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26 days on the Oosterdam-Venice to Fort Lauderdale-Report

Sonora5

By Sonora5,
in Holland America Line

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Sonora5

Sonora5

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We just returned from a great cruise! 26 days on the Oosterdam, boarding in Venice October 15 and arriving in Fort Lauderdale Nov 10.

 

We actually arrived in Venice on October 12. Our flight was good, we had used miles to get business class seats. We water taxi'ed to our Hotel, the Danieli, Located right around the corner from St Mark's, just one building over from the Doge's Palace. It was a sunny day in Venice, fortunately we got there prior to the horrible flooding.

 

We walked around in the sun for a while, grabbed a little lunch and then collapsed to try to sleep off the jet lag.

 

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Sonora5

Sonora5

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Our second day in Venice we woke up reasonably refreshed and headed for brunch on the rooftop terrace of our hotel. Panoramic view of Venice from the 5th floor. We were interested in the Tintoretto exhibition at the Doge's Palace so we checked out the lines there-too long!

 

We decided to wander-amazing how the day can fly by when you are just wandering around. We found a little fabric shop where we bought a bell pull for our servant buzzer in our living room. We do not have servants-at least, none have appeared to date-but this beautiful red and gold tassled pull makes a nice addition.

 

NB: We hung it last night and I am very happy with how nice it looks.

 

Off to find our friends, staying at the Hotel Kette. I am embarassed to recount how we wondered around unable to find the Hotel when it was just around the corner from where we stood and pondered several times.

 

Our friends had a great room on the 5th floor with a private terrace giving another wonderful view of Venice.

 

Dinner was great but we were falling asleep in our plates, so we headed to an early bedtime.

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sevenseasnomad

sevenseasnomad

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3 hours ago, Sonora5 said:

Our second day in Venice we woke up reasonably refreshed and headed for brunch on the rooftop terrace of our hotel. Panoramic view of Venice from the 5th floor. We were interested in the Tintoretto exhibition at the Doge's Palace so we checked out the lines there-too long!

 

We decided to wander-amazing how the day can fly by when you are just wandering around. We found a little fabric shop where we bought a bell pull for our servant buzzer in our living room. We do not have servants-at least, none have appeared to date-but this beautiful red and gold tassled pull makes a nice addition.

 

NB: We hung it last night and I am very happy with how nice it looks.

 

Off to find our friends, staying at the Hotel Kette. I am embarassed to recount how we wondered around unable to find the Hotel when it was just around the corner from where we stood and pondered several times.

 

Our friends had a great room on the 5th floor with a private terrace giving another wonderful view of Venice.

 

Dinner was great but we were falling asleep in our plates, so we headed to an early bedtime.

Next time you go to Venice, go online prior to leaving home to reserve your tickets to several top Venice attractions.  The tickets allow you to skip the lines and walk right into the attraction.  We went to Venice (part of the 24-day Nieuw Amsterdam cruise in 2015) and never stood in a single line.  It was wonderful!

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Sonora5

Sonora5

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Sunday in Venice:

 

We were actually starting to recover from our jet lag by Sunday. After another rooftop brunch, we set out to check out the Tintoretto line and ride the vaporetto. Since the line was still a little long, we headed to the vaporetto station to cruise leisurely and cheaply around Venice.

 

I had actually been dreaming about doing this again, since our last trip last year. The old buildings along the canals seem to have personalities. Some dissolute, some aging grandeur, all fighting time and nature to stay upright.

 

We were fortunate to bag outside seats on the vaporetto and went up the Grand Canal and back on the Guidecca. After a complete loop we hopped off and had lunch, then found that the Tintoretto line had magically vanished.

 

For one price we were able to see the exhibition, which was quite good, and stroll around the Doge's Palace.

 

Back on a different Vaporetto to see if we could see the cruise ship-I think Norwegian something-that was scheduled to sail out that night. We did manage to see it glide away all light up and gorgeous.

 

We were exhilarated but a little chilly and a lot tired, so we rode back to the Danieli and bed, with plans to get up early for our last rooftop brunch.

 

Next: Embarkation!

 

 

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Sonora5

Sonora5

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Thanks, I am holding off with the next installment because my husband is going to try to post some pictures. He got some fabulous pics in Venice, including some of the Norwegian whatever sailing out at night, all light up and pretty.

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Sonora5

Sonora5

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Embarkation:

 

We eagerly hopped into our water taxi and headed for the Oosterdam. One last cruise through Venice. We had totally forgotten about luggage tags, :classic_ohmy:, but fortunately the luggage handlers on the dock were prepared for the likes of us, and all we had to do was tell them our room number.

 

I was a little disappointed when we walked over to check in. There used to be priority check in for Suite guests, but I guess that is no more. We were told quite sharply that we could wait with the other unwashed masses with less than 4 stars.

 

Fortunately the line was quite short, and we were on the ship quite quickly.

 

Next: Our room (spoiler alert: A neptune suite!)

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