Magnificent Venice and Adriatic Cruise (Part 2)
In the morning we go to the port with suitcases to continue our journey, but this time on the majestic cruise ship Voyager of the Seas, which belongs to an American cruise company. Adriatic cruise, the route passes through Koper (Slovenia), Ravenna and Bari (Italy), Dubrovnik (Croatia) and returns to Venice. Looking at the six huge cruise ships that were in the port and hoping that there would be another vaporetto pier near our liner, as I read on the Internet, we do not unload at the Tronchetto stop and calmly, bypassing our pier, go into the lagoon towards Giudecca island. I had to unload, transfer... and again we are at Roma Square. I'm trying to figure out on the map what's wrong. The card was not needed. I look, in the left corner of the square there is a row of buses, with signs on the windshield with the name of the cruises. The casket opened easily! It turns out that transfers are organized from the airport and from Roma Square for delivery to ships. I immediately remembered my transfer from the railway station to the Zhuliany airport. Two big differences! Buses bring us to our terminal, on the issued tags we write our decks and cabins, we hook it to our luggage and it goes along the conveyor into the bowels of the terminal. Our path to registration. Everything is fast, clear, without delay. Everywhere there are people from our cruise company, directing the flow of tourists, and there are 3.000 of them. Near the counter, having learned that I had, to put it mildly, poor knowledge of the English language, two minutes later a girl who knew Russian was standing next to me. Passed all the formalities, received the so-called. guest card, which is everything on the ship - a passport, a checkbook and a key to the cabin, we climb aboard this huge ship through a glassed-in gallery. Everywhere friendly smiles, willingness to help. Our deck number 6, the high-speed elevator stops very quietly and imperceptibly for us on our deck, it’s very easy to find my cabin, it’s not for nothing that I studied this liner at home on the Internet, but tips are at every step. After checking our key card, we go into the cabin. I took an inside cabin with a window on the Royal Promenade. So called, created in the form of a Broadway, located inside a ship three decks high, a street of more than 100 meters, on which there are shops, bars, there are lanterns, where the main life of the guests of the liner takes place in the evenings, there is also an exit from the restaurant, casino, theater , various cafes and much that is on this ship.
Cabin - fifteen meters, a huge bed, two small sofas near the window, a table, a mirror with a dressing table, a corner cabinet with a TV, a built-in wardrobe, opposite it is a bathroom with a washbasin, shower and toilet. Everything is very well thought out, functionally comfortable and cozy. Paintings and sconces on the walls, of course, an internal telephone, air conditioning. Cleanly cleaned, but it was striking that on the dressing table there was a bucket filled with ice and two glasses with ice were poured, covered with a napkin. Apparently, realizing that we would come to the cabin sweaty from the heat and worries, and they worried about it. After taking a shower, we got ready and went to the eleventh deck, where we were promised food in a restaurant with a buffet and from where we could watch the departure of our liner for a cruise. I won’t talk much about food, there is everything that can be imagined by us, not spoiled by our catering and food in Egypt and Turkey. Meat, fish, diet dishes, salads, desserts, their burgers with fries. Iced drinks, Cola, juices, coffees and teas, a variety of pastries, fruits. Eyes open! But there is not much time before sailing, we had a quick bite, than "the chef sent" and to watch and shoot at the exit, how the liner will leave the port. There are a lot of people on the deck, Latin American rhythms sound, a singer sings on the stage. Someone accepts solar and water treatments, but most are waiting for this magnificent spectacle as the beginning of the cruise.
And so, one after another, greeting each other with horns, cruise ships smoothly began to depart from the piers - a Norwegian, two Italians, an American and the last one - our "Voyager of the Seas" - the Tramp of the Seas. Very impressive as they pass through the canals of Venice, slowly, decks above the rooftops. It is especially impressive to see the liner surrounded by houses on the bend of the canal. Someone said - "Does not fit into the canal - half of Venice will collapse. " Joke! Everything went well, Venice was astern, they left the lagoon for the Adriatic, the last farewell beeps and the ships dispersed along their routes. And the holiday on board continues. And this holiday lasted for a week before returning back to Venice.
A little about the ship - Voyager of the Seas, one of the largest ships of the Royal Caribbean International cruise company with a displacement of 142.000 tons, a length of 311 meters, a draft of 9 meters, has 15 passenger decks, 3110 passengers, 1180 crew members. Cruises are designed for the modern public, an extensive program of entertainment and recreation. It has on board an incredible amount of entertainment for every taste. It has already been written about the Royal Promenade, but there is also the Ice Rink, where you can see an ice show and ride on the ice yourself, the La Scala Theater, where the interiors of the famous Italian theater are copied and where nightly concerts and shows take place, the Kasino Royal casino, a night disco, climbing wall, mini-golf course, solariums, spas and much, much more. The programs of the children's club Adventure Ocean are very interesting and are designed for children from 3 to 17 years old.
A chic main 3-tier restaurant, which hosts gourmet dinners, when several waiters do not leave you, ready to fulfill all your wishes. One pours water with ice, another carries bread, the third carries a menu in which, of course, you don’t understand anything, but you carefully study it in order to say as a result - at your discretion. Discretion under the name of Mario never failed and brought gourmet meals, his attention was appreciated by an extra tip at the end of the cruise. There are also alternative restaurants - Italian cuisine "Portofino", grilled dishes Chops Grill, Johnny Rockets, then Cleopatra, Aquarium and more cafes and bars - from the Sports Bar to the Vinoteka, the Champagne Bar, the Pub and more, and more. I forgot about the nightclub on deck 14 - Viking Crown Lounge. True, I did not reach it, there was a catastrophic lack of time. I must say right away that this is not Turkey and Egypt, where everything is included. All alcohol, from beer, cocktails to wine, whiskey and other strong drinks, is included in your bill and paid at the end of the cruise. The importation of alcohol and in general any food from the cities where we were is also excluded, bags and other other wallets are checked by security when you go on board, so the importation of alcohol is possible only in the stomach.
The only time when it is possible to drink champagne "for free" is the captain's reception, when the captain treats the guests of the ship, takes pictures with them, he introduces his assistants and then the orchestra, dances on the Royal Promenade. Guests show all their outfits, men - from a tailcoat to a tuxedo and an ordinary evening suit with a tie or bow tie, women flaunt in evening dresses or cocktail dresses. I also saw an Indian in a turban with his wife in a sari, a Japanese woman trotted in a kimono, and rode in an elevator with a Scot - top - a white shirt, a bow tie, a tuxedo, bottom - a kilt, leggings, black shoes and on the stomach a silver bag, or lock . Mixture of peoples. Original and unusual! When we were taking pictures with the captain, we brought glasses of champagne, we took a sip, he stayed to be photographed with another couple, and we sat down with friends who appeared in the bar to continue tasting champagne. Further dances, conversations, acquaintances with bars, casinos, went out to the night deck. Calm... and the city sparkling with lights floats on the water.
The route is arranged in such a way that in the morning we are sure to be in the port - Koper, Ravenna, Bari, Dubrovnik, only once a day crossing the Adriatic Sea, but there was such a program of entertainment on board that no one was deprived of attention. Near the pool - a concert of musicians from Puerto Rico, competitions, organized tables with meals, fruits, soft drinks and sweets. This is in addition to the usual drinks - coffee, tea, ice cream (which is always there until late in the evening). There are two pools with sea water on the ship, there are also three jacuzzis, but I liked being in the compartment, finished in Roman baths, more. A marble pool with sculptures, well, in general, on sun loungers, so to speak, "Roman patricians. " It was practically impossible to see everything on the ship, it was necessary to increase the day to 48 hours, entertainment was for every taste.
On excursions, I will probably write a separate review. All cities are different, each city met us with its own characteristics. In Koper, we were met with a whole fair dedicated to our cruise, because the liner entered this port for the first time. Tastings of local wines and dishes, national costumes and music, brass bands - everything was for us. Bari treated those who came ashore with cherries, all the women with roses, they danced the tarantella. In each city, the meeting of the ship had its own twist. But seven days pass, we return to Venice, we decide, slowly, having already studied Venice a little, wander through its streets and squares, see the Arsenal, where they once made galleys that conquered the seas for Venice. Interestingly, the walls of the Arsenal are very reminiscent of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin. We decided to go around the perimeter of Venice on a vaporetto, then on the ship with great regret we collect bags and suitcases, since in the morning this wonderful fairy tale (our cruise) ends. We wander around the favorite places of the ship, look from the board at the night Venice. In the morning we leave the Voyager of the Seas, which has become our home, take the monorail train and here again Piazza di Roma, the junction of all the roads of Venice. Before flying home, we have three more days to swim on the Lido.
