Shore Excursion Option: Gondola Serenade in Venice, Italy

Here's a quick movie to show you what an authentic gondola ride is like in Venice, Italy. Most gondaliers don't take credit cards so bring cash or book through your cruise line. Silversea offer a private evening gondola serenade tour in Venice.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Video © Andrea M. Rotondo

Day Two in Venice: Doge's Palace, St. Mark's Square & a Party in the Grand Suite

Hello from Venice!

Day Two of our Eastern Mediterranean voyage is just about behind us now. Our Silversea-sponsored shore excursion, conversations with engaging crew members, and a terrific cocktail party in the Grand Suite followed by dinner at La Terrazza has set the bar very high for this cruise. I'm confident Silversea will continue to meet our, shall we say, discerning expectations!

Last night after an excellent hot rocks dinner at the Pool Grill, we explored the ship and stayed up late enough to order up a few room service snacks after midnight. Sunday dawned with absolutely perfect weather (low 80s with no humidity and plenty of sunshine). We woke early, skipped breakfast, and headed pierside to join our tour excursion.

We opted for a half-day tour of Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica. (Of course, it's Sunday, so the church is closed to visitors during church services though you can enter the church after 2 pm if you prefer to explore the city on your own after the tour comes to an end). This particular tour is an excellent introduction to Venice, but it does require a significant amount of walking, so wear comfortable shoes and bring a bottle of water from the ship (or keep a few euros in your pocket so you can buy a refreshing gelato).

The tour begins with a short walk from the ship to the water taxi pickup point. After a short 15-minute ride, we were walking toward the Bridge of Sighs, sadly obscured by some garish billboards from one of the corporate sponsors that is helping to restore the bridge and other historic treasures around Venice. The intention is good, but the execution certainly needs some work.

We then entered Doge's Palace for an extensive tour. we were given earbud radios so we could hear the guide's commentary even if we were not close to her. I learned more about Venetian history in a few hours than I previously thought possible! She was also very good at giving us enough time to take photos.

Next up was a short walk through St. Mark's Square. Since the Basilica was closed to the public, it was really just a walk-through of the square. The tour ended in a Murano glass-blowing workshop/showroom.

After the tour Leonard and I chose to wander through the streets as we made our way back to the cruise terminal. It was on of those perfect port days that blended a solid tour with some independent exploration.

As much fun as the afternoon turned out to be, sail-away from Venice was exhilarating! Sailing the Grand Canal is an experience everyone should have. The setting sun glistened off all the red rooftops and church domes and spires. Truly breathtaking.

We were lucky enough to be invited to a cocktail party in one of the Grand Suites, so we enjoyed the scene from posh digs. Dinner at La Terrazza followed and our group closed the place down. Everyone onboard has been wonderful and we find that while our companions on shore excursions and at dinner may be from all around the world, each one has been interesting and fun to talk with.

We are now sailing toward Trieste, Italy. Stay tuned for more details and photos.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Photos © Leonard Hospidor

Embarking Silversea Silver Spirit in Venice, Italy

We've spent all of ten hours aboard Silversea Silver Spirit so I can't offer a full report yet, but our first impressions have been very good. The crew is genuine and friendly and many of them already know us by name.

We arrived in Venice on Saturday morning and waited just a few minutes for our luggage and for Silversea's private transfer to the ship via minivan. It was a comfortable ride and we arrived at Terminal S. Basilio around 11:30 am.

Luggage Arriving to the Ship Via Water Taxi

Boarding wouldn't commence until noon and there seemed to be some back and forth between Silversea and the security detail as to exactly when passengers would go through the screening process. A few minutes before noon, four Silversea representatives arrived at the terminal and passed out keycards. Everyone was then allowed on board Silver Spirit, where lunch was being served in The Restaurant and La Terrazza. Our room was ready by 2pm and the luggage arrived by 4pm.


Since we didn't sleep much on the plane, so we took the day easy and explored the ship after a buffet lunch at La Terrazza. (The number and variety of desserts offered was astounding!) We were also able to make dining and shore excursion reservations for the rest of the week.

Our butler, Ricardo, greeted us by name in the hallway before we had even met him! Then it was time for an early "hot rock" grilled dinner on the Pool Deck. I'll post more about this later. Dinner was very good and it will be easier to tell you about it once I download the photos of this inventive dining concept.

Now it's time to get some rest before our first full day in Italy begins. We're booked on Silversea's "Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica" tour.

More details to follow...

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Photos © Andrea M. Rotondo

Arriving in Venice This Morning for Silver Spirit

We're set to arrive in Venice this morning. Since we're using Silversea's air-sea package, the cruise line has arranged our transfer to Silver Spirit. It's nice to not have to worry about any of the details.

We're on board journey #5016. Here's our full itinerary:

June 5 – Venice, Italy
June 6 – Venice, Italy (sail-away at 6pm)
June 7 – Trieste, Italy
June 8 – Hvar, Croatia
June 9 – Corfu, Greece
June 10 – At Sea
June 11 – Nafplion, Greece
June 12 – Athens (Piraeus), Greece

We hope to post live from the ship once we arrive. Watch this blog and our Twitter messages.

—Andrea M. Rotondo for LuxuryCruiseBible.com

Pueblo Bonito Resorts Introduce New Spa Treatment Thermage

A little tid-bit for all of you luxury spa goers out there:

Pueblo Bonito Oceanfront resorts in Cabo have partnered up with the renowned Raquel Sarfati Cosmetic Clinic to bring guests an exciting, non-invasive, radio frequency cosmetic treatment designed to help tighten skin, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and contour the body without surgery, injections or downtime. The Thermage treatment stimulates the body’s natural collagen renewal process to produce natural looking results on the face, eyes and body for an overall youthful appearance and the treatment can be done in just a single treatment.

The treatment will be available at the award-winning Spa at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach from December 15, 2009 to January 9, 2010 only. Raquel Sarfati is a medical aesthetics practitioner with fifteen years of experience and a trained staff of medical professionals.

Here's the best part: guests staying at any of the Pueblo Bonito resorts can get a complimentary Thermage consultation including a renewal skin analysis, skin care evaluation and colorscience mineral makeup recommendation, valued at $250.00. To download the voucher visit pueblobonito.com/consultation_voucher.php

For more information about Thermage, visit their website at www.thermage.com