As we approached the port in the water taxi we got our first view of the Viking Star through the water spotted windows of the taxi. This picture gives a sense of the relative size of the cruise ship compared to the water taxi in the foreground.
Getting ready to board the Viking Star
We made our way toward the departure terminal, but not before stopping to take a group picture at the rear of the ship. Viking is very organized. Staff were stationed at every point to direct the way forward as we made our way through Italian departure procedures.
We finally made our way to the ship where we were greeted on board with glasses of champagne.
On the gangway
Keith and Joanne crossing the gangway
After we settled into our stateroom we took a tour through the ship to learn our way around. There are 6 restaurants and more bars than I can count. We are never more than a few steps away from food and drink. And of course there is always room service. Finally, at 5:00p we officially set sail departing Venice via the Giudecca Canal. A Venetian guide boat assured that our ship stayed its course while our captain navigated the canal.
Ironically, that’s a relatively small ship compared to many of them. We were on the Carnival Legend for our Caribbean cruise, and looking it up on Wikipedia, it has almost twice the tonnage and over twice the passenger capacity of the Viking Star.
I’m envious of the smaller ship though. There is such a thing as too large. Hope you’re experiencing some smooth sailing! Are you going to become a cruise addict? 🙂
Yes, the sailing has been smooth. Most of the time I can’t even tell that we’re moving unless I look down at the water.