First cruise - Med Empires Dept Venice 22/05

[antoniusp]

Hullo all.

 

Wife and I will be first timers and are very excited. Below I raise a few queries with which I hope some of you can provide feedback:

 

-have booked an inside cabin. How do I establish on which deck?(Voy No I142)

 

-is it wise to book Pinnacle/Tamarind prior to voyage?

 

-any excursions which are a must do/avoid at all costs?

 

-coming from South Africa we are wine lovers - should we purchase a wine package or just buy as we need?

 

-hiring a tux on board. Is it practical?

 

Many thanks

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wellcome to Cruise Critic.

We always purchase a couple of Pinnacle before we leave home just to ensure that we get to eat there. Some nights will sell out quickly.

DH always takes his tuxedo -- so if you don't want to pack one -- you might consider renting one.

Sounds as though you booked a guaranteed cabin -- thus you may not know what cabin or deck you will be on until about 10 days before the cruise -- maybe not even until you get to the ship.

There are 2 Nieuw Amsterdam cruises leaving on your date -- one is for 12 days and the other one is for 24 days. Check out these links for the Roll Calls and more information:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1174967

 

and

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1321494

[antoniusp]

Hullo,

 

We will be doing the 12 day cruise.

 

Many thanks for feedback. Can you clarify what is meant by a "guaranteed" cabin.

 

Regards

[cruisemom42]

Did you receive a cabin number when you booked? If so, you can look at the ship's plans and find out where your cabin is located. If not, you have a "Guarantee" cabin, which means no cabin number was assigned at booking, but you are "guaranteed" to receive at least that category of cabin, and possibly a higher one.

 

As to wine, HAL is nice in that they allow you to bring wine onboard ship. If you are wine aficionados, you might enjoy picking up some bottles along the way and enjoying them onboard, since most places you'll be visiting will have good wine -- not a problem. (Some lines do not allow this.)

 

However, if you'd just as soon not bother with this, by all means you can do the wine package or buy as you go onboard.

[CtheW0rld]

venice is wonderful, unique and expensive.

 

one big don't: a gondola ride. yikes. locals take the vapperetto - the water bus. you can buy a 24 hour pass for something like 14 euros. you get the same views of the grand canal and no chance of being dumped in the polluted water.

 

one big do: the doge's palace secret tour. must be booked in advance. i forget the price, but it was well worth it.

[RuthC]

one big don't: a gondola ride.

Oh, I disagree! True, at least on the Grand Canal, the views are the same as on the vaporetto, or the water taxi, but the atmosphere is so totally different. It's one of those kitschy things that tourists just have to do as they work their way around the world.

I took a gondola ride when I was in Venice. Now, whenever I see a picture of a gondola, I look to see if it looks like "mine".

[antoniusp]

Hullo

 

Many thanks for the feedback - it is much appreciated.

 

Regards