Venice Overnight and Free time

[drcandon]

Hi Folks..for those who have been to Venice and been on an overnight with disembark the next day....We are going to take one of the normal tours in the morning ( Hidden Treasures), that last about 4 hours. I am curious if, after returning to the ship, has anyone then ventured out on their own to see St. Marks square and other stuff.

 

Does Regent provide water taxi service? Does it cost, and if so how many Euros ( I assume)...

 

Any info would be helpful

 

Oh yea, we are going on the Oct 23 Rome to Venice cruise.

 

thanks

[TedC]

Venice is a wonderful place to just wander around.

 

The "Secret Itinerary" at Doges Palace VERY interesting! Casanova, a former priest, was imprisoned there.

[RachelG]

Definitely rec the secret itinerary tour at the doges palace, but you must re reserve online. You can definitely venture out on your own after your regent tour. We just stayed downtown after ours, then made our way back to the ship later.

[jhp]

DRCANDON, I think you are asking if you remain in town after a ship-included tour the day prior to disembarking, can you get back to the ship after a tour the first day if you break away? If so, I think yes, at least last time I was there, and there was some sort of "ferry" service thru Regent. I remember that because my daughter's now husband was coming aboard, later. They were running shuttle boats from near St. Marks square and they made it back to the ship with no problem. But we continued from Venice on a back to back.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

There is a vaporetto (water bus) that you can take. We did the Burano and Murano tour and went back to the ship. Water Taxi from St. Mark's is $130 + Euro.

If you have not been to Venice before - try to arrange to stay on your own for at least one day if not two. And do not take the free tour to Murano. They forget to return you to where you came from if you do not spend a fortune on Murano Glass. Actually - if you end up there - go for a walk. It's quite pretty and you will miss the other parts of Murano.

[debijaynes]

We are on the 10/23 cruise as well! Had planned to go to Murano thru Regnt and after seeing the post above am not so sure. We are staying an extra day and have booked Angel Tours for a tour on that day. We want to go to Murano simply because Mom and Dad shipped back a massive glass piece from there years ago and want to see how it was made. Now, not so sure!

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We are on the 10/23 cruise as well! Had planned to go to Murano thru Regnt and after seeing the post above am not so sure. We are staying an extra day and have booked Angel Tours for a tour on that day. We want to go to Murano simply because Mom and Dad shipped back a massive glass piece from there years ago and want to see how it was made. Now, not so sure!

 

By Free Tour - I meant the one put on by the glass factory - the Regent tour is fine. You will see them make glass and then be led through the showrooms for purchase. I recommend the tour to Burano. It is very scenic there.

[pingpong1]

Debijaynes/DrCandon - Hi, folks. The time is definitely getting closer for all of us! As you know, we'll be onboard with you, as well. Mary and I did the "Murano thing" (ONCE!) ourselves a couple of years ago - when we drove from Rome up to Venice.

 

The whole purpose of the "Murano Tour" as far as I could determine, at least from the glass factory's perspective", seemed to solely be to get you to spend a fortune on their glass products in their showroom. Unlike, the Stuben Glass factory tour in Corning, NY - where their primary purpose is to show you how fine lead crystal is actually made, to introduce you to the fine workmanship and artistry of their craftsmen, and then if you chose - to perhaps purchase one or two pieces in their store, in Murano, I think it comes across as a tourist trap.

 

In Murano, we instantly felt a lot of strong arm pressure to buy their glass products as soon as we walked into the showroom. And you could easily spend as much in that store as what the entire Regent Cruise is costing you! We were just given a very brief walk-through of the factory where the glass was being fired/blown and the objects created, and then were immediately herded into the showroom, where two sales reps "hovered" over us with order pads and pens in hand.

 

When we finally got it through to them that we most likely weren't going to spend a fortune on their products (we were mostly interested in watching the glass objects being made) they "dropped us" like a hot potato (or, a piece of hot glass, in this case).

 

They immediately ignored/abandoned us and walked off in a huff - with their initial charming smiles turning into blank stares or scowels. They also seemed to instantly forget how to speak english when they determined that we were no longer potential customers. When we had first walked into the factory, they gratiously held open the door for us to enter. When we went to leave, we had to open the door ourselves!

 

ChatKat was "right on the money". With limited time in Venice, I'd recommend using it to walk around all the little alleys, shops, nooks, crannies, and churches of Venice, itself. There are plenty of places to purchase the Murano glass products right in Venice and it will probably be cheaper than buying it over on Murano - In fact, it would probably be the cheapest to purchase it back in the U.S.! :p

 

Perhaps others will have a totally different viewpoint or experience. Regards. See you soon!

[TedC]

There were rumors that some of the Venice glass and lace was actually made in China!

 

 

Buyer BEWARE!

[forgap]

I've been to Venice twice. Loved Burano and Torcello. Skipped murano. There is an American jewelry artist who makes the most lovely blown glass earrings and necklaces. She learned her craft in Murano. Prices are good. It is the genninger studio located very near to the Peggy Guggenheim museum. She has a web site http://www.genningerstudio.com/. I bought more than my share of earrings and multiple gifts for my best friend.

[debijaynes]

Thank you everyone for your input! Think we shall cancel the Murano trip and pick another--maybe one that we actually have to pay for. We Have booked Angel Tours for the day we disembark in the afternoon. I spoke with Regent and they would not (of course!) guarantee a time off the ship.So we'll go to the hotel, get settled I hope and have lunch somewhere and then tour. Flight on Sunday doesn't leave til 10:30 AM.

Ship still seems not very full---one category was wait-listed and then that was taken off. They are still holding to the 40-30 days notice for upgrades.An article from the WSJ said that Mediterranean cruises are not very full for the autumn months.

Hopefully we can get together to put faces to names!

Debi

[UUNetBill]

We, too, heard negative reviews about Murano and the strong-arm tactics, and were going to blow off a visit, but a friend of my wifes knew a couple who owned a shop on Murano and he suggested we visit. We priced a water taxi out and back (€140 :eek:) and decided to take the Alialaguna water bus (€15 per person roundtrip). Well worth it, IMO. Murano is a beautiful island with amazing shops, and although we didn't get a factory tour (we've seen glass blown before in several places) we loved wandering the shops and felt no pressure at all. Had a great lunch, wandered a bit, and took the Alialaguna back to the cruise dock.

 

I'd recommend just winging it - Venice and Murano both encourage walking and exploring...it's easy to get around, and walking lets you find many hidden treasures.

[debijaynes]

Just got off the phone with Regent cancelling the Murano trip and substituting Panoramic Venice (hey--it's our first time here!) . Water taxis will be available at the ship since we are there overnight. Right now 484 passengers are booked.

Debi

[Hunding]

It seems to me that Regent's Murano-Burano four-hour excursion would be just dandy -- time to get to-and-from the islands, a glassblowing "how-to," time to buy (for those who wish), and time to walk around the islands. Burano looks particularly charming and photogenic. For those who might wish to stay longer than the allotted time, I believe there are the vaporetti to bring you back to Venice proper for a reasonable one-way fee. Of course, you would then have a wee walk back to San Basilio, but -- assuming the Weather Gods will be gazing beneficently down upon us -- it should be glorious!

[HanaleiSailor]

Aloha All,

 

Last year, we stayed in Venice three days precruise and used our Vaporetto Pass to get to Murano on our own. There were no groups there; we walked around the charming little island, looked into several galleries, saw two guys blowing glass with very little high pressure sales and then visited the Glass Museum (we also had pre-paid for a Museum Pass, Murano included). Very nice experience, and because we live on a small island, we like to visit other small islands just to see how people live.

 

Aloha from Hanalei,

 

Mark

[PUNTA MITA]

Thank you everyone for your input! Think we shall cancel the Murano trip and pick another--maybe one that we actually have to pay for. We Have booked Angel Tours for the day we disembark in the afternoon. I spoke with Regent and they would not (of course!) guarantee a time off the ship.So we'll go to the hotel, get settled I hope and have lunch somewhere and then tour. Flight on Sunday doesn't leave til 10:30 AM.

Ship still seems not very full---one category was wait-listed and then that was taken off. They are still holding to the 40-30 days notice for upgrades.An article from the WSJ said that Mediterranean cruises are not very full for the autumn months.

Hopefully we can get together to put faces to names!

Debi

 

One of my questions is how do you know if a cruise is very full? If we are less than 60 days out and no room category is waitlisted, does that mean anything?

[ChatKat in Ca.]

It seems to me that Regent's Murano-Burano four-hour excursion would be just dandy -- time to get to-and-from the islands, a glassblowing "how-to," time to buy (for those who wish), and time to walk around the islands. Burano looks particularly charming and photogenic. For those who might wish to stay longer than the allotted time, I believe there are the vaporetti to bring you back to Venice proper for a reasonable one-way fee. Of course, you would then have a wee walk back to San Basilio, but -- assuming the Weather Gods will be gazing beneficently down upon us -- it should be glorious!

 

We did that tour and they take you to the Fornice Glass Factory where we previously (on another visit) were heavily strong armed for a shopping stop and exhibition. We got there and walked around to the guides displeasure. The walk was nice - the island is charming. We also skipped the lace making exhibit in Burano. Same routine. We walked there, had the specialty cookies and walked one of the side lagoon/alley ways. Very charming. Just watch your time so you don't miss the bus/boat back.

[debijaynes]

One of my questions is how do you know if a cruise is very full? If we are less than 60 days out and no room category is waitlisted, does that mean anything?

 

I called Regent about an excursion and simply asked how many were on the ship! By now you or your TA should have gotten the upgrade offers as well. Of course showing everything as "available" had me a bit concerned. We have friends here who have canceled their fall cruises due to the unrest in the MidEast.

 

Debi

[drcandon]

I don't think the unrest has much to do with the cruise not being full. Honestly, no offense to that region of the world, but someone is always upset at something. During the major recent local wars there, only a few cruises were stunted.

 

That aside, the main concern that was rumoured was the fact the ship is just coming out of dry dock and folks are showing trepidation at things not being right..

 

Personally I look forward to a renovated ship..even though a few of them might still be on board finishing up ( just kidding ).

 

Yes, the upgrades - rather upsells, are out now..we received one.

[PUNTA MITA]

I don't think the unrest has much to do with the cruise not being full. Honestly, no offense to that region of the world, but someone is always upset at something. During the major recent local wars there, only a few cruises were stunted.

 

That aside, the main concern that was rumoured was the fact the ship is just coming out of dry dock and folks are showing trepidation at things not being right..

 

Personally I look forward to a renovated ship..even though a few of them might still be on board finishing up ( just kidding ).

 

Yes, the upgrades - rather upsells, are out now..we received one.

 

Are you on the Nov. 2nd cruise from Venice? Maybe upsells only go to guest who have gone on Regents before, then if they do not buy the upsell, newbies like us get offer? I did e-mail our TA. Thanks for info

[drcandon]

We are on the Oct 23 to Nov 2 Rome to Venice , Voyager, right after dry dock...

 

We received our offer about 10 days ago...

 

I have no information on whether new guests get upsell offers or not..

[susar]

just want to say we will be on that cruise also. Haven't figured out what excursions to do yet...

[AWED23]

If you have an evening free in Venice and weather permits may I suggest a stroll around St. Marks square and dinner at one of the tratorrias with a small orchestra. It can be really nice to have Chianti and pasta while listening to the 3 or 4 restaurant bands compete. A very unique experience.

[vlinbin]

We received an upsell offer on our very first Regent cruise. At the time we did not realize how quickly one must respond. By the time we decided to accept the offer, it was no longer available.

[TedC]

No BIG deal, everyone gets same food, entertainment etc whatever cabin grade you're in! You probably saved a few bucks also.