Venice April 2012

[LouiseB]

Dear all,

 

We're going on the QV 4/4/12 cruise that includes a day in Venice, despite being experienced cruisers, this will be our first time in Venice!

 

So, thought I'd ask you all some quick questions...

 

1) how easy is it to do Venice on your own?

2) whe do Cunard dock and do they provide any sort of shuttle service?

3) how would you recommend we spent the day? I've heard some good things about Doges Palace, is it worth a visit? Are queues likely to be very long etc?

4) is a gondola ride worth the 100 euros I understand that it costs?

 

Thanks for all your answers, if you have any other suggestions or thoughts please let me know.

 

Thanks

 

Louise :)

[Jim Avery]

Dear all,

 

We're going on the QV 4/4/12 cruise that includes a day in Venice, despite being experienced cruisers, this will be our first time in Venice!

 

So, thought I'd ask you all some quick questions...

 

1) how easy is it to do Venice on your own?

2) whe do Cunard dock and do they provide any sort of shuttle service?

3) how would you recommend we spent the day? I've heard some good things about Doges Palace, is it worth a visit? Are queues likely to be very long etc?

4) is a gondola ride worth the 100 euros I understand that it costs?

 

Thanks for all your answers, if you have any other suggestions or thoughts please let me know.

 

Thanks

 

Louise :)

 

Hi Louise.

I will try to help a bit. We have been to Venice several times and absolutely love it. It is like no other place we have ever been. We were fortunate to have a Cousin accompany us on our first visit. She travels from the UK to Venice several times a year so she gave us a fabulous tour. Getting lost is an art form in Venice. Not to worry, that is when you find very interesting places. You can certainly "do" Venice on your own-in fact I would not do it any other way. Get a map. Pay attention to the direction signs on various building corners and work from one place to the next. Not sure where Cunard will dock or if there is a shuttle. If there is, it would be by water and you can certainly hire your own water taxi or hop the Vaporetto (water bus). Cant speak to the Dodges Palace. Every time we tried, the queues were too long.:eek: Only you can determine if the gondola is worth it but we, like most, on our first trip decided we could not go home without it. We loved it but would probably not do it again. Would rather spend it on a water taxi to the airport. Have fun, you are going to a very special place.:D One last thought. My Cousin taught me that if you see something you like in one of the many little shops you will discover, buy it immediately. You are not likely to find the shop again coming from a different direction.

[maina]

We haven't ever arrived in Venice on a cruise, but did go there several years ago. I'd say it's very easy to do on your own. I can't address your question about where Cunard docks and any shuttle service, though we did see where some ships were docked, and it was quite close in.

 

The gondola ride is not worth the money. Instead, you can buy a day-ticket (or longer) on the public transportation "waterbus" (Vaporetto). These go all around the larger canals, and you can get off and on easily. They stop about every few "blocks". It's entirely possible one of the vaporetto routes passes near the Cunard docking area. If you go to this website, http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/, you can click on the "local transportation" link for more information. The day we arrived, when we were quite jet-lagged, we had a wonderful time just riding the vaporetto all over the place. We took great pictures of all the fantastic buildings along the grand canal.

 

We loved the Doge's Palace tour, and paid extra for the "secret itinerary," which was well worth the cost. April will not be a heavily "touristed" month, so I don't imagine the queues would be long. I do recall that we bought our tickets ahead of time, however, as there were a limited number of slots for the "secret" tour. We were in Venice in June, and the lines were not at all long. However, having a large cruise ship in port (or more than one, perhaps), might contribute to longer queues.

 

If you only have a short time in Venice, I'd spend most of it outdoors soaking up the ambiance, but there are two museums that are worth visiting if you want some indoor museum time--the Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim (modern); both are on the same side of the grand canal, near the Accademia Bridge.

 

Be sure to eat gelato when you are in Venice; they had some of the best we tasted during our 17-day trip to Italy. There are storefront stands all over the place. :D

 

We were in Venice only 3 days, and I'd love to go back.

[balf]

Dear all,

 

We're going on the QV 4/4/12 cruise that includes a day in Venice, despite being experienced cruisers, this will be our first time in Venice!

 

So, thought I'd ask you all some quick questions...

 

1) how easy is it to do Venice on your own?

2) whe do Cunard dock and do they provide any sort of shuttle service?

3) how would you recommend we spent the day? I've heard some good things about Doges Palace, is it worth a visit? Are queues likely to be very long etc?

4) is a gondola ride worth the 100 euros I understand that it costs?

 

Thanks for all your answers, if you have any other suggestions or thoughts please let me know.

 

Thanks

 

Louise :)

 

Louise - It is very easy to do Venice on your own. This one place where you really should.

 

The ship will probably dock at the port which is near to Piazzale Roma. We took the short walk to the People Mover (Driverless train)which took us to Piazzale Roma. From there you can take the vaporetto to St Marks square or anywhere else.

 

Will there be queues? Almost certainly and St Marks can be quite difficult at most times. The Doges Palace is worth a visit if this is your first time in the city. We usually wander around getting slightly lost and just take in the atmosphere, there is interest everywhere.

 

Personally a gondola ride is the last thing I would do, only you can decide.

 

Not sure how long you are there, but we had a great day on the island of Burano, but you would need to watch the time if you were only there for the day, and there is so much in the city anyway.

 

Some people are sniffy about Venice. We love it. Hope you have a good time there.

 

David.

[Norfolk Brit]

Cunard will run a boat shuttle from where you dock (almost definitely Stazione Marittima, to the west of the sights of Venice), charge around 20USD return per person; it usually drops you off at Londra Palace Hotel, a couple of bridges from St Mark's Square and the main tourist area.

 

Personally, I wouldn't bother with a gondola ride, or a ship's tour for that matter - get a decent guidebook complete with map, do a bit of research (tripadvisor Venice forum is a valuable source of information) and expect to get lost. An enjoyable, and much cheaper, way of getting an overview is the number 1 or number 2 vaporetti up the Grand Canal (printable map here http://www.hellovenezia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=77&lang=en - if you're going to use the vaps a few times, well worth buying a pass in advance - individual ride is 6.50eu per person per one-way journey. Passes can be ordered online here: http://www.veniceconnected.com/

 

Have a wonderful time.

 

Mary:)

[vannerhawk]

Make sure you are on deck in the morning for the sail into Venice-it's magical. The sail out is lovely too. It's one view you can only get from a large cruiseship and they are talking of stopping them coming in for environmental reasons, so see it while you can. The Doges Palace is interesting but lots of steps. I think you need to walk around the back streets/canals to get the real feel of Venice. (We are on that cruise too)

[arvedg]

Hi Louise,

 

just saw your post here today. Hoping not to be too late I'll try to throw some help in. I never was on a cruise but I am lucky to live in Venice.

 

How easy is it to do Venice on your own? Very easy! Getting lost in the alleys is one of the most exciting things you can do here. And don't worry, you will immediately be lost once you walked around a corner. And you have to separate yourself from the masses. That means, after visiting St. Mark's Square head anywhere outside the district of San Marco.

 

As someone else recommended already, buy a map (the best ones you get at the public transport counters (Piazzale Roma, Ferrovia, Rialto, San Marco) fro 2 Euro. And then be brave and turn to the left or right from time to time through the really narrow alleys. You will see, it is easy to escape the crowd. If you are alone in an alley you know you made it :) Ah, don't worry about safety. Despite some pickpockets around St. Mark's Square it might be one of the safest towns of the world (Venice is an island with a single bridge connecting to the mainland - how should criminals escape).

 

Recommending a guide or not depends on your interests. If you are short of time and want to see and learn a lot about town, take one. He will most probably also guide you to some special places and give you some insight to nowadays life in Venice - which you hardly find on your own. If you just want to catch the atmosphere, the magic, there is no need for a guide at all.

 

If you go on your own, you might not put too much highlights on your schedule for one day. Venice is a very slow town, due to water transport and walking all over. Dodge's Palace is always worth a visit for sure, and it is mind blowing if you are into history and architecture. Recommend it? Again - depends on your interests and spare time.

 

For the gondola ride I'd only say, if you decide to do one, try to catch a gondola anywhere but not around St. Mark's Square. It might be half of the charm if you get stuck in a gondola traffic jam with dozens of others around.

 

Other things to do? Sit in a remote place, enjoy a glass of "spritz" (white wine with Aperol) and taste some "chicchetti" (finger food, spoken: kikettee) while watching Venetian life going on around.

 

I wish you an interesting stay in town - and a wonderful cruise!

Arved

[capnpugwash]

I think that you have been well advised but I would add that the vaps operate a circular route and you need to consider that when router planning. The other thing to avoid is water taxis, they are so very expensive that they make Norway look cheap. Have fun it is a great city and if you get a chance go to Murano to see the glass being blown in the workshops.

[Underwatr]

Water taxis are very expensive - 100€ or more from the airport to Piazza San Marco as I recall, as compared to 9€ round trip by bus (which gets you as far as Piazzale Roma). But since the water taxi can hold a lot of people it can be more reasonable the more people in your group. On our first Venice trip we got lucky and were offered a free water taxi ride to a glass shop. The trip over through the little canals was very nice; the trip back after we declined to buy anything was very quick and not as romantic...

 

A single ride on the vaporetto is expensive too, for what it gets you . 6.50€ for a singe ride; a 12-hour pass at 16€ or a 24 hour pass for 18€ might be worthwhile if you ride a lot or are going to Murano (glass) or Burano (lace). Even when we stayed in Venice for a week we found it difficult to get our money's worth on a 3-day vaporetto pass since we ended up walking everywhere except to the other islands.

 

http://www.actv.it/en/movinginvenice/fares1

 

A traghetto is the poor man's gondola; Half a Euro to cross the canal but you're expected to remain standing.

[Oarsman55]

I think that you have been well advised but I would add that the vaps operate a circular route and you need to consider that when router planning. The other thing to avoid is water taxis, they are so very expensive that they make Norway look cheap. Have fun it is a great city and if you get a chance go to Murano to see the glass being blown in the workshops.

 

The main vaporetti lines do, indeed, do a circular route but you can get on and off at will and can get back on and go either clockwise or anti-clockwise from adjacent stops. Alternatively, Venice is very walkable when combined with the ship's shuttle to near St Mark's.

 

As the OP hasn't been to Venice before, Murano would seem a step too far. There'll be plenty to occupy them in the central part without wandering off to the islands, perhaps better saved for a longer subsequent visit.

 

As you say, water taxis are horrendously expensive and to be avoided unless in a large party.

 

Peter:)