We have been home from our cruise for two weeks and I can’t speak for Xander, but I want nothing more than to click my heels, go back in time and do it all over again! \u00a0It was wonderful and far surpassed even my wildest expectations. \u00a0I was so worried going into this holiday that we were going to regret spending so much money on it, that we just weren’t the types to enjoy this kind of travel or that, for whatever reason, we’d not enjoy it. \u00a0I was so wrong! \u00a0So, so, incredibly wrong! \u00a0We loved it!<\/p>\n
We’re well and truly hooked now and we are definitely the cruising types. \u00a0It’s just such a great way to travel as you get to see a lot of different places and the best part? Your hotel and travel companions move with you! \u00a0Sure, you don’t get to spend as much time in one place as you may if you were traveling on your own, but we still managed to fit an extraordinary amount into a day.<\/p>\n
You move around differently when you are on a cruise, I find. \u00a0You don’t dawdle, you move and get from place to place to make sure you fit in as much as you can. \u00a0At least that was my plan of attack for this cruise, I’m sure it would be less hectic on other destinations. \u00a0For us, this wasn’t a relaxing cruise. \u00a0There were relaxing moments and the sea days were lovely, but when it came to ports it was GO GO GO!<\/p>\n
We flew from Amsterdam to Venice on May 7th, arriving at the airport just before 11am. \u00a0As soon as we got to the baggage area there was a guy with a sign asking for Norwegian Spirit people. so we followed him and before long we were on a bus on our way to the ship. \u00a0It didn’t take long to dump our bags and get into the terminal, but once we got inside we realized we were in for a long wait. \u00a0I foolishly thought we could fly in, get on the ship, drop our bags and head into the city but it didn’t go like that at all. \u00a0We spent hours in the cruise terminal waiting to embark and by the time we eventually did get on through it\u00a0was pushing 4pm before we were heading into Venice.<\/p>\n
As you may have seen from some of my Instagram posts, I planned rather obsessively for this trip. \u00a0With a folder and info papers for every port…<\/p>\n
https:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/2STMONgyQ9\/?taken-by=canadutch<\/p>\n
It included info on the times we got into port, when the ship was leaving, when we had to be back on the ship, places we wanted to visit, tickets I purchased ahead of time so we could skip the line, info on any tour company we were doing excursions with, contact info, public transit maps and ticket information, info for other cruisers we were sharing the excursion with, costs for each place we were going or for the tour companies. \u00a0Basically any info I thought we could possibly need while we were gone. I was worried sick that we’d end up stuck somewhere or in a situation where we\u00a0weren’t prepared. \u00a0In the end it really paid off, I even had a few people ask if I could organize their next cruise! haha (no thanks!)<\/p>\n
For Venice, I had it all planned out\u00a0for\u00a0about 2pm – 10pm and losing a few hours meant we really had to\u00a0motor. \u00a0This made me like a drill instructor that was telling my husband to “move, move, mooove!”. \u00a0We did it, though, and managed to fit everything in.<\/p>\n
This was what we managed to accomplish in the few hours we were there (photo gallery below):<\/p>\n
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