Semi-Live: Venezia Labor Day Cruise 8/31-9/7

[TravelE]

I checked into our Southwest flights right on time last night but got B22 and B23 boarding. 
 

I remember the days of checking in and being in the mid A group. SWA also stresses me out with their pre-boarding of anyone no questions asked. But hey I’m on vacation so I’m going to chill out. 
 

Definitely not sitting in row 26!

 

 

[TravelE]

56 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Yes!!!  Do a trip to Valencia especially with family living there. My friend is going to Malaga tomorrow with a friend who is getting her daughter settled for a year of school abroad.  So excited for her!!

 

Yes, I will definitely find a way to go visit. I see a Transatlantic cruise in my future. 

 

We loved Malaga. Please have her consider taking a tour with this company. We had the owner's father, Paco, give us our tour.

 

https://welovemalaga.com/

 

[ninjacat123]

20 minutes ago, TravelE said:

 

Yes, I will definitely find a way to go visit. I see a Transatlantic cruise in my future. 

 

We loved Malaga. Please have her consider taking a tour with this company. We had the owner's father, Paco, give us our tour.

 

https://welovemalaga.com/

 

I will let her know.  Thanks!!

[TravelE]

Since a hurricane caused us to miss Bermuda in 2019, I have been keeping an eye on the NOAA hurricane website.

 

It looks like there is new activity in the eastern Atlantic.

 

 

Projections have it heading toward the Caribbean and Southern US. So Bermuda should be fine, but prayers going out to those in the path. I hope it fizzles out!

[Knights on the Beach]

2 hours ago, DeniseTr said:

I think I read that it will be re-homed to FL at the end of this year.

 

Out of Port Canaveral mid December - mid May 2025 then back to NY until November, then back to PC again.

 

7 minutes ago, TravelE said:

Since a hurricane caused us to miss Bermuda in 2019, I have been keeping an eye on the NOAA hurricane website.

 

It looks like there is new activity in the eastern Atlantic.

 

 

Projections have it heading toward the Caribbean and Southern US. So Bermuda should be fine, but prayers going out to those in the path. I hope it fizzles out!

 

Tis the season! I hope it stays away from us.

[TravelE]

4 minutes ago, Knights on the Beach said:

 

Out of Port Canaveral mid December - mid May 2025 then back to NY until November, then back to PC again.

 

 

Tis the season! I hope it stays away from us.

 

I love that there will be another large but not mega-ship choice in Port Canaveral. I do worry that the Venezia pools may not be able to handle the crowds. I would love for them to add a pool to the back of the ship in the Terrazza area to make it more like the Havana area on Horizon, etc.

 

You know what they say: When you cruise in hurricane season, you get . . . .hurricanes!

[TravelE]

I carried my suitcase downstairs and it felt heavy. So I gave it a weigh-in:

 

So I took everything out and reevaluated its necessity for the cruise. 
 

 

Then got it down to 23 lbs. I’m sure I’ll stuff some junk back in, but 24 lbs is about what I can lift into the overhead bin. 

[ninjacat123]

8 hours ago, TravelE said:

I carried my suitcase downstairs and it felt heavy. So I gave it a weigh-in:

 

So I took everything out and reevaluated its necessity for the cruise. 
 

 

Then got it down to 23 lbs. I’m sure I’ll stuff some junk back in, but 24 lbs is about what I can lift into the overhead bin. 

Good job doing carry on!! That’s what I do when I fly. Now we are driving so I might expand to a medium size suitcase 😁

[Ashpalo]

15 hours ago, TravelE said:

A preview of our day in New York tomorrow. 

 

 

 

 

I love the highline! It’s such a peaceful escape right in the middle of the hustle & bustle! Have a blast!

[TravelE]

We arrived in NYC! 
 

I was hoping to see fun DragonCon costumes on the Marta train but all we saw were people with show lanyards. I did speak with this young lady who was wheeling all this for her hotel room for the weekend. She had several different costumes choices in there. 

The person behind me put there toes here next to me!!! No thank you. 

 

Our approach into New York

 

 

U.S. Open welcome sign

 

View from our hotel room. 31st floor!

[TravelE]

Our Lyft driver Dilip from LGA to the hotel was excellent - aggressive but not dangerous. Exactly what is needed for New York traffic. Most of tomorrow should be on foot or subway.
 

The hotel is lovely and in a safe location. I’ll share pics tomorrow. For now, we are crashing.
 

Night, Night.  

[ninjacat123]

Love NYC!! Lived there for 2.5 years and it was incredible. I hope you have a wonderful time👍😁view is awesome!!

[TravelE]

Good morning! 
 

 

We came down to the lobby for the ever important caffeine:

 

The lobby has a restaurant and bar, Lullas which has very good reviews on yelp and Google. 
 

[TravelE]

They have a lounge and terrace in the second floor. 
 

very Instagram worthy staircase:

 

 

Lounge

 

Lounge Bar

 

Terrace with games. It was closed this morning. 

[TravelE]

Questionable art in lounge:

 

 

We decided to sit in this cute sunken seating area. 

 

We are waiting for croissants to come out of the oven. 

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, TravelE said:

Questionable art in lounge:

 

 

We decided to sit in this cute sunken seating area. 

 

We are waiting for croissants to come out of the oven. 

Love the vibe!!

[Jamman54]

Enjoy your day in New York! 😎

[DeniseTr]

20 hours ago, TravelE said:

 

I love that there will be another large but not mega-ship choice in Port Canaveral. I do worry that the Venezia pools may not be able to handle the crowds. I would love for them to add a pool to the back of the ship in the Terrazza area to make it more like the Havana area on Horizon, etc.

 

You know what they say: When you cruise in hurricane season, you get . . . .hurricanes!

Venezia seems to be better suited to Alaska given the pool size. 

I swim every day, discovered on my last cruise that is better to skip pool altogether and just enjoy the beach a few times.

Theoretically, smaller pool means fewer children, but not sure how many parents would book with size of pool in mind.

[DeniseTr]

8 hours ago, TravelE said:

We arrived in NYC! 
 

I was hoping to see fun DragonCon costumes on the Marta train but all we saw were people with show lanyards. I did speak with this young lady who was wheeling all this for her hotel room for the weekend. She had several different costumes choices in there. 

The person behind me put there toes here next to me!!! No thank you. 

 

Our approach into New York

 

 

U.S. Open welcome sign

 

View from our hotel room. 31st floor!

Those clouds make it look like Gotham City

[TravelE]

1 hour ago, DeniseTr said:

Venezia seems to be better suited to Alaska given the pool size. 

I swim every day, discovered on my last cruise that is better to skip pool altogether and just enjoy the beach a few times.

Theoretically, smaller pool means fewer children, but not sure how many parents would book with size of pool in mind.

I agree! The ship is perfect for Alaska because of the sliding roof that encloses the pool deck and area above that has seating area, games, and a bar. It was wonderful on the transatlantic cruise. 
 

I usually hit the pool on port days when it is less crowded. 

[TravelE]

1 hour ago, DeniseTr said:

Those clouds make it look like Gotham City

Our approach into New York was very cloudy. I tried to catch what I could in between the clouds. 
 

We also had turbulence. One poor flight attendant got knocked to his feet. DH said he got up okay and seemed fine. 
 

 

[TravelE]

We are at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery now. I’ll catch you up to the past couple hours. 
 

My Hilton Honors status come with a $37/ night credit for food and beverage. The bar was closed last night, boo. So I used it on our coffee and some breakfast to take back to the room. 
 

 

I got the yogurt and granola. It is huge and I have plenty for tomorrow morning. It’s safely tucked into the mini-fridge. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[TravelE]

Our room has a cool Murphy bed that folds up into the wall with a couch area underneath. 
 

 

Unfortunately it is stuck in the down position. Engineering is working on that and our A/C is also in the fritz. Hopefully they can get things working later today. 
 

We walked towards Hudson Yards and the Edge to buy our tickets for tonight. They offer a combo ticket for MOMA that saved us $20 pp. 

 

 

The Edge

 

Pretty flowers

 

 

 

[TravelE]

The Vessel

 

 

 

They are adding wire mesh on all the levels as a safety precaution. 

[TravelE]

Right next to the Vessel is the Shed. It’s a performance space that expands and contracts on giant wheels. 
 

 

 

 

 

The High Line rules.