We’ve been in Venice a couple of times (Episode 224, Episode 224A, Episode 532), and I’ll be returning next October, so we didn’t feel the need to take an in-depth excursion. We simply hoped we’d have a bit of free time after our included tour to wander on our own.

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Because cruise ships have been – very sensibly – banned from Venice’s canals since 2021, our ship was docked in Fusina, about 20 minutes away. We expected that would mean a coach transfer to the local pier, similar to our last Viking visit here, and being dependent upon Viking’s transportation back to the ship after our tour.

A bit of background to that ship ban. Cruise ships weighing over 25,000 tons were banned from Venice’s historic center and the Giudecca Canal to protect Venice’s fragile environment and architecture from physical damage and pollution. It’s honestly hard to even imagine a cruise ship in the narrow canal, where the centuries old palazzos are supported on wooden pilings that have been hardened by the oxygen-free salt water environment, almost like petrified wood – and yet the ban wasn’t enacted until after UNESCO threatened to place Venice on its “List of World Heritage in Danger”. Now, sensibly, ships are rerouted to other ports, like Ravenna or Marghera. (A BBC article nicely explains exactly how the wooden supports work: The Ancient Forest that Supports Venice)

To be fair, an incident in 2019 when the MSC Opera (a 2,600 passengers ship) hit a riverboat AND the dock in Venice should have been more than enough reason to ban anything bigger than a traghetto (passenger ferry/water taxi).

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Today, our transfer to the city would not be by bus; Viking arranged shuttle BOATS!

That sounded wonderful, but then things (for us specifically) went south.

As we joined our excursion group getting ready to board our water taxi, a trio of passengers had already corralled the tour leader and were turning her into their personal guide: gondola reservations, shopping recommendations, alternate transportation, etcetera – the kinds of things usually left for the end of an excursion when the tour leader doesn’t already have 20 other people requiring instructions related to the actual excursion.

The process of balancing those individuals’ demands (their tone justifies the use of that word) with the needs of her group seemed to – understandably – fluster our guide a bit. Organizing our group became analogous to “cat herding”, exacerbated by the fact that her very specific instructions about exactly how folks should line up two-by-two (and stay that way so as not to “bother” people in the streets of Venice) were given without her audio transmitter turned on.

Once the transmitter issue was corrected, we realized that she was going to be very difficult to understand anyway.

Over more than 200 Viking excursions, we’ve only experienced that once before, with a last-minute substitute guide in Penang. I pride myself on having an “ear” for languages that seems to accommodate a wide variety of accents and dialects, and have occasionally been the unofficial translator for others in our groups, so today was a bit concerning. Since our guide told us that she has been working with Viking groups for 5 years, it is, of course, possible that her English was being impacted by her frustration.

Because Venice is gorgeous, we might still have toughed it out – and could certainly have gone into the city on Viking’s provided water shuttle – had we not then been regaled with how much tourists were being resented. Our guide mentioned that her own family had actually moved from the main island to Lido Island to get away from the crowds.

We certainly understand, but at the same time those comments solidified our decision to simply stay on board today on a mostly empty ship that felt like our own personal yacht.

It’s the “sea day” vibe we wouldn’t otherwise get on a one-week cruise.

While Ted continued to work his way through Dan Brown’s latest novel before the loan expires in Libby, I took advantage of the thermal spa: no one else in the hot tub or snow grotto, and lovely quiet.

While Ted enjoyed one last Viking burger in the Pool Grill, I made up a plate in the World Café and ate almost solo (3 passengers and six staff!) on the Aquavit Terrace. A virtually empty ship meant no competition for the blackened jalapeños that accompanied the vegetable samosas, and being able to score a couple of big chunks of the apricot garnish on the amazing apricot gelato!

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There was also zero competition for lounge chairs poolside (not that there’s generally an issue on Viking ships in our experience), or for Prosecco refills.

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From my lounge chair, I could see St. Mark’s Square across the water. Ted was able to zoom in on the view from his vantage point on the Explorers’ Lounge outside deck.

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After a leisurely day, we enjoyed one last pre-dinner set with resident guitarist James, and a final dinner at The Chef’s Table, our favourite dining venue on Viking’s ocean ships.

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Dinner was delicious and the sunset was stunning, turning Venice to rose gold.

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And in the other direction, toward the port of Fusina, the sunset flamed.

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With about half of the passengers disembarking tomorrow (the rest go on to Athens), the ship was quieter than usual after dinner as folks completed their packing. It will surprise no one that ours was already 95% done.

We have to be in the atrium at 3:30 a.m. tomorrow morning in order to be transported to Venice airport for our 6:50 flight.

Yikes.

Fortunately, during flight check-in we were able to switch our seats for the long Frankfurt to Vancouver leg to a row with extra leg room at no extra cost; if we’re not cramped, we may be able to catch a bit of shut-eye on that 10-1/2 hour flight.

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Even so, after arriving in Vancouver tomorrow just after noon Pacific Time, we’ll likely head directly for a nap.

We’ll reconnect with friends and family, and get our dental checkups and other appointments taken care of, in the 3 weeks before we leave for Egypt and Viking’s Pharoahs & Pyramids River Cruise.

There’s always a new destination beckoning!