Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Sailing into Venice
A Mediterranean Cruise and Four Days in Ireland
Introduction
Planning
US Airways Business Class (Envoy) Philadelphia to Venice
Two Magical Days in Venice
Boscolo Venezia Hotel in Venice
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Introduction, Itinerary, and the Pinnacle Suite
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Katakolon and Athens
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Istanbul, Mitilini, and Kusadasi
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Santorini and Argostoli
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Sailing into Venice
Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam: Cruise Review
Ryanair Economy Class Venice-Treviso to Dublin
Two Days in Dublin
The Aran Islands and Galway, Ireland
Driving the West Coast of County Clare, the Cliffs of Moher, and Bunratty Meadows B&B
Aer Lingus 757 Business Class Shannon to Boston
Join me as I chronicle my journey through the Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Aegean Seas on our 12-night “Mediterranean Empires” cruise aboard Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam. The next few blog entries will detail the various ports of call we visited during the cruise…
May 12 – At Sea
After seven ports in eight days, we were pretty exhausted and ready for a day off at sea. We spent most of the morning hours before meeting the Dining Room Manager for a private tour of the kitchen. It was a pretty impressive operation. After that, we dined in The Pinnacle Grill for lunch before heading back to the balcony for a relaxing afternoon of the coast of Croatia. Dinner that evening was had again at Tamarind, where I had one of the best meals I’ve experienced — anywhere. More on that later.
May 13 – Venice, Italy
Another unique feature of this cruise was the overnight in Venice before we disembarked the cruise. Since the ship was set to arrive around noon, this allowed for the better part of a day and an entire evening in Venice where we could use the ship as our hotel room before disembarking.
The arrival into Venice was simply stunning. We had perfect weather as we sailed past St. Mark’s Square and the Grand Canal to the cruise port on the northwest tip of Venice.
The view from our suite’s balcony was just amazing.
Upon arrival in Venice, we had a quick lunch on the ship before exploring Venice for the afternoon. We planned to meet my Aunt and Uncle at San Marco around 5:30pm where we took the Vaporatto to the Lido. Before that, the two of use decided to cheese it up by taking a gondola ride. Though very expensive, we felt it was worth it for the experience – even if it was the ultimate tourist trap. After meeting the Aunt and Uncle and motoring our to the Lido, we explored the town for about an hour, which was highlighted by a trip to the beach club and Adriatic Sea, where my girlfriend was able to dip her toes into the water. We then shared a great meal of bruschetta, mozzarella, pasta, and pizza at a nice local restaurant named Pizzeria Ai Do Mati in Lido.
We decided to take the Vaporetto back to Pi’azzle Roma through the Grand Canal. This was a beautiful hour and five-minute run through the Grand Canal at night. It was well worth the extra time to get to experience motoring through the canal. We took the short, people mover back to the cruise terminal, where we boarded the ship to pack our bags and take in a final night’s sleep onboard the Nieuw Amsterdam.
May 14 – Venice, Italy
We awoke to a beautiful, Venetian morning where we disembarked the ship around 7am, and had our driver waiting to take my Aunt and Uncle to Venice-Marco Polo airport for their flights back to Washington-Dulles via Frankfurt and London. The driver of the private mini-bus then took my girlfriend and I out to Treviso airport for our Ryanair flight to Dublin! We booked this transfer through Airports Shuttle Express, and the experience was first-class, all the way. The customer service was fantastic, punctual and friendly, and the mini-bus was exactly what we wanted. It really made for an easy transfer from the ship to the airport.
We were incredibly sad that our amazing cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam had come to an end, but eagerly awaited the adventure that awaited us in Ireland.
Next Stop: Dublin, Ireland
Coming later: A full review of the cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam
