and rented a car and drove to Olympia and then the beach, we also walked around the town of Olympia ..easy and fun

We just returned from Santorini, we were also the only ship that day,

We booked a private tour, the island is very winding and did not seem to have a lot of signage . There were a lot of ATV's out,our driver told us there are accidents daily with tourists driving them

I'm not sure where you would find the car rental place.

We were docked and everyone had to take the cable car up and that's where all the cars were parked

I tried to search for this with no luck, we are sailing from Venice on the Constellation in August and am wondering if the menu is different from that in the Caribbean?

Taking that starting in Venice and having lunch off the ship one step farther, there is a really nice little restaurant/bar right off the P. Roma--just one bridge to cross and a one block walk and after lunch, there is a great gelato place right across from it. Figure 30 minutes travel time after lunch to walk back across the P. Roma, take the people mover and walk to the ship...We would have done last year but we had already had dinner, and gelato there twice in our 3 days in Venice.

Do you recall the name ?

Yip thats us. Sail after a 3 day stay in venice.

 

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We will be in Venice for 4 days prior, I am so excited

Just about to do this itinerary (I think) in less than 50 days so very interested in your post. Keep the review coming when you can

 

:-)

 

PS Andrea Bocelli always makes me cry too ;-)

Are you on the Aug 20th out of Venice?

Suzyed, there is no way of knowing if and when an organ will ever become available. It could be 6 months or 10+ years and there is no advance warning. The person can even die before a transplant is possible. A person with chronic illness has to have some enjoyment of life, be able to cross some items off the bucket list and not be kept locked up in the home 24/7. You can also get sick from someone at the grocery store or mall. Plus, the medical professionals have said we can travel. There are certain procedures to be followed and the individual needing transplant can even be put on hold for the transplant list for short periods (such as when traveling) if desired. It is very different right after a transplant when many more restrictions are put in place.

Oceancruise, check your insurance and have a great time, my daughter had a kidney transplant in August, we are going on a Greek cruise this August to celebrate!

You are right , you have to live your life and enjoy it

I just flew out of DCA, with 12 syringes of Enbrel, and a ice pack in my carry on bag,

I had the label,from the box with it, they never even asked about it .. You should be fine

I have taken Amtrak many times, including the Auto,Train, what specifically did you want to know.

I stay up to have the full dinner and watch a movie, then go to sleep. I don't get up for the breakfast, I sleep until it's time to land

Walk off and you will be fine the port and airport are very near each other

We transferred via CDG from Atlanta, going to Budapest, our overseas flight was delayed which gave us only 20 minutes to get from one terminal thru immigration to our gate.

We ran our legs off, and made the flight, but with great effort :eek:

We have landed in JFK twice on a domestic flight to go overseas, the domestic terminal is connected by a shuttle bus to the international terminal.

It is not very far, last year our flight from Orlando was delayed, so we ended up with only 1 hour between flights, we moved fast and made the flight.

You have an entire year to get the meds right..she should be just fine by then...what a lucky girl. My husband has been on the list for 2+ years.....

Having a transplant is so you can LIVE your life...and she should! Have fun!!!

We spoke with the transplant team at Johns Hopkins and they have given us the green light as long as she continues to do well.

They are aware of all the issues related to a cruise ship, and have made a few suggestions to limit exposure, the muster drill being one.

She will not eat from the buffet and we will do private tours with just our family.

You can contact the special needs department and request the special needs muster station. This is for those with mobility issues, etc, and typically one companion will be allowed with the special needs person.

Thank you

My daughter had a kidney transplant last week, we are planning a "celebration" cruise on Celebrity in Aug 2018, we have been given the OK by doctors as long as she continues to do well.

They have suggested avoiding large , close crowds,

Is it possible to request skipping the large muster drill where so many people are jammed together and do it privately ?

Thank you for all the advice,

No we have not made the final payment, and no the surgery date has not been scheduled.

I will call Steve this morning

My DD is not going on the cruise....I am concerned if her surgery is scheduled between final payment and sailing date.