Italy-Adriatic-Greece March 2022

[longterm]

12 hours ago, claranda said:

Any idea, longterm, how many passengers are on the Rome/Venice leg?

I’m guessing 600 or so, but I’ll try to find out. Lots of passengers are Debarking in Venice; we are continuing on to Athens, and were told that the ship will have very few passengers for the final leg.Debarking in Venice; we are continuing on to Athens, and were told that the ship will have very few passengers for the final leg.

[Selion]

14 hours ago, longterm said:

were told that the ship will have very few passengers for the final leg.

🤩  Yay!

[longterm]

Today we are in Sibenik, Croatia; very pretty town, a little early in the season so there are lots of closed shops. Interestingly, there were at least 4 lingerie shops in the Old Town... not much in the way of interesting stores, so we saved our money I suppose! 

Croatia has more olive trees than people--4 million people in Croatia, 40,000 in SIbenik. We plan to order some Croatian olive oil when we get home so that we don't have to carry it home.

Yesterday we were in Bari, where we went into the Castellana Caves; a really beautiful place, one to see when you go there. We walked the least today--3 miles--so we're getting our exercise.

In the past I've lugged my 35-mm Nikon and 3 lenses; this trip I'm using my iPhone 12 Pro, which takes amazing photos and is so much easier to use. I bought a case with a very stout strap, so I can hang over the ship railing and not worry about dropping my camera. With very little editing, I've gotten some amazing photos.

Today, when I bought a t-shirt in Sibenik, I was struck with how glad the shopkeepers and restaurant workers are to see tourists again. I've been overly generous with them, and will continue to do so; for many of them, the last 2 years have been extremely difficult. Our tour guide in Rome told us she had 2 years of living on almost nothing, getting assistance from her family, and now she is thankful to be back to doing what she loves. 

We were able to walk freely about Sibenik today, the first time we've had that freedom; in Bari yesterday our guide kept a close watch on her charges as we walked through Polignaro a Mare, because cruise passengers aren't allowed out their bubbles while in Italy. 

It's never lost on me how fortunate Mary and I are to be able to take this cruise; it goes by too fast, fading to memories, but a little effort keeps me in the moment and glad to be seeing these wonderful towns. Tomrrow, Venice!

[Maite88]

Bob P., I am really enjoying your posts about your cruise.  I will be on the same cruise in May and I am learning a lot from your experience.  Thank you!

[Mich3554]

5 hours ago, longterm said:

Today we are in Sibenik, Croatia; very pretty town, a little early in the season so there are lots of closed shops. Interestingly, there were at least 4 lingerie shops in the Old Town... not much in the way of interesting stores, so we saved our money I suppose! 

Croatia has more olive trees than people--4 million people in Croatia, 40,000 in SIbenik. We plan to order some Croatian olive oil when we get home so that we don't have to carry it home.

Yesterday we were in Bari, where we went into the Castellana Caves; a really beautiful place, one to see when you go there. We walked the least today--3 miles--so we're getting our exercise.

In the past I've lugged my 35-mm Nikon and 3 lenses; this trip I'm using my iPhone 12 Pro, which takes amazing photos and is so much easier to use. I bought a case with a very stout strap, so I can hang over the ship railing and not worry about dropping my camera. With very little editing, I've gotten some amazing photos.

Today, when I bought a t-shirt in Sibenik, I was struck with how glad the shopkeepers and restaurant workers are to see tourists again. I've been overly generous with them, and will continue to do so; for many of them, the last 2 years have been extremely difficult. Our tour guide in Rome told us she had 2 years of living on almost nothing, getting assistance from her family, and now she is thankful to be back to doing what she loves. 

We were able to walk freely about Sibenik today, the first time we've had that freedom; in Bari yesterday our guide kept a close watch on her charges as we walked through Polignaro a Mare, because cruise passengers aren't allowed out their bubbles while in Italy. 

It's never lost on me how fortunate Mary and I are to be able to take this cruise; it goes by too fast, fading to memories, but a little effort keeps me in the moment and glad to be seeing these wonderful towns. Tomrrow, Venice!

We heard this all over South America.  They were so glad to see tourists that everyone went out of their way to tell us how glad they were to see tourists and cruise ships.  One place (I think it was Madeira?) said we were the first ship in the harbor in nearly 2 years.

[longterm]

We are docked in the port of Fusima near Venice this morning; it's a very commercial port, clearly not designed for cruise ships. My understanding is that we will board a bus, go to Venice, where we'll get on a boat for our excursion to Murano and Burano.

We're the only cruise ship at Fusima, but I do see online that there's a large Norwegian ship at another dock (Maritima?); it's larger than us but closer to Venice.

 

We were pulled in by tugboats this morning; I assume that's normal for Venice so that we don't have to use thrusters.

[longterm]

Here's a map of the Venice area this morning; from what I can see, the Norwegian ship "Norwegian Prima" is the only other cruise ship in port, so that's a good thing. My understanding is that, to go to Murano, they'll bus us to the city, then we'll get on a boat for Murano, then Burano after that. I have an original watercolor at home of a bridge in Murano, painted by a talented woman from Indiana; it'll be great to see if I can spot the actual bridge (doubtful); a bit cloudy today, chilly here in Italy; in fact, we saw snow on the ground in Bari, which is far south of here.

 

[longterm]

16 hours ago, Maite88 said:

Bob P., I am really enjoying your posts about your cruise.  I will be on the same cruise in May and I am learning a lot from your experience.  Thank you!

You're going to love it! If you've not seen Pompeii, be sure not to miss it; if you're a fan of the Godfather movies, as I am, the excursion into the hills in Sicily was a lot of fun and we got to see a lot of the hills of Sicily, with Mount Etna looming in the far background.

Free excursions in Crotone and Sibenik were disappointing to say the least; in Crotone, they drove us 10 minutes to the center of town, dumped us, and had some cheesy "actors" saying what was supposed to be insightful lines as they greeted us--turned out to be, in my opinion, pretty awful. A free glass of orange juice and some sort of food at the end of this little tiny walk (we didn't go to the food), and a quick visit through a very small archaeological museum made up the entire "excursion." We walked around town a bit, through the beautiful little alleys, found an open-air food market, where we talked with vendors and bought a few pounds (yes, a few POUNDS!) of delicious olives, which the vendor vacuum-packed for us.

The guide for the free excursion in Sibenik was our best guide yet, but the town wasn't much to see, with lots of shops closed for the winter season. If you are okay with spending the money, I'd advise taking a look at the paid excursions; we almost went to see the Krka waterfalls, but weren't up for a bus trip and wanted to walk through the town, expecting more quaintness than we found. We haven't spoken to anyone about the other excursions though, so I don't know how they turned out to be. The cruise into Sibenik is beautiful and not to be missed; you go down a narrow channel, which takes about 15 minutes, and it's gorgeous.

Best food so far? The wild mushroom soup in Manfredi's; I asked for the recipe last night, am hoping to get it in the next few days, and if I do, will post it for those interested. It was spectacular.

[longterm]

 I found out that there are 447 on this cruise, and then for the final leg to Athens there will be 500. 

[Hazel52]

Thank you longterm for posting! I’m taking notes and learning a lot for our October cruise. Was it Crotone where you found the olives? Did you find more quaintness there than Siberia?

 

thanks !

[Mrs Miggins]

Did you see the 'faces of the common man' all around the outside of St James Cathedral. After our self guided tour we were lucky enough to hear the all male accappello group singing in the cloister.  Also for fans of Game of Thrones there are several locations used in filming.  Sibenik doesnt seem to have cashed in on Game of Thrones in the way that Dubrovnik has. 

[longterm]

7 hours ago, Hazel52 said:

Thank you longterm for posting! I’m taking notes and learning a lot for our October cruise. Was it Crotone where you found the olives? Did you find more quaintness there than Siberia?

 

thanks !

Yes, it was; if you go into town, you'll probably find a nice open market, and there was a guy about halfway down on the left (almost at the end I think) who even vacuum-packed them for us. Very nice guy; his mom makes the olive seasoning that they're infused with.

 

[longterm]

Today we went into Venice, for our all-day excursion to Murano and Burano.

 

We got on a bus for a half-hour drive to Venice; the drive goes through the port area which isn't very scenic (to say the least), then finally into Venice. There, we boarded a boat that cruised in front of Venice, including St. Mark's Square, and then out to Murano. There, we visited a glassmaking factory, which was fascinating and a lot of fun; of course, they wanted to sell us glass (we complied), but it was fun anyway.

We then went to Burano, where we visited a decades-old company that makes famous Burano lace; I found myself really admiring the fine craftsmanship, and we barely escaped buying a really expensive tablecloth.

Getting back to the ship was interesting; first we had to go by boat to the terminal in Venice, where we were required to go through security before getting onto the bus. I have a shoulder replacement and set off the metal detector; I got the most intensive patdown I've ever had! Then, to descend to the bus, there was a long escalator; one of our fellow passengers had knee replacements and was scared to go down the escalator; her husband was at the bottom, and didn't know what to do; I saw the kill switch, hit the button, stopped the escalator, and saved the day!

Then, when we got to the port terminal, the guards didn't seem to know what to do with us; there was a funny scene that reminded me of Barney Fife, as the security guards tried to figure out whether to let us into the port. I got the distinct impression that we were some of the first cruise passengers to use the Fusina port, because these guys had no idea who we were or what to do with us.

But all being said, it was a really great day and we had a wonderful day. Another day of feeling extremely fortunate to have this experience and finally get to see Venice.

Tomorrow we return to Venice for a walking tour for 5 hours. 

[Maite88]

1 hour ago, longterm said:

Today we went into Venice, for our all-day excursion to Murano and Burano.

Thank you for all the information about today. Happy to know you enjoyed that excursion as we are booked for that one. 
 

Are private excursions allowed in Venice?  If so, are there taxis or buses available to hire at port?  What is Viking offering as excursions for the middle day you we are dock in Venice?

[longterm]

The ship moved this morning to Marghera, out of the chemical plant we were parked in, and where we received instructions on what to do in case of a  chemical leak. 

this morning we are parked in front of another gorgeous industrial site; just out my window are  the famous ruins of Ammonia Delphia, where Haccus Mucus held forth. 
 

we’re about 15 minutes closer to the Bridge of Freedom, so the drive into Venice this morning will be much shorter.

 

 

[longterm]

The ruins of Ammonium Belchium

Edited March 12, 2022 by longterm

[longterm]

9 hours ago, Maite88 said:

Thank you for all the information about today. Happy to know you enjoyed that excursion as we are booked for that one. 
 

Are private excursions allowed in Venice?  If so, are there taxis or buses available to hire at port?  What is Viking offering as excursions for the middle day you we are dock in Venice?

Sorry, no. I had to cancel our private excursion and dinner reservations in two restaurants.

[Mrs Miggins]

There are strong rumours that independent excursions will be allowed from the 1st April.  

[Selion]

Caught a glimpse of the ship during final into VCE.

[longterm]

We're docked in Marghera right now; went on an excursion into Venice, thoroughly enjoyed it. St. Mark's Square was crowded, but our guide said it was still less than pre-Covid. I can't imagine...

Highly recommend the Hidden Sites of Venice tour; she took us through back lanes and alleys, where there were very few crowds. I only wish we could have ducked into a few of the stores we passed; we were allowed 45 ninutes near the Rialto bridge, but we couldn't get back to the ones we'd admired.

Tonight they're moving the ship AGAIN, back to the chemical wasteland of Fusina. Guides here are really unhappy about Italy's decision to ban cruise ships from the lagoon; lots of workers lost their jobs when the terminal was essentially abandoned; we still have to process through it on the way out, but there aren't many workers there now.

[longterm]

If you're going on a Viking ship and go into Manfredi's, don't miss the mushroom soup--it's absolutely delicious.

 

When we were in the restaurant a couple of nights ago, I asked the manager if we might get a copy of the menu for the mushroom soup. He said that he'd ask the chef in the next few days; I assumed that would be the end of it.

The next morning we found an envelope, inside of which was a nice printed copy of the recipe, complete with photo; what a nice touch. 

 

This is why we love cruising with Viking.

[longterm]

Here's the recipe; I converted it from grams to ounces, so please forgive any transgressions, but I think I got it right; the prep instructions are right out of the recipe as given to us:

 

Creme di Porcini e Crostini

  Source: Manfredi's Viking Sky

 

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. porcini mushrooms diced
1/2 lb. button mushrooms halved
52 ounces of Chicken stock
2 ounces white wine
4 ounces heavy whipping cream
2 cloves whole garlic diced
6 ounces unsalted butter
8 ounces shallots diced
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. bay leaves
 

PREPARATION

Sauté the porcini mushrooms in butter until all water is evaporated, then add the button mushrooms.

Add the shallots and reduce the heat.Sweat the shallots and add salt, peppper, garlic, thyme and bay leaves.

Deglaze with white wine and reduce to dry.

Add the whole chicken stock and bring to simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.

Remove the thyme and bay leaves, and pass through a blender until smooth consistency.

Pass through a fine sieve and add the cream and reduce for 5 minutes.
Verify seasoning and finish by whisking the utter in at the end.

Add 3 or 4 croutons to each bowl.

[Hazel52]

Recipe looks so good. Can’t believe I’ve never tried it at Manfredi’s. Thank you!

[claranda]

We were the first to check in at Venice - they told us we were the guinea pigs! Local staff a bit nervous and slow; Brits note that they want to scan ALL the QR codes of the NHS vaccination record, so be prepared. They didn’t examine the proof of the test we’d gone to some trouble to get done the previous day, duh!

To get to the Marittima check in we caught the people mover from Piazzale Roma, very straightforward, the walk to the terminal is about three minutes, the guy on the port gate told us where to go.

During the night the ship moved to a new berth in a slightly pleasanter spot, with good views of the lagoon and a distant view of the campanile and domes of Venice herself. It’s 14.00 and we are due to sail-away shortly. So far we are impressed with Viking; will report  more later.

[longterm]

31 minutes ago, claranda said:

We were the first to check in at Venice - they told us we were the guinea pigs! Local staff a bit nervous and slow; Brits note that they want to scan ALL the QR codes of the NHS vaccination record, so be prepared. They didn’t examine the proof of the test we’d gone to some trouble to get done the previous day, duh!

To get to the Marittima check in we caught the people mover from Piazzale Roma, very straightforward, the walk to the terminal is about three minutes, the guy on the port gate told us where to go.

During the night the ship moved to a new berth in a slightly pleasanter spot, with good views of the lagoon and a distant view of the campanile and domes of Venice herself. It’s 14.00 and we are due to sail-away shortly. So far we are impressed with Viking; will report  more later.

We went into Venice all 3 days, so we got to experience their security multiple times; it seemed--every time--like they had never done it before and were trying to figure it out. Just now, when we returned to the ship on the bus from the Maritima terminal, it took almost 5 minutes for the port guards to let the bus past. I kept thinking, do we LOOK like terrorists, or do we look like grey-haired tourists?

At the Maritima port the fist night, I got the most complete pat-down I've ever gotten; it was almost comicaal. This morning there were SEVEN gate guards as we left the port on the bus.

Having said all that though, it was great to see Venice, and we had a nice time. More free time would have been nice, but we would just have spent more money... 

It was interesting that we had to use tugboats while moving about the ports; I assume it's because the ship's props would roil the water too much.