Venice Overnight on the Equinox Jul 3

[Alecs Gram]

I am taking my wonderful 16 year old grandson on this cruise and I want him to see as much as he can. It is just the two of us. Does anyone have any recommendations for Excursions on this trip? or any other recommendations I can use. This is only my 2nd cruise.:confused:

[paul929207]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

You can get more info on Venice and your other stops in the Port of Call section

[blonde1981]

You could probably do Venice on your own without paying for an excursion just grab the VeniceCard. My husband and I spent 3.5 days there before our cruise and saw everything we needed to see. In fact on the 3rd day we were actually digging up things to visit so we weren't bored.

 

I would start in St. Mark's Square and get in line for the Basilica as the line increases as the day goes on. Next do St. Mark's Campanile and follow that up with the Doge Palace. The Bridge of Sighs is also near Doge Palace so you should be able to go through all of that in 4 hours unless you want to spend more time.

 

There are a lot of little restaurants and sandwich shops on the streets leading away from the Square.

 

Other areas you should probably visit/see is the Grand Canal. We took the public bus from St. Mark's and sat at the very back. We went on the entire ride (about 1 hour) and got a nice tour of the city. Also make sure to stop by the Rialto Bridge. We ate at a little restaurant right off of the bridge that was pretty good. Couldn't tell you the name of it though.

 

After that there are a ton of museums to pick from.

[Aquahound]

I am taking my wonderful 16 year old grandson on this cruise and I want him to see as much as he can. It is just the two of us. Does anyone have any recommendations for Excursions on this trip? or any other recommendations I can use. This is only my 2nd cruise.:confused:

 

There is a water taxi station right there at the cruise port. Sorry, I dont remember what they call it. I recommend taking the water taxi straight to San Marco Square. From there, just walk and allow yourself to get lost in all the alleys. It's part of the charm.

 

Forget maps. Thy are useless. Use the rooftop antennas as a guide. They all point west, so they are good way of keeping your direction.

[Essiesmom]

Get either Rick Steves' Venice or Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports. He will have suggestions of what to see, and on his website there are free audio tours to download for your ipod/mp3, and maps to print out to go with them. Start you grandson now reading Donna Leon's Brunetti mystery series, set in Venice. EM

[Alecs Gram]

Thank you so very much. There are so many references out there it is nice to know which are recommended.:)

[okgirl]

I agree with others that Venice is doable on your own.

 

Get the 2 day Vaporetto pass (water taxi) and start exploring. You can google a map of the stops.

 

Take the VP over to the island of Murano there are tons of free glass factory demonstrations, the go on over to Burano for linens and the shops over there.

[wassup4565]

The Vaporetto pass is great, and the more you ride, the cheaper it turns out to be. If you did nothing else in Venice but ride the No. 1 Vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal a few times, you'd see a lot and really experience the place. However, with the pass, you can get off and back on whenever you wish.

 

I also agree with the person who said just wander the streets and alleys and get lost a little. You'll find a landmark soon enough, and it's magic, exploring all those twisty little streets. San Marco and the Doge's palace are fine, but the time you spend in line and shuffling along with the crowd inside is wasted time, IMO. Only go to those places if you're really keen on the artwork or history.

[Alecs Gram]

I am looking to join groups for excursions in a couple ports - Naples, Florence and maybe Nice? Is anyone putting together a Romeinlimo or something? I have put together one in Rome "Highlites" but waiting on the others to see what you are all doing. I am NEW to all of this.

[Aquahound]

I am looking to join groups for excursions in a couple ports - Naples, Florence and maybe Nice? Is anyone putting together a Romeinlimo or something? I have put together one in Rome "Highlites" but waiting on the others to see what you are all doing. I am NEW to all of this.

 

Take a look at the Share a Shore Excursion site. People arrange private tours and post them on the site, looking for others to join them. You can do a search for your ship and specific date. If nothing is posted, you can create the tour yourself. Here is the link:

 

http://www.shareashoreexcursioninitaly.com/

 

I did this for my Europe cruise last year and it worked great! Also, join your roll call on these boards. Go to the "roll calls" link and search your ship and embark date. It is likely there will be others looking to join groups or looking for others to join them.