****Live from the Grand Princess****

[T&J]

Tony,

I'm sure this will change when we are all on the Golden around South America. You should move into first place by then......Curt:)

 

I hope so but not for the award but simply to get the real champagne!:D

 

Tony and Javier

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[TorontoTL]

Tony, not that I'll be most travelled anytime soon, but just wondering what Champagne House the real stuff they give you is from?

[T&J]

Just came back from yet another amazing dinner tonight in the Da Vinci Dinning Room. I had escargot, baked eggplant and pasta dish they made us and Losbster Tails with a side order of Filet Mignon med-rare. For dessert I had the almond and maple ice cream parfait whihc was very good along with coffee.

 

Tonight they will have the Champagne (sparkling wine) waterfall at 11:45pm in the Atrium.

 

Getting ready to go to the "office" soon!

 

More to follow later early tomorrow morning on our arrival into Venice and the Grand Canal on the Grand Princess.

 

Tony and Javier

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[T&J]

Good Morning from the Grand Princess...

It is just after 6:15am local time and we are making our way very quickly at sea heading towards Venice.

 

We are suppose to be passing in front of St-Mark's Square at approx. 11:30am local time for those of you that want to watch the crusie cam and see some beautifull shots of the ship navigating thru the Grand Canal.

 

The weather currently is very clear and the sun is coming up just now. I hope the weather forecast is wrong for Venice as it is calling for scattered thunderstorms on and off all day today and tomorrow and high humidity.

 

The ship is running an unlimited water taxi shuttle service leaving every 15 minutes from the Maritima Station (port) from 2:00pm this afternoon until 1:00am tonight and the also from 7:00am on Sunday until 1:00am again for $10.00 US per person which is automatically charged to your stateroom account. If you plan on going into Venice multiple times throughout the overnights then it is certainly a great value. Otherwise you can walk to the next public water taxi location at Tronchetto (#10 stop) and pay 2.00 euro per person to travel on local transportation.

 

For those wishing to take a train to other local cities, the Train Station is approx a 5 minute walk from the cruise pier.

 

Today and Tomorrow we plan on visiting the following:

 

San Marco Basilica, Piazza San Marco, Doges Palace, Campanile, the Bridge of Sighs, Rialto Bridge and hopefully today if not tomorrow we will go over to Murano to visit the glass factory as well. The great thing about Venice is that you can walk to mostly everywhere as sites are fairly close to each other. Venice IMHO is very over-rated in terms of cafes and restaurants. The food is OK and service is OK but very expensive years past and only because you are in Venice. By being an a 3 day overnight this is the cheapest way of seeing Venice as hotel prices at this time of year run very high.

 

Tonight is technically our last night on this voyage A625 and tomorrow at 1:00pm we start the following voyage A626, the Greek Isles cruise. Our waiter Horacio and Somjet our Assistant Waiter both have been excellent throughout this cruise as well as Franco our Head Waiter and Francesco the Maitre'D which has looked after us so well.

 

Will be going for breakfast in a little while and hopefully sit out by the Terrace Pool AFT and take in some great views as we make our approach into the Venice canal system.

 

More to follow later today from the Grand Princess.

 

Tony and Javier

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[Lynda90]

Hi Tony, I'm just stopping by to tell you how much I am enjoying your travelogues (sp?). I am also completely green with envy.:D Keep posting and have a wonderful rest of your cruise. I will be leaving on my b2b in two weeks and I can hardly wait.

[T&J]

Tony, not that I'll be most travelled anytime soon, but just wondering what Champagne House the real stuff they give you is from?

 

usually if you are the Most Travelled Pax they give you Moet & Chandon or I usually ask them if they can substitute it for Veuve Cliquot!

 

Tony

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[Kiwi Kruzer]

Hi Tony,

All the best for a great time in Venice.

I have the cam on and am all ready to follow your transit into Venice.

With doing a back to back cruise ,do you have to change cabins,or do you have the same cabin and table seating for both?

[T&J]

Hi Tony,

All the best for a great time in Venice.

I have the cam on and am all ready to follow your transit into Venice.

With doing a back to back cruise ,do you have to change cabins,or do you have the same cabin and table seating for both?

 

David we will be transiting the Canal Waterway system probably in approx. 3-4 hours so stay tuned!

Because we are a party of three, it was possible to get the same cabin for both sailings ...taht much they did in advance for us. But as on this sailing for teh next they are trying again to split us up so that Javier and I have our own cabin again and Sharon has hers...keep your fingers and toes crossed to see if it happens again. I will know probably later today if not tomorrow at the latest.

 

As for our dinner table...yes they have made sure taht we are seated again at the same table however we will have a different waiter as ours is leaving tomorrow to finish his contract. Somjet our Assistant Waiter will be staying with us for the next cruise as well as our Head Waiter Franco. We are getting a new Maitre'd as well on the next cruise.

 

Tony and Javier

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[T&J]

Hi Tony, I'm just stopping by to tell you how much I am enjoying your travelogues (sp?). I am also completely green with envy.:D Keep posting and have a wonderful rest of your cruise. I will be leaving on my b2b in two weeks and I can hardly wait.

 

Lynda I kow how much you were looking forward to your two cruises early this year...so enjoy them with your loved one! Have a great cruise and thanks for stopping by!

 

Tony

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[T&J]

Hmmmm...as we are getting closer and closer towards Venice I can see that the shy is getting very overcast and much darker now!:(

 

Tony and Javier

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[T&J]

Welcome to Venice....

 

We have just received local clearence for pax's to go ashore.

 

We actually have arrived almost one hour ahead of schedule here in Venice. The weather is as predicted raining and a gloomy sky and 81 F but that will not damper our spirits enjoying this fabulous city this afternoon. The plan is to go ashore after lunchtime or when most people have already lined up for the water taxis as the queues are expected to be very long as everyone and there dog will want to disembark right away!

 

The water shuttle service will commence at 1:30pm and the last shuttle will depart St-Mark's Square at 1:00am.

 

We plan on walking within the city all this afternoon and come back onboard around 7:30pm and have a late dinner tonight and tomorrow night have dinner in Venice.

 

More to follow later tonight from the Grand Princess in Venice, Italy.

 

Tony and Javier

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[LEVIATHAN 111]

Tony, Thank You So Much For Your Travelog We Will Be Joining You And The Grand On Sunday In Venice. Your Details And Sugestions Have Been Very Informitive And It Seemed We Were On The Cruise Ourselves. One :) More Day. Carol

[Tkennedy]

Tony - I'm sure, rain or shine, you'll have a wonderful time in Venice. Interested in reading all your information about Venice. We'll be going there for a few days prior to our cruise in 2007. Staying at the Hotel Locanda Orseolo, with Stacey & Wally.

 

Please have someone take a photo of you and Javier together. I do need to update that photo I've been using in the Who's Who/photo directory for the Royal. It's at least a couple years old and an edited image at that.

 

See you on Sept. 16th in Bangkok. Take care, Lorraine:)

[T&J]

Tony, Thank You So Much For Your Travelog We Will Be Joining You And The Grand On Sunday In Venice. Your Details And Sugestions Have Been Very Informitive And It Seemed We Were On The Cruise Ourselves. One :) More Day. Carol

 

Carol glad I could be helpfull...one more day for you and 13 days left for us!;)

 

Tony and Javier

[T&J]

Tony - I'm sure, rain or shine, you'll have a wonderful time in Venice. Interested in reading all your information about Venice. We'll be going there for a few days prior to our cruise in 2007. Staying at the Hotel Locanda Orseolo, with Stacey & Wally.

 

Please have someone take a photo of you and Javier together. I do need to update that photo I've been using in the Who's Who/photo directory for the Royal. It's at least a couple years old and an edited image at that.

 

See you on Sept. 16th in Bangkok. Take care, Lorraine:)

 

Hi Lorraine....thanks for stopping by!

The weather actually changed a lot by 2:00pm today and cleared up and it was sunny and hot 84F and high humidity.

If you remind me, I will bring all the info on Venice with me on the Pacific Princess on Spet 16th in Bangkok. See you all then!

 

Yes, I will take a couple of pics of Javier and I together for your album.

 

Tony and Javier

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[T&J]

Just came back from Venice. Let me just say we were very fortunate as the weather did change around 1:30pm and started to clear up completely and sunny skies and hot and humid 85F this afternoon. the only downside to this afternoon was the big crowds of people. The worse combination is to be in Venice in August on over a weekend Saturday and Sunday as we are. We don't leave until Monday afternoon at 1:00pm.

 

We did visit and walk all over the place so pack a good pair of comfortable walking shoes as you will be walking many steps and uneven surfaces throughout Venice.

 

St-Mark's Square is ridiculously overpriced for everything as a big tourist trap. Couldn't find a Cartier store so no rings again here!...are the rings maybe not meant to be?:confused:

 

We walked all along the Lido and did take the Princess water taxi that drops you off in front of the Londra Hotel. It takes approx. 20 minutes travel time to get from the ship to the pier. Coming back the lines were enormous at a peak hour of 6:30pm so avoid that time if you are on an overnight as everyone wants to get back for Dinner.

 

We are all planning on going back out later tonight after dinner onboard.

Tomorrow we plan on going to the Murano glass factory and check out some of the pieces and pricing as well. We hope the weather continues to cooperate tomorrow and on Monday when we set sail at 1:00pm.

 

More to come from the Grand Princess later this evening.

 

Tony and Javier

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[T&J]

WOW!....just came back from a 3 hour amazing dinner tonight as it was our last night on this first cruise. The Maitre'D Francesco Ciorfito and the Assistant Maitre'D Pasquale spent over two hours at our table tonight and we all enjoyed three bottles of wine and a round of Lemoncello as well. Didn't eat much food so wouldn't be surprised if I end up going to the Horizon Court to eat as I am starving!

 

The Pursers desk is like a zoo right now after 11:00pm at night and the line has formed all the way past the elevators in the Atrium.

 

SHIPS SERVICE:

 

I must say I am very impressed with the overall level of service we have received thus far on this first cruise onboard, from accomodations, food and beverage departments and the entire ships company. I believe this is somehow attributed to how the PSD Carlo Ganetti and First Staff Purser Giancarlo run this ship with pride and excellence in everything that they do and it trickles down to the rest of the staff.

 

ACCOMODATIONS:

 

Our cabin was always neatly appointed and our room steward Juan was excellent as well...like a "white tornado" always making sure our linens and towels were replaced and doing some extra little touches as well which was greatly appreciated by us all.

 

The cabins are in some need of sprucing up as the ship is now going into it's ninth year of service. Same goes with some of the pax areas as well and deck chairs adn loungers.

 

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

 

My overall impression of the ship on a scale of 1 to 10 is a 9 overall. This ship is run with such precision from what I can see and also from our experience. I would not hesitate to recommend this ship to anyone no matter what itinerary it is doing.

 

All three of us can't wait to continue our journey tomorrow on another 12 day adventure doing the Greek Islands cruise.

 

Tony and Javier

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[scomyrwil]

There is a Cartiers in Venice:) . The DW had a field day there:mad: . If you are interested I am attaching the address and phone #. The map is bad but at least it's in the square. It is on the opposite side of the Basillica. It is near Louis Vitton (another place where she had a field day):( . So look for your rings. Don't forget about getting the VAT back. The place is very close by. Nothing like saving about 8%!

 

We were on the Golden in June for a 12 day cruise from Rome and spent a couple of days in Venice after the cruise. I do not know what the conversion rate for $ to Euro's is but I found a place just outside the square by the public water taxi's that was a lot better than the one's in St. Marks. We got 76 euros per $100. Saved a lot of $$ going there. You are right about Venice being very expensive.

 

Enjoy Murano, the DW bought a chandelier there. It finally arrived. Very nice and in one piece.

 

Have a good time. Maybe some day our paths will cross. I want to cruise instead of flying over 100,000 miles a year and spending a lot of time in airports.

 

Take care:)

 

Scott

 

 

Boutique Cartier

San Zulian San Marco 606

30124 Venise

Tel: +39 041 - 5222071

Fax: +39 041 - 5202457

var delta=0; function zoomMap(inc) { newdelta=delta+inc; if(newdelta

[T&J]

There is a Cartiers in Venice:) . The DW had a field day there:mad: . If you are interested I am attaching the address and phone #. The map is bad but at least it's in the square. It is on the opposite side of the Basillica. It is near Louis Vitton (another place where she had a field day):( . So look for your rings. Don't forget about getting the VAT back. The place is very close by. Nothing like saving about 8%!

 

We were on the Golden in June for a 12 day cruise from Rome and spent a couple of days in Venice after the cruise. I do not know what the conversion rate for $ to Euro's is but I found a place just outside the square by the public water taxi's that was a lot better than the one's in St. Marks. We got 76 euros per $100. Saved a lot of $$ going there. You are right about Venice being very expensive.

 

Enjoy Murano, the DW bought a chandelier there. It finally arrived. Very nice and in one piece.

 

Have a good time. Maybe some day our paths will cross. I want to cruise instead of flying over 100,000 miles a year and spending a lot of time in airports.

 

Take care:)

 

Scott

 

 

Boutique Cartier

San Zulian San Marco 606

30124 Venise

Tel: +39 041 - 5222071

Fax: +39 041 - 5202457

var delta=0; function zoomMap(inc) { newdelta=delta+inc; if(newdelta

 

Hey Scott tahnks for the posting...what's bizzare is taht we walked past the Louis Vitton store today and I really didn't see Cartier!...OK well another excuse to go back into St-Mark's Square tomorrow before lunch...many thanks again for the address and phone number of the store.

 

Tony and Javier

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[LILynn]

Hi Tony -

 

What a great trip you are having. It makes me so happy to here that but then again you sound like the kind of person that would have a great trip no matter what!

 

If you find a good restaurant in Venice that you can recommend that would be great. We are staying over in Venice at the end of our trip. I keep reading about how the restaurants in Rome and Venice really try to rip off the tourists - ie an American menu with higher prices or adding extra items to your bill so I am trying to avoid that kind of place. I just want a real "local" type of place if you know of any although it sounds like in Venice that may be hard to find.

 

Thanks for all your help so far!

 

Lynn

[Sandy R]

Hey Tony... don't know how long you'll be in Venice but we ate at 2 restaurants last June, that weren't terribly expensive by Venice standards and the food was delcious. Acqua Pazza (Crazy Water)... their lobster and linguini was amazing. The other restaurant we liked was Alla Madonna by the Rialto Bridge.

 

Wish we were in Venice with you...

 

Sandy

[ladysail2]

Tony..am thoroughly enjoying your travelogue! How do you get so much attention at your dining table...you must be connected to royalty :D

I'm going on my first transatlantic in the Fall...and that is a question I've had...how often do they regularily change the bed linen. Can one request it be changed every 2nd or 3rd day...or is the standard 7th day change?

I'll be in Venice for a 2-day pre-cruise..so any restaurant or 'fantastic just can't miss' store/shopping suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm also planning on going to Murano to see the glass making..it sounds enthralling.

Thank you for your wisdom and suggestions.....and keep up the great adventure-telling!

Sandy R....by 'not expensive'...the two restaurants that you recommended...what would be the average cost of your meal? I have to feed myself for two days in Venice and have no idea what to allot for that expense. Thank you!

[Sandy R]

Ladysail2... most restaurants in Venice have their menus posted outside. I wish I could recall the cost but I can't. We always had a glass of wine, salad, an entree and lemoncello or meloncello after each dinner (which added to the cost) but was worth every penny. I've tried to buy it in the U.S. but the taste just isn't the same. I do know the bill at each restaurant was never over $100US for 2 of us. Acqua Pazzo had the best pizza, too. I know because we ate there 2 nights during our stay. And, I do remember the pizza was priced quite reasonably. Our hotel (Locanda Orseolo) provided us with a wonderful breakfast and for lunch we'd get a pannini (sandwich) which was maybe 5 Euro. Dinner was our only big expense each day.

 

You mentioned going to Murano... we came upon ....Murano Glass Factory during one of our walks around Venice. It was somewhere behind the Doges Palace, over a small foot bridge. Once inside, we asked to see more expensive items and they took us upstairs to rooms and rooms of some of the most beautiful glass we've ever seen. I wish I could tell you the exact name of the Factory but ask around. Locals have to know about it.

 

Have a wonderful time!

[ladysail2]

Thank you, Sandy R.....even help with typical prices for food gives me an idea. I've heard of the lemencello, but never the meloncello....so many taste sensations to try out...can hardly wait. My hotel also serves a breakfast of sorts..but with all the walking I intend to do...I best eat two more meals. Pannini is always good for lunch as is pizza.

I'll try to find that Murano Glass Factory..it sounds like a 'must see'.

I certainly intend to have a fantastic time....thanks for the good wishes!

[T&J]

Hi Tony -

 

What a great trip you are having. It makes me so happy to here that but then again you sound like the kind of person that would have a great trip no matter what!

 

If you find a good restaurant in Venice that you can recommend that would be great. We are staying over in Venice at the end of our trip. I keep reading about how the restaurants in Rome and Venice really try to rip off the tourists - ie an American menu with higher prices or adding extra items to your bill so I am trying to avoid that kind of place. I just want a real "local" type of place if you know of any although it sounds like in Venice that may be hard to find.

 

Thanks for all your help so far!

 

Lynn

 

We are all having a great trip on this cruise and I am sure on teh next as well doing the Greek Isles for another 12 days.

 

Lynn I will ask Giancarlo the Staff First Purser if he has any recommendations as the crew usually know what are the best restaurants to go to for themselves and will get back to you. In Rome I personally do not know of any but for Naples there is a place called Brandi which is very near from were the ships pier is up past the central square.

 

Tony and Javier

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