Embarking the MSC Armonia

Friday 23^rd August

Seeing we had to leave the hotel at midday, we arranged to do whatever we liked in the morning and meet up at 11:45. Margaret and Wadia were up early and wandering. Sue hit the shops. I stayed in bed until close to 10 and only just made it to breakfast before they closed at 10:45. I seem to be suffering a huge sleep debt as a result of having visitors for 10 days before the holiday, and then sleeping in 3 different rooms three nights in a row.

The view from my balcony.

We left our luggage in the hotel and set off towards San Marco again for a last coffee. We had seen the full moon for the past couple of nights, and it must have been high tide around midday, as we could see puddles all over the square, with water bubbling out of drains. Children were having a wonderful time splashing in the deeper puddles. It’s a good reminder that Venice is at the mercy of the sea.

Arrangements change! We had talked of getting to the ship via waterbus to San Marco and then the Alilaguna direct to the cruise ship. On Wednesday I had spent an exhausting half an hour or more traipsing from stop to stop in the sun and heat in order to find the best stop with the easiest route for luggage. I’d come home to discover that the others had decided to take a water taxi instead, as they had experienced the hordes of people on the waterbus at midday. 

The water taxi delivered us at the dock near the cruise ship. We left our luggage and proceeded to embark. The queue was long and both Sue and I have trouble standing still for long periods of time. Margaret spoke to someone and arranged for us to have priority embarkation. That meant only a 5-minute wait. Relief!

As soon as I entered my room, I could see that this cruise would be difficult for me. There’s no armchair! I do not rest well on a bed. Too long lying down in a 24-hour period gives me a backache. Sitting on a bed propped up by pillows (especially when the bed is under the window) is not enough support, so again backache! Sitting on a desk chair does not support my arms, so tiredness. As I explored the ship I could see more problems. There are too many noisy people and crowd control is not good; I felt constantly beseiged wherever I went, and constantly having to weave my way between other people. (There’s only half a star difference between Cunard and MSC, but a world of difference in the approach and the amenities.)

We joined the hordes on deck to view and photograph our departure from Venice. It’s spectacular to watch, but not enough to make me get up early when we sail back in a week’s time!

The tide must have been going out, as mud flats were very evident. It was a good reminder of how Venice was protected in the past, and of the need for a local pilot on the ship now.

At about 7pm we found that our cases had at last arrived, which was a relief for me. Having handed over arrangements to the others, I had turned off my brain and simply followed. At about 5:30 my brain had switched back on and I had wondered if we had left our bags in the right place. There had been no MSC sign there. I was not allowed to get off the ship at this point to check, and the official at the gangplank told me that MSC does not wander the docks looking for suitcases! I had visions of our suitcases being left behind or being blown up! I spoke to Margaret and Wadia and they said the manager at our hotel (where we booked the water taxi) said that an official at the dock would take our bags. That made me feel slightly better until I remembered that on our last stay in that hotel the manager did not even know how we could get to the cruise terminal. (We’d asked 8 people that time and received 8 different answers!) I still don’t know if our luggage was left in the right place or if we received it due to the kindness of strangers who saw the MSC labels and took it to the right place for us. However, it arrived safely.

We ate dinner in the buffet restaurant, then returned to our rooms to unpack and sleep.