Lost in Venice with a taste of Turkish Delight and Souvlaki

[Pushka]

Probably no need to pack the thermals for Dubai this week:

 

[Magpie10]

Gosh that us warm, how long are you in Dubai, or just in transit. Stay cool!:mrgreen:

 

[ellen10]

Looking forward to your trip report Pushka.
Enjoyed reading the planning process and itinerary. I love doing all the pre trip reading and planning.

I remember being in Venice last year and seeing a huge cruise ship sail right by St Marco Square, wow.

Why did you book your cruise through a US travel agent? Was it cheaper?
Looking at doing a cruise similar out of Venice.

Have a great trip

 

[Pushka]

We booked through a US travel agent as they offer more flexibility. Due to sheer mass of the US consumer size then they are more accommodating than TA's in Australia and indeed cruise lines themselves. Not all cruise lines accept Aussies booking through a US Agent. Princess for instance.

US travel agents act as third parties but all financial transactions are made by the cruise line so perfectly safe. If the US TA goes bust, it doesn't affect your booking as the deposit has been taken by the cruise line so they still have your money.

The best thing - you can cancel up to 90 days before the cruise, for any reason, and receive your deposit back in full. No penalty whatsoever for cancellation. We cancelled a cruise last year and received more than we'd paid as the Aussie dollar had fallen. Try not being charged by an Aussie Agent! You lose the deposit in full which can be a few hundred dollars.

The downside - currency fluctuations. And you need to DYOR as sometimes the deals in Australia are better. Assuming you don't cancel.

I use Vacationstogo.com.

 

[Pushka]

We are in Dubai for three nights. Planning not to venture out until 4pm. Unless it's to the pool.

Passed by an Amex currency exchange today. I'd tried getting some Croatian Kuna and Turkish Lira a few weeks ago but was told by Travelex there was a shortage of Kuna due to the soccer World Cup. (?). But Amex had some. We are only in Dubrovnik for a few hours and didn't want to waste time finding an ATM as most sellers don't like euros. Tickets to climbing the wall ( for the GOT experience) can be purchased by credit card.

We have our own little bank of Euros already.

 

[ellen10]

Thanks Pushka for your info on booking cruises. I will use it for future research.
We were in Dubai in October a balmy 32 degrees.

 

[Pushka]

Nice. More than nice. Amazing. Upgrade from discount Y to J at checkin. Remnants of WP maybe? We didn't ask btw. Thankyou Emirates.

 

[love_the_life]

Wow - that's fantastic! Enjoy the J service and champers!
Ddi you book through Emirates or through QF?

 

[Pushka]

Wow - that's fantastic! Enjoy the J service and champers!
Ddi you book through Emirates or through QF?

Booked through Qantas. We tried booking with points 360 days out and the whole of July was blocked, even economy. But the only way we could manage our seat selection was through Emirates.

I'll let you know how it compares with CX.

 

[Pushka]

Emirates J is delightful. Wonderful crew. Excellent food. Breakfast comprised a hot meal plus the usual extras. Lots of space.
Not exactly flat and so you need to accommodate for the slow progression down the seat. But it was wonderful to receive the upgrade.

Entree



Lamb was the main meal but no photo.



And a massage control.



We arrived 40 minutes early and had a slight delay before the gate was cleared.

 

[Pushka]

Arrival through immigration was fast and we were through in 10 minutes once we hit luggage. The walk to luggage was about 20 minutes though.

Met up with the transport and whisked to the hotel.

Where we were told that we had received two upgrades as the hotel is quiet due to Ramadan.

So from a 1 bedroom club to a 2 bedroom suite. Hmmm, which room to use. Shame the kids aren't here.
And we were able to access it right away at 6am.

So the Hotel Rooms...
Living room

Main Bedroom

Main bathroom

Second bedroom

 

[Pushka]

The suite overlooks the Creek and a desert. Funny that!



The circus in that photo is closed for Ramadan.

View from the second bathroom:



And of course, every hotel room has a kitchen.



So cute


And so expensive!

85 dirhams so around $24 AUD

 

[Pushka]

Temperature on arrival at 4.30am. 38C.

 

[love_the_life]

I take it that I am looking at a teaspoon in the Grey Goose pic :mrgreen:
Sounds like you should call your trip report "Upgrades all way to Europe". Perfect hotel room - one bathroom for you and one for MrP. Enjoy the heat. We haven't got it here!
i'm interested to hear what you think about Dubai as a stop-over city. We are looking at going through Asia instead later in the year but can be swayed possibly.

 

[TomVexille]

Double upgrade fairy awesome.

 

[Pushka]

Just found a third toilet in the suite.

It wasn't my toast. It really wasn't. Having breakfast in the club this morning and the toaster started smoking. My toast was all still in tact so presume someone else's had broken off and it was charring inside. I mentioned it to one of the staff to retrieve it.

10 minutes later and the room was filled with smoke. Next thing the smoke alarm sounded throughout the building. Guests were asked to stay calm but evacuate the hotel. The club staff knew what was happening and told us to stay put as it was ok. But for those not in the club, well, evacuate!

The French guy whose toast triggered the alarm was so embarrassed but I mentioned my incident to make him feel better.

Speaking of smoke, behind the cream coloured building is Khalifa.
This is the view from the Hotel.

 

[PennieTurrill]

Looking Good Mrs P. Can't wait to see how it all pans out. Do we start booking our own trip yet????

 

[RooFlyer]

Get used to the heat. Here in Venice at the moment about 32 degrees & humid.

Have retreated to the hotel for something with ice in it.

 

[PennieTurrill]

We pre booked and paid for most of our tours and just took vouchers, which was so easy and hassle free. Also meant we didn't need to take as much money on the card, and no lining up for tickets etc .

 

[PennieTurrill]

I am with Mr P re the cruising issue. A means to an end! Would rather take the flight than cruise for ages.