Introduction

In 2009, my husband and I embarked on a 12-night Western Mediterranean cruise that took us through Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Dubrovnik.

In the summer of 2012, we're heading back...only this time, our three kids will be joining us, and it will be a 12-night Eastern Mediterranean cruise that will have us sailing through Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

This blog is a chronicle of our cruising experiences - the good, the bad, the ugly. It includes a day-by-day journal of what we did, how we did it, what we did right - and what we didn't do so right.

Not only do we use this to "remember" our adventures, but our hope is that our story will assist others in their own planning.


Monday, June 1, 2009

Planned Itinerary: Venice

Ahhhh.....Venice.

Our ship will arrive in Venice around 1:30 pm, Sunday, June 21. Our plan is to be up on Deck 12, on the bow side, for entry into Venice - to get the best photo opportunities.

After arriving in Venice, I have set up a 4-hour "Venice Experience" tour for $174.25E...I found this tour at www.theveniceexperience.com. Our tour guides, Mike and Karen, will meet us at the lobby area of the Statione Maritime building, which is on the Zattere, near the San Basilio vaporetto stop. This tour should give us a good overview of Venice.

At 7:15 pm, I have set up a serenaded gondola ride, and then dinner at Hostaria Al Coristi Restaurant. I set this up through Viator.com - I wanted to guarantee a gondola ride, and I wanted it to be a 'serenaded' ride - not all gondola rides have singing. For Mike and myself, including dinner, the cost is $229.31.

The ship stays in Venice overnight, so it won't matter how long dinner lasts. Our plan is to stroll the streets of Venice after dark, soaking up the sights and sounds.....

The next morning, Monday, June 22, we have 9:45 reservations for the Basilica Tour of San Marco. This tour was free - but we needed to have a voucher in hand in order to cut the line....Otherwise, it can take 2-3 hours of waiting in a long line to get inside. I went on the internet a few months before our trip, to www.venetoinside.com, to get these vouchers.

After the Basilica, we will head over to Doge's Palace for the secret tour. These tickets were obtained from www.tickitaly.com.

After this tour, we'll wander the streets, shopping, trying gelato, shopping some more, etc.

Our ship leaves Venice at 3:00 pm - so we must be back on board some time before then.

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