Saturday - Cruise day
We got up at our normal 6 am and headed to breakfast, then did some last minute souvenir hunting along the canal. Alan met someone we were almost sure didn't exist in Italy - a rude store clerk. That was easily solved by leaving the store and making his purchase at another store. There certainly isn't a lack of shops and kiosks in Venice!
The rest of the morning was spent packing and relaxing at the hotel. On TV, it was funny watching Property Brothers dubbed in Italian. Check out was 11 am, and we spent a few extra minutes talking with Gionni, thanking him for all he did for us. Suitcases in hand, we headed down the canal towards Roma Square. It was about an easy 10 minute walk to the People Mover, a short monorail that costs 1.50 Euro per person. It was only a minute ride, but saved us from walking a lot farther.
Once we got to the port, we could see our ship, the MSC Poesia, and quickly discovered that we had to walk all the way around the harbor - there was no transportation provided. It was at least a 30 or 40 minute walk lugging all our luggage. The day was sunny, calm, and warm. We and the rest of the people walking were not very happy.
The port facilities were very nice and the MSC cruise team was well organized, Since Dad's leg was bothering him, he was using a cane, and they noticed him and pulled us out of the line and gave us priority boarding. The Poesia is a nice ship, with a friendly crew and we found our way to the buffet restaurant to get some lunch. We walked around, checking out the facilities, and eventually made it to our rooms. They were a joining balcony rooms on the 8th deck, with Dad and Alan staying on the left cabin and me and Bruce in the right. Our Room Steward Joseph (who was from St Vincent, Virgin Islands) unlocked the balcony divider so we could all sit together and enjoy the ocean views. Sitting there we had an unbelievable view over Venice, and could see the domes and bell towers of many of the churches and cathedrals we had visited the day before.
The ship left the dock at 5:30 pm, and we were treated to a slow cruise past Venice. We were able to take some great shots and video of St Mark's Square as we passed by. Once we cleared the channel, it was out into the Adriatic and heading towards Greece.
We had chosen the early dining option, so we showered, changed clothes and at 6:15 pm we went to the Il Palladio restaurant for dinner. If you have never cruised before, the evening dining experience is a wonderful treat. It's like going to a nice restaurant and enjoying a good meal every day. We cannot believe that there are people on the cruise that never take advantage of this included benefit - its always one of our favorite parts of the cruise.
Our table was 711, and our waiter's name is Arwata , who came from Indonesia. His English is very good, but he was soft spoken so Dad often couldn't hear him. He is a very good and attentive waiter, and will serve us every night.
The food was very good, but the portions were the typical small European size. The Europeans prefer to eat a large lunch and a lighter dinner. That didn't go with Alan's appetite, so after we left the restaurant, we headed to the buffet so he could get more to eat. LOL!
The stage show for the evening was a review based on Paris shows, so at 8:45 pm we headed to the theater in the ships bow and got good seats. The show was entertaining, and featured assorted dance acts (including can-can), and a pair of jugglers that did a really great job but blew it on their finale. Gravity is an unforgiving mistress!
We headed back to our cabins to relax, watch a little TV, and go to bed. To our disappointment, the only English channels were CNN, SKY news, and the Japanese news channel broadcast in English. There was no entertainment channels, unless you spoke Italian or German. It really wasn't a big deal, but seemed odd since there were quite a few English speaking passengers.
Tomorrow we get to our first port.
The rest of the morning was spent packing and relaxing at the hotel. On TV, it was funny watching Property Brothers dubbed in Italian. Check out was 11 am, and we spent a few extra minutes talking with Gionni, thanking him for all he did for us. Suitcases in hand, we headed down the canal towards Roma Square. It was about an easy 10 minute walk to the People Mover, a short monorail that costs 1.50 Euro per person. It was only a minute ride, but saved us from walking a lot farther.
Once we got to the port, we could see our ship, the MSC Poesia, and quickly discovered that we had to walk all the way around the harbor - there was no transportation provided. It was at least a 30 or 40 minute walk lugging all our luggage. The day was sunny, calm, and warm. We and the rest of the people walking were not very happy.
The port facilities were very nice and the MSC cruise team was well organized, Since Dad's leg was bothering him, he was using a cane, and they noticed him and pulled us out of the line and gave us priority boarding. The Poesia is a nice ship, with a friendly crew and we found our way to the buffet restaurant to get some lunch. We walked around, checking out the facilities, and eventually made it to our rooms. They were a joining balcony rooms on the 8th deck, with Dad and Alan staying on the left cabin and me and Bruce in the right. Our Room Steward Joseph (who was from St Vincent, Virgin Islands) unlocked the balcony divider so we could all sit together and enjoy the ocean views. Sitting there we had an unbelievable view over Venice, and could see the domes and bell towers of many of the churches and cathedrals we had visited the day before.
The ship left the dock at 5:30 pm, and we were treated to a slow cruise past Venice. We were able to take some great shots and video of St Mark's Square as we passed by. Once we cleared the channel, it was out into the Adriatic and heading towards Greece.
Our table was 711, and our waiter's name is Arwata , who came from Indonesia. His English is very good, but he was soft spoken so Dad often couldn't hear him. He is a very good and attentive waiter, and will serve us every night.
The food was very good, but the portions were the typical small European size. The Europeans prefer to eat a large lunch and a lighter dinner. That didn't go with Alan's appetite, so after we left the restaurant, we headed to the buffet so he could get more to eat. LOL!
The stage show for the evening was a review based on Paris shows, so at 8:45 pm we headed to the theater in the ships bow and got good seats. The show was entertaining, and featured assorted dance acts (including can-can), and a pair of jugglers that did a really great job but blew it on their finale. Gravity is an unforgiving mistress!
We headed back to our cabins to relax, watch a little TV, and go to bed. To our disappointment, the only English channels were CNN, SKY news, and the Japanese news channel broadcast in English. There was no entertainment channels, unless you spoke Italian or German. It really wasn't a big deal, but seemed odd since there were quite a few English speaking passengers.
Tomorrow we get to our first port.
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