Live Blog and some pre-cruse chatter- Constellation 7/21

[Jim_Iain]

Our host at our AirBnB was able to check us in early. We left the ship at 9:00 and made it to our apartment about an hour later. We stayed here a year ago so found it again easily.

 

It is a cute small place on a canal that was once part of Grand Mansion called Ca Cammello. Thank goodness they have AC as it is about 92 F today

 

Painting of the Plazzo Mastelli del Cammello

 

 

 

 

 

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[Jim_Iain]

Tip of the day.

 

People Mover is well sign posted and just outside gate of the port. Tickets available via vending machine and newsstands. They also have a ticket counter. Cost is 1.50 Euros. Ticket machines are very easy and multi lingual. They accept Euros, Coins and Credit Cards.

 

We took it one stop to Piazalle Roma - From here there is a Waterbus Station just before the bridge. We purchased a 7 day ticket even though we are only her for 5 as it was cheaper. There are two lines - one that goes to the airport and is not covered by daily passes.

 

Single Ride Price -

 

€ 1.50 good for 75 minutes

Prices:

 

One day: €20,--

Two days: €30,--

Three days: €40,--

Seven days: €60,--

 

A modern pedestrian bridge called the Calatrava Bridge connects Piazzale Roma to the train station.

 

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Edited July 28, 2018 by Jim_Iain

[yvonneh]

Thank you for your wonderful review and photos, I have enjoyed it so! We went on this same itinerary the end of June, and loved it. I thought Connie was in great shape for her age. The only thing I said to my husband was that they really needed to replace the lounge chairs, they were so wore out and looked terrible. So, I really loved your photo of the replacement ones!

 

Is there anyway you can give me a hint to what website you use to monitor pricing? That chart you posted was great. I just check on the Celebrity site for changes, and you seem to have a better method.

 

Thanks!

[Jim_Iain]

Thank you for your wonderful review and photos, I have enjoyed it so! We went on this same itinerary the end of June, and loved it. I thought Connie was in great shape for her age. The only thing I said to my husband was that they really needed to replace the lounge chairs, they were so wore out and looked terrible. So, I really loved your photo of the replacement ones!

 

Is there anyway you can give me a hint to what website you use to monitor pricing? That chart you posted was great. I just check on the Celebrity site for changes, and you seem to have a better method.

 

Thanks!

 

Thank you for your kind words.

 

I noticed that they have not replaced all the lounge chair. Looks like most of the ones on the deck with the jogging trach were replaced but saw some older ones on the pool deck.

 

We are not permitted to list other sites as a rule of cruise critic. I use the fishy site. If you email me I can direct you to it or google "fish price tracking cruise" without the quotes and you should have no trouble finding it.

[hcat]

Have enjoyed this excellent review..Lovely photos, great commentary. Thank you ...

[Cruisenouvelle]

Thank you so much for the advice and photos! We are sailing 11 August, and will return to Venice. Your counsel is helpful.

[yvonneh]

Thank you for your kind words.

 

I noticed that they have not replaced all the lounge chair. Looks like most of the ones on the deck with the jogging trach were replaced but saw some older ones on the pool deck.

 

We are not permitted to list other sites as a rule of cruise critic. I use the fishy site. If you email me I can direct you to it or google "fish price tracking cruise" without the quotes and you should have no trouble finding it.

 

Perfect! Thank you, again!

[Jim_Iain]

For those that are spending some time in Venice in an apartment a little information. We found that bag ice is impossible to find in any grocery store. After googling on the subject I found that Italians have a superstation that putting ice in their drinks cause stomach problems, thus it is unpopular and would not sell. We found they have these little ice cube bags and having been making ice as fast as we can to keep up with our consumption.

 

The temperatures have been REALLY HOT. High today is 87 (30.5) and expected to be 91 F(33 C) for the remainder of the week. Last night only cooled down to 76 F (24.4 C). So happy we have air conditioning in our Apartment.

[Jim_Iain]

Sunday - July 29th

 

It is really the height of tourist season in Venice and the most popular places are packed. We have not been to Murano yet and it is on our list for this visit. We were owned by our host to avoid on Saturday's and Sunday's.

 

I did some research trying to find an out of the way places to visit during the major tourist season and came up with Giudecca.

 

 

Even though Giudecca ies directly in front of Venice and the vaporetto ride takes only 3 minutes, it is often ignored by visitors. The small island is however perfect to escape the crowds in Venice. It has a lot to offer so it’s worth spending half a day or even a full day on the island.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2018 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

Have enjoyed this excellent review..Lovely photos, great commentary. Thank you ...

 

Thanks for coming along for a fun journey.

 

Thank you so much for the advice and photos! We are sailing 11 August, and will return to Venice. Your counsel is helpful.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise. Be warned it is REALLY HOT and Humid. Stay hydrated avoid the direct sunlight it is very intense.

[Jim_Iain]

News of What's Coming Soon to Constellation

 

Just before we departed our cruise the MCC told us that coming on the next cruise you will be able to do On-Line Check-In on the Celebrity Apps (Only the ships currently available) and will be able to see your on board account direct from the App. Sounds interesting. Would love to hear from any that have the opportunity to try it out.

[h20cruzer]

Jim again enjoyed your review and pictures. Doing the TA to Buenos Aires in November and the info you provided was invaluable in making some of our decisions. I live in Marin, maybe some day we will end up on the same cruise.

Norma

[toothdocsx2]

Jim,

 

Absolutely spectacular blog & insights! I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to do this! I’m sailing on the Constellation on 8/30 so still have a bit of a wait but following your travels has made the wait far more fun. Now I’m off to find the fishy site

 

Michele

[Jim_Iain]

Jim again enjoyed your review and pictures. Doing the TA to Buenos Aires in November and the info you provided was invaluable in making some of our decisions. I live in Marin, maybe some day we will end up on the same cruise.

Norma

 

Norma - Good to hear from you again. It would be a lot of fun to end up on a cruise together. Next trip - coming in September will be my longest blog. We are doing a B2B2B starting in Anchorage (Seward) and ending in Tokyo after doing the TA & Japan Exploration Cruise.

 

I'm really looking forward to it as I have only been to Tokyo on business and really saw nothing of the lovely country.

[Jim_Iain]

Jim,

 

Absolutely spectacular blog & insights! I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to do this! I’m sailing on the Constellation on 8/30 so still have a bit of a wait but following your travels has made the wait far more fun. Now I’m off to find the fishy site

 

Michele

 

I hope it will be a little cooler by the end of August in Venice. It is 10:00 AM and already 85F - Should be a hot one. Last night only cooled to 77F,

 

If you can't find the Fishy site click the link to my email in my signature and I will pass it on. I use it often.

[Jim_Iain]

Took a trip to Murano today.

 

We are staying in Cannaregio on the north of the island with our closest waterbus station at Modana del'Orto. When I first looked at the schedule it was a bit confusing looking at the schedule at the pier. When I googled it said to take the 4.2 and stay on the bus at Frte Nove where it changes back to 4.1. Turned out to be a very easy trip.

 

We had a fun afternoon just wandering around and exploring the island. Temperatures have continued hot and humid and is expected to be a couple degrees hotter today. I froze a liter bottle of mineral water last night and was perfect to sip on to stay hydrated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2018 by Jim_Iain

[Jim_Iain]

To escape the crowds and heat of the traditional sites of Venice today we visited Giardini Della Biennale. Traditionally this was the site of La Biennale Art Exhibition since created by Napoleon at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Giardini now host 29 pavilions of foreign countries

 

 

 

 

Beautiful tree covered parks with plenty of shade and benches.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Today is our last day of this journey and we will be flying home tomorrow.

 

Iain is a big fan of Opera and wanted to take a tour of La Fenice Opera House today. Plugged it into google maps and it plotted a nice 1.2 mile walk from our apartment to the theater. It was a beautiful walk and was mostly in the shade. Thank God.

 

The theater was originally opened in 1792 but was destroyed by fire and was reopened in 2003. They have a self guided tour for a fee of 10 Euros and is nicely air conditioned.

 

 

 

Iain in the Royal Box

 

 

 

 

After finishing our tour we took a nice leisurely walk back to our apartment for lunch and packing up for the last time. Along the way I shot a couple pictures of street art (Graffiti) by an artist that you will see all over Venice.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by Jim_Iain

[ecslady]

Just came across your blog today...Guess, I have a lot of catching up to do. As always, I enjoy your blog and thanks for sharing.

[24acorns]

Hope you have a good journey home.

 

A treat following your journey. Roll on the beginning of September and your Millie adventures.

[Jim_Iain]

Thought I would post some final things we learned on getting from Venice to the Airport. Our apartment was located in Cannaregio and the last stop on the Vaporetto Airport Water Bus. We checked it often and found that some passengers had to wait 2 or 3 busses until there was one that had space on it.

 

We decided instead to take the Vaporetto to Pizzale Roma and grab the #5 Bus to the airport. A couple days earlier we went down and found you could buy the ticket for the Airport Bus at any number of places for the same price - news stands, Vending Machine or manned ticket counters. Cost is 8 Euros.

 

The trip to the airport was very relaxing and worry free.

 

We ran into all kinds of challenges at the airport but laughed them off. Check in very easy as we were flying business class. When going to the gates. Iain went through but my boarding pass was rejected and I was told I had to go through a different security area with a huge line. We didn't know this until Iain couldn't figure out where I was. Thank god for texting on cell phones.

I finally got through the security screening and we met in the Alitalia Lounge (used by Delta). When it got close to boarding time we made our way through passport control. We were greeted by a mob at the gate as there was a United flight going out at the same time. We got through the crowd pretty easily when they called Priority Boarding but they snagged Iain at the gate for a special random security screening and pat down.

 

Make sure you plan on an additional 15-30 minutes once in the boarding area.

 

We are now in Atlanta after a FANTASTIC flight on Delta awaiting our connection.

 

I am ending this thread but will be back in a month with our next adventure - B2B2B from Alaska to Japan for the Japan Emersion Cruise.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Thanks again for your report. I found the Venice airport to be quite a challenge. Ended up doing a lot of extra walking to find out where the Delta checkin area was. Lounge was fine. First class flight to Atlanta was fine. Atlanta airport was hell! My friend, who has global entry, got through the million lines slower than I did. Is there some good reason one has to show one's passport every 3 seconds??? Never again through Atlanta on an international flight!

[h20cruzer]

Sad to see this adventure end, but looking forward to your transpacific next month B2B. I did the Tokyo to Vancouver last May and loved it. Only issue I had was crossing the international date it was May 15 for 2 days!!!

Norma

[Jim_Iain]

Thanks again for your report. I found the Venice airport to be quite a challenge. Ended up doing a lot of extra walking to find out where the Delta checkin area was. Lounge was fine. First class flight to Atlanta was fine. Atlanta airport was hell! My friend, who has global entry, got through the million lines slower than I did. Is there some good reason one has to show one's passport every 3 seconds??? Never again through Atlanta on an international flight!

 

Linda I have never figured out why so many passport controls but was also common in South America.

 

We have Global Entry but decided to try Mobile Passport in Atlanta. While all the other lines were huge we only had two people in front of us in the Mobile Passport Lane. Stupid thing is we had to show our passport and he asked the same questions verbally. No problem and we were through in less than 3 minutes.

 

All I can say is it was much easier than Global Entry as you fill out the declaration and submit it before even off the airplane.

[Jim_Iain]

Sad to see this adventure end, but looking forward to your transpacific next month B2B. I did the Tokyo to Vancouver last May and loved it. Only issue I had was crossing the international date it was May 15 for 2 days!!!

Norma

 

We will have the opposite as we are going westbound so will loose a total day but will experience the arriving before we left syndrome on our way home.