Pre-Cruise in Venice Question

We booked a 2020 Venice/Athens on Viking Sea and reserved a 2 night pre-cruise for $800pp. Is this just an estimate of the cost? According to the Viking website, this pre-cruise has no tours, just the hotel, breakfast and transfers. $1,600 for both of us for 2 nights seems a little high, unless it's a really nice bus.

We did a pre-cruise package in Venice for two nights Christmas 2016. They met us at the airport, put us on a bus to Venice, where we transferred to a motor boat for a cruise to the Hilton Molino Stucky that was on an island. There were no included tours but you have all of Venice in front of you. There was a boat that would take us over to St. Marks. Breakfast was included but the rest of the meals are up to you. We wandered the back streets of Venice and had a great time even though it was our first visit there. On the day of embarkation you will take a motor boat to the cruise terminal. If you forego the pre-cruise you'll have to negotiate the transportation on your own.

Thank you OK. So it's worth $1,600?

Well that seems high. We paid a lot less but it was around Christmas. Use Trip Advisor to see the room rates at other properties. Viator may have cost estimates for pickup and delivery to your hotel. Venice can be expensive.

Thank you OK. So it's worth $1,600?

Even considering transfers are included, that is high. The hotel is also on Giudecca. And while they shuttle people back and forth to Venice proper, it is an extra step. Venice is easy to walk around and simply explore. We are staying post cruise on our own, and will spend about 2/3 of $1600, including meals, transfers, and "excursions" of our choosing.

Robin

We booked the Hilton on our own for our trip in June 2019. We got 4 nights for less than $1600. We will pay for our own water taxi to the ship.

We don't have any transfers from Viking since we are traveling independently for some time before the cruise.

It is nearly always true that you could do a pre or post cruise extension less expensively on your own. Only you can decide if the convenience of having Viking manage the details is worth the extra cost to you.

One other aspect that may be of some value is the possibility of being able to meet some of your fellow travelers in advance of the cruise. Meeting new people and sometimes new friends is one of my favorite parts of vacation, so that might be an appealing part of a Viking pre-cruise for me.

JerryInIL

My wife and I will be on the April 6th Venice to Athens cruise in 2020. We are out of Deerfield.

1600 is definitely high...….Particularly Venice...One can get transfers from AVTO at airport to Piazza Roma for 6 euros/pp. Plenty of hotels and BNB's right their. Our BNB was 75 euro a night. One euro to use People Mover to Cruise terminal.

JerryInIL

My wife and I will be on the April 6th Venice to Athens cruise in 2020. We are out of Deerfield.

We would have taken the April 6th cruise, but thought it might be a little warmer in May.

It is nearly always true that you could do a pre or post cruise extension less expensively on your own. Only you can decide if the convenience of having Viking manage the details is worth the extra cost to you.

 

One other aspect that may be of some value is the possibility of being able to meet some of your fellow travelers in advance of the cruise. Meeting new people and sometimes new friends is one of my favorite parts of vacation, so that might be an appealing part of a Viking pre-cruise for me.

We're in the UK, and from start to finish it's all booked through Viking. Along with the various pdfs which are with the online invoice, there is an Atol. It's peace of mind - they are responsible for us from the moment we check-in at the airport for the outbound flight. Looking forward to relaxing into the whole trip. Technically, we will be able to check-in for the outbound flight 24hrs before the flight, at which time we'll be on a motorway travelling to the airport, so for argument's sake, we reckon that the Atol comes into play once we've dumped the bags at the outbound airport and proceeded through security and into the Dep Lounge.

Can't really be bothered with saving a small amount of money - we'd rather have peace of mind.

I agree that the pre-cruise would be a great way of meeting fellow cruisers, all the more reason to include a short walking/bus tour for that much money. Fortunately, we have a lot of time to think about it. :)

We're in the UK, and from start to finish it's all booked through Viking. Along with the various pdfs which are with the online invoice, there is an Atol. It's peace of mind - they are responsible for us from the moment we check-in at the airport for the outbound flight. Looking forward to relaxing into the whole trip. Technically, we will be able to check-in for the outbound flight 24hrs before the flight, at which time we'll be on a motorway travelling to the airport, so for argument's sake, we reckon that the Atol comes into play once we've dumped the bags at the outbound airport and proceeded through security and into the Dep Lounge.

 

Can't really be bothered with saving a small amount of money - we'd rather have peace of mind.

I'm not usually extravagant, but I will pay extra for convenience and a sense of security, even when I am staying in the least expensive cabin.We both still work, and so when I am on our one vacation a year, I am glad to take advantage of letting someone else handle the details. That's a worthwhile expense for me.