Some background. We are a well traveled 42 year old couple traveling with our 16 year old daughter. We have been on 3 cruises prior to this one. We have never taken ships excursions and have always done our trips on our own, with our own planning. This was an extremely busy cruise and the extensive planning made it easy. We did much more than the ships tours at 1/10 the cost and on our own time and leisure. We clearly understand the cost/benefits of some cruise lines and itineraries and had appropriate expectations.

Venice Upon arrival from multiple delayed flights, we arrived after we had been quoted 90-100eu for a water taxi, but since we met up with another cruise critic couple on the plane we decided to spit the cost. When the taxi service realized there would be two hotel stops the rate went to $135eu. We had planned on purchasing the Vaporetto pass for the 72 hours, but we didn't and thankfully so as we did not use it once while there. Venice was smaller than I expected and can be done easily on foot which is what we did. We did get lost a few times, but that just added to the fun of this incredible city.

We spent 2 nights prior to boarding at the Westin Europa and Regina on points and were upgraded in both our rooms. After 2 days in Venice, we were thoroughly exhausted. The crowds were incredible and we did our best by staying out of the crowded tourist areas during peak afternoon times. We used the free Rick Steve's podcast audio tours for many of the sites here and really enjoyed the Frari Church and its history. Read more