LIVE! Venezia Maiden Voyage 5/29 - Let’s Cruise!

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

We are checked in for our flight; someone else we know couldn’t check in because they did not have a return flight, but we were OK.

 

Also checked in to hotel! We are crossing our fingers for our rooms to be ready earlier than 3pm, but we don’t really expect that since all the hotels are so booked up this week.

Can you drop off your bags so you can wander around?

[rwest898]

Looking forward to your review because we will be on the 15 day in September.  I'm excited to see pictures of the ship and hear your thoughts.   Thanks for doing this!!

[TravelBluebird]

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

Can you drop off your bags so you can wander around?

That is our hope!  

[TravelBluebird]

8 minutes ago, rwest898 said:

Looking forward to your review because we will be on the 15 day in September.  I'm excited to see pictures of the ship and hear your thoughts.   Thanks for doing this!!

Thank you for following along! I’ll let you know how the ship feels for a long trip—crowded areas, if there are quiet spots if you need a place to read or have a break; how the food holds up for 15 days.

[luvs2beachit]

Following along.  Happy to see that you will be posting a review and looking forward to your YouTube videos.  We will be on the ship in June with grandkids so am interested in hearing about activities that will interest them.  Originally booked on Magic, which I have been on several times so knew what kind of things would be available for them, but now have no idea about Venezia.  Have a safe and uneventful flight! 

[TravelBluebird]

14 minutes ago, luvs2beachit said:

Following along.  Happy to see that you will be posting a review and looking forward to your YouTube videos.  We will be on the ship in June with grandkids so am interested in hearing about activities that will interest them.  Originally booked on Magic, which I have been on several times so knew what kind of things would be available for them, but now have no idea about Venezia.  Have a safe and uneventful flight! 

 

@luvs2beachit Glad to have you along! You’ll be on one of the first trips out of New York; I’m interested in how those go, too.  I will definitely get you information on what there is to do for kids; of great interest to me now that we are starting to cruise with our GrandKids!  And thanks re flight—we leave the house within the hour!

[TravelBluebird]

We leave the house within the hour!

This morning was NOT the nice, peaceful, organized starting trip morning I’m used to. The birthday dinner last night threw off my routine, PLUS son from Chattanooga, he got here late and had to be brought up to speed on new kitten, garden irrigation, etc. So, I’m thinking—no problem! I have plenty of time in the morning to do all the stuff still on my to do list.

 

HA.

 

First, I wake up to find that my iPad did not charge overnight.  This is bad; this is my main entertainment//social media tool and I was depending on it for the trip. It is charging; I think we are up to 40ish percent. We grabbed a power brick and are charging that also for the flight.

 

Then, grandkids show up at our house this morning to say goodbye and get my OLD iPad that I promised to older Grandson (and a Kindle for younger one).  This would not be a problem except I forgot to wipe said old iPad for grandson. Got that all sorted out and final goodbyes said.

 

THEN, I left till this morning to cancel our old Gold American Express Card because we’ve moved on to a Delta Platinum Am Ex, and didn’t want to pay the $250 yearly fee on the Gold card.  Well, we forgot about all the Reward Points we had on said Gold card. It’s all been worked out, and we had a very nice Am Ex agent to help us, BUT gosh, those scripts he had to read were long-winded, we kept telling him to speed it up, we had a plane to catch, but nope, had to read and read and read.  

 

Older cat sees the suitcases and is upset. Younger cat senses this and wants to stay on my lap. I feel like a terrible pet mom for abandoning the kitten.

 

So of course all this gave me Nervous Traveler Stomach (TMI? probably). Anyone else get that? The Margaritas I had at dinner last night likely didn’t help.  I’m OK as long as I don’t get stressed the morning I’m traveling, but I did get stressed this morning, so yep.  

 

That is it until the airport! I have a full 1/2 hour now to try and chill and get into vacation mode!  

[Destaw71835]

I’m excited to follow along. I will be sailing this ship in December.

[IntrepidFromDC]

3 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

We leave the house within the hour!

This morning was NOT the nice, peaceful, organized starting trip morning I’m used to. The birthday dinner last night threw off my routine, PLUS son from Chattanooga, he got here late and had to be brought up to speed on new kitten, garden irrigation, etc. So, I’m thinking—no problem! I have plenty of time in the morning to do all the stuff still on my to do list.

 

HA.

 

First, I wake up to find that my iPad did not charge overnight.  This is bad; this is my main entertainment//social media tool and I was depending on it for the trip. It is charging; I think we are up to 40ish percent. We grabbed a power brick and are charging that also for the flight.

 

Then, grandkids show up at our house this morning to say goodbye and get my OLD iPad that I promised to older Grandson (and a Kindle for younger one).  This would not be a problem except I forgot to wipe said old iPad for grandson. Got that all sorted out and final goodbyes said.

 

THEN, I left till this morning to cancel our old Gold American Express Card because we’ve moved on to a Delta Platinum Am Ex, and didn’t want to pay the $250 yearly fee on the Gold card.  Well, we forgot about all the Reward Points we had on said Gold card. It’s all been worked out, and we had a very nice Am Ex agent to help us, BUT gosh, those scripts he had to read were long-winded, we kept telling him to speed it up, we had a plane to catch, but nope, had to read and read and read.  

 

Older cat sees the suitcases and is upset. Younger cat senses this and wants to stay on my lap. I feel like a terrible pet mom for abandoning the kitten.

 

So of course all this gave me Nervous Traveler Stomach (TMI? probably). Anyone else get that? The Margaritas I had at dinner last night likely didn’t help.  I’m OK as long as I don’t get stressed the morning I’m traveling, but I did get stressed this morning, so yep.  

 

That is it until the airport! I have a full 1/2 hour now to try and chill and get into vacation mode!  

Although I am sad about all the stress,  puddy tat worries and tummy troubles,  that was fun to read. Except now I'm feeling more guilty about my dogs and Faith's ferrets.  She sent me pics of the blueheeler and the ferret that always climbs on my lap to take a nap. Never seen either one so sad. Gotta remember to give them extra extra love upon return. 

[TravelBluebird]

3 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Although I am sad about all the stress,  puddy tat worries and tummy troubles,  that was fun to read. Except now I'm feeling more guilty about my dogs and Faith's ferrets.  She sent me pics of the blueheeler and the ferret that always climbs on my lap to take a nap. Never seen either one so sad. Gotta remember to give them extra extra love upon return. 

 

I didn’t want to make you or anyone feel bad about leaving their pets for a cruise//travel!  Mine always seem to forgive me when I return.  The rest of the day has gone very smoothly; we are boarded on our second flight; also looks on time!!

[TravelBluebird]

Ok, after the morning pre-travel stress, the rest has been smooth as silk!

 

Got through checking in at the airport and TSA security in about. 10 minutes! Met a fellow content creator at the airport which was fun; they are big into Tik Tok (something I don’t do!) and they introduced me to their large following which was so nice! So we yakked away while husband read happily on his Kindle.

 

No issues on the commuter jet to Washington; then we had the annoyingly long train//walk to our C gates from the commuter gates at IAD.  IAD always makes me think ATL, where we usually fly out of, is the best airport in the world. We were able to get into the United Club due to a credit card, so we got some snacks (mini sandwiches, cheese and crackers, grapes, and espresso) and now have boarded.  The plane boarding was hilarious; the entire plane was Group 2, I guess from credit cards! I didn’t care since my bag fits at my feet.

 

OK doors closed!  See you in Barcelona! 

[BlerkOne]

I'm guessing we might be on the same flight tomorrow evening. 🙂

 

 

[TravelBluebird]

48 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

I'm guessing we might be on the same flight tomorrow evening. 🙂

 

 

 

It’s gone well!  On time, food was edible (well, except that weird packaged cookie//cake thing they served for desert—ugh) and Internet, although expensive ($18.99!) works. We have 3 hours left in the flight…I just can’t sleep in Economy; these seats are so uncomfortable—I’m in Economy Plus, and I have said prayers for everyone back in regular Economy, cause yikes so little leg room even here. I’ve been spoiled by Premium Economy my last few International trips, and that little extra width and the foot rests make all the difference. Oh, also good seat back movies and entertainment on the plane; no complaints there.

 

Looking forward to meeting you on the cruise!

[BlerkOne]

15 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

It’s gone well!  On time, food was edible (well, except that weird packaged cookie//cake thing they served for desert—ugh) and Internet, although expensive ($18.99!) works.

 

I hope to have free Internet via T-Mobile. We'll see. May kill some time in the club in IAD filling up pre-flight.

[TravelBluebird]

50 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

I hope to have free Internet via T-Mobile. We'll see. May kill some time in the club in IAD filling up pre-flight.

 

We have AT&T so it wasn’t an option. We had sandwiches, cheese, crackers at club; they also had chicken tacos fixings with chips, and deserts, which I wish I had grabbed.

 

Trying to nap was unsuccessful. The seats are those weird ones that don’t really recline—they just sort of slide forward. Even my husband who can practically sleep standing up couldn’t sleep on this plane! Plus the seats don’t have enough padding; my behind is sore and lets just say i bring plenty of personal padding to the equation.  Breakfast “snack” is on the way!

[TravelBluebird]

1. Yikes. That breakfast snack was sad—good thing I wasn’t hungry as it is 2am.   And I asked for light cream for my coffee…this was not possible because the coffee was pre-creamed! So very light and not warm enough. I’ll get some decent coffee after we drop off our luggage at the hotel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[missyh51]

I and my friend Gloria are on this cruise, too. We will look for you and your camera.

Naomi

[TravelBluebird]

4 hours ago, missyh51 said:

I and my friend Gloria are on this cruise, too. We will look for you and your camera.

Naomi

 

We definitely need a Cruise Critic get-together on the ship! I look forward to meeting you!  Just look for the short redhead with the long selfie stick! 

[TravelBluebird]

We are in Barcelona; it’s nearly 2:30pm and I’m still awake! Russ crashed out about an hour ago; hope he sleeps tonight!

 

Barcelona airport was a breeze—for us. At least 3 planes came in at the same time. We were towards the front of regular economy, so that helped, and our plane was the 2nd one in,  The line for passport control for non-EU was LONG. We stood in it for awhile, and looked back and the line went on forever down the hall before passport control. We got super lucky; one of the customs employees opened up a section of the line right near us to let some people go over to the EU line for processing—like, just 10 couples, and we were one of them! Our bags weren’t ready when we came out but didn’t take too long. From plane to taxi was about 1 hour.

 

Taxi cost 35 euros; we were too tired to try a shuttle or train. Room was not ready but was estimated for 12pm.  We left our bags, and the Bell Man at our hotel gave us a warning about pick pockets (which we were already well aware of, but still appreciated), and we found a small local cafe for espresso. We left our bags and walked around the Gothic Quater, and visited the Basilica de Santa Maria del Pi, a gorgeous 15th century Gothic church. You can go up to the bell tower, but we just missed that as its timed; evidently the views from the tower are incredible, but there are 270 steps to get there!

 

We walked around some more, looking at different restaurant menus, and just enjoying the old, narrow streets. We visited a hat shop; my husband loves hats, and when I shoot video from above, he particularly likes to be wearing one! He got a great hat and mad the French shop clerk’s day—it was his first sale at the shop, as today was his first one at the store! 

 

After that lunch at a local tapas bar (the Calamari were meh, the Gambon a la Plancha (Grilled shrimp) were SO good, our room was ready so we headed back to the hotel.

 

The hotel is right on La Ramblas, It’s pretty basic but incredible view and a great shower, and easy location to get to so many things!

 

OK, I’m going to just close my eyes a tiny bit….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, TravelBluebird said:

We are in Barcelona; it’s nearly 2:30pm and I’m still awake! Russ crashed out about an hour ago; hope he sleeps tonight!

 

Barcelona airport was a breeze—for us. At least 3 planes came in at the same time. We were towards the front of regular economy, so that helped, and our plane was the 2nd one in,  The line for passport control for non-EU was LONG. We stood in it for awhile, and looked back and the line went on forever down the hall before passport control. We got super lucky; one of the customs employees opened up a section of the line right near us to let some people go over to the EU line for processing—like, just 10 couples, and we were one of them! Our bags weren’t ready when we came out but didn’t take too long. From plane to taxi was about 1 hour.

 

Taxi cost 35 euros; we were too tired to try a shuttle or train. Room was not ready but was estimated for 12pm.  We left our bags, and the Bell Man at our hotel gave us a warning about pick pockets (which we were already well aware of, but still appreciated), and we found a small local cafe for espresso. We left our bags and walked around the Gothic Quater, and visited the Basilica de Santa Maria del Pi, a gorgeous 15th century Gothic church. You can go up to the bell tower, but we just missed that as its timed; evidently the views from the tower are incredible, but there are 270 steps to get there!

 

We walked around some more, looking at different restaurant menus, and just enjoying the old, narrow streets. We visited a hat shop; my husband loves hats, and when I shoot video from above, he particularly likes to be wearing one! He got a great hat and mad the French shop clerk’s day—it was his first sale at the shop, as today was his first one at the store! 

 

After that lunch at a local tapas bar (the Calamari were meh, the Gambon a la Plancha (Grilled shrimp) were SO good, our room was ready so we headed back to the hotel.

 

The hotel is right on La Ramblas, It’s pretty basic but incredible view and a great shower, and easy location to get to so many things!

 

OK, I’m going to just close my eyes a tiny bit….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great pics!!  Glad you are having a great start!!

[sunonfire]

Venezia is on her way.

[TravelBluebird]

10 hours ago, sunonfire said:

Venezia is on her way

 Yay! We are waiting for her!

[TravelBluebird]

When I last left you, I was closing my eyes to take nap….

 

Russ who had just woke up grabbed me and said NO, you’ll never get over your jet lag, we are going OUT.

 

A tired as I was, I knew he was right. So bleery eyed, we first explored the wonderful main food market. Then we walked all the way down to the waterfront on Las Ramblas, about a 20 minute walk. We enjoyed the waterfront for awhile, then walked back and had a very nice Paella dinner in CentOnze in Le Meredian hotel. I tried the local Catalonian wine Xarel-Lo which was perfect for a seafood Paella.

 

Then we headed back to the hotel, and I was going to post and instead fell asleep at 7:30 pm….until this morning. Jet lag solved!

 

Woke up to see we also have Saint Greg aboard the Venezia. I’d love to meet him, but rumour has it no one knows what he looks like….

 

I’ve thrown in one photo of the lovely view from the window of our hotel; more window views of Las Ramblas in my hotel review to follow

 

Market and more churches and Sagrada Familia today; I’m off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[Haljo1935]

Following along as we join Venezia in Sept B2B Canada; impatiently awaiting pictures 🙂

Will take you up on offer to be our "scout" for answers and pictures; don't want to bombard you w/the obvious, but don’t want to ask for everything at the end cuz that just becomes work running around checking off someone else's list, lol.

[TravelBluebird]

5 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Following along as we join Venezia in Sept B2B Canada; impatiently awaiting pictures 🙂

Will take you up on offer to be our "scout" for answers and pictures; don't want to bombard you w/the obvious, but don’t want to ask for everything at the end cuz that just becomes work running around checking off someone else's list, lol.

No, please ask away! It’s a long cruise; I’ll answer as much as I can, and trust me you’ll be sick of pictures; I’ll take a bunch! 😀