By Marcia Abramson
It was comforting to find Renaissance Cruise personnel waiting to greet me and all the cruise passengers after our direct overnight flight from JFK on Delta Airlines. The long check-in lines at the regular sign-in area can be avoided by knowledgeable porters. I found one who said, "Lady, you will miss your plane if you wait to check in here. I can show you a much less crowded check-in across the road. If you take care of me, I will take care of you." And sure enough, I did and he did. He
directed me to another area which only had about four people and two check-in attendants. Within 15 minutes, I was checked in and on my way to the terminal and still saw the long lines at the original check-in counters. I would suggest that you seek out those knowledgeable porters when the lines are long and maybe you will luck-out too. Overall, I was impressed by the excellent service on Delta tourist class with individual menus and delicious Omaha beef selections, and if I could only sleep on planes everything would be ideal.
Once I deplaned with my daughter, our luggage was transported to waiting ferries and we were taken to the ship where everything was in order. We found our staterooms and our luggage, and immediately proceeded to take on Venice, the locale of many of my favorite Shakespearean dramas. The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew and Two Gentlemen from Verona all take place around the Rialto and nearby Padua and Verona. We stayed on board just long enough to get our bearings and then headed off for a late afternoon Gondola ride. We had the option of taking an excursion or just finding the vaporetto or water bus which is the best way of traveling the canals of Venice. Remember there are no automobiles here. You will need lira to pay for the ride. Purchasing a biglietto isole is a wise investment, for the next day's visit to Murano can be included. You will have to negotiate the price of your gondola ride since the set rate does not always apply. Dollars can be used to pay for this. Afternoons are less expensive than the evening rides which can be double the daytime fare. Also, the Grand Canal is less crowded. Make sure to reach an agreement as to price and duration before boarding. Then be prepared for a serenade of "O Sole Mia" and a grand tour of Venice. Also make certain to know the approximate time and location of the vaporetto for your return to the ship for dinner so as not to have to take a private water taxi which can cost about $50.
You will see hundreds of canals, thousands of streets and just one piazza, the Piazza San Marco. The main canal is the Canal Grande with only three bridges, one at the railway station, the Rialto and the Accademia. But the Rialto Bridge is your landmark to find your way back to the Piazza San Marco. Make sure that you bring a map with you. Renaissance Cruise Director Craig Cusanelli does provide excellent brochures, maps and information on the destinations on video in the individual staterooms as well as in flyers each evening before arriving at the next day's destination. I found this information very helpful when I chose to go my own way without taking the excursions. With excursions, they are a must for new travelers. However, since my daughter and I have visited Venice many times before, we enjoyed rediscovering Piazza San Marco with its Byzantine, Gothic, early and high Renaissance and Baroque and rococo artistic brilliance personified in the Basilica of San Marco. The Basilica was built to house the body of St. Mark, the city's patron saint. It was stolen from Alexandria by some Venetian merchants in 828 and worked to create the magnificent architectural and artistic treasure with exterior Romanesque carvings done over the years representing the Months and Seasons, Trades of Venice and the story of how the body of St. Mark came to Venice. A must-see is also the gold and silverware treasury in the interior of the basilica, particularly the rood screen, the pulpits and the icon of the Madonna and the famous Pala d'Oro of gold and silver with sapphires, emeralds, garnets, rubies, pearls and too many other precious stones to enumerate here. Then of course there is the Four Horses of San Marco of gilded bronze kept inside the basilica, but replicas are on the outside of the building. There are many shops and restaurants in the square and in the evening I was one of the Americans singing songs with the crowds about the good old USA. But beware of the pigeons that seem to spot strangers from atop their perches to give them something to remember them by.
The Bridge of Sighs is another important link to the Palazzo Ducale or the Doge's Palace. The name comes from the audible sighs of the condemned inmates to passersby. This building was the seat of power in Venice for more than a thousand years and contains some fabulous paintings of Titian and Veronese; most famous is the Tintoretto, the huge oil painting Paradiso. The interiors of the Bridge of Sighs and the prison weaponry and torture chambers are worthy of your precious time before meandering off to the Jewish Ghetto. In the early 1500's the Jews of Venice were segregated to this part of Venice. I found walking through the small square, the Campo Del Ghetto Nuovo a sad reminder of the plight of European Jews through the centuries. I stopped in to the two synagogues, a kosher bakery and market and bought some Judaica. Then back to the Renaissance Cruise 6 for lunch before returning to visit the island of Murano where the famous Murano glass is blown. but I found better prices on Long Island.
