Warning about venice

We recently completed a cruise that had a stop in Venice. We were a small ship under 600 passangers. We were docked in Marghera pier area (meste comerical port-second biggest in Italy) We were told that many of the cruise ships from now on will be docking in this area. Note it is a thirty minute ride into the Venice Maritima Station (old pier) You will be dropped on here. To get on the bus for the return trip, you have to go thru the termianl and security with passport-same as last year) but then you have to wait for the bus or buses to return you to your ships pier.

This November the wait in the afternoon was over two and half hours.

Hopefully, this summer season, they will figure out the time and need for buses. Since it is a comerical port there is not other way in or out of the port area. We did an overnighter, and very few people went back into Venice the second day. We were the only pax on the bus both way. Yes, everyone should see Venice at least once.

We recently completed a cruise that had a stop in Venice. We were a small ship under 600 passangers. We were docked in Marghera pier area (meste comerical port-second biggest in Italy) We were told that many of the cruise ships from now on will be docking in this area. Note it is a thirty minute ride into the Venice Maritima Station (old pier) You will be dropped on here. To get on the bus for the return trip, you have to go thru the termianl and security with passport-same as last year) but then you have to wait for the bus or buses to return you to your ships pier.

This November the wait in the afternoon was over two and half hours.

Hopefully, this summer season, they will figure out the time and need for buses. Since it is a comerical port there is not other way in or out of the port area. We did an overnighter, and very few people went back into Venice the second day. We were the only pax on the bus both way. Yes, everyone should see Venice at least once.

We were on the Celebrity Silhouette in November and stopped at Venice for an overnight Nov 25 & 26. Originally we were supposed to port at the regular cruise ship terminal in Venice. Sometime after boarding I kept hearing that we were instead porting at another port quite a distance away...I can only guess that it is the same one you actually ported at. But a day or two before our call in Venice, things changed again and we were back to porting at the regular Venice port.

What a hassle it sounds like it is to get to and from the Maritima station. I don't look forward to it for any future visits to Venice but I suppose the good thing is that at least there is still an option to call at Venice, even if it's less than convenient.

Thanks for reporting your experience...pretty sure mine would have been frustratingly similar had we ported at the Maritima station.

We recently completed a cruise that had a stop in Venice. We were a small ship under 600 passangers. We were docked in Marghera pier area (meste comerical port-second biggest in Italy) We were told that many of the cruise ships from now on will be docking in this area. Note it is a thirty minute ride into the Venice Maritima Station (old pier) You will be dropped on here. To get on the bus for the return trip, you have to go thru the termianl and security with passport-same as last year) but then you have to wait for the bus or buses to return you to your ships pier.

This November the wait in the afternoon was over two and half hours.

Hopefully, this summer season, they will figure out the time and need for buses. Since it is a comerical port there is not other way in or out of the port area. We did an overnighter, and very few people went back into Venice the second day. We were the only pax on the bus both way. Yes, everyone should see Venice at least once.

Thank you for this very important information. Where the ships will dock next Oct is just a guess right now from what you are telling us.

How far were you from the airport from that pier?

ARGH! This is simply the implementation of the new Venice cruise ship standards, which are still in a state of flux. But folks had best get used to it, because there is just a lot of political pressure to keep cruise ships away from the Giudecca Canal (the current way to the cruise port). This bus situation sounds awful. The sad part about all of this is that Venice (and the Italian government) spent a lot of money upgrading the regular cruise ship port and then spent more money putting in the wonderful People Mover. And after all that money and work they now are trying to empty the port of ships. And the irony is that the straw that broke the camels back was the Costa Concordia disaster.....whose Captain was an Italian.

Hank

ARGH! This is simply the implementation of the new Venice cruise ship standards, which are still in a state of flux. But folks had best get used to it, because there is just a lot of political pressure to keep cruise ships away from the Giudecca Canal (the current way to the cruise port). This bus situation sounds awful. The sad part about all of this is that Venice (and the Italian government) spent a lot of money upgrading the regular cruise ship port and then spent more money putting in the wonderful People Mover. And after all that money and work they now are trying to empty the port of ships. And the irony is that the straw that broke the camels back was the Costa Concordia disaster.....whose Captain was an Italian.

 

Hank

Just how was the Concordia the "straw that broke the camel's back?"

I don't think the re-porting of cruise ships had anything to do with the Concordia, more likely it's due to political, environmental pollution and/or aesthetic reasons...

The potential environmental damage and the years of looking at a capsized ship near the shore was the last straw for many. It led to renewed vigor and some changes of heart with respect to the banning of ships in the Venice lagoon and was frequently mentioned as a 'possibility' in Venice if the ships were not restricted. And now they are.

Ok I enjoyed watching my ship, NCL Spirit sail pass me as I gazed in awe at her from the roof top pool at the Hilton Molino Stucky Venice. I was in wonderment the next night as I sail out on her through the Guidecca Canal. But the night before I sailed out on the Spirit, I was frozen with fright as I stood on the banks in Venice and watched other cruise ships sail out the canal disrupting everything. I felt ashamed. Surely this can not continue.

Yes, I believe it is an environmental nightmare. I live in California and Hawaii, so I have to take that into account in my response. California has laws about Everything and Hawaii has laws about anything ancient(before Captain Cook) And anywhere near the shoreline. I guess that pretty much covers it. Access to endangered, Beloved, iconic areas in both states has been restricted/controlled. Residents understand.

As many of you have suggested, the industrial port may be an option.

PS. Access to one iconic area not controlled at all: Disneyland. It is every pirate and princess for themselves. Game on!

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Just how was the Concordia the "straw that broke the camel's back?"

 

I don't think the re-porting of cruise ships had anything to do with the Concordia, more likely it's due to political, environmental pollution and/or aesthetic reasons...

You ask and we respond :). There has long been a movement in Venice that wanted to totally ban large cruise ships for environmental reasons. These folks argued that the underwater pressure increase, caused when any large vessel moves up the Giudecca Canal, was increasing the damage to the already delicate foundations of the buildings that line the canal. This claim has long been debated in Venice, but never seemed to have enough steam to cause any changes.

After the Concordia disaster, these same folks quickly seized the moment and started to have very public demonstrations in Venice, including several days when they used small boats to literally blockade the cruise port (this actually delayed some cruise ship departures). These people now expanded their argument by saying there was too much danger that a large ship could run aground or even slam into the shore along the Giudecca Canal. Since the cruise ships pass very close to St Marks Square (it is an awesome sight) this further enhanced their arguments and the "movement" quickly grew with support from a few powerful politicians including the current Mayor of Venice.

The rest is history. What I have posted was widely reported and discussed in the local newspapers (we actually saw some of these articles during a couple of our visits to Venice). Imagine a situation where the many folks who were pro cruise ship...kept insisting that the procedure used in Venice was absolutely safe and nothing bad could ever happen. And then the Concordia happened which made lots of folks question their promises of absolute safety.

I should add that this movement (call it an environmental movement if it makes you happy) is far from over. These same folks are still not satisfied with the current arrangement and future plan and want to see all cruise ships totally banned from the Venice cruise port. They argue that a new cruise ship port should be constructed somewhere on the mainland and the passengers brought to Venice by bus (which has its own issues) or train.

Hank

Next September will be our fourth cruise-stay in Venice. I had planned to book a hotel in Maestre near the train station, for a change because it's less expensive than Piazzale Roma where we've always stayed (in August). Also, prices at Piazzale Roma next September are considerably higher than they were last August. Staying three nights, one on the ship and two in a hotel, we thought we would 'mix things up' and take a day trip to Padua - still need to research this to see if it's worthwhile.

Staying at Piazzale Roma, it was quick and easy to take the PeopleMover and airport bus. Saved alot of time and $ by doing so.

We'll be on the new Regal. I expect if ships are scheduled based on size, we won't dock at the new terminal. Thing is, we need to book a hotel and we may not know for some time where we will dock.

I'm not sure if I have this right (haven't had my coffee yet!):

- When docking at the commercial pier, did people have the option of going through security there when leaving the ship? If so, were the only transportation options a Princess transfer (we never use these) or a taxi to the airport or hotel (expensive in Venice)?

If docking at the commercial pier and staying in Venice post-cruise, and we must we first bus to the new terminal to go through security before we can go on our way, we would need to backtrack to a Maestre hotel (by train). This sounds like staying in Maestre may be even more undesirable than before.

This sounds like a nightmare. We cruised out of Venice this past June. It was beautiful. We will be ending our cruise on the Equinox in Venice this June. I really hope that we are still able to use the current port area. I will be watching this board to read for anyone else experiencing these changes.

There had been discussion of cruise ships approaching Marittima from the west. Is that option still on the table?

On the surface it seems like an easy answer.

Lew

We recently completed a cruise that had a stop in Venice. We were a small ship under 600 passangers. We were docked in Marghera pier area (meste comerical port-second biggest in Italy) We were told that many of the cruise ships from now on will be docking in this area. Note it is a thirty minute ride into the Venice Maritima Station (old pier) You will be dropped on here. To get on the bus for the return trip, you have to go thru the termianl and security with passport-same as last year) but then you have to wait for the bus or buses to return you to your ships pier.

This November the wait in the afternoon was over two and half hours.

Hopefully, this summer season, they will figure out the time and need for buses. Since it is a comerical port there is not other way in or out of the port area. We did an overnighter, and very few people went back into Venice the second day. We were the only pax on the bus both way. Yes, everyone should see Venice at least once.

Were you in Venice as an overnight on the ship?

Could passengers leave directly for the airport (or elsewhere) from the commercial pier?

Knowledgeable Folks of Cruise Critic: A plea for insight.

I had thought that the desire to ban the passage of cruise ships into the Venetian Lagoon and through the Grand Canal was for "the future", meaning post-summer 2014. But based on the OP's report first above, it appears that the future has already arrived, and that 'desire' has become an implemented plan.

After several visits to Venice on cruise ships, I feel (IMHO) that the sail-in to Venice is the best single hour aboard a cruise ship anywhere in the world. My wife and I believed we will re-experience that sail-in on a Riviera cruise this June. Now I'm not so sure.

An exhaustive (~3 seconds) web search produced this news link which says first,

and later,

This makes me wonder exactly which 20% will be re-routed this year. More specifically, how can pax booked on a cruise ship scheduled to stop in Venice find out whether their ship will be diverted?

Another ~5 seconds of web searching may have produced my answer, unhappy though it may be. Per this article, no one knows (or at least no one is saying), which 1/5 of the ships scheduled to dock in Venice will be diverted.

Can anyone out there in Cruise Critic land shed more light on this issue?

--Marne

Looks like it will be a crap shoot for all of us cruising in and out of Venice for 2014. Hopefully we will be on one of the ships that has the amazing sail in or sail out being we are round trip out of Venice. We have never been to Venice so hope we will be lucky :)

Looks like it will be a crap shoot for all of us cruising in and out of Venice for 2014. Hopefully we will be on one of the ships that has the amazing sail in or sail out being we are round trip out of Venice. We have never been to Venice so hope we will be lucky :)

Hearing that these changes were possibly coming is what made us step up and plan this cruise this year instead of waiting any longer. I thought we were good to go and would definitely get to enjoy the sail in/out of Venice this year. :(

Hello,

We are sailing on the Riviera this June, our first time to Venice. Our cruise starts in Venice and we are arriving 2 days pre cruise.

I came on CC to ask advice on getting from the airport to our hotel, (Hotel Arlecchino) and from Hotel Arlecchino to the cruise port for embarkation, and saw this.

I'm sad that we may not see the beautiful views of Venice from the ship, but I do understand what is happening from the large ships.

The Riviera is not a mega ship, but who knows...the OP said they only had 600 passengers.

Oh dear, the sail into Venice was going to be one of the highlights and a great end to our cruise with Celebrity in May this year. My fingers and toes are now firmly crossed that we still get to experience the originally planned sail into Venice. If not, I will of course be disappointed and sad, but if it helps to preserve this beautiful place it must be worth it.

I may not feel quite so generous if the transport problems are not sorted and we are left queuing for hours.

We recently completed a cruise that had a stop in Venice. We were a small ship under 600 passangers. We were docked in Marghera pier area (meste comerical port-second biggest in Italy) We were told that many of the cruise ships from now on will be docking in this area. Note it is a thirty minute ride into the Venice Maritima Station (old pier) You will be dropped on here. To get on the bus for the return trip, you have to go thru the termianl and security with passport-same as last year) but then you have to wait for the bus or buses to return you to your ships pier.

This November the wait in the afternoon was over two and half hours.

Hopefully, this summer season, they will figure out the time and need for buses. Since it is a comerical port there is not other way in or out of the port area. We did an overnighter, and very few people went back into Venice the second day. We were the only pax on the bus both way. Yes, everyone should see Venice at least once.

Thanks for sharing this information. We have sailed out of Venice twice and considered another cruise on the Silhouette this summer while planning our next vacation. Now, I'm happy with our decision to cruise on the Reflection and avoid Venice. Hope we can visit Venice again in the future, it is a wonderful city:):)

After seeing this thread, I'm wondering when we will find out where our ship docks. We will be embarking in Venice in June 2014 & I reserved our pre-cruise stay at the Hotel Olimpia to be near the People Mover. I chose the non-refundable room rate, so that's where we'll be staying regardless. I had planned to store our luggage at the hotel, tour more of Venice, then collect our luggage & hop on the People Mover to the pier. I will keep an eye on this thread, hopefully people will keep posting their experiences.

Click on to http://www.whatsinport.com

Click on Italy

Click on Venice

At the botton of the page you can click on "see what dock your ship leaved from".

We will be on the Regal this fall - will be following this post also so we will know what to expect.

Click on to http://www.whatsinport.com

Click on Italy

Click on Venice

At the botton of the page you can click on "see what dock your ship leaved from".

I think what folks are concerned about is that due to recent new laws, several cruisers report the Italian officials are making changes to the usual docking areas, sometimes on short notice. Additionally, it really appears at least right now, no one is quite sure where any ship will dock. What does seem eminent is that port locations will change for many cruisers.

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While I understand why they have changed the docking location for all but the smallest ships, we decided to change our cruise from the June 17 Nieuw Amsterdam to the June 20 Noordam. When we visit Venice again it will be by land.

Hearing that these changes were possibly coming is what made us step up and plan this cruise this year instead of waiting any longer. I thought we were good to go and would definitely get to enjoy the sail in/out of Venice this year. :(

We are in the same line of thinking as you. We were planning to do Iceland/Norway on Celebrity for summer 2014, but once we heard about these bans on large ships, we opted to do the Mediterranean again (for the 3rd time) so that we could experience the sail out from Venice before the changes take place. Now they're saying that the port has already started making changes to the docking location? Not good. This is after we booked full fare business class tickets on Alitalia from Los Angeles to Venice for this cruise, only to read that Alitalia might not have enough financing to stay in business through the summer. Italy is not making us happy lol Well, we are going to hold out hope.

Michael

We'll be on the BIG, new Regal in Sept so I won't be surprised if we dock at the commercial port.

What I'd like to know is, from someone whose ship docked at the commercial port, or from someone who knows what Venice's plan will be for disembarking passengers, if people could leave straight from the commercial port to the airport or their hotel or if they were required to go by shuttle bus to the new terminal to go through immigration first. The answer may affect where we stay. I'd just like to know where we will be able to, or must, go from the commercial port.