Venice shore excursion - anyone done St. Marks' After Hours?

[birders]

We have private guides booked for Florence, Amalfi coast, Rome, and otherwise do ports on our own. Want to make the most of our time in Venice. I'm reading the RCCL Shore Excursions and am curious if anyone has done the "St. Mark's Basilica After Hours" tour. Anyone? Thanks in advance.

[MalibuCA]

Yes! We did it two years ago with the Crystal Serenity. It was awesome! They actually turned the interior lights out completely, and then, turned them on one by one the way it is routinely done when no one is around. The experience was breathtaking -- not because I am a religious person (which I'm not especially, and St. Mark's isn't even my religion!), but because it was so beautiful. Very moving! Wonderful to see without the 1000s of people that crowd through every day. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend it. Have a great time -- Venice is definitely one of my favorite cities!

[birders]

Wow, that sounds quite intriguing...

 

Did you get to extra places inside the basilica, as well? For example, the golden altar that, normally, is an extra Euro or so to see (when one is doing the normal daytime free admission). We want to make sure we see this, and I would assume that an exclusive tour such as you describe (and it's pricey) would include it...?

 

Thanks again.

[MalibuCA]

I don't remember exactly what we saw (probably because the whole experience was so overwhelmingly impressive), but I know that we did see areas that are not a part of the regular day tour. I'm not sure whether I am using the correct terminology, but I do recall that we went into the area where the crypts are kept. I believe that the general public does not get to see this. It was amazing. Yes, it is a pricey tour, but well worth the price. You definitely see things that you would not be able to see by walking through on your own (with all of the other tourists crowding in front and in back of you.) My advice is that if you have the opportunity to take this evening tour, grab it. My only caveat is that we did this on different cruiselines, and your shore excursion may differ in some ways from ours. Perhaps you can contact the cruiseline directly and ask them if the private evening tour includes all that you want to see. I strongly suspect that it does. Don't miss!

[birders]

MalibuCA:

 

Thanks again. Sounds terrific - and money well spent.

I agree with your "strong suspicion" that it is the same tour you took -- our experience cruising is that different cruiselines often arrange with the same vendor/guide service and this special one offered to us on RCCL in 2007 sounds like a luxurious choice.

 

Happy sailing.