Our Summer Vacation - NEED YOUR INPUT!

Hey everyone!  Keeton and I have recently booked our summer vacation and we are going to somewhere TOTALLY NEW for us!  We want to make sure we get the best out of these places and I want your feedback if you have ever been, lived there, etc.

To start with some background on why we booked this vacation.  Keeton and I have always wanted to explore Europe (lots of places)s and do it before kids are in the picture.  Well, I will be honest (as usual), I am so unfamiliar with Europe, that the idea of taking a cruise to a couple different places totally puts me at ease!  If I don't like a place, feel uneasy, etc. - I can just go back to the boat and we will be all good again.  I hope and don't foresee this happening, but just in case.  Keeton and I have been on 2 cruises before a couple of years ago, but they were both in the Caribbean, so... we are familiar with cruises.  After we determined a cruise would be a good option for us we then had to pick where. 

My number #1 and #2 places I have always wanted to visit are:
1 - Greek Isles
2 - Venice, Italy



Santorini, Greece


I started with that and I found the perfect cruise!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And I think it was a God thing b/c Keeton and I had already set our vacation week with work and the ONE cruise we wanted was THAT SAME week!

So here is the itinerary:


 Day 1 - Fly to Venice and we stay overnight
Day 2 - Leave on our cruise from the port in Venice
Day 3 - Port of Call - Bari, Italy
Day 4 - Port of Call - Corfu, Greece
Day 5 - Port of Call - Santorini, Greece
Day 6 - Port of Call - Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey
Day 7 - Port of Call - Katakolon, Greece
Day 8 - At Sea
Day 9 - Arrive back in Venice and stay overnight
Day 10 - Fly Home

Ok, now I need your help!!!!  Please give me any input you may have on any of these places! 

• Where to stay in Venice?  Area?  Hotel?  Any other Venice tips?  Where to eat?  What are some "must do" things in Venice?
• Where or what to eat ANY of these places?
• What to do in ANY of these places?  Things to see, etc.?
• What I should shop for - must haves or rare items from any of these places I need since I may never go back?  I know a carpet/rug in Turkey!  And remember, I am not a millionaire...lol.   

I plan on REALLY researching all of these places and things, but this is part of my research, the help of my friends!!!  So bring on the comments!!!  Thanks everyone!