Venice...the most romantic city in the world

Hello from Azura!

Well Azura should have been anchored off of the coast of Korcula today (A little Croatian island in the Adriatic sea), but when we arrived first thing this morning, the port was being hit by excessive winds. Here’s a photograph that I took of Korcula from Azura’s promenade deck........



Korcula is a tender port for P&O Cruises so the winds made it absolutely impossible for us to safely call as scheduled. The captain took the decision to abort the port of call, and we’re now on our way to our next scheduled port of Gibraltar.

It’s been a busy few days for everybody on Azura. Since my last blog entry, we’ve been to Katakolon and Corfu in Greece, Dubrovnik in Croatia, and Italy’s Venice. Venice is a place that most people seem to either love or hate. I absolutely LOVE it. It’s the most romantic and unique city in the world.

It’s built on a total of 117 small islands, has 150 canals, and is connected by 409 separate bridges. There are no roads, no cars, and no buses; These are all replaced with waterways, boats, motor launches and gondolas.

I’ve been on cruises to Venice many times now for P&O Cruises, and so I always volunteer to offer the ships’ passengers a commentary as we pass the highlights and landmarks. Yesterday I made my way up to the bridge at around 6.45am and I started my commentary just as we sailed into the breakwaters of the Venetian lagoon.





I have to say, I don’t think that anywhere else in the world can offer an experience and photo opportunities like a Venice ‘sail in’ can. Obviously a Panama Canal transit and a sail into New York or Sydney are breathtakingly spectacular, but Venice is like no other city in the world. Take a look at some of the photographs I took yesterday. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, it was warm and dry and the views of the city were crystal clear and wonderful. We couldn’t have asked for a better day to enjoy the highlight port of the cruise.














We had over 900 people on tour in Venice, heading off to lots of different parts of the city. Many went straight to St Mark’s square to see the biggest attractions of the city including: The Campanile (or bell tower), the Doges Palace (which, constructed from pink Verona marble and lots of gold, is an incredibly impressive sight), the entrance to city’s columns (bearing the city’s patron saints: St mark and St Theodore), and the huge basilica (with its 5 domes and millions of sparkling tiles that decorate it).


Nearly 500 people went off on Gondola rides, which I think, is the best idea when visiting Venice on a cruise ship. Trying to book and pay for a gondola ride independently can be absolutely extortionate. The local authorities set an average cost of approximately 80 Euros for 40 minutes (with any extra time increments being charged at 40 Euros per 20 mins), however if demand is high, then the cost can go up and up until the highest bidder wins their choice gondolier.

Anybody onboard who asks my advice, always gets the same answer: Book a gondola ride as part of a shore excursion, and then potter about and see anything else on your Venice wish lists, later on in the day.


For those of you joining us on any future cruises to the Eastern Mediterranean, and may like some advice, let me confidently recommend my 2 favourite excursions:

• Venetian islands and gondola ride (this tour takes you on a scenic sail around the Venetian lagoon, over to Murano island (the famous glass capital of the world), to San Giorgio island where you’ll visit the most photographed and painted church in Venice, and of course, on a romantic glide into Venice’s backstreets on a gondola).



• The Hidden Venice Walking tour – this excursion is a wonderful choice for those of you who’ve been to Venice before and have seen the big highlights. This tour takes you off of the beaten tourist track and into ‘real’ Venice, over tiny bridges, into hidden squares, along winding alleyways, and over the famous Rialto bridge. If you’re a budding photographer, this is without a doubt, the most wonderful opportunity to capture some photos of the flower-lined city in the raw.
  

In response to some of your comments:

Geoff – Wow you’ve got a lovely itinerary to look forward to on Artemis. A lot of people are so disappointed that Artemis is leaving the fleet, but her replacement Adonia is going to be spectacular. She’s a beautiful ship, she’ll have an excellent crew, and I’ve no doubt whatsoever that everybody who loves Artemis will love her too. Enjoy Artemis’ final season!

Ian/Susie – what an absolute treat to hear from you! Fantastic news that you’re going to be on Arcadia’s world cruise with me (you just can’t get away from me can you?! Haha). Looking forward to catching up in January. I told Matt that I’d heard from you and he sends you his regards too.

Julia – how fabulous to read that you’re joining us next week; especially for Azura’s first Baltic cruise - and as gold tier members. I’ve got lots of tips for Baltic cruising (I’ve specialised in the Baltic region for 2 years now), so feel free to ask any questions if there’s anything you’d like to know. Do come and introduce yourself when you arrive. It’ll be lovely to meet you.

That's it from me today. It's been a really busy week so I'm off for some lunch and an hour in the sun (if it's warm enough).

I'll update you again on Azura's progress in the next few days.

Have a brilliant day, whatever you have planned, and feel free to send me any of your comments.

Jo