My husband and I sailed on the Oct 18 sailing of the Splendour for our 25th wedding anniversary celebration. This was our first European cruise (although not our first trip to Europe) but our 8th cruise overall, including sailings on Celebrity, Princess and others. This ship and itinerary was not our first choice, but the best option available for the dates we had available for travel.

We booked through our long time cruise travel agent and did our own air/land portion, using FF miles on Swiss and Lufthansa through United's Star Alliance. These flights were excellent, with connections in Zurich and Frankfort to/from Chicago. Unfortunately, we arrived on the day of an transportation workers' strike, which delayed our flight into Venice, but gave us a great opportunity to sightsee in Zurich.

We stayed pre-cruise at the Molino Stucky on Giudecca Island, which was a luxurious way to start our trip. Had I not been able to get the hotel for free, using HHonors points, I would have chosen to stay at a hotel on P. Roma, even though the price for those hotels was over $300 night on this date. We took a vaporetto to the P. Roma and the free shuttle bus to the port. Once off the bus, you have to walk a long way with your luggage to the terminal building, dropping it before you check in under a tented area. Read more