Now that I have broken the spending barrier in Kusadasi, anything else I might buy seems like a pittance.  So the question is whether to quit now or just to continue shopping now that I have started.  To make the issue even more complicated, Rhodes, from where we are just sailing at the moment, is an even greater shopping mecca than Mykonos was the day before.

Saturday 25 April 2015
Venice, Day 2

My plan today was to spend another four or five hours of this gorgeous weather in Venice.  I even purchased a 24-hour vaporetto ticket yesterday afternoon, thinking I would certinaly make use of it today.  However, by the time I packed up my belongings and was able to get into my new and hopefully final cabin on Deck 7, there really wasn't enough time, especially given the hurdles of getting into the city that I described in the previous entry.  Although the brochure says we do not sail until 4pm, all passengers must be back on the ship by 2:30.  [Potential cruisers should be aware when reading port departure times and thinking they will have a long stay in port--remember that you must be back on board anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes before sailing time, depending on the ship and the port.]  So our stay in Venice today is not from morning until 4pm, but actually from morning until 2:30pm, a rather significant difference.  [Perhaps it would be more honest for the brochures to state on-board times rather than sailing times, or at least provide a brief note that reminds potential clients about the difference, which is easy to forget when you are planning a trip.  But all this is just another way that Holland America has screwed up my enjoyment.]  I do receive a call from Andreas, the Passenger Services Manager--but this will be last time I hear from him or anyone else on board.

At least my latest stateroom is on the starboard side, which gives me excellent views as we reverse the path we sailed when coming ino Venice yesterday.  

Tomorrow is a sea day and I look forward to a chance to de-stress after the first eleven days of unpleasantness.  Obviously, no one took seriously my request to be flown home--at Holland America's expense--but the couple in the flooded stateroom next to mine (who were stuffed in a smaller cabin than they paid for), were told that if they didn't want to stay in that cabin, HAL would have the Italian police remove them from the ship!  Wait until I report that move to the Seattle office.

Sunday, 26 April 2015
Venice to Katakolon, Greece

The weather continues to be spectacular, the sailing continues to be smooth, the food and service in the dining room continues to be excellent, and the toilets continue to break down.  Otherwise, today is a quiet day at sea and I am finally settled into my stateroom for the second half of the cruise, looking forward instead of backward on all the Zuiderdam's misadventures.

After the Flood

No Place to Put My Things