We arrived in Venice at about 10.00am and unloaded the bus and trailer. We said goodbye to our driver and his wife, who were spending one night in Venice before returning to Germany.
We all then went through passport control and a customs check. It was also at this point where we were all photographed with webcams and issued with a card each. This was our “pass” on and around the ship. We were then called in batches and we had our photo taken before finally stepping onto the MSC Orchestra. Oh boy, what a ship!!.
We went off to find our cabin and acquaint ourselves with the ship. We seemed to walk for miles to our cabin and hubby was rather disappointed with our inside cabin. The kids thought it was great, as they had two bunk beds which pulled down over our double bed.
We then went and checked out the rest of the ship. It was amazing. The kids found their entertainment centre quite quickly and were keen to try it out. We walked up to the tennis court, mini golf course, inside to the disco, through numerous lounges and restaurants before finding ourselves in the reception area. We decided to ask about an upgrade in cabin. Unfortunately, nothing was available that night, but were told that we could try again the next day, as people were getting off the ship in Bari.
One of our suitcases had arrived at our cabin, so I unpacked all our things into our cupboard and bathroom. Our other suitcase just did not arrive. We asked a porter about it’s whereabouts and he suggested that we enquire at reception. This we did and they told us to wait until 5.00pm when the ship sailed. I thought how stupid, when our suitcase might be left ashore somewhere. Anyway, at about 5.45pm it was brought to our cabin.
We were all up on deck when the ship set sail from Venice at precisely 5.00pm. What a wonderful sight to see from the ship. As the ship moved away, it blew it’s horn and then the music started up and the dancing team put on quite a show. Only minutes earlier, had this team of stunning ladies come prancing past hubby and I. His eyes nearly fell out of his head, as they were all in G-strings with white fishnet stockings over them. Gerard has an absolute passion for G-strings!!!!!
The photographic team was out in full force taking photos of all and sundry. There were people on every deck, hanging over the side to take photos of Venice as we slowly made our way out of the harbour area and into the sea.
Just a few facts about the ship.
It was built in 2007 – started sailing in April 2007
Speed limit – 23 knots
Length and Breadth – 293 x 32,5m
Passenger Decks – 13
Cabins – 1 275
Maximum Passengers – 3 013
Crew – 987
