OnlineMom

to get back to the ship...it does close at a certain time...it stops running...one of our adventures in Venice left us taking a huge walk to get back to the ship.... :)

 

Bernadette

Good thing to remember!

You will love Venice. It has now become my favorite city. The sights are wonderful and the food is soooooo good. Enjoy your stay and have a great cruise.:):)

Based on the research I've done over the past few months, I'm confident we'll love it too!

I do hope you are arriving in Venice a day before boarding, because that one overnight will not be enough to see Venice, even scratch the surface, especially if you are jet-lagged. EM

We leave Los Angeles early on Saturday and arrive early on Sunday. We'll be spending one night at the Hotel Saturnia in Venice before boarding our ship Monday afternoon.;)

Hello! We will be on the June 15 sailing of the Island Princess (12 day Grand Med). It will be our first time in Venice and I have a question... My 15 year old Autistic son is very interested in the paranormal and I try to look for excursions and things that will interest him during our travels. While we board the ship mid-day on Monday June 15, we don't actually depart until mid-day on Tuesday June 16. Can I assume that we will be able to leave/return to the ship if we want to during the 24 hours we will be docked in Venice? I ask because I have found a Venice Ghost Tour that my son would absolutely LOVE and they have a tour Monday night. It leaves from and returns to the Rialto Bridge area.

Would it be possible to get off of the ship that night and make our way to the Bridge for such a tour? Is it far? Safe (for an 8-9:30 PM excursion)?

You can go to Sabatini's in person or call the Dine Line once you're on board. They will have people there to make reservations. Sometimes, the Dine Line can be busy on the first day. I think you can make reservations as early as 5pm, but I can't swear to it. I know we had Crown Grill reservations at 6pm and people were there before us. And, no, you can't make reservations before you get on the ship.

Perfect! Thanks so much!

When can one make reservations for Sabatini's on embarkation day? It doesn't appear to be something you can do beforehand - do you have to wait until you're actually onboard?

And - does anyone know what the earliest dining time on embarkation day might be? In case it varies by ship - I'm asking in reference to the Island Princess.

Thanks in advance!

To the OP -- do you remember if there was a 'White Party' on one of the evenings.

 

 

 

I plan on bringing a predominantly 'white outfit' when we sail on Valentines Day for the 8 day itinerary.

I hope they do! We went to our first White Party on the Allure last year during spring break and it was so much fun!

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Thank you for the great review! We will be on this cruise leaving March 28 :) I have health issues with heat also so I can feel for your wife. I will be trying for a cabana on Labadee too. I can't do all day in the sun.

There is shade to be found on Labadee! My family was there for spring break last year not in a suite so we couldn't reserve a cabana. We were off of the ship early and found 4 chairs in a great spot on the beach with fantastic trees nearby that provided plenty of shade on and off throughout the day.

Yay. Thank you thank you.!! [emoji9][emoji1][emoji1][emoji9]I thought we were automatically out because we are not in a suite, but Raj emailed back and said he would reserve one in my favor with more details soon. Without you all I would have never even tried!

Are there cabanas on Labadee other than the ones on Barefoot Beach (reserved for suite guests)?

Edited - as I think I answered my own question! I see now that there are Nellie's Beach cabanas that can be reserved by non-suite guests. Raj handles requests for those too?

Can you tell me if you were in a suite to request this? Thanks

I am - booked in a GS for our cruise...

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I sent an email to the concierge to reserve one for us for our April cruise. He said he would. Email address is ID_Concierge@rccl.com. Raj is the concierge now and at least through our cruise. I emailed the concierge on Freedom when we were going to Nassau Bay and he also reserved one for us. With 2 ships in port, I would do it as soon as possible.

I e-mailed Raj earlier this month. He told me it was too early to confirm a cabana but that he'd note my interest and be in touch a week or so before our sail date. :)

Hi. How can you tell there will be a ship with you at Labadee? Ill be on the Indy end of December for NYE and would like to know if we share Labadee.

I use http://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-labadee-haiti.html .

This thread has been so incredibly helpful. Thank you all so much! We have booked Hotel Saturnia for one night pre-cruise and (finally) secured our airfare... June can't get here fast enough!

I don't think they will be. According to their web site, they'll be disembarking Independence of the Seas on February 22.

 

Then, on their FB page, they reported they'll be on Anthem of the Seas starting in April.

Oh - too bad! :(

Love the review so far! And your pictures are great! Thanks so much for taking the time to do it.

We'll be on the Indy in March for the same 8-day itinerary so it's all very helpful. We're in a GS (with kids in a connecting balcony) and are hoping to reserve one of the Barefoot Beach cabanas on Labadee. I didn't even think about our chances being less with another ship in port! We've only been to Labadee once - on Allure for spring break last year - and were the only ship that day so it just never crossed my mind. I just decided to check and it looks like, this time, we'll be there with Grandeur as well. Bummer - cuts my chances in half!

I am most excited for the bioluminescent bay, that's the main reason why I booked this itinerary. Unfortunately I found out after I booked that you can't actually get in the water anymore, but it will still be cool. I will definitely have to take another trip when a ship docks during the day to see the forts. Maybe not in the heat of summer, though. 😜

The Bioluminescent Bay in SJ is definitely on my list of things to see... We'll visit there in March on the Indy but are only in port for half a day (7am-2pm). Someday!

We were just on the Indy in December for the New Years Eve sailing and it was one of our favorite cruises! You'll have a great time! Do not miss Rock the Boat in the Pyramid Lounge if you like live rock & roll music!

I've heard they're fantastic! Wonder if they'll be onboard for the March 28 sailing - I'd love to check the show out!

Roothy123 and MOM I would go with the water taxi consortium http://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/biglietto_2.php?a_r=a

 

They claim they can reach the Saturnia's dock unless the tide is unfavourable. In any case it wouldn't be more than 5 minutes. The price is 100 euros plus 10 euros for the 6th person and 5 euros per bag more than 5.

I'll look into them as well. Thanks so much!

My 2 cents. We stayed at the Hotel Saturnia years ago and it was very nice. It's an old palace. It was fairly close to San Marco Square & its sites.

Thank you! We are really happy with our hotel choice and so looking forward to this trip!

Mom, Out of curiosity, I looked at venicelink a bit more, as I had only looked at it briefly once before. Keep in mind that the website says the following:

 

Limitations: is NOT possible to reach more destinations at once, only one place for all the passengers. Our water taxi service doesn't reach directly the private pier of these Hotels in Venice (5 minutes walk from the stop): Duodo, Splendid, Cavalletto, Saturnia, Bonvecchiati, Bonvecchiati Palace, Corte Grimani. The only stop available for Lido island is Santa Maria Elisabetta. We don't reach any private pier for hotels located on Lido island.

 

I'm guessing that if your mom can handle walking to the water taxi she can then handle another 5 minutes (if it's really that - might be a little more with luggage!) to the hotel. It sounds like perhaps the hotel only allows certain water taxis to use their dock, which might explain why they quoted you a higher price than venicelink. In any case, I thought I'd point it out to you.

 

The site also states that for the water taxis you take from the airport, there is some kind of additional "pack" that includes a meet and greet in the airport, assistance to the water taxi dock, etc.

Yes! Thank you! I did see that our hotel is one that VeniceLink does not provide direct transportation to. We haven't yet decided if we are going to use them and just walk to our hotel or if we are going to book transfers through the hotel directly (but be delivered right to their door). I read somewhere that the canal behind the Saturnia is very small and that only some taxis can get back there so I assume this is why VeniceLink drops off elsewhere. I found another taxi company that will take us directly to the hotel - but at an extra cost.

Months ago, I read an article about the government trying to put a ban on passengers dragging rolling luggage in Venice. It said that the proposed legislation was going to heavily fine people who were caught doing it. I think it was going to be "legal" for locals to do it - just not visitors. Lots of new businesses for "we-can-pull-your-luggage-for-you" will be popping up if that passed/passes, I imagine! It was set to go into effect in May of this year. I'll have to look into that again as that would perhaps figure into our decision...

I just looked at the hotel, too, as I was curious. It looks very nice, and is in a good location for getting to a number of places on foot without a long walk. However, one thing popped out at me: It's hard to tell from their map where the closest canal is, as there are some shadings that represent water but I'm not sure. You might want to prepare yourself to find out just where you would be dropped. If the water taxi can't get you right to the hotel, you might want to find out just how far you would have to walk to get there, and if there are any stepped bridges to navigate. I have heard that you can sometimes arrange for a porter to help you get your luggage to the hotel in this case. The Saturnia may know and be able to arrange to have one meet you where the water taxi drops you off.

I understand what you mean and see the same thing when I look at the hotel on Google Maps! My contact at the hotel said that they have a "private water entrance on the back of the Hotel", however, and I have seen a picture (can't remember where now - wish I'd saved it!) of the back of the hotel RIGHT at the edge of a canal with steps - some submerged in water at the time the picture was taken (tides, I imagine). Here's another picture I just found online taken from inside the hotel looking out:

the price is per water taxi regardless how many of you there are so yes it would be private for your party unless you choose to share with others to reduce cost

 

this year we pre booked at venicelink and got a discount-trying to remember whether was 90 or 99 euros-whatever it was cheaper

we exchanged our voucher inside the airport terminal and were given a ticket for our party of 4 with a taxi number

 

the walk from airport terminal to dock is a long covered path-there are luggage carts which makes transporting luggage easier but we couldn't spot them easily at the airport.Probably because most of them are by the baggage carousel and we were already outside by the time we realised pulling our luggage behind us is a pain when you have someone less mobile and part of a snaking queue of people all heading the same way

I might look into venicelink - thanks! Sounds like the walk at the airport to the dock will be just fine. I'm not worried about my Dad - just always thinking about my Mom who had a kidney transplant last December and tires easily. They have roller suitcases and it doesn't sound like they'll have any troubles.

To answer the OPs questions, 160 e paid to the concierge is too much.

A water taxi directly from the airport to the hotel is by far your best bet. It is a delightful way to see Venice for the first time.

As you leave the arrivals area at the airport there is a desk for the water taxi consortium. Tell them where you want to go and they give you the number of the water taxi that they call to the dock for you. The dock is a 8 minute level walk. ( it sounds a lot but is no worse than many airport parking structures)

The cost will be 110 euros. If you feel the need, you can purchase in advance on the net- Google venice water taxi consortium- you will get a voucher but not a specific taxi.

Great information - thanks, Earl! This definitely sounds do-able. I assume we would be responsible for bringing our luggage with us from the airport to the dock for that 8 minute walk? (Just checking - want to make sure Grandma and Papa are aware of and prepared for that.) 110 euros is definitely better than the 170 quoted to me by the hotel. I assume the difference is their "arranger's fee". :) Unless... I know the one the hotel would arrange would be private (just my family of 6) - is the 110 price, perhaps, for a shared water taxi?

I 100% agree with this, it's just too bad that after all this good advice, and a few OT tangents, that the OP hasn't come back. Hopefully they have at least read this even if they didn't care to comment. I guess in any case it can be good advice for someone else!

I apologize for not replying sooner. I receive most of the reply notifications on my iPhone (on the run a lot lately - busy with 2 freshmen in high school and caring for my husband who had open heart surgery on December 23) but prefer to respond when I can actually sit down at my computer.

I sincerely appreciate everyone's suggestions and information! My parents have their heart set on the Saturnia and there are definitely things I love about it as well. I think that we are feeling more and more comfortable with the thought of arranging for our own transportation now. It doesn't seem as if the language difference should present too much of a problem and we will have plenty of euros in hand to pay for private transfers now that I have an idea what a reasonable charge for them should be. Thanks so much!

Hello all! I hope you don't mind some questions from a very green European traveler. :)

My family (6 people total) is getting ready for our first trip abroad. We will be cruising the Grand Med in June. It will be myself (44), my husband (59), our two teenagers (14 and 15 - one who has special needs) and my parents (67/69). We dropped the ball and didn't book our 1-night pre-cruise hotel-of-choice package early enough and now the group space (with Princess) is gone and the packages are "closed". The hotel does have rooms available, though, so we could book independently but we're a little nervous about arranging our transfers from VCE-hotel on our arrival day and then from the hotel-port the day of our cruise. Booking rooms independently would save us a tremendous amount of money but we all agree that the seamless convenience of having Princess handle everything for us is very attractive. We've contacted the hotel and they have told us that they can pre-arrange VCE-hotel transfers for us for 170 euros (6 people including luggage) - a taxi from airport to dock and then a water taxi from the dock to the back door of the hotel. They also said we would pay the 170 euros to the concierge upon check-out. Does this sound like a reasonable amount? It seems odd to pay the hotel concierge and not the transfer-provider... Has anyone had the Saturnia arrange such transportation for them? How would we find said taxi driver at the airport? Is tipping customary for transfers like this? (We have no problem with tipping - just don't want to offend anyone (not sure what is customary there) and want to make sure we convert enough money for the things we'll need cash for.)

Too - the hotel told us that on our cruise embarkation day, we could catch a water taxi outside of the hotel for 100-110 euros and that we would pay cash to the driver directly. She didn't say if this would be for 6 people or per family etc. but I imagine it'd be for all of us based on the 170 euros cost of the (much longer) transfer from the airport to the hotel. I guess I have the same questions about this - do you tip water taxi drivers? How does one get such a water taxi? Similar to how we hail a taxi (on the street) in the US? And where is the drop-off for the cruise ships? Fairly close to the port?

Our contact at Hotel Saturnia has been lovely and her English is fairly good however I just fear small things may get lost in the translation and would prefer not to have any unexpected surprises come up on these days - especially traveling with my Autistic son and 2 grumpy old men - all whom I assume will be quite weary after a 14+ hour journey from Los Angeles. :D I just want things to go as smoothly as possible.

Thanks so much for any information - I really appreciate it!