Venice is basically an island so all rail and road traffic comes across the causeway and ends where the causeway meets the island. From there getting around is by water bus and on foot. We bought two day bus passes for 28 euros each. Bring a good pair of walking shoes because the best way to see Venice is on foot. The land and water bus system is "ACTV" in case you want to look them up. 
Venice is AMAZING and much of it can be seen from the water buses BUT to really appreciate it you've got to go out on foot and walk the alleys. It's an easy place to get lost in and, frankly, that was the real fun in exploring it. We enjoyed walking the narrow alleys and loved the way they opened up (usually around churches) into a piazza with little cafes and places to rest. 



Venice

The ship tied up to a pier that was one heck of a long way to the security gate so there was a free shuttle to move people around on the pier. Once outside the security gate there were a number of taxis waiting to take people on tours or simply into town. Our objective was to tour one of the forts visible in the distance. A taxi took us to the base of the fort but getting to the top involved lots of climbing which we were able to handle. Once thru the fort we wandered into the historic part of town which was a series of narrow streets lined with shops. This was OK but wasn't what we envisioned Greece to be. 



Corfu

Now this is what we were expecting of Greece! The town itself is perched along the edge of a 200 foot high cliff and everything was white with some brightly colored roofs and window and door frames. This was a tendered port so once ashore there were three ways to get to town. 1) Walk up a winding trail that zigzagged its way to the top 2) Ride a donkey up the winding trail that zigzagged its way to the top. 3) Ride a cable car to the top. We opted for #3 and took the cable car to the top. 3-4 euros one way per person. Once up there, the view is absolutely breathtaking!! We spent 3-4 hours wandering around town capturing images. Getting down involved using one of the three assent options in reverse. We opted to walk the zigzag donkey trail down to the tender dock.

Santorini

This port is also decked out in the typical white washed buildings with splashes of color. We had heard about the windmills and made our way thru town to photograph them. The ship tied up to a pier which was some distance away but a free shuttle bus was provided. Other ships were in port but they anchored in the harbor and tendered everyone to shore. We found the windmills then spent several hours wandering the narrow streets all of which were filled with photo ops. 



Mykonos

Cruise Critic describes this port as “a one horse town with a big pier”. The draw is the ruins of Olympia, home of the original Olympic games. Olympia is 20-25 miles away and we were originally going to share a 240 euro (!!) taxi but we heard that the week before a train began operating at 7-8 euros pp, a much better deal. On our way to the railroad station, we ran into someone running buses to Olympia for 10 euros pp so that's the option we chose. Buses drop you off closer to Olympia. The bus option gave us 2 hours at the ruins which was enough.

Katakolon (Olympia)

Our balcony was on the starboard side so, for the first time, we had room service bring us breakfast so we could take in Venice as we returned to port.Our favorite place on deck is deck 13, midship, starboard, side in the shade under the overhang.

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