Venice Day 3 - Cruise Day 1 - 21 September

Today, as with each morning in Venice, we were awoken at 7:20 am by the nearby church bell doing its 65 chimes (Steve and I have both confirmed the number)! We did some packing and had breakfast.

We did a quick FaceTime with Michelle, then we headed out for some last minute shopping. With the number of cruise ships in port, the number of passengers would have doubled, with the same number getting off as were about to board. So, the streets were shockingly busy. I guess it would be like trying to squeeze onto a Tokyo train - well, not quite that bad.... We were back at the hotel in time to check out at 11:30 am, enjoyed relaxing in the hotel's peaceful garden courtyard, and then managed to FaceTime Andrew for about half an hour - a last fling with the hotel's free wifi. Then we met Jan and Steve, gathered up our suitcases (thank goodness mine can be pushed along on four wheels) and headed towards the Cruise Terminal. We managed to get over the one bridge with our bags, and then headed around the edge of Piazza Roma towards the People Mover train system that carried us half the rest of the way to the port. Then we trundled our bags the rest of the way (thank goodness it wasn't raining, but it WAS hot)!

Boarding was efficient and we were soon in our cabin, with our suitcases already waiting for us. I was relieved to see that they hadn't confiscated my bottles of Limoncello (they have strict rules about what alcohol is allowed to be brought on board).

We headed straight to lunch because by now it was close to 3 pm. This was a buffet in the Horizon Court, and was amazing. Most things were gluten free (the chef showed me) and they even cooked some salmon for me with no sauce. There was a stand with gluten free dessert, and it was a lovely tapioca pudding. David and Steve enjoyed some, too. I bought a coffee card so that I can get 15 cheap cappuccinos if I want, any time during the cruise.

I then went to the Information Desk to check that everything was in order for the Cruise Critic Roll Call 'Meet and Greet' I'd organised for 119 people at 3 pm tomorrow. Next, we headed back to our cabins to do some unpacking, then caught up with Jan and Steve to suss out where the different areas of the ship were. We returned to our cabin exhausted and pleased to get off our feet.

We signed up for a very expensive Internet package, then sat in the piazza (David with a beer) and listened to some wonderful piano-playing, followed by a short ballroom dancing demonstration by Igor and Anastasia from Belaruse (I've videoed a little to show Jake and Emily).

Dinner tonight was smart casual dress, and we have chosen a fixed dining time of 8:30 pm (very late), but this gives us a chance to see sail-away at each port, and to freshen up after a long day on shore.

We are at a table for eight, with the Barrows and two Canadian couples from near Vancouver (no, the Canucks are not their favourite team, Andrew). The lady I sat next to is a Coeliac, so that was handy. They were great company. Dinner was lovely, but I forgot to take photos, sorry. I had a shrimp cocktail, a prime rib beef main course, and splashed out on calories with a flourless chocolate cake with 'seeped' berries - delicious. We gluten free people order our meal tonight, for tomorrow night.

We headed to bed at 10:40 pm, way past David's bedtime, and wondering how the America's Cup was going...