Venice Italy -- the cruise begins!

Venice, Italy – September 17 & 18

(photos are on the Photos page to the right)

After a nice day in Fiumicino, near the main airport outside Rome, we got up early on Monday morning the 17^th, to catch the hotel shuttle back to the airport. Once there, we boarded the train to the Rome Termini station, and then the high-speed train to Venice. I’ve been on smoother high-speed trains, but it was still a pleasant trip, arriving at the Venice Santa Lucia station around 1 PM. After a short walk to the People Mover automated tram, we arrived at the cruise terminal where we checked in for our cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette.

We were one of the first into the Main Dining Room at 6 PM as I had a meeting with the Activity Manager and Cruise Director at 7:00 to discuss my presentations. That meeting turned out to be quite short, and it included being taped with them for the next morning’s Cruise Director taping that would play all day. I had wondered when I would be giving my 5 presentations, as there was only one sea day on this 13-day cruise. I found out that my first talk (“The Influence of Italy”) was to be given the next day, while we’re still in Venice.

I chose not to go on a tour on the 18^th in Venice as I had to review my presentation for that afternoon’s talk (3:00). In spite of still being in port, the talk was fairly well attended in the cinema. It’s a nice venue because the audience is much closer than when I’ve given talks in the cavernous, multi-level main showroom. Darlene went on a tour to the islands of Murano (think colorful Italian Venetian glass) and Burano (lace). Both of the locations were informative, but the boat rides to/from were a bit long.

The sail away was very nice as we cruised slowly out of Venice into the Adriatic Sea. Lots of people on land, and on various watercrafts, waved as we went by. One couple near us commented on how St. Mark’s Square had been flooded when they were there earlier in the day. But it was dry as we sailed past, and there were many people milling about. It was interesting seeing some parks and trees, not a typical sight in central Venice.

Tonight was the first formal night, and our first night at sea. The Dining Room was quite full (sometimes people choose to stay casual and eat in the buffet), and the food was very good. I can see that managing to stay even (no weight gain) might be a challenge on this cruise. After strolling about the ship for a while, we retired to our cabin as we continued to cruise toward Koper, Slovenia, a scant 58 miles away.

Stuart