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Live from the Viking Star World Cruise 2021-22

JM0115

By JM0115,
in Viking Ocean

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Twitchly

Twitchly

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Posted

You’ve convinced me not to cruise to Venice. What a hassle.

 

We loved Venice years ago; we went in December, and the place was empty. Glorious. We’d go back in a heartbeat, but only in off season, and not on a cruise ship.

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Australia08 "Live from...." Rare

Australia08

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1 hour ago, Jim Avery said:

You beat me to the train.  Also the beautiful water taxi from the airport is movie set perfect.  Cruise ships spending a day in Venice miss the most of it.  Not to mention the underwater motion and suction caused by any large ship are killing the foundations (sketchy as they already are) under Venice.  Lots of great places for cruise ships to go but Venice is putting 10lb of sugar in a 5lb bag....🍸

 

Yes, we’ve taken the water taxi from the airport and it’s wonderful!

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cruiselvr04 Great Review Rare

cruiselvr04

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Bummer that you got a run around in Venice. When time is so short in ports of call you certainly don’t want to spend it traveling back and forth on a bus.  Although we’ve been to Italy, we didn’t get to Venice so I still want to go especially since I love blown glass but it may be a one and done. I’ve heard from others that Venice wasn’t their favorite either.  It’s interesting how people can have different views of places they visit.  For instance, we didn’t like Amsterdam nearly as much as Budapest in the same trip.
 

I appreciate your ability to go with the flow.  I’d be disappointed with all the changes on your world cruise.  Of course none of us, when booking 2 years in advance,  know what may happen in the world that will change the itinerary.  
 

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vslparis

vslparis

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18 hours ago, SJD117 said:

 

Good to know there's a water taxi from the airport! We fly to Venice next April for two days on our own before we board the ship to Athens. A water taxi will be the perfect way to start the trip.

There are private water taxis from the airport to Venice Island but be prepared for some sticker shock as they tend to be in the $200 - $250 range per boat . But you do really feel like a movie star traveling to Venice Island that way 😎.  It is really great when your hotel has it’s own dock on a side canal or close to the Grand Canal otherwise you might be dragging your luggage a ways.  Your hotel can tell you if they have their own dock or how close a dock is to them. 

 

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TERRIER1

TERRIER1

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17 hours ago, Twitchly said:

You’ve convinced me not to cruise to Venice. What a hassle.

 

We loved Venice years ago; we went in December, and the place was empty. Glorious. We’d go back in a heartbeat, but only in off season, and not on a cruise ship.

So much comes into play in liking a place such as weather, crowds and docking location. We were very fortunate to have ship overnights on Oceania and Azamara and docked at San Basilio not the Maritema. We would just get off the ship and walk into Venice. Venice at night is lovey. No crowds. We were also there on the shoulder season so the weather was perfect. We stayed away from St Marks during the crowded day.

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vslparis

vslparis

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18 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

It truly is magnificent.  I believe you can Google the water taxi location.  It is a bit of a walk through the airport with the bags but darn well worth it.  I have taken the Vaporetto many times but refuse to crowd onboard with a bunch of luggage.  Just rude to the locals.  Not even sure if the Vap goes to the airport.  The water taxi can take you right to your hotel or just about anywhere else you want to go.  Beautiful mahogany (fast) boats.🍸

Jim, there is a special Vaporetto  from the airport to Venice Island 

(https://www.alilaguna.it/en/airport-lidovenicecruise-terminal-or-vice-versa) but having taken it a few times with carry on luggage I can tell you it is a pain . I have seen people with 26 inch ( and larger ) suitcases try to navigate getting on and off and it isn’t pretty . There is a major cost difference between the two methods but since my husband will be still recovering from a shattered humerus ( result of a fall on the WC in January 😕) when we go to Venice in June, we will don our sunglasses and pretend to be movie stars on a private water taxi !  

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ilikeanswers

ilikeanswers

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, TERRIER1 said:

So much comes into play in liking a place such as weather, crowds and docking location. 

 

Sometimes it is just a matter of personal preference. No destination can please everyone. For all those who love Venice it wouldn't surprise me if there was just as many who come away thinking not my kind of place. 

Edited by ilikeanswers
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Insanityx4

Insanityx4

Posted
Posted (edited)

Enjoying the thread and all of the information and pictures about your amazing trip.  I was just reading an article about 8 new river cruise ships named this week, 4 in Paris and 4 in Amsterdam. During his speech, Torstein Hagan announced that as April 1, masks will be optional! I assume that goes for ocean ships as well. Good news for those who really dislike wearing a mask!. I hope you all continue to have a fabulous cruise and that the war in Ukraine doesn't mean a lot of new changes to your already adjusted (big time) itinerary.

Edited by Insanityx4
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PasadenaDave "Live from...." Rare

PasadenaDave

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On 3/16/2022 at 5:16 PM, GKTV32162 said:
World Cruise Day 83/152 - Venice (Fusina), Italy - McKayla Maroney is not impressed and neither are we
 
 

Question, we end our Istanbul to Venice cruise with an extension in Venice.  The day we arrive we booked the Gondola ride but the Walk Around St Marks included tour at this time is sold out.  Perhaps 60  plus days from now we can do on our own excursions.  if we can't, did you find that the trip to St Marks and then return to the ship before the Gondola trip to be too much time in the bus?

 

We leave the ship the next day so I am thinking that unless we can do a walk on our own as in shuttle to Venice, walk around and join the Gondola excursion in town then we might want to treat what would be our full final day as a "sea day" except for the Gondola trip.

 

Your thoughts?

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GKTV32162

GKTV32162

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, PasadenaDave said:

Question, we end our Istanbul to Venice cruise with an extension in Venice.  The day we arrive we booked the Gondola ride but the Walk Around St Marks included tour at this time is sold out.  Perhaps 60  plus days from now we can do on our own excursions.  if we can't, did you find that the trip to St Marks and then return to the ship before the Gondola trip to be too much time in the bus?

 

We leave the ship the next day so I am thinking that unless we can do a walk on our own as in shuttle to Venice, walk around and join the Gondola excursion in town then we might want to treat what would be our full final day as a "sea day" except for the Gondola trip.

 

Your thoughts?

If you are still restricted, you'll be in a bubble like us so you don't be able to self explore. I expect that would change, so you would be able to hang in the city between excursions. If that's the case, if definitely do both and enjoy a nice meal between. We would have loved that rather than waste and his each way on a transport boat and bus.

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GKTV32162

GKTV32162

Posted
Posted
22 minutes ago, Insanityx4 said:

Enjoying the thread and all of the information and pictures about your amazing trip.  I was just reading an article about 8 new river cruise ships named this week, 4 in Paris and 4 in Amsterdam. During his speech, Torstein Hagan announced that as April 1, masks will be optional! I assume that goes for ocean ships as well. Good news for those who really dislike wearing a mask!. I hope you all continue to have a fabulous cruise and that the war in Ukraine doesn't mean a lot of new changes to your already adjusted (big time) itinerary.

We are going that the new mask rules will apply to us, but since we sold before April 1, who knows?

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Clay Clayton "Live from...." Rare

Clay Clayton

Posted
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25 minutes ago, PasadenaDave said:

Question, we end our Istanbul to Venice cruise with an extension in Venice.  The day we arrive we booked the Gondola ride but the Walk Around St Marks included tour at this time is sold out.  Perhaps 60  plus days from now we can do on our own excursions.  if we can't, did you find that the trip to St Marks and then return to the ship before the Gondola trip to be too much time in the bus?

 

We leave the ship the next day so I am thinking that unless we can do a walk on our own as in shuttle to Venice, walk around and join the Gondola excursion in town then we might want to treat what would be our full final day as a "sea day" except for the Gondola trip.

 

Your thoughts?

If you can cancel the gondola ride you might consider taking a gondola lesson. It’s our favorite “excursion” of all time….we did it DIY before boarding a cruise. The cost for two was about the same as a gondola ride for one and lasted twice as long…and makes for a great story.  

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Shoalwater

Shoalwater

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On 3/17/2022 at 3:11 PM, Twitchly said:

You’ve convinced me not to cruise to Venice. What a hassle.

 

We loved Venice years ago; we went in December, and the place was empty. Glorious. We’d go back in a heartbeat, but only in off season, and not on a cruise ship.

We were in Venice in early December on an overnight cruise stop and went to early mass in St. Mark's.  We stayed seated after mass ended and waited a bit, and all of a sudden realized we were the only two people visible inside the entire basilica.  It lasted about 10-15 minutes and we had free reign.  They even left the ceiling lighted.

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Clay Clayton "Live from...." Rare

Clay Clayton

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1 hour ago, GKTV32162 said:
World Cruise Day 86/152 - Dubrovnik, Croatia - games, thrones, ties, and cats - they have it all in the old city
 
 

Thanks for the blog. We enjoyed walking the walls when we were there for Mike’s 50th.  If you have a sweet tooth, try to have a slice or Kremepita in one of the cafes.  So good!

image.thumb.jpeg.c71c391633dde19b4922cb0371e09a6c.jpeg

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LindaS272 "Live from...." Rare

LindaS272

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48 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Thanks for the blog. We enjoyed walking the walls when we were there for Mike’s 50th.  If you have a sweet tooth, try to have a slice or Kremepita in one of the cafes.  So good!

image.thumb.jpeg.c71c391633dde19b4922cb0371e09a6c.jpeg

Looks like success cake on steroids! 🤗🍰

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