Venice, Italy

Our final port is Venice.  We docked earlier than the Captain expected so we didn't see the sail in.  Once we docked, a dense fog rolled in so we didn't hurry off the boat.

These ports are so large to handle many cruise ships and getting through the terminal and to a street is a long, arduous process.  The guide books and shipboard information may say it's a short walk, but it took us over 30 minutes to reach the People Mover.  We took that to the Piazzale Roma.

From there, we got on a vaporetto (think city bus on the water).  We rode all the way up the Grand Canal to the other end of the line, the San Marco stop.  The view just cannot be described.  We've all seen pictures of a portion of the buildings but to see them on both sides of the canal with the intricate details and color was just absolutely stunning.  Then it was just a couple blocks to the heart of St. Mark's Square.

We decided to pick a cafe in the square and have some coffee/tea.  It was the most overpriced drinks, 26 Euros or $30, but it was the perfect place to absorb the ambiance of the square---priceless.

After 12 days and about 1600 nautical miles, we must pack for the journey home.  We have learned so much on this trip, such as:  Montenegro is between Greece and Croatia, Slovenia has an 80% income tax rate, and the elevator dings once when it is going up and twice going down.

Thanks for traveling with us.

Koper, Slovenia

Now, where were we?  Oh, if it's Sunday it must be Slovenia.  We were very impressed with this small town. Getting off the boat, the people were so friendly and helpful.  The group of taxi drivers were not hassling every tourist walking by and they had a free elevator that went up to the main area of town.

Since it was Sunday and we were the only ship in town, the streets were quiet and empty.  We just walked a bit and peeked in a couple of local churches.

Split, Croatia

Our third port in Croatia was Spkit.  As we got off the ship we were bombarded with taxi drivers wanting to take us on a three hour tour....(that didn't work out so well for Gilligan, now did it).  We could see the city center, but just seemed too far to walk so we were final able to get a taxi to drive us for 20 Euros.  Horribly expensive for less than a half mile, but worth it.  The trip back was only 10 Euro.

The city is dominated by a palace built by Diocletian at the end of the third century.  The city is not built around the palace but rather through it.  What was once perhaps the main entry hall is now a street with shops and restaurants.  We stopped and had some delicious gelato watching the tourists roam.  There was a four man a cappella group singing under an open dome creating amazing sound quality.

Dam ship life

The days on the dam ship can be as busy or as laid back as you like.  We try to get moving early enough to have breakfast in the Pinnacle Restaurant, which is a perk of our suite, but the serving hours are relatively short so we don't always make it.  Other choices are limited goodies in the Neptune Lounge (also a perk) or the general buffet with a huge variety of options.

During the day, there are always dam fitness classes, dam lectures, dam trivia contests, etc.  Seems Holland America attracts an older crowd, we've not seen any dam drinking or damlimbo contests.  We have only seen about five dam kids on board and they seem to be in whichever pool we are near.  There seems to always be a meeting of the Friends of Bill W (international code for AA?) at the same time, and far away from happy hour on the deck.  Later in the evening there is also an LGBT and a Singles meetup, in different bars.  I guess if you are LGBT and single, you would have to make a choice.

Afternoon tea is at three and for us, it is the perfect time for finger sandwiches, scones and a sweet dessert.  Most days we've made it our midday meal.

We choose to eat dinner at the late seating (8:15pm) at a table for eight.  This time, four of our table mates have not shown up but Bobbie from Baltimore and Carol from Portland have been great companions and we often are in the dining room past ten.  Our two servers are very friendly and one of them performs magic tricks.  He even brought back our favorite childhood dogs back from the beyond to spend a few days with us but we have to send them back tonight.

The casino usually opens about thirty minutes out of port so we are mesmerized and drawn in by the flashing lights after dinner.  Haven't made it to see the show on the Mainstage once.  Those shows vary between musical revues, magicians, and comedians.  There is a dueling piano act that plays most evenings next to the casino and we've enjoyed them.

So you see, our days fill up quickly and, oh, then there is the spa....

But one of the best parts of the trip is the people we've gotten to know over these 12 days.  This cruise has a wide variety of nationalities and languages.  There's Carol Ann and Donny from Nova Scotia (there cabin is next to ours and was flooded also) then there is Marnie from Canada, and Bob and his wife from outside of Vancouver, and Jay who smokes pot, and Joe from Florida, and Janice and Don from Oklahoma.....I could go on and on. It it has really been enjoyable talking with so many different people.

Korcula, Croatia

Today (seriously, I don't know what day it is...after yesterday and before tomorrow), we decided to skip going ashore.  We had seen three walled cities in a row and didn't think this one would be much different.  We needed a rest day so we stayed on board, roamed the decks, ate, drank and napped.

I did get some lovely pictures of the town at the point of the peninsula, but you can't see them. You'll have to wait for the hardback version to be published.  Thanks, Peggy, in advance for offering.

Kotor, Montenegro

Kotor is nestled on a deep inlet of the Adriatic Sea.  It was settled in 168 B.C. during ancient Roman times.  The walled Old Town was just a few steps from the port.  Yes, another walled city with no cars, curved streets filled with shops and cafes.

We browsed a bit, had refreshments at a cafe and returned to the ship.

Looking forward to the sail away this afternoon to get the full view of the bay.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

We docked in Dubrovnik Wednesday.  The new pier/cruise port is a few miles from the city so we took a bus to get to the Pile Gate of the walled city.  There are no cars within the walls so we just meandered around the winding, cobblestone streets.  Shops and small cafes are everywhere.

I went up a million stairs to "walk the wall."  I had to pay for the torture. It is a bit over a mile long with stairs going up, stairs going down, flat areas and thankfully, places to sit and buy water.  The views were truly amazing. All of the buildings in the Old Town have the same adobe-type tiled roofs and all the walls were the same light stone.  Too bad you can't see the photos.

After catching the bus back to the ship, we ended up napping through afternoon tea.  Shocking, I know.  Tonight was the night we chose to go to the specialty restaurant on board.  Our table mates in the main dining room were going to join us so we had them over to our suite for some champagne and appetizers before dinner.  The meal was very, very good, so good, in fact, we were too exhausted to wait for the ship to leave port and the casino to open.

The ship left port about 10:30pm....off to another country.