Cruise on Zuiderdam-Venice-Croatia-Turkey-Greece August 2008
We have just finished a 12-night tour on the Holland America Zuiderdam of Venice, Split Croatia, Istanbul/Ephesus, Mykonos, Santorini, Olympia, and Athens Greece. My wife and I have been on about 20 different cruises in the past 12 years. Over the past 5 years we have had friends join us on these cruises & I enjoy planning all the shore excursions for them. I was tired of the tour bus mentality. The on and off, follow the leader, fixed itinerary, catch up, slow down, high cost ship excursions. Cruise critic has been a great help in planning. I would like to take this time to share with others our experiences and hopefully give you some cost saving alternatives and ideas for excursions in these areas on your next vacation. First of all I would sincerely recommend Holland America for this cruise. The ship was superb. Great ambience, food, service, entertainment and amenities. We have cruised with them for 5 cruises and will continue to do so when possible in the future. Our arrival to Venice from Logan/Boston was 6 hours late, but the ship was not leaving until the next day, so an 8pm arrival the night before was OK. When you arrive at the airport in Venice, the least expensive way and most direct route to the ship is via land taxi. There were four of us and the cost was about 38 Euros (Total) to the ship. The Water taxi would have been 95 Euros and basically forget the bus because moving your luggage could be a major pain.
General Info: For two of us, we had total about 575 euros with us. We exchanged at AAA, but found the exchange to be better at the atm's in Europe. You should have at least 50 Euros upon arrival in Venice for the Taxi/ Tips. We have learned to pack light using the new washable shirts, shorts and underwear. All dry within 5 hours. The ship did provide a $12 stuff bag 48-hour laundry service. July and August are definitely hottest months-Bring breathable clothes. We buy 2 large waters aboard ship and refill them as needed (use their frig to cool) There is a lot of walking in each of the ports we stopped in. If this is a problem, you may want to pay for the bus only drive tours/excursions. The ship is handicap friendly, but much of Europe is not. Finding restrooms (WC's) in Europe can be interesting. Be prepared to pay for this service. Usually .5to1 euro. Carry a little package of Kleenex you may need them! Venice-Italy We arrived a day early in Venice before our cruise and opted to stay 2 extra days after the cruise. We had a 6:50am flight out of Venice for home so I chose to stay at the Marriott near the airport. I was worried about making the flight. The airport doesn't open until 5am. (Marriott provides a free shuttle) There was a bus stop directly in front of the hotel and Bus #5 took us right into Pie Roma (Last stop)- the transportation center for buses and water buses. Getting around Venice, Lido and Murano is exceptionally easy by waterbus and really a lot of fun. We purchased a 36 hour transportation pass for the 2 days and went practically everywhere. The pass covers the regular buses and waterbuses. Venice Chamber of Commerce was running free water taxis to Murano Glass factory. A trip to Lido is a must. Get off at the first stop and walk the town's main street to the end. There you will see beautiful beaches. You can then hop on a bus (your pass is good) and see the whole island. In Venice, the Rialto waterbus stop is wonderful for both pictures at the bridge and great choices for inexpensive restaurants along the canal. Tip! don't worry about getting lost in Venice. Basically every corner has an sign/arrow pointing back to St. Mark Square or a waterbus station.