Venice Just Back
 

In a word...WOW!!!!! Unfortunately, we only had 2 days in Venice, but they were memorable ones. I did want to mention to all my Fellow Fodorites that we were unable to purchase online tickets for the Bascilica; however, we did arrive at 9am and we were already about 100 back in line. As luck would have it, a precious English guide strolls up and down the line advertising for an English tour. She whisked us out of line...took us immediately to the front of the line for 20 Euros each. WELL worth it!!! The Secret Itineraries of the Doges Palace books up very quickly because there are only a few English tours. My husband got the last ticket available 10 days in advance, and he thoroughly enjoyed this tour. And be forewarned, just to sit at the Florian Cafe cost 6 Euros pp for an Orchestra Surcharge. We didn't care...the best money spent (splurge on their crossiants as well). We boarded our Royal Caribbean ship and set sail for Dubroknik, Kusasdasi, Santorini and Corfu...if any of you are headed that way I'd be happy to share a few highlights. Grazia PS>>>We stayed at the outstanding Luna Baglionli...oh my goodness!!! Venice, we shall return!!!!

Welcome back. So glad you had such a good time.

We are taking this same cruise itinerary in November on RCCL's Splendor of the Seas. So, I have a lot of questions!

Santorini - Do the non ship's tours folks have to wait for the ship's tours folks to be tendered at one port & then the ship goes to the other port (the one with the cable cars) to disembark the non ship's tour folks? There has been quite a debate about this on the Cruise Critic Mediterranean board. Trying to decide if it is worth taking a ship's tour just to get to the sites faster than everyone else. We only have 1 other ship in port when we are there; we arrive 7am; Costa arrives 8am; Costa departs 4pm; we depart 5pm.

Also, how did the timing go - line going up the cable car; getting to bus to Oia; getting bus back from Oia easy; line at cable cars going back down, etc.?

Corfu - What did you do? Was there a shuttle from the port to town?

Kusadasi - I heard there is a bazaar across from the ship(s). Is this true? Is it fairly large, or just a small one? Easy to walk to?

Dubrovnik - I heard the Pile Gate is a tough climb up & that the Ploce Gate is easy. Did you notice the Ploce Gate, or use it? If so, how was it.

How did you get into Dubrovnik from the ship? Was there a ship's shuttle? taxi?

THanks in advance, Julie

Julie - In Dubrovnik you descend from the street level to the Pile gate. There's a ramp and it's not tough or steep at all. Takes about 30 seconds to walk down. It's also not difficult to walk up the ramp. If you can walk up the jetway from the plane to the terminal you can do the ramp at the Pile gate. It was such a nothing I didn't remember that the old town wasn't at street level until you mentioned it.

The Ploce gate is at the other end of town. Taxis/buses stop outside the Pile gate as it's the main entrance.

Maybe you're thinking about walking the walls around Dubrovnik and the steep stairs there.

Visormom: Thank you for your generous offer of assistance if the need arises.

I am going, with a (very compatible friend(to the W's!))through the Univ. of Toronto/Thomas P. Gohagan to see village life along the Dalmation Coast on Sep.23 - Oct 1 with 3 days in Venice on either side.

We shall be visiting Pula; Split; Hvar; Dubrovnik; Miljet National Park; Korcula; and Zadar. I'd be delighted to furnish more info on these places, on request.

We're travelling (apart from the main group) with Skyservice and our hotels are: Hotel Residenza Casa San Marco for the first 3 nights and Hotel Anastasia for the final
3 - booked by ourselves.

The intimate 31 cabin vessel, M.V. Monet sounds perfect.

There, now I've posted my first little contribution to the Fodor link.
Shania

Thank you, Adrienne. I did not make myself clear. Yes, I was inquiring about walking the wall.

Julie

Hi Julieagain...

I'm sorry for my tardy reply...so many trips, so little time LOL. To answer a few of your questions that i wish i had asked prior to leaving too...
Santorini...just pray that you are not 1 of 12 ships disembarking. We were lucky...1 of 3 or 4. They had to tender us in Santorini and even though the weather was perfect, the return tender had a very difficult time "attaching" back to the Splendour. But that morning, everyone that had a SoftheS excursion was allowed off with the first tender. We had arranged a private tour for a small group, and the ship was gracious in allowing us off with group 2. Once tendered, you have 3 choices: cable cars, walking UGH, or donkeys. The ship did NOT encourage the donkeys...but it sure looked fun. We had exactly a 1 hour wait for the cable cars. At the top, the tour operators are all awaiting your arrival. It's kind of like getting off a ski lift cable car arrival area. They are there with signs...and off you go. Our group boarded a bus and went directly to Oia. It took us about 45 minutes to get there....and then WOW what beauty. Because we were going to the opposite end of the island (near the crater and winery) too, we only spent 1 1/2 hrs in Oia. Once back in Fira, we madly shopped....very easy to get lost in those narrow alley ways and there's lots of climbng and lots of heat!!! I sure wish our boat had more time there to see the sunset from Fira. I think that's our biggest gripe about the entire itinery...not enough time on Santorini.

Again because of the crowds, we had to wait in line (or at least our DHs did) while we madly shopped. Since we were on our own excursion, we knew we better not chance it. But once you go down the cable car, there are several wonderful outdoor cafes to grab a drink and then wait on the tender a little later. Cofu up next post

Cofu was our last stop. We did not see any of the ship excursions that motivated us at all...and glad we didn't do them. Soooo lucky...once in Cofu, you walk down a street approximately 1/2 mile through a building and then that's where the buses or taxis are waiting. Almost all the taxis we saw were Mercedes too. :) We were just going to get a taxi to the city square, but we just started talking to the English speaking driver and he agreed to take the 4 of us on a private tour of the island for 90 Euros total..not per person. It was GREAT. We went to the palace...saw all we wanted, went to Monkey Island/Church and then he took us back to the City Square. We ate at Rex's cafe which was very good. They do NOT have friendly service in Corfu, but the food was wonderful. Then we had time to explore the many narrow shopping alleys and then we got a taxi(easy to get...all lined up) for 10 Euros total for the 15 minute ride back to the ship. Corfu to us was nothing special at all, but it was such a contrast (the vegetation etc...to Santorini). Our friends that did the Ship's excursions said way too long...way too boring...so i highly recommended doing Corfu yourself. Kusadasi next

Kusadasi...this was priceless...and you MUST take the excursion. Again, i feel we selected the perfect one after visiting with so many in our group. We took the "Highlights of Ephesus". The ship docks and A/C buses pick you up and take you directly to the House of the Virgin Mary. WOW. Your stay there is very brief..just enough time to walk through the house, ****take an empty water bottle with you****, you will want to fill it with Holy Water from the Virgin Mary's well. Our tour actually provided us on the bus with small urns/cork tops to fill with water. But, they do leak, so take an empty bottle. Your can transfer once you get home. Also is our little sacks were pencils and pads to leave prayer notes on the Virgin Mary's wall. Many people didn't see those in the sack...so just in case...what a special treat. There is a quick restroom break there, and then it's a 10 minute drive to the entrance to Ephesus. Make sure before you go that you read up on ACTS and/or Ephesus. There is just sooooo much to see and not much time. And, the crowds were in the thousands and the heat was too. Don't leave the ship without hats/sunscreen and plenty of water. Many wished that they had brought umbrellas because truly the heat was oppressing. And, our tour didn't linger. It truly was overwhelming seeing it. For disclosure, please note that while we have been blessed to see many places, we have not seen any "ruins" before, so my mouth was wide open the entire time. Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary is simply NOT to be missed. You enter on one end of the ruins and exit on the other end...just fyi. Then, you're promptly whisked back to Kusadasi which seems like a different planet. You are taken directly to a Turkish Carpet store. They are very hospitable and serve you drinks while you watch a demostration on carpet making and of course, the pressure carpet sales. Yes, we succumbed...but truly had planned to purchase a rug anyway. Don't believe what you hear about Turkmen's...they will negoiate with you...BIG TIME. After our purchase, we asked them for a recommendation on lunch. (This is directly across the street from the boat...5 minutes max) It was one of our favorite meals...wish i could remember the name, but i know they brought our ticket in a precious little treasure chest. They served delicious shish kaboobs. Then to shop..OH BOY!!!! If you buy the unlimited soft drink package on the ship, they give you a great insulated cup. I always filled mine before we left, because, yes...i'm a Texan, and we like ICE!!! Anyway, every shop i went in, they ALL had fits over these cups. Finally, at the 3 shop, the salesman convinced me after showing me pictures of his children who would LOVE this cup to trade for a purse...so fun!!! Every fake purse you can imagine...Louie Vouitton, Gucci, Prada, Burberry etc..If you know Canal Street in NYC, that is what Kusadasi is but with no secret alleys or hidden rooms. This area is pretty large...and we only had about 2 hours to explore. We found the shopkeepers very friendly...however, they are very agressive. It's the wild,wild west..we loved it!!! Also, lots of Lacoste, Polo...etc...shirts, sunglasses etc....it's the Genuine Fake Capital of the World!!! :) And again, you're directly across the ship from the bazaar...shoppers paradise!!!

Dubrovnik...beautiful!!!! This was our first stop. We selected the VERY BEST excursion. It was the Cruise of the Adriatic. Again, we were tendered, but not as crowded as Santorni. The tender drops you right in the Old City...where we made the quick walk through the Old City for a brief tour of the highlights...through the Pile Gate and then boarded our bus. That part of the tour was probably about 1 hr. Our bus took us to a simply amazing overlook of Dubroknik, where they stopped and we had a 5 minute picture break at this overlook. Then, we drove about 30 minutes to Cavtat. We had about 30 minutes to grab a cup of coffee (or in my case I found a coke zero) along the shoreside where many luxury yachts are anchored. Tom Cruise had just left (my luck) and then we boarded our "ride"...oh my word. It was the closest thing to a Pirate ship that I'll ever be on. It was awesome, and there was a bar aboard...the cruise back to Dubronik along the coast was GLORIOUS. Once back, we went to lunch right where the boat dropped us (kind of like their very small city square). The restaurant's name is Nautica. If you don't do anything else..EAT THERE!!! The risotto was to die for...salad OMG!!! VIEW...breathtaking!!!! No shopping in Dubrovnik...unless you want to purchase a tie. That's where the neckties of today came from...the Croatians. There is a shop right by the restaurant that had a nice selection (albeit not too attractive) Many of our friends, did the Wall and some did the kayacking excursion..and all we talked to wished they had done ours...so this Splendour excursion, i highly recommend. It is limited, so book this one in advance if you're going to do it.

Overall, it was a lovely trip. Unfortunately, i can't brag too much about the food on the ship. You eat in the same place every night, and i simply couldn't brag on the food. Sorry about that. Also, their service at dinner always left lots to be desired...especially if you order something to drink (not from the bar...like tea or colas...prepare for a long wait). The casino is where we spent each night. The blackjack dealers were wonderful...so happy to take my money. We only saw one of the shows because we had the late (9pm) dinner seating, so getting through and to a show was tough. But,we saw the guys like the "4 Tops", and they put on a cute show. I would strongly recommended watching the TV which gave you a commmentary prior to each port on the shopping places. They had maps at the disembarking exits each morning which were very helpful...but the TV show provided lots of helpful hints. Also, if you are a sunbather, on the days you cruise, you better grap a lounge chair very early. They will be gone, but even though the ship ask you not to save...everyone does. Tie a tshirt or something around the chair and you're done. Another fun thing the ship did was after every port, they had a small shopping bizarre of items from that day's port. Helpful in case you need that extra souvenir...like Turkish bookmarks for $1.25...yea!!!

Rooms were typical cruise ship, but the bathrooms were TINY...be prepared. Back to the meals...the breakfast were the best...and oh...the restaurant in Kusadasi, just behinds Turkmen's was called Rainbow. YUM....Seas were calm the entire time, so no worries of sea sickness on our cruise. The biggest disappointment was simply having to be back to the ship around 5 each day...not enough time to explore and just "sit". We were a bit worried because our flight left Venice at 11:30, but we made it through the disembarkation easily. But once to the airport...UGH...the lines to Philly via US Airways were horrible...but again, plenty time to spend those last Euros. :) I wish you a wonderful trip...and if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to contact me at [email protected] I'm able to check that each day. Bon voyage!!!