Oosterdam: Venice to Barcelona ~ Various questions for those who have sailed

[seabreeze01]

Sailing July 30, 2009

 

1. Any suggestions as where to stay in Venice the day before embarking & how to get to the port.

 

2. Pricing $$$ for: Beverage Card, Suite Amenities Package, Coffee Cards, Laundry Services.

 

3. What you deemed teenager friendly~tours, excursions, points of interest.

 

4. The Disembarking schedule in Barcelona (we have a flight at 2:15)

 

Thank you

[anchorage1977]

Sailing July 30, 2009

 

1. Any suggestions as where to stay in Venice the day before embarking & how to get to the port.

 

2. Pricing $$$ for: Beverage Card, Suite Amenities Package, Coffee Cards, Laundry Services.

 

3. What you deemed teenager friendly~tours, excursions, points of interest.

 

4. The Disembarking schedule in Barcelona (we have a flight at 2:15)

 

Thank you

 

#1: I'm no help, we went directly to the ship.

#2: Check out the following link to HAL's website:

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-vacation-planning/OnboardGifts.action

 

#3: I think your teens will be in good shape. In most of the cities, you can arrange your own tours independently and save a ton of money. This is especially true in Athens if you use the subway, Kusadasi if you hire a taxi to Ephesus and Istanbul if you use their taxis. The various ruins will either trill or dull your kids depending on how many sights you take them to. I'd suggest Kusadasi and Athens over Katakolon. Olympia to me is a tough sell after seeing the better preserved ruins in the other calls. In Santorini, anything related to the black beaches should be fun.

 

#4: You'll have no trouble making your flights. A taxi is about 20 minutes from the pier to the airport and you should be off the ship by 9am at the latest.

[CTBob]

I really want to do this same itinerary, but since I just got home from my Panama Canal cruise on the Zuiderdam I guess it'll have to be next year. Please post a review when you return and let us know what you think. One positive, the "Original" Hunky Dory said that he will be on the Oosterdam for his next assignment. I'm just not sure of his starting date. Have a great cruise.

 

Bob

[wwinfl91]

We did a Barcelona to Venice cruise in 2003 on Princess and really enjoyed it. We elected to stay 4 days after the cruise in Venice and staying in a local bed and breakfast which we really enjoyed.

 

Many people who are flying in stay at hotels and motels near the airport and then get a taxi to the port the next day. You will miss out being in Venice the first day you arrive although you can get there via land taxi relatively easily that evening.

 

If you decide to go to Venice and stay you may want to stay near the Piazzo Roma which is where the land taxies can go and where the train arrives in Venice. This is close to the port and you can still use a regular (land) taxi to get to the ship.

 

The reason I mention land taxis is that they are much cheaper to transport luggage to the ship than water taxis will be. There are hotels in Venice that you can arrive from the airport via water taxi and then will arrange a water taxi to the port the next day. But that option will be much more expense than the options I mentioned above.

 

We actually went to the airport after the cruise and left most of our luggage at a held luggage office at a cost per day. Then with just what we needed for 4 nights we went back to Venice via water bus and went to our B&B.

 

Check out this web site for much more info on Venice.

 

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/

 

It has a wealth of info on Venice.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Jeep61]

We did this cruise on the Zuiderdam in 2008 and thoroughly enjoyed each and every day. We were arriving in Venice by train so we stayed in a hotel within walking distance of the train station (Hotel Abbazia) and then walked to Piazzle Roma on embarkation day to catch the shuttle to the ship. After that we walked from/to the ship for the rest of our time in Venice. we travel light (two 22" rollers and two smallish backpacks) so the walk was easy for us. Please see this link for some details on what we did in each of the ports on our three Med cruises. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=885786

 

I call it an encyclopedia since it is arranged in alpha order. The only specific answer that I can provide for your four questions is the cost of laundry was about $15 USD per bagful. I assume it is about the same for the Oosterdam. We love ruins and if your teenager wants to see ancient history up close and personal many of the ports are perfect for that objective. You will enjoy no matter what you do! If you want a tour for Corfu we highly recommend Dimitris - I think this is the email address for contacting him: taxi116@in.gr - otherwise the climb up to the newer fortress is very good and interesting. Have fun deciding what to do!

[Ultimos]

Hi everybody.

 

First, sorry for my English. I´m from Barcelona, Spain...

 

Hi, seabreeze01

 

We will sail July the 30th on Oosterdam too, from Venice. We will partners of cruise. It will be our first time in HAL.

 

In Venice, the most easy way to arrive at Port is in Aquatic Taxi, but it is very expensive. For exemple, the trip from Train Station (S.Luzzia) to Port, the cost is aprox 120 €.

 

About your question of the Disembarking, dont worry, because the El Prat Airport (Barcelona Airport), is near from the Cruise Terminal Port. I think that in 20-30 minutes, the trip will be taken. But warning, because take a taxi in the Barcelona port sometimes is difficult.

 

Sorry another time for my English...

[seabreeze01]

Hi Ultimos -

Your english is just fine~! Thank you for the information, it is very helpful and has put me at ease. I am not worried anymore about the time frame of getting off the ship & catching our flight.

I found our cruise mates in "Roll Call" under Holland America - Oosterdam

July 30 - Venice to Barcelona.

~see you on board :)

[seabreeze01]

jeep61

wwinfl91

anchorage1977

~excellent info - cheers & thanks ~!

 

ctbob

~hunky dory? I'm at a loss...

[Ultimos]

Thanks you, seabreeze01. See you on Oosterdam.

 

I'm lost too: What is Hunky Dory. It is a David Bowie songo, not?

 

Salut! (it is like cheers in spanish)

[Harry1954]

If you want to stay in Venice and enjoy nightlife, we stayed at a Best Western for considerably less than most hotels near St Mark's Square.

Regarding excursions, if you stop in Livorno, the Cinque Terra trip would delight the young crowd immencely - it did our girls.

If you go to Santorini, take the local bus to Oia - an almost free excursion of the island, and then enjoy the shops there with considerably less tourist traffic.

We used HAL's airport transfer in Barcelona in 2008 - it was inexpensive and no fuss/muss ..

harry

[CTBob]

jeep61

wwinfl91

anchorage1977

~excellent info - cheers & thanks ~!

 

ctbob

~hunky dory? I'm at a loss...

Hunky Dory is a member of the dining staff who was HAL's employee of the year in 2008 (I think). He hands out trays in the Lido buffet and by the third day of the cruise he will know the names of almost half of the passengers. Then he will greet you by name every time he sees you. He is very impressive.

 

Bob

[English_in_Spain]

Sorry to hijack your thread but I have just noticed Ultimos has sailed a couple of times on Pullmantur.

 

Ultimos, I will start a new thread in 'other cruise lines'. Would you come there and answer some questions I have (we are sailing on Zenith in July).

 

Apologies again for the hijack.

[Queenk2]

We did this cruise on the Zuiderdam in 2008 and thoroughly enjoyed each and every day. We were arriving in Venice by train so we stayed in a hotel within walking distance of the train station (Hotel Abbazia) and then walked to Piazzle Roma on embarkation day to catch the shuttle to the ship. After that we walked from/to the ship for the rest of our time in Venice. we travel light (two 22" rollers and two smallish backpacks) so the walk was easy for us. Please see this link for some details on what we did in each of the ports on our three Med cruises. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=885786

 

I call it an encyclopedia since it is arranged in alpha order. The only specific answer that I can provide for your four questions is the cost of laundry was about $15 USD per bagful. I assume it is about the same for the Oosterdam. We love ruins and if your teenager wants to see ancient history up close and personal many of the ports are perfect for that objective. You will enjoy no matter what you do! If you want a tour for Corfu we highly recommend Dimitris - I think this is the email address for contacting him: taxi116@in.gr - otherwise the climb up to the newer fortress is very good and interesting. Have fun deciding what to do!

 

Hi Jeep,

My husband and I are also on the July 30 sailing...we have hired Dimitris in Corfu! I am happy that you enjoyed his services. I do have a question...I can find almost nothing on Argostoli. What did you do on that port day? I have arranged private tours in Corfu, Dubrovnik, Rome..hill towns and Livorno.. Cinque Terre, having been there on many other trips. I was thinking that we would do a beach unless there is something spectacular to do. I have found very little information..Myrtos beach...but very pebbly. Thanks for any and all info.

Karen

[Ultimos]

Amazing Hunky Dory, and his memory...

 

Thanks you for the explanation.

 

English_in_Spain, don´t worry for you hijack.

 

See you in your Pullmantur's thread, and i will try to explain to you all of Pullmantur way of cruise. At least, that my poor english let me.

 

Salut!

[arlenez]

I really want to do this same itinerary, but since I just got home from my Panama Canal cruise on the Zuiderdam I guess it'll have to be next year. Please post a review when you return and let us know what you think. One positive, the "Original" Hunky Dory said that he will be on the Oosterdam for his next assignment. I'm just not sure of his starting date. Have a great cruise.

 

Bob

 

We will be on the Oosterdam on May 18th and look forward to seeing Hunky Dory again. It is simply amazing that he remembers everyone's name.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[CTBob]

We will be on the Oosterdam on May 18th and look forward to seeing Hunky Dory again. It is simply amazing that he remembers everyone's name.

 

Regards,

Arlene

Sorry Arlene, I am fairly sure that he will still be on the Zuiderdam until May and then is going home for a couple of months. And on another thread they said he is coming back to the Amsterdam, I guess one of us is wrong and I'm not sure who!

 

Bob

[jtl513]

Sailing July 30, 2009

 

1. Any suggestions as where to stay in Venice the day before embarking & how to get to the port.

Since you embark on July 30th but don't sail until 2:00p on July 31st, you might consider just flying in on the morning of the 30th. You would still have almost 24 hrs leeway in case of travel problems. (Unless, of course, you want more time in Venice.)

 

Hunky Dory is a member of the dining staff who was HAL's employee of the year in 2008 (I think). He hands out trays in the Lido buffet and by the third day of the cruise he will know the names of almost half of the passengers. Then he will greet you by name every time he sees you. He is very impressive.

 

Bob

We will be on the Oosterdam on May 18th and look forward to seeing Hunky Dory again. It is simply amazing that he remembers everyone's name.

After May 1st there won't be any more trays on any HAL ship, so if you ever see H.D. someplace it won't be handing out trays! :)

[Jeep61]

Don't just search for Argostoli - - also search for Cephalonia (the name of the island) - Argostoli is just the main city...

 

This is what I posted on another thread about our day there -

In 2008 we did the HAL tour from the Zuiderdam during our Venice to Barcelona cruise. Since it was a shorter than normal port call we played it safe with the ship's tour to Melissani Lake and a village at the northern end of the island. We usually prefer doing things on our own but the ship's tour was fine - guide was a retired cop from England. In spite of pouring rain we enjoyed our visit - the lake was interesting and we had time for lunch and wandering around Argostoli before tendering back to the ship. One caveat - the ship's tour left VERY early but it was very doable. I would take the easy route and not bother with a private tour based on our experience.

 

You might also look at the encyclopedia thread I mentioned earlier.

[Eileen G]

seabreeze01, A good place to stay is Plazza Roma which you can easily get to by bus from the airport for 3 euros. It is a direct airport bus so there is plenty of space for luggage. From PL Roma you can take the free port shuttle if you can find it or just walk ten minutes to the port. In Barcelona the ship gets in the night before so you can get off the next morning whenever you want so a 2PM flight should be very easy. We just booked this cruise for May 19 and have decided to fly in on the 19th since the ship doesn't sail until the 20th. We have been to Venice twice so we don't need the extra time but if you have never been to Venice I would strongly suggest flying in a few days early.

 

Hi Bob, Have you seen the air prices to the Med? $550!!! DH and I couldn't resist so we booked this cruise. I sure wish you and Stephine could come with us. We never did get to meet Honkey Dory even though we looked for him.

 

For info on Cephalonia also google Kefalonia (the greek spelling).

[seabreeze01]

Thank you for all the great information.

 

arlenez ~ you're sailing 2 months before we do. perhaps you could give us a brief overview of everything when you come back?

[arlenez]

Thank you for all the great information.

 

arlenez ~ you're sailing 2 months before we do. perhaps you could give us a brief overview of everything when you come back?

 

Please remind me if I forget.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[joe122]

seabreeze01, A good place to stay is Plazza Roma which you can easily get to by bus from the airport for 3 euros. It is a direct airport bus so there is plenty of space for luggage. From PL Roma you can take the free port shuttle if you can find it or just walk ten minutes to the port. In Barcelona the ship gets in the night before so you can get off the next morning whenever you want so a 2PM flight should be very easy. We just booked this cruise for May 19 and have decided to fly in on the 19th since the ship doesn't sail until the 20th. We have been to Venice twice so we don't need the extra time but if you have never been to Venice I would strongly suggest flying in a few days early.

 

Hi Bob, Have you seen the air prices to the Med? $550!!! DH and I couldn't resist so we booked this cruise. I sure wish you and Stephine could come with us. We never did get to meet Honkey Dory even though we looked for him.

 

For info on Cephalonia also google Kefalonia (the greek spelling).

 

We would like to take one of the HAL Mediterranean in the Fall. Apparently, we are doing something wrong. There are many really excellent cruise deals. However, the air fares quoted by our TA and searches on-line show astronomical prices ($950 - $1200 per person!). We have 82,000 air miles that are worthless, because late Sept. and early Oct. are considered high season. Can someone please advise me how to find the low fares referred to in this thread?

 

Thanks.

[joe122]

seabreeze01, A good place to stay is Plazza Roma which you can easily get to by bus from the airport for 3 euros. It is a direct airport bus so there is plenty of space for luggage. From PL Roma you can take the free port shuttle if you can find it or just walk ten minutes to the port. In Barcelona the ship gets in the night before so you can get off the next morning whenever you want so a 2PM flight should be very easy. We just booked this cruise for May 19 and have decided to fly in on the 19th since the ship doesn't sail until the 20th. We have been to Venice twice so we don't need the extra time but if you have never been to Venice I would strongly suggest flying in a few days early.

 

Hi Bob, Have you seen the air prices to the Med? $550!!! DH and I couldn't resist so we booked this cruise. I sure wish you and Stephine could come with us. We never did get to meet Honkey Dory even though we looked for him.

 

For info on Cephalonia also google Kefalonia (the greek spelling).

 

We would like to take one of the HAL Mediterranean cruises in the Fall. Apparently, we are doing something wrong. There are many really excellent cruise deals. However, the air fares quoted by our TA and searches on-line show astronomical prices ($950 - $1200 per person!). We have 82,000 air miles that are worthless, because late Sept. and early Oct. are considered high season. Can someone please advise me how to find the low fares referred to in this thread?

 

Thanks.

[obriendan]

We would like to take one of the HAL Mediterranean in the Fall. Apparently, we are doing something wrong. There are many really excellent cruise deals. However, the air fares quoted by our TA and searches on-line show astronomical prices ($950 - $1200 per person!). We have 82,000 air miles that are worthless, because late Sept. and early Oct. are considered high season. Can someone please advise me how to find the low fares referred to in this thread?

 

Thanks.

 

I've been researching one way fares to Venice in anticipation of booking a transatlantic cruise in October. Using airline consolidator, bt-store dot com, I find that one way fares from either DFW or IAH to Venice are about $550 per person. Inexpensive one way domestic fares from FLL, about $100, are available for the return.

[Eileen G]

joe122, The prices we got were on Orbitz but I think they are non high season prices. Last year and the previous year we paid 1,100$ for our May cruises. So this year for some reason May was cheaper. Once summer hits the prices sky rocket.