LIVE! Venezia Maiden Voyage 5/29 - Let’s Cruise!

[TravelBluebird]

Got this in my email last night regradint Terrazza Stateroom benefits!:

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

I think others have posted these additional emails we’ve been sent, but in case you haven’t seen them, this is what else I received:  

[ninjacat123]

Your DH is a very good model and you take great pics👍

[Hogladyrider]

YUP @Saint Greg is on his way!

[TravelBluebird]

We slept like the dead till 9am this morning. Wanting to get to the market early to get some images before the crowds we threw on clothing and were away. Photos accomplished, we went to a coffee shop (which is what I usually do first thing; gosh I was a bit grumpy according to Russ…) then back to the market for some shopping. Rushing to get there early (market opens at 8am) is a good idea; by 9:30 it was much more crowded. We purchased some nougat (a local specialty), Russ got a prociutto and cheese cup for breakfast and I got a fruit salad (3.5EU).

 

Then we walked to the beautiful Cathedral of Barcelona. We had one of those moments of complete travel serendipity—there was a large band playing, and people folk dancing in front of the cathedral, with the cathedral as a backdrop! I’ve traveled enough to know that its the band and dancing in front of the cathedral that I’ll remember and not the history and saints of all the little chapels in the Cathedral, so I had Russ go ahead while I enjoyed the outside scene for a little longer.

 

After the cathedral (another gorgeous Gothic one!) and more coffee in the Museum of the Diocese coffee shop (they have a lovely coffee shop overlooking the square) we took a taxi to Park Guell.

 

Sigh. Don’t be us. We had tickets for the park last night, but were so exhausted we decided not to go.  We were under the mistaken impression that you could get in to the parts of the park that were not the Gaudi monuments. Well, evidently that USED to be true, but not any more. We hauled ourselves up the giant hill to the park, only to be able to NOT get in. All entrances, including the forest part of the part, now require a ticket. SO..the question is, can I add the park to the Unesco World Heritage site list? I mean, I saw the monuments from the entrance to the park?  😂

 

We then walked around the hilly area outside the park; cool neighborhoods. Barcelona, as it turns out, is FULL of graffiti. It is just everywhere. I had wanted to take photos of some of it, and there was some graffitti and interesting (and highly political) street art as well which I was happy to photograph. 

 

We are back at the hotel now for a bit and then off for some shopping and the Sagrada Familia which, yes, we have tickets for! 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[Hogladyrider]

WOW great photos!

[TravelBluebird]

3 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Your DH is a very good model and you take great pics👍

 

Yes, I am lucky he is in a cooperative mood…after 3 or 4 days he may start to grumble a bit! And thanks re the pics—I am actually only using my iPhone for my trip photos, now that I have the latest one with a wide angle lens. I also use a small 360 camera for additional videos. Very compact, easy to carry around when you are walking a ton!

[TravelBluebird]

I promised a hotel review!

 

We are staying at the Royal Ramblas Hotel, right on Las Rambla. As mentioned, its incredibly its well located—easy walking distance to the Gothic Quarter, Cathedral, cafes, restaurants, 20 minutes walk straight down Las Rambla to the coast. 

 

We didn’t book this cruise until January due to the Jubilee cancellation; my mother was ill when that happened (she passed in January) so we didn’t even feel like booking anything till late January. We were happy there was still space on the Venezia, and booked it. However, the hotels were already booked up pretty well (or ridiculously expensive) and the first 3 hotels we wanted (charming, rooftop bars//views) were totally booked.

 

So we went for location and picked this hotel. It is overall OK with 1 or 2 exceptional qualities.  It was expensive at $360 a night including all taxes, but not Barcelona expensive which was running a couple hundred higher a night for many hotels. We could have brought the cost down further and stayed in a room with no view, or a smaller room, but we splurged a bit.

 

PROS

—location!!

—great double-paned windows. We are RIGHT on La Rambla, but no noise at all; room very quiet to sleep in

—great shower water temperature//shower heads//water pressure

—large room

—great raised area to put 2 suitcases

—gorgeous views from big windows

—good lighting in room

—good, friendly help at main desk

—excellent A/C

—modern bathroom

 

CONS

—hotel is a bit shabby. Very very basic furniture. 

—Other than a small, busy lobby, no public spaces in hotel

—Zero charm

—expensive

—hard bed (but decent pillows and blanket)

—bathroom is small; size of Carnival Mardi Gras bathroom

 

We did not pre-buy the breakfast at 16EU each additional; could get it for 18EU each here if we wanted but we are coffee shop//market breakfast sorts.

 

Let me know if you have any question!

 

 

[ninjacat123]

16 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

I promised a hotel review!

 

We are staying at the Royal Ramblas Hotel, right on Las Rambla. As mentioned, its incredibly its well located—easy walking distance to the Gothic Quarter, Cathedral, cafes, restaurants, 20 minutes walk straight down Las Rambla to the coast. 

 

We didn’t book this cruise until January due to the Jubilee cancellation; my mother was ill when that happened (she passed in January) so we didn’t even feel like booking anything till late January. We were happy there was still space on the Venezia, and booked it. However, the hotels were already booked up pretty well (or ridiculously expensive) and the first 3 hotels we wanted (charming, rooftop bars//views) were totally booked.

 

So we went for location and picked this hotel. It is overall OK with 1 or 2 exceptional qualities.  It was expensive at $360 a night including all taxes, but not Barcelona expensive which was running a couple hundred higher a night for many hotels. We could have brought the cost down further and stayed in a room with no view, or a smaller room, but we splurged a bit.

 

PROS

—location!!

—great double-paned windows. We are RIGHT on La Rambla, but no noise at all; room very quiet to sleep in

—great shower water temperature//shower heads//water pressure

—large room

—great raised area to put 2 suitcases

—gorgeous views from big windows

—good lighting in room

—good, friendly help at main desk

—excellent A/C

—modern bathroom

 

CONS

—hotel is a bit shabby. Very very basic furniture. 

—Other than a small, busy lobby, no public spaces in hotel

—Zero charm

—expensive

—hard bed (but decent pillows and blanket)

—bathroom is small; size of Carnival Mardi Gras bathroom

 

We did not pre-buy the breakfast at 16EU each additional; could get it for 18EU each here if we wanted but we are coffee shop//market breakfast sorts.

 

Let me know if you have any question!

 

 

C2E8B390-2D6E-4FC6-A59D-D8EE1085A050.MOV 29FDD638-4E87-49E7-89F3-459F269074E0.MOV 599433D7-60E1-4F86-A73A-398E1D1837C2.MOV

Thanks for posting the videos!  The bathroom is just like a MG bathroom (we had an inside room on MG) and I'm glad it's quiet inside your room because the street does look busy.  Is there anything on the roof, like a bar?

So sorry for the loss of your mom.  I just took my mom and two DDs (20 & 22) on a cruise on Sunshine for her 85th bday. I posted a review on CC. Looking forward to more review!

Edited May 27, 2023 by ninjacat123

[Hogladyrider]

@TravelBluebird....so sorry for your loss of your mom.  

My philosophy is we only go this way once so go for it.  You are creating amazing memories.

[fmp4369]

I'm really curious to hear about the restaurants and Lido. From the few videos and pictures posted they seem to be smaller than the other Vista ships. I was on Horizon a month ago and this ship looks different. 

Edited May 27, 2023 by fmp4369

[TravelBluebird]

54 minutes ago, fmp4369 said:

I'm really curious to hear about the restaurants and Lido. From the few videos and pictures posted they seem to be smaller than the other Vista ships. I was on Horizon a month ago and this ship looks different. 

 

I am curious about this too! We shall have answers very shortly—just 1 more day in Barcelona and then we all board the Venezia! 

[TravelBluebird]

Just got back to the hotel; its about 10pm.

 

I walked nearly 20,000 steps today, or 8.6ish miles. This is not uncommon for me when I’m traveling. And for those of you who followed the saga of my broken ankle last year on the Carnival Spirit, I want to let you all know that my broken ankle has healed so well that it didn’t hurt at all today! I think my left ankle actually was more sore!

 

Had a great day again today! I’ve already shared my morning. For our afternoon, we started out at the Apple Store for my husband tl have a connector from his ear buds to his phone.  $10; would have been $8 in the US but VAT.  We also shopped in a big soccer store with licensed merch for our grandsons who are soccer fanatics (two really nice soccer jerseys—we would have personalized them with their names but they were out of several letters we needed! We’ll do that at home.

 

Then we stood in the longest line of any place we’ve visited in Barcelona. Can you guess what the attraction was?

 

Nope, nope,nope—guess agsin—

 

Yep. the LEGO Store. I’m a huge LEGO fan, and I found out from Tony from La Ldio Loco that you can get free LEGO passports and get them stamped at each LEGO store you visit. So I had to have 1 for me, and 2 for the grandchildren, with our first stamp for Barceolona.  Was really glad we waited in line—there were inedible LEGO sculptures of the Sagrada Familia and some Gaudi landmarks.

 

We then grabbed the Metro to go to Sagrada Familia.  Metro was super easy to use; very well marked maps. 

 

The Sagrada Familia was awe-inspiring. A true modern Gothic church, and there is nothing lifke it anywhere in the world. My husband had visited prior in the 1980s and did not enjoy his.visit, so I sort of dragged him there. Well they’ve done so much more work now, and there is a great museum, and he liked it so much he even bought a book about the church in the gift shop.

 

One caveat—do NOT buy your Sagrada Familia ticket and  “audio guided tour” from “Get Your Guide”. It was impossible to get it to download after TWO different apps and then to get it to Russ as well; we gave up in frustration, and just guided ourselves around.

 

We didn’t get back to our “neighborhood” in Barcelona till pat 9pm, and we had no lunch, so we probably made a bad choice for dinner. It was a little Tapas place in the French Quarter—a bit overpriced, and the tapas were just OK. But it had a nice atmoshere and it was quiet.

 

Back to our hotel to drop off everything but a bit of money and our room key, then we walked La Rambla to look at all the street life—the street performers, the crowds, the ice cream stalls. I sometimes will go out no cameras in tow just to spend time with Russ, so no photo.

 

Early morning tomorrow—we are heading to Cas Milla (have tickets).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[maxandmolly]

Great pics!  Excited to follow along. 

[ninjacat123]

looking forward to tomorrow!

[TravelBluebird]

13 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

@TravelBluebird....so sorry for your loss of your mom.  

My philosophy is we only go this way once so go for it.  You are creating amazing memories.

 @Hogladyrider Thank you!  She always wanted to go on a cruise and we tried to take her on one but she wouldn’t leave my Dad behind who was impaired by a stroke.

 

We agree to do all you can when you can—tomorrow and health is not guaranteed!  I think all of us here at Cruise Critic share that philosophy.

Edited May 28, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

I’ve got time to catch you all up with our adventures today, then I need to try to figure out some tech stuff for my LIVE YT ship tour as I board the Venezia tomorrow. I apologize in advance that due to the time change the ship tour is starting early, perhaps as early as 6am EST (exact time depending how quick boarding is) but it will be available on YouTube to replay at any time AND I’ll post still images here later in the day as well.  If you haven’t found my YT channel yet; link is in my signature below or just look for Cruising With Dee.

 

OK, back to our last full Barcelona day! 

 

We did try the hotel breakfast today. Pricey for sure at 18EU per person. It is served in a lovely breakfast room with views right onto Las Ramblas.  Standard European Hotel Breakfast—pastries, cold cuts, bread, eggs, mushrooms, fruit (not enough variety on that for me), and decent espresso coffee machines.  We wanted to eat in as we had an early morning ticket for Casa Milla, another Gaudi masterpiece//UNESCO World Heritage site.

 

We get back to the room after breakfast, and Russ decides to do all his yoga stretches. I’m looking at the clock and say we should really leave, and he gets all snippy and says he’s worked out the time to get to Casa Milla on the Metro. I think we need to leave time for errors, misdirections, late trains. Typical marital travel argument.

 

He won, so we left the hotel with NO time to spare.  We get on the Metro, and 2 stops in we realize we’ve gone in the wrong direction.  Took a bit to sort that out and trains not as frequent on a Sunday, so we end up 20 minutes late for our ticket time, which was still OK.  I stand vindicated but still annoyed 😂

 

Casa Milla is not to be missed. It’s so…Gaudi. Who makes a roof like that, all steps and monuments and wavy lines? Who has an attic that resembles the interior of a whale?  We really loved it, and I loved the rooftop with the sculptures and the view. I didn’t really love the 7 flights of stairs we had to climb down after the visit (At least 140 steps; probably more) I believe a lift was available for the disabled.  

 

We people watched at the outdoor cafe, then took the Metro to the Maritime Museum without incident. We love Maritime Museums, and this one was spectacular, set in a Barcelona shipyard build in the 1300s!  I could go on for pages, but I won’t—well worth a visit if you are interested in Maritime history.

 

Then up the Columbus monument in a teeny tiny elevator (not for the claustriphobic, either the elevator or the viewing area) for some views, cost was 8EU.

 

A final long walk down La Ramblas and I’m back at the hotel. So much to do for tomorrow—some re-packing included as we want to walk on with just 1 carryon. The restaurant we wanted to try thanks to @IntrepidFromDC ‘s LIVE is closed on Sunday 😂 so we need to find something else.

 

Excited tomorrow to start our cruise part of this journey on the Venezia! 🎉 

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

23 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

Thanks for posting the videos!  The bathroom is just like a MG bathroom (we had an inside room on MG) and I'm glad it's quiet inside your room because the street does look busy.  Is there anything on the roof, like a bar?

So sorry for the loss of your mom.  I just took my mom and two DDs (20 & 22) on a cruise on Sunshine for her 85th bday. I posted a review on CC. Looking forward to more review!

 

Thanks re my Mom. ❤️  It was a little less quiet last night—lots of Saturday night really loud music and shouting and hoopla, but it was all over by 11pm-ish so not a problem for sleeping.

 

 

[TravelBluebird]

Dinner tonight was our best one yet! Had a lazy walk-about this evening and found a charming, hole-in-the wall Tapas Bar (It felt like it was 8 feet across at best!) in the Gothic Quarter, about a 10 minute walk from our hotel, callefd La Alcoba Azul. Packed (we got the 1 remaining table) and menus only in Spanish, we were treated excellent tapas including a burata salad, a delicious pork dish, spiral potaotes in 2 sauces, chicken satay and a proper 5-cheese cheese course to eat in chef suggested order with roasted pecans and apricot sauce.

 

We enjoyed the stroll as well; a perfect ending to 3 nights in Barcelona. We are back at the hotel and packed and ready for tomorrow!  Very excited for the cruise! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

OK well don’t any of you wake up early for my LIVE ship tour because I went to pre-schedule and arrance the LIVE broadcast this evening, and found out YT has a 24 hour waiting period before your first LivE. I mean, the stupid “tape live” button has been on my YT forever, but with no warning about that.  I wish I could do the LIVE right here 😭

 

BUt no worries…I’m just going to tape the embarkation//tour anyway and then upload it right after. I assumed most people would watch it later anyways. I’ll have running commentary during the tour.  

 

I’ll. also have a ton of photos of the interior for you right here.

 

Also, hope to both post a tour of the Terrazza Cabana Stateroom and photos of the stateroom here, so look for that!

 

Can’t believe the long awaited journey is here! looking forward to the Venezia, the ports, the Transatlantic00the whole thing! Plus meeting some of the other LIVE bloggers on the trip.  

Edited May 28, 2023 by TravelBluebird

[TravelBluebird]

Someone asked me about how much walking in total I’ve done in Barcelona. A ton! about 14,000 steps the first day, 20,000 steps the second day, and 14,000 steps today. I could have done more today but decided to cool it and take more Metro trips so I won’t be exhausted tomorrow.

[TravelBluebird]

All right that is it for me for the night! Our luggage is all packed, we have a plan for espresso and light breakfast in the morning and one last walk in Barcelona, and a taxi will show up at our hotel for us at 11am (another nice thing about the hotel is that it is just 15 minutes from the port).  

 

The next you’ll hear from me is either at the port or on the ship!!  

[CruiseAdict218]

Can't wait to follow along, boarding the ship for its first round trip sailing to Bermuda following this one. Also have two more cruises in the future as well. My only question would be is if its doing the Behind the Fun tour. 

[Haljo1935]

@TravelBluebird first, excited to hear how embarkation went - hoping it was smooth for you.

2nd, when you get out exploring,  any pictures and/or info you can give regarding deck 2 aft - the strange dark rectangular shapes outside of 2476 & 2497 is appreciated. We haven't been able to get any info from Carnival when we called in. What type of railing do those balconies have?

Thanks!!

[TravelBluebird]

2 hours ago, CruiseAdict218 said:

Can't wait to follow along, boarding the ship for its first round trip sailing to Bermuda following this one. Also have two more cruises in the future as well. My only question would be is if its doing the Behind the Fun tour. 

 

I will find out for you re the Behind the Fun tour!   I’ll be interested to see how your first round trip from NY goes as well. Just having coffee and we’ll be heading to the port for boarding soon!