Uniworld- Northern Italy-Lori B

Uniworld Amex Fam – Gems of Northern Italy

May 13-22, 2016

We started with an extra night on our own in Venice w/DLV – Crowne Plaza Hotel Venice East-Quatro D'Altino

Nice Modern hotel – about 20 minute drive through the countryside.  Hotel has a van, but have to call for pick up on arrival – need 1 Euro coins or calling plan!  Clean & comfortable with a small restaurant, and friendly staff.  20 Euro for buffet dinner; 10 Euro for buffet breakfast; 5 Euro for shuttle back to airport.  Total cost incl taxes for 2 = 71.60 Euros for 1 night.  They at first did not show my DLV confirmation as paid, but eventually got it straight so we could return to the airport.     

Day 1 – Cruise arrival

Took hotel van back to airport and met arriving flight from PHL for transfer to ship.  Please note – they normally will not allow clients to do this – I had to cajole them into doing it for me, only to find out our Uniworld host rep had arrived on that flight.  Transfer during morning traffic took about 30 minutes. 

Note – the VCE Airport is under construction and normal loading zone for tour busses is not available.  It is about 3 block walk to the bus holding area.  It was a lovely day when we were there, but could be not so nice if bad weather. 

Ship is docked near large ships and water taxi station S. Basilio.  Approx. 10 minute water taxi ride to San Marco station.  Walking time maybe 40 minutes if you don’t wander & shop (which we always did so hard to gauge!) 

Tip - The Accademia & Guggenheim Museums are very close by to ship docking area

No activities that day, so we decided to wander to San Marco for a first look.  Many winding streets later with shopping along the way, we arrived and enjoyed people watching on the square before we returned to the ship for a light lunch and unpacking. 

Every night in the lounge they have guest activity briefings before dinner, so we listened in to that information about the ship, and the safety briefing – no life jackets required!  That evening the ship moved to the Castello area closer to central Venice in a lovely residential part of the island. 

Day 1 – Touring Venice

After our 1^st day walking on our own, we decided to join the gentle walkers group for the morning tour.  It was a leisurely stroll to the Doge’s Palace where we spent about 2 hours touring the many rooms and numerous paintings & frescos.  We crossed the Bridge of Sighs to see the prison cells.  There were about 4 flights of stairs to climb – no more than 2 at a time, but could be an issue; I don’t recall they had elevators, but everyone made it.  This was a good 3 hour tour from start to the water taxi back to the ship – quite the experience.  It was nice to have a guide with us to assist with the right taxi, but once you’ve figured out which boat to take, it’s a quick and easy way to get around the canals. 

Afternoon tour to see glass blowing on Murano Island.  Before we entered the factory, they presented information on Gondolas as they also produce them here.  It is quite interesting to see how they work the molten glass for vases & sculptures.  After the short presentation, there was a presentation on their products, and time for shopping.  At least one person from the group did purchase a full set of wine glasses & decanter.  Including shipping, the cost came to around 1100 Euros – beautiful and excellent quality if you have the budget.  It was a nice boat ride to get to the island & back, but the shopping time got a bit long (there was space to wait outside and enjoy the nice spring afternoon).      

PM trip to see St. Mark’s Basilica – one of the highlights of the trip, and on the 1^st day!

Private Vaporetto boats arrived to take us back to St. Mark’s Square with a short walk to the Basilica.  They arrange a private entrance and it really adds to the experience.  An art historian pointed out the stories found in the mosaics in the church, and then brought up the lights to illuminate the many scenes.  The mosaics are made of glass, and many have gold in them which lit up like sunshine under the lights.  We also saw the altarpiece up close – the whole piece revolves from the main side which is painted, to the reverse which is encrusted with gold and jewels and rarely displayed.  Unfortunately they still have a problem with flooding around the church, and the water level was rising quite a bit by the time we left.  The ship was docked about a mile away – a nice walk back along the waterfront. 

The next few days were touring by bus as the Po River does not allow the boat to reach the towns.    

Padua

Because the ship is not rated for ocean sailing, they could not move the ship with guests beyond the Venice lagoon on the Adriatic Sea.  This morning we boarded buses for the 2 hour drive to Padua.  It is a very pretty college city with an interesting cathedral.  After touring we had about 1 ½ hours of free time to explore.  It was recommended to visit Caffe Pedrocchi – they have inexpensive light snacks, and famous mint coffee.  Late afternoon back to the ship now at the pier in Chioggia. 

Bologna

We started exploring the local food shops to see how the locals eat.  The highlights of today’s trip were free time for shopping and exploring, and the Pasta making class with lunch!  The food was authentic, rustic and very tasty.  We met the ship back at Polesella, and during dinner moved down the Po River through a couple locks to Taglio di Po for the night. 

Chioggia

The day started with a drive in the rain to drive back to Chioggia.  This is a quaint fishing village on the coast, and it was flea market day.  Even in the rain many of the vendors were there, and you can purchase just about everything there from housewares to clothes, and of course food shops.  My best purchase was a comfy (and dry!) pair of walking shoes.  There was also a guided tour of the fish market, but we instead opted for exploring on our own (and found the fish market anyways).  They included a seafood lunch at a local restaurant (some food was good; most was not memorable, and service was lacking).  Then a boat ride around the harbor before walking back to the River Countess now returned to the pier. 

3 islands in the Venetian lagoon – Torcello, Burano and Mazzorbo

Definitely a highlight day!  Torcello is was one of the first islands inhabited in the lagoon; now only a handful of people live there to maintain the structures.  A guided visit to the Byzantine Chapel of Santa Maria Assunta.  Started in 639, it was renovated in 1008 to its current design.  It is the earliest church in the area, and also decorated with glass mosaics with the Madonna and child on one end, and the Judgement day mural on the other end.  The gardens here are lovely, and we enjoyed a quick break at the Locanda Cipriani restaurant.   

Our 2^nd stop was Burano – a city of colorful houses, and lacemaking.  We saw a lacemaking demonstration at the Emilia Burano shop, and then we were on to the bakery.  This area was quite busy with tourists, and yet fun to check out the goods & food offerings in the little shops.  We enjoyed a slice of pizza at the water’s edge overlooking the lagoon & other islands. 

The final stop was the island of Mazzorbo.    The Venissa vineyard recently resurrected the white Dorona grape – known only to exist on this island.  We were shown a presentation on the wine making process, and enjoyed a taste of this unique wine.  So far there have been only 4 vintages bottled, and a small bottle holding about 2 glasses cost 120 Euros.  Along with the vineyard, you can also stay on the island at the Venissa Wine Resort.  We returned by boat to the River Countess again docked in Venice at the Castello pier.  After dinner we moved to the main pier at San Basilio – another great chance to view lovely Venice at night from the water.        

Our last adventure was Verona.  Because many on the boat had already stopped here with the pre tour on the way from Milan to Venice, it was a small group of 10 of us that went to explore Verona.  This actually was nice as it was a busy day in town, and more people would have been difficult to manage at some of the sights – especially Juliet’s balcony (from the movie – not a real person!)  Another lovely scenic town along the river, and while nice to see, it was a little anti-climactic after the wonderful places we had already visited.  If I was to choose again, I would have stayed and done some of the other group activities in Venice, or spent another day exploring on our own.

While this was not a typical river cruise itinerary, seeing this part of Italy was beneficial, and getting to know the quality of Uniworld was a very good experience.  The crew was friendly, helpful & fun, and still professional and displayed great team work.  Seeing the same happy faces day after day was very pleasant, and they were all quite in tune and respectful of the guests needs.  The tours overall were well planned with a few outstanding – St. Mark’s Cathedral and the 3 island tour day as the most memorable.  Well thought out ship design, comfortable rooms, great food & included beverages all add to the experience.  The care for the guests continued even through the return transfer to the airport.  The Uniworld representative came inside with our group, helped us check in, and even directed us through the terminal to security – attentive service to the end!