Splendour

[redmom]

We arrived to Venice via a direct flight from Newark. Got bags and took the ACTV bus to venice. Tickets are available via a kiosk right near baggage claim. It does not take credit cards or large bills. We converted money at our local bank prior to leaving-should have requested more small bills...many places wouldn't accept the 50's and 100's we had. Bus took us directly to P. Roma and we stayed at Hotel Arlecchino which we easily saw from the bus stop (it is bright yellow). We walked the short distance to the hotel thank goodness for my husband and son we helped with the luggage over the bridge! We arrived prior to check in and 7 crazy Americans and lots of luggage was a bit overwhelming to the hotel...but 1 hour later they gave us one room to store our luggage which was great! Hotel rooms were small (typical European)-biggest issue was the tubs don't have shower curtains and so the bathroom floor was always wet! We grabbed a quick snack and a Gondola ride. Our tour guide met us at 1:00. We used Luisella Romeo. We did a walking tour which was wonderful! The tour ended in St Mark's Square and she recommended a restaurant for pizza/pasta which was perfect after a long day. We took a water taxi back to P. Roma which was quick/efficient but quite expensive. Saturday morning we took the ACTV boat to St Marks to get pictures of the square before it was packed with tourists. We walked to Rialto and explored the farmer and fish markets and stopped for some cappuccinos. We then walked back to the hotel to grab the luggage. We again shlepped the suitcases over the 1 bridge and took the people walker. The people walker was inexpensive but you need to be able to navigate your luggage on 2 escalators-it was very hot and we were dripping with sweat when we boarded! Hindsight being 20/20 I wish we got a water taxi! We boarded and had lunch at the windjammer and we explored the ship and found our rooms. We stayed in JS 8550-lovely and great location! Room was a great size/clean. We did have 2 or 3 towel animals during the week.4:30 was Muster Drill...sail away was 5:00-awesome views of Venice on the way out...Dinner was at 6:30-Mojo menu but we ate at Chops. Dinner was yummy-2 issues-my husband ordered 2 entrees and we were charged for the second and there is a corkage fee for wine brought on board. We did pick up wine in Venice and bring it on board-we had 3 cabins...so 6 bottles! No corkage fee in the main dining room. We were exhausted and missed the show! Day 2-Kotor, Montenegro. Needed to get tender tickets-so went early to be on tender 1 since we had a private tour! In the am we hit some trivia had massages and and had Tutti salads (my favorite) for lunch! Arrived in Kotor at 2 and were on the first tender. We had a private tour with Liset Rios de Kuhar. The country was beautiful! We got back and ran to dinner-we were a bit late..but all worked out. Our waiter Daniel and assistant Anderson were great-but a huge shout out to our head waitor, Hans who kept us entertained and laughing the entire week! Day 2 dinner was Basil. Went to the show that evening...not impressed. Time changed/1 hour ahead. Day 3 was Corfu...another beautiful country! We used Corfu taxi-Vasilis and Spiros-2 taxis for 7 of us. They gave us so much insight into Greece-the lifestyles/education/economy-it was wonderful! We stopped for olive tasting/photo shots/a restaurant for some Baklava and coffee/souvenir shop that sold tons of stuff made from olive wood which was great! All aboard was 2:30. Formal night-Saffron menu. Show was the Royal Caribbean Singers/Dancers-fair again. Day 4 was Athens! We arrived at noon and used Private Greece Tours-we also sprung for the tour guide, Helen, and was thankful since the media hyped up the craziness in Athens. We didn't see any of the craziness but were thankful to have her with us! She also taught a lot and kept our kids involved throughout. She recommended a restaurant for lunch which was Amazing! It was a long day-but we saw and walked a lot! We got back at 7 and ran late again for dinner/Portobello menu. Day 5 was Mykonos. Picture Perfect. DIY island. Lots of lovely homes to see/did walk to the wind mills and did some shopping. My favorite port! This port was a tender as well/but didn't need tickets for it. All aboard was 3:30-quick naps and Pimento dinner. Another Royal Caribbean dancer show/we passed since we didn't love the first 2. (my conclusion....bigger ships have much better entertainment-we missed the comedians/jugglers etc...) Day 6 was Argostoli-not much on cc about this port/we got off/had lunch which was good/but nothing like the restaurants in Athens/Mykonos! We weren't impressed and got back on board/read in the Solarium which was always freezing cold! and had a couples massage! Loved the water by the pool bar-one day it was lime/the other day cucumber! Another formal night Jasmine menu. Evening show was best of the week/visual comedy/allusions. Day 7 was the final sea day/relaxed/lots of trivia/tutti salads in the main ding room/Pomodoro dinner menu. Lots of talk from the staff about the ship being sold/they will be relocated. First time on small ship (we are diamond) and concluded other than trivia not much else going on-kids were bored at times. Cruise was very port intensive/bring hand held fans-we were sweaty the entire week and really good walking shoes! We walked off with our luggage/did the people mover and back to the same hotel for 2 more nights. We toured the Ghetto , the Basilica and Doges with Fiona Giusto-she also was wonderful. Definitely recommend the skip the lines pass for the Basilica-I ordered them on line prior to going! Huge time saver. On Sunday we toured Morano the hotel arranged the tour which was great and a low pressure tour of the glass which was lovely-we took another boat to Burano-great island/lots of shopping/great food ! Had dinner both nights at local restaurants recommended by the hotel/both were great!

[long4acruise]

Excellent review! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with fellow Cruise Critic members.

 

I'll be in Venice in April as the final stop on our Suez Canal cruise. Trying to decide on hotels and the pros and cons - Hilton Molino Stucky or Hotel Arlecchino.

[redmom]

Long4acruise-our hotel was really close to the cruise port and where the bus takes you to Marco Polo. It had a/c and an elevator which was very important to us. Rooms were small/but it is Europe. I loved how easy it was to spot our hotel when we were walking!

[rmgjg]

redmom

thanks for your review. We'll be on the same ship and itinerary in Sept. so it was most helpful. Haven't booked any tours yet. Was thinking of doing a private tour in Athens but might wait now to see what happens there in the next little while. Perhaps a ship tour would be better. I know that you booked private tours in Kotor and Corfu. Do you think it's feasible to just do our own thing when we arrive in port. Usually we prebook but this time have not done so.

[redmom]

we always get so much more out of a port with a tour. I loved hearing/asking about their lives. We learned so much!

[rmgjg]

You are so right! Will look into the tours that you took. Thank you.

[harola]

Hello Redmom,

 

We will do the same cruise end of October in the same JS! We are very excited! How was the suite? Any recommendations as what to bring?

Did you have a coffee maker and kettle in this suite? Does it work withe senseo pods?

 

Thank you!

[harola]

We arrived to Venice via a direct flight from Newark. Got bags and took the ACTV bus to venice. Tickets are available via a kiosk right near baggage claim. It does not take credit cards or large bills. We converted money at our local bank prior to leaving-should have requested more small bills...many places wouldn't accept the 50's and 100's we had. Bus took us directly to P. Roma and we stayed at Hotel Arlecchino which we easily saw from the bus stop (it is bright yellow). We walked the short distance to the hotel thank goodness for my husband and son we helped with the luggage over the bridge! We arrived prior to check in and 7 crazy Americans and lots of luggage was a bit overwhelming to the hotel...but 1 hour later they gave us one room to store our luggage which was great! Hotel rooms were small (typical European)-biggest issue was the tubs don't have shower curtains and so the bathroom floor was always wet! We grabbed a quick snack and a Gondola ride. Our tour guide met us at 1:00. We used Luisella Romeo. We did a walking tour which was wonderful! The tour ended in St Mark's Square and she recommended a restaurant for pizza/pasta which was perfect after a long day. We took a water taxi back to P. Roma which was quick/efficient but quite expensive. Saturday morning we took the ACTV boat to St Marks to get pictures of the square before it was packed with tourists. We walked to Rialto and explored the farmer and fish markets and stopped for some cappuccinos. We then walked back to the hotel to grab the luggage. We again shlepped the suitcases over the 1 bridge and took the people walker. The people walker was inexpensive but you need to be able to navigate your luggage on 2 escalators-it was very hot and we were dripping with sweat when we boarded! Hindsight being 20/20 I wish we got a water taxi! We boarded and had lunch at the windjammer and we explored the ship and found our rooms. We stayed in JS 8550-lovely and great location! Room was a great size/clean. We did have 2 or 3 towel animals during the week.4:30 was Muster Drill...sail away was 5:00-awesome views of Venice on the way out...Dinner was at 6:30-Mojo menu but we ate at Chops. Dinner was yummy-2 issues-my husband ordered 2 entrees and we were charged for the second and there is a corkage fee for wine brought on board. We did pick up wine in Venice and bring it on board-we had 3 cabins...so 6 bottles! No corkage fee in the main dining room. We were exhausted and missed the show! Day 2-Kotor, Montenegro. Needed to get tender tickets-so went early to be on tender 1 since we had a private tour! In the am we hit some trivia had massages and and had Tutti salads (my favorite) for lunch! Arrived in Kotor at 2 and were on the first tender. We had a private tour with Liset Rios de Kuhar. The country was beautiful! We got back and ran to dinner-we were a bit late..but all worked out. Our waiter Daniel and assistant Anderson were great-but a huge shout out to our head waitor, Hans who kept us entertained and laughing the entire week! Day 2 dinner was Basil. Went to the show that evening...not impressed. Time changed/1 hour ahead. Day 3 was Corfu...another beautiful country! We used Corfu taxi-Vasilis and Spiros-2 taxis for 7 of us. They gave us so much insight into Greece-the lifestyles/education/economy-it was wonderful! We stopped for olive tasting/photo shots/a restaurant for some Baklava and coffee/souvenir shop that sold tons of stuff made from olive wood which was great! All aboard was 2:30. Formal night-Saffron menu. Show was the Royal Caribbean Singers/Dancers-fair again. Day 4 was Athens! We arrived at noon and used Private Greece Tours-we also sprung for the tour guide, Helen, and was thankful since the media hyped up the craziness in Athens. We didn't see any of the craziness but were thankful to have her with us! She also taught a lot and kept our kids involved throughout. She recommended a restaurant for lunch which was Amazing! It was a long day-but we saw and walked a lot! We got back at 7 and ran late again for dinner/Portobello menu. Day 5 was Mykonos. Picture Perfect. DIY island. Lots of lovely homes to see/did walk to the wind mills and did some shopping. My favorite port! This port was a tender as well/but didn't need tickets for it. All aboard was 3:30-quick naps and Pimento dinner. Another Royal Caribbean dancer show/we passed since we didn't love the first 2. (my conclusion....bigger ships have much better entertainment-we missed the comedians/jugglers etc...) Day 6 was Argostoli-not much on cc about this port/we got off/had lunch which was good/but nothing like the restaurants in Athens/Mykonos! We weren't impressed and got back on board/read in the Solarium which was always freezing cold! and had a couples massage! Loved the water by the pool bar-one day it was lime/the other day cucumber! Another formal night Jasmine menu. Evening show was best of the week/visual comedy/allusions. Day 7 was the final sea day/relaxed/lots of trivia/tutti salads in the main ding room/Pomodoro dinner menu. Lots of talk from the staff about the ship being sold/they will be relocated. First time on small ship (we are diamond) and concluded other than trivia not much else going on-kids were bored at times. Cruise was very port intensive/bring hand held fans-we were sweaty the entire week and really good walking shoes! We walked off with our luggage/did the people mover and back to the same hotel for 2 more nights. We toured the Ghetto , the Basilica and Doges with Fiona Giusto-she also was wonderful. Definitely recommend the skip the lines pass for the Basilica-I ordered them on line prior to going! Huge time saver. On Sunday we toured Morano the hotel arranged the tour which was great and a low pressure tour of the glass which was lovely-we took another boat to Burano-great island/lots of shopping/great food ! Had dinner both nights at local restaurants recommended by the hotel/both were great!

 

Hello Redmom,

 

 

We will do the same cruise end of October in the same JS! We are very excited! How was the suite? Any recommendations as what to bring?

Did you have a coffee maker and kettle in this suite? Does it work withe senseo pods?