Hitcher13

Yes, it is possible to get to Burano via Murano. But the more common (and usually faster way) is to take the 1 or 2 over to Fondemente Nova and take the 12 (as has been posted). However, keep in mind that the time of this trip is very dependent on the luck of connections. It once took us nearly 1 1/2 hours from the port to Burano...but sometimes it can be done a little faster. And it does not cost $25 per person for a taxi over to the port unless one is a bit of a fool. Everything is negotiable and a taxi, even late at night, should be no more then 10€ per person. Personally, DW and I would walk for more then that price (and we have walked to the port many times) as its a nice stroll if the weather is good.

 

Hank

Looking at all the advice, it appears that taking the #2 over to Fondemente Nova and then the 12 is the way to go. So, let's say we get to Burano by 4PM, spend 1.5 hours there, and then take the vaporetto back to Fondemente Nova. Do we get off there, or will the 12 make a stop at San Marco? We should be there no later than 7PM. Does that make sense?

Or should we walk from Fondemente NOva with out goal being ending up in San Marco? There are some in our group that want to do the Gondola as well, and then we just want to walk around for a bit.

Hank - you say we can take a water taxi from San Marco or a different stop straight to the port and it should only be about 10 euro pp? That would be great, then we wouldn't have to worry about making the people mover by 11 PM.

As far as the walking goes, I have heard that late at night, it's not as pleasant a walk. Especially with not knowing exactly where we need to go...don't want to have to worry.

We will be in Venice by the way on Oct 23rd.

Thank you everyone for your help.

Hi There,

Hoping for some guidance. Does a vaporetto go directly to Burano from Piazzale Roma? Or do we have to take the #3 line to Murano, and then take the #12 to Burano? I wasn't sure if there was one that went directly to Burano. We have been to Venice once before, and want to skip Murano this time around. We did love Burano though, and are looking forward to another visit. Our ship docks at 2 PM - so we were wanting to go to Burano for an hour to 2 hours, then hope to go directly to San Marco from Burano. Is this possible?

We then want to spend the evening exploring or "getting lost" in Venice. My understanding is that the people mover stops running at 11 PM. Does taking a vaporetto between 9:30 and 10 PM back to Piazzale Roma give us enough time to make sure we are on the people mover? We don't want to be making that long walk back to the port or to pay the $25 per person from San Marco.

Any advice would help.

As a fellow Canadian, I always book directly with NCL and keep an eye on the prices myself (control issues :)) If the price drops enough to warrent a conversation, I have a little chat with them and they fix me right up with the new deal. Sometimes it may take more than one phone call since not all customer service people are accommodating but I keep calling them until I get what I want (POLITELY). NCL always invoices me in CDN and then everything I purchase through their site is priced in CDN, including OBCs. I buy enough OBC to cover the cabin deposit plus any additional $$ I think I will be spending on board. For me, its just easier to purchase everything through NCL because the site tells me exactly what I am paying as opposed to what the CC company will charge on any given day. :D

I need some help trying to figure this out. When I go in to my NCL account, it confirms my prices are in CDN. Le Bistro is showing $23.54 CDN which includes the 18% gratuity. I'm not sure what the US charge is for Le Bistro, but I'm assuming it's $20.00 plus gratuity. I may be wrong. Does this mean I'm getting it at par?

I went on and purchased $300 in On-Board Certificates, and my CC was charged $300 CDN. Does this mean when we board, this will be showing in our account, OR do they actually put certificates in our cabin? Sorry...it may be a stupid question, but I have never purchased on board certificates before. So if they are showing in our account and let's say I purchase $1000 CDN in total. Our service charges per day will be $27 US. Are you saying they will take the $27 US at whatever exchange rate NCL is giving me....at par or 1.11 (booked Dec 2014 for 2015 cruise) out of the account?

I want to be really clear on this as we are 4 couples cruising and before I tell them they should all do this, I want to make sure this is correct.

I assume we would still be providing them with our CC number for the account, but it would not be charged until the on-board credit has been used up?

Thank you in advance.

This has been possible in the past (we did it as recently as last Christmas/New Year's), but you have to call them, you can't do it online. You can also buy liquor by the bottle from the ship's bars, and take it back to your cabin with a few mixers. Unless things have changed very recently.

Thank you so much for that info....will check on it.

I can answer this now, as this will be the fifth time that we've sailed from Barcelona.

 

The terminal changes depending on what other ships are in port on the same day, so the one we sail from won't necessarily be the same one that the Spirit uses on other cruises.

 

However, there has been a duty free shop after check in at every Barcelona terminal I have used. Many people mention it on here as a way of taking wine onboard without paying corkage.

 

It isn't that simple though. It is pot luck whether they have scanners as you enter the ship. I have purchased wine from that shop and had to pay the corkage on a couple of occasions. Be prepared to have to pay it if you do buy some wine from that shop. In my experience they have scanners on boarding more often than not.

 

The real problem is that if they do scan you in boarding and you have to pay the corkage then you will have paid a lot more for your wine than is necessary. The wine I usually buy costs 10 Euros from that shop (maybe even more now). I bought the same wine for €3.70 today from the supermarket on La Ramblas. It is only €5 from a more expensive shop.

We're very excited about our upcoming cruise on the Oct 12th sailing. It is our 1st time on Norwegian. Thank you for the information regarding bringing wine on board, as I'm also hoping to do this. Even with the corkage charges, it appears to be cheaper than buying it by the glass or bottle on the ship.

I did look at pre-ordering and was disappointed to see that you cannot purchase a bottle of hard liquor for your cabin. I seem to recall being able to do that on our Holland cruise - I may be wrong.

I'm really looking forward to your reviews about the cruise. Have a wonderful time.

Loving the review and pics! Our countdown is on for the same cruise in October - cannot wait!:)

Loving your review - excellent job! We will on the Jan 6/13 cruise and are so looking forward to it! Keep the great pics coming!:)