Willdra’s Valiant Venezia Review

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 2:51 PM, carol louise said:

Willdra, I am enjoying your visit to our fair city! From my apartment the Empire State Building illuminated at night is the last thing I see before closing my eyes, so I had fun finding my building in a couple of your photos from the top. When you took the photos, ironically, I was on Venezia returning to NY for disembarkation on the 6th.

Ahhh how cool! Wish we could’ve cruised together! 🥰🥰

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 3:09 PM, silvercrikhix said:

Thanks for sharing Willdra!  Your reviews are a delight themselves!   Mmmm…🍓 🍓 🍓 

Thanks! 😊 

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 3:44 PM, edspec said:

Yay, another great review.  Thank-you for the New York information and pics.

Thanks for joining my journey! 😍

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 3:45 PM, 3smithboys said:

If I can’t be on a cruise… at least I can be reading a great Willdra review! ❤️

Now THIS is a compliment! Thanks 🙏🏾!!!! 

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 3:46 PM, Frank12 said:

Following.  Bring it!

Challenge accepted! 😜 uh maybe. 

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 4:59 PM, Crusin Karen said:

Been checking every day for this! Enjoyed first 2 pages and you have had me laughing already. I was on this cruise-I live in NE NJ and had 10-10:30 arrival time and left at 9:15.  Sounds like you had a great tourist day! 👏

It was epic! We weren’t able to do all the things so we will be back for sure! 😊😊

[willdra]

22 hours ago, MzShae said:

Whoomp! There it is!! Another Willdra adventure is here!💯🥳💜

Shaka laka Shaka laka Shaka whoomp! Oh wait I forgot where I was at for a minute! 😂💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻

[willdra]

22 hours ago, VIFP1987 said:

Woohoo, another Willdra review!! So happy to see this! Can’t wait for the next installment! 

This!!!!! 😘😘😘😘😘😘

[willdra]

21 hours ago, ktinnc said:

So excited to follow along!

 

Welcome aboard! 😍 

[MJSailors]

Hi Wildra-You certainly covered a lot of ground on Day 2!

The Met is one of our favorite museums. We had membership there for many years. There was/is a rooftop gallery that showcased various sculptures and art pieces on a rotating basis. The views from there were great!

Thank you for visiting the 911 memorial. Many friends and neighbors experienced the attack,luckily none perished. We have yet to go there. I think experiencing that destruction first hand was enough for us. I am grateful that the memorial is there though and the Freedom Tower was built-symbolic of life continuing and hope for a better world.

I really like the photos of the Brooklyn Bridge-glad you got to experience that too. It really is a work of art!

I noticed in your photos that there were not many people in Bryant Park, Central Park and in front of the library or the Met. Either you have great timing for your shots or there were not many people on the streets.

Thank you for candidly speaking about the quality of life issues you encountered while going about the city.

The photos of the trash in the street and your mention of people with apparent issues being on the streets-not getting care they need and the pot smoking was disheartening to read about, but also confirming what we have heard about the state of NYC.

To see and read about a place that we loved, having so many problems is saddening for us. We last visited NYC in 2019-pre Covid.I am not sure if we will return though. We are in our early 70s and don’t move as quickly as we used to to keep up a pace.

Because the city is having financial difficulties,many services have been cut or eliminated. Therefore the  quality of life has suffered too.

I thought the trash in front of a business was the responsibility of the business owners and managers.

Maybe they do try, but if the sanitation trucks don’t pick up regularly, what recourse do they have to control the trash? Both Bryant and Central Park looked neat though.

Please do not take my words as a downer for your review.

Most of the photos you posted are reminders of the city we have loved and enjoyed. Those are good memories. I am so glad that you made the effort to make the most of your visit to NYC!

PS If you revisit NYC, you don’t need to get a hotel in Times Square. There are many nice hotels on the East Side in the Lexington Ave area.

That would be less congested and quieter.

You were in a room overlooking the Port Authority Terminal. Very different from Grand Central Station!

Even in the good days, it had a reputation of nefarious activity and constant activity and noise.

I am looking forward to reading more of your review.

Hoping to read about the cruise soon!

Take care🤗

MJ🙋🏻‍♀️

[notscb]

As a NY'er (not NYC, but still), I remember the moment where I said to myself "wait- they did the MET and the Brooklyn Bridge and the 9.11 museum all on the same day- WHAT. " It seems like y'all made the most of your trip!

[Sadebud]

Great review as always, Willdra!!! I had been checking and checking and checking for it...I went out of town for 3 days, and sure enough, it showed up while I was gone and I had 6 pages to read...lol.  I, too, will be thanking God tonight that there is another Willdra trip report to follow!

[KmomChicago]

16 hours ago, notscb said:

As a NY'er (not NYC, but still), I remember the moment where I said to myself "wait- they did the MET and the Brooklyn Bridge and the 9.11 museum all on the same day- WHAT. " It seems like y'all made the most of your trip!

Agree. Not a NY’er but occasional visitor.  That’s a lot for one day for people of a certain grown up age. I could have handled that in my strong 25-35 range but any one of those would BE the day all by itself ever since then.

[mlshum]

So excited for another Willdra review!

[AKR2011]

I'm playing catch here and just wanted to spread the word that we in NY love our alcohol, and you can even shop on Sunday. BUT, we have weird laws about what is sold. Liquor stores can ONLY sell wine and liquor, and grocery stores can mostly only sell beer. Some can get away with NY wines, but that's about it. You'll often find a liquor store next to a grocery store for that reason. 

[Knights on the Beach]

Can't wait until "we" get on the ship - let's go! 😍

[KAmburn]

Love your reviews!  So happy to find a new one!

[Saint Greg]

On 6/16/2024 at 9:01 PM, willdra said:

New Yawk, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but why is there so much trash on the street all of the time? Now W and I are Mardi Gras regulars, so we are accustomed to seeing metric tons of trash on the streets after the parades, especially our favorite Endymion, which is 1 of the 2 largest parades. However, Nola is gonna have every single spot of it picked up come daybreak, and by the time the next krewe rolls, you will never know that there was a parade the day before. So why are people throwing trash in the street in NY (I didn’t see any parades), and why is the city not cleaning it up?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seinfeld had a plan. Nobody listens…

 

 

[#55worktoplay]

Great review. What a day you had in NY, you sure did cover allot in one day. 
 

Looking forward to the rest. 
 

Thx

[luvcruzing]

On 6/17/2024 at 6:55 PM, notscb said:

As a NY'er (not NYC, but still), I remember the moment where I said to myself "wait- they did the MET and the Brooklyn Bridge and the 9.11 museum all on the same day- WHAT. " It seems like y'all made the most of your trip!

And saw a Broadway play.  Whew!

[PayneAS]

On 6/16/2024 at 10:40 PM, willdra said:

 

I'm more frightened wondering why there is a giant hole in its head!

Edited June 19 by PayneAS
where = why

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 9:05 PM, MEUB1112 said:

Definitely following a Willdra cruise!!

LOL Thanks! 😊 

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 9:06 PM, natefish95 said:

You and W are such a cute couple! Your reviews always bring a smile to my face when I read them!

 

I loved Venezia, so I hope you had an amazing time! 

Awww 😊 thanks! Yes we did! This ship was a very pleasant experience. 😍

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 9:39 PM, Knights on the Beach said:

I'm here for the fun!

Thanks for joining me! 🥳🥳🥳

[willdra]

On 6/16/2024 at 11:53 PM, angiepange said:

Wow you guys certainly packed a lot into today!  You must be exhausted!  But it's soooo much fun tagging along with you  -  thanks for this amazing virtual experience - loving it 😍

Yes we were tired dinnamug going back to the hotel every night and I’m glad nobody tried to fight me, cuz I would’ve gotten folded up for sure! 😂😩😩😩