The Cruise: Wait--What?

[stevenpiziks]

 THE CRUISE: WAIT—WHAT?

 

When our boat taxi arrived to take us to the harbor, the driver helped with our luggage and we sped off toward the port. The driver asked where in the port we were going and we showed him our electronic boarding passes. 

 

"No, no," he said. "This is for Trieste."

 

Yes. Our boarding passes said "Venice (Trieste)" as the start of the cruise.

 

"Trieste is two hours away," the driver said.

 

Um ... what? We thought Trieste was a part of Venice, like Zaterre. Turns out it was an entirely different city much farther up the coast. So why the hell did the cruise say the trip started in Venice? Ohhhhh, we were upset. And angry. And upset. And angry.

 

The taxi driver called dispatch and said they could take us to Trieste right now. It would cost 450 Euros.

 

Fuck.

 

We decided to do it. What other choice did we have? I didn't know if a train would get us to Trieste in time, and the thought of navigating the Italian train system for the first time alone with a pile of luggage made me shake. So we paid it.

 

The driver, it must be said, was great. He wound along highways and roads. We did get to see a lot of interesting Italian countryside, mountains, and villages, but it wasn't worth 450 Euros.

 

We got to Trieste just in time to make boarding. I gritted my teeth and tipped the driver heavily. It's not customary in Italy to tip taxis, but he certainly hadn't been planning to drive four hours to Trieste and back that day, and he got us right up to the port. "I know this isn't usual," I told him, "but please take this." He didn't refuse. :) 

 

Once we were there, the boarding process went smoothly. We did discover that our cabin had been moved from the stern to amidships, which surprised me. I had called and asked a week ago if it were possible (I'd heard that the passengers in the stern were more likely to get motion sickness, since there's more motion), but the rep said all the cabins were wait-listed, and I shrugged it off with an "Oh well—we tried." But now our cabin had indeed been moved. No idea why. 

 

I was glad for it. The cabins amidships (and their balconies) are slightly larger than the stern ones because the ship's hull bows outward, creating more space. And the ride is smoother. Later, we also discovered it was quieter. The stern is, of course, right above the screws, and at sea, they churn the water VERY LOUDLY. So this was a definite plus!

 

And we set out to explore the ship.