DH and I are experienced cruisers (13 on NCL) in our upper 40’s who took this cruise as part of our 25th anniversary European vacation. Just thought I’d share our experience and try to present a balance view. So many of people's complaint could be easily resolved with prior research.
We arrived 3 days ahead of our cruise and spent that time in Venice. Arriving and getting transportation to our AirBnB went smoothly. We took the Alilaguna orange line to the Rialto Bridge stop and met our host there. I’m not going to go into great detail about our stay in Venice, but We LOVED Venice!!
We took the first (9:50am?) Alilaguna blue line boat leaving from San Marco to the cruise terminal. It might not be the cheapest route, but it was worth the money for the simplicity. It was about 10:30am when we arrived at the terminal and they hadn’t started checking people in yet. It was about 11am when they started checking people in, we ended up with boarding group 3, and were on board by 11:45am. Embarkation went smoothly. After boarding, we made restaurant reservations, were able to leave our carry bag at Ginza restaurant, and then went to lunch in the MDR. Then we explored the ship. It had been in a dry dock since we were on the last time, so it was nice to see the updates (including USB charging ports in the stateroom).
Typical oceanview cabin. Appreciate the newer furnishings and USB ports since the dry dock. Wonderful location.
Port was skipped due to Venice harbor master's scheduling of ships leaving Venice.
We spent three days in Venice pre-cruise, and despite the heat and crowds, we loved it! See the main attractions early, before the crowds hit, and then wander the back streets and fall in love with the city.
Great beach day; the excursion was primarily transportation.
We took a taxi to the beach and really enjoyed the day.
Great guide, very inforative and patient. Beautiful city.