Day Eight - Arrivederci Venice - Welcome Aboard! - Saturday, June 23, 2012

Today we said good bye to Venice.  We got up around 9:00am and headed downstairs in the Hotel to the included Continental Breakfast.  A selection of cold sliced meats, cheese, basket of breads, jam and butter, yogurt, juice, water and tea or coffee. After Breakfast we went upstairs to pack our bags for our journey to the Venice Cruise Terminal.  We paid our bill, said good bye to our hosts at the Hotel and headed out to the vaporetto stop.  No vaporetto strike today.  We took the vaporetto to the Bus Station and People Mover.

For the low price of 1 Euro we took the People Mover to the Cruise Terminal and followed the signs to our ship, the Norwegian Jade for our 7 day cruise of the Greek Isles. 

First we had to stand in line on the dock to drop off our luggage. It's amazing how many people don't follow instructions and put the preprinted luggage tags the cruise line issues you on their luggage.

It was then on to the terminal to check in and get our key cards.  Once our check in was processed and Passports checked, it was on to boarding the ship.

Once on the ship, we went to find our stateroom.  When we found it, our keys didn’t work (or so we thought) so we went exploring the ship.  We went up to the Buffet and got some lunch.  I went over to the spa and made an appointment for tomorrow morning (a day at sea) for a bit of pampering with a pedicure.

During our lunch they made an announcement that Staterooms were now ready and available.  Off we went to get into our room.  We have a great location toward the center of the ship on Deck 10.  We have a Balcony Stateroom with two twin beds and a sofa that folds out to a bed.  Cruise ships are designed to use every inch of available space wisely.  Here's Leanne lounging in our room...

And our balcony...

Once our luggage arrived, we unpacked and settled into our stateroom. It was then time to head to the dining room for dinner.  The thing I love about Norwegian Cruise Lines is the concept of Freestyle Cruising.  No formal dress codes, no set dining times, no assigned dining tables with people you don’t know and no set dining room you eat in day in and day out. Tonight we chose to eat in the main dining room and were seated at a nice table next to the windows so we could watch the scenery as we sailed out of Venice.

After dinner we explored more of the ship and got our bearings as to where all the restaurants, shops, fitness center, etc. were located.  By this time it was time for the Welcome Aboard show in the Stardust Theatre.  The main production number was a medley of ABBA hits entitled Mamma Mia.  Those six singers and eight dancers did their best to entertain us.  Of course there was the usual Welcome Aboard orientation to the ship and the ship’s entertainment given by our Cruise Director, Gary.

After the show we wandered up to one of the lounges were they were supposed to be having Karaoke, but no one was there for Karaoke because it is World Cup and all the TV’s were playing the game – Spain vs. France.  By this time I headed back to the cabin to shower and wash my hair so that tomorrow I could return to the living and look half way decent after son many days of giving into the heat and humidity.

Tomorrow we spend the day at sea.  I’m planning on sleeping in, having a pedicure and reading a good book. 

Goodnight!