Would love to hear anyone that has sailed out of Venice.

[cazz0069]

Hi everyone. Sorry havent been around for awhile. We have just completed our first land based holiday in 4 years around UK and Europe. But when considering our itinarary for next year we thought a cruise out of Venice might be nice, one that goes to Itanbul, Dubrovnik etc..Anyone have any suggestions as to ships or even some feedback on ones they have done already...all feedback appreciated...

 

PS Doesnt nessesarily have to be out of Venice. but something departing from Europe or UK would also be considered :)

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Jas... I have just returned from our Ruby Princess cruise. We actually did a B2B2B. The last leg was Barcelona to Venice which included Istanbul. It was an awesome cruise. Istanbul (we also did Kusadasi in Turkey) is an amazing city and I would recommend a visit there. Venice was enchanting sailing into. We overnighted there, but it was a bit of a disappointment. I suppose all I have heard about it over the years made it a place I HAD to visit, now I have done that, I don't need to do it again. Florence, Italy is far better than Venice. Loved Florence and we were there twice (once on 2 legs) and would love to go back again and again.

 

Have a look at the Ruby Itinerary and see if you like it. The Ruby is a fantastic ship. I am currently doing a review on the Princess threads if you want to have a look.... it is a work in progress... I am up to Rome on the second leg.

[cazz0069]

Jas... I have just returned from our Ruby Princess cruise. We actually did a B2B2B. The last leg was Barcelona to Venice which included Istanbul. It was an awesome cruise. Istanbul (we also did Kusadasi in Turkey) is an amazing city and I would recommend a visit there. Venice was enchanting sailing into. We overnighted there' date=' but it was a bit of a disappointment. I suppose all I have heard about it over the years made it a place I HAD to visit, now I have done that, I don't need to do it again. Florence, Italy is far better than Venice. Loved Florence and we were there twice (once on 2 legs) and would love to go back again and again.

 

Have a look at the Ruby Itinerary and see if you like it. The Ruby is a fantastic ship. I am currently doing a review on the Princess threads if you want to have a look.... it is a work in progress... I am up to Rome on the second leg.[/quote']

 

Thanks Eileen, legendary...will check it out!

[Sandielle]

Hi everyone. Sorry havent been around for awhile. We have just completed our first land based holiday in 4 years around UK and Europe. But when considering our itinarary for next year we thought a cruise out of Venice might be nice, one that goes to Itanbul, Dubrovnik etc..Anyone have any suggestions as to ships or even some feedback on ones they have done already...all feedback appreciated...

 

PS Doesnt nessesarily have to be out of Venice. but something departing from Europe or UK would also be considered :)

 

That would be a great cruise, Jas. You two have really been bitten by the travel bug! I reckon you should visit Pompeii from Naples (great paintings on some of the walls :eek:;);) They have excavated lots more since DH and I saw it. I'd love to see it again. :)

[newfarmers]

We sailed out of Venice a few years back.

 

We splurged on a balcony on Rotterdam (booked overseas so $1000s less than it would have cost if we'd booked here) and we were lucky to have been allocated a cabin that meant we were facing St Marks etc as we sailed away.

 

Sat out there with our bottle of bubbly and chatted with our new neighbours as we sailed away, heading fro Rio

 

It was an experience that will last with me forever

 

Pete

[pacificlover]

Of all the sailaways in the world.....Venice has to be the best!!!! I sailed on Crown Princess and with a glass of wine in hand, Pavarotti on the loud speakers, warm Italian afternoon by the pool at the stern, I now have a memory that will last a lifetime. Yes, Venice is not what it used to be. I originally visited in early 60s and my recent trip two years ago made me a little sad. Advertising boardings around St Marks square made me weep. Bridge of Sighs surrounded by boards advertising pens or something. Still, on board sailing out, made for a wonderful experience.

[Rassa]

Venice is my favourite city in Europe. I had no expectations when I went there but have loved every visit. I have sailed in 3 times and it never ceases to amaze me. However, I understand if people don't think much of it as there are other cities others love and I don't have much time for. I was on MSC and while I don't have too much to gripe about that cruise line, I prefer the American lines as they give you more services - Princess, Hal etc. Istanbul was also amazing. Have fun cruise shopping.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

I have ever done a sail out of Venice , but if you are thinking about it , I would make a point of booking in the next few years as there is a lot of talk about stopping large cruise ships from sailing in and out , as they try to preserve Venice and stop it from sinking alltogether.

 

[cazz0069]

Thanks for all the feedback guys...i am certainly going to look into this...I also found one with the Crown Princess (i think that was the ship) that leaves from Copenhagen and does Norway and Russia too which might be fun:)

[cirman52]

This April we sailed round trip from Barcelona on the Celebrity Solstice, which over nighted in Venice, with stops in Rome, naples, Florence, Dubrovnik, Koto &. If you get to Istanbul, and you must, hope you can overnight it there, wonderful city.

We loved Dubrovnik, but be careful & check to see how many ships plan on being in port that day, not uncommon to have 6 ( feels crowded with 2 ! )

[4774Papa]

Hi everyone. Sorry havent been around for awhile. We have just completed our first land based holiday in 4 years around UK and Europe. But when considering our itinarary for next year we thought a cruise out of Venice might be nice, one that goes to Itanbul, Dubrovnik etc..Anyone have any suggestions as to ships or even some feedback on ones they have done already...all feedback appreciated...

 

PS Doesnt nessesarily have to be out of Venice. but something departing from Europe or UK would also be considered :)

We did the Norwegian Gem out of Venice in July 2010. NCL has the Jade on that run now. There are several cruise lines that go out of Venice. I suggest that you research on cc your cruise line along with itinerary.

 

Venice is a great place to visit. If you haven't been there before, you need at least two or three days there. Unfortunately, Venice is expensive. Everything has to be brought in by boat at some point.

 

You can still find budget hotels (nice two or three star hotels). We found a nice three star for 85euros per night, but it was not near St. Mark's square.

 

The port has a great website:

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-cruise-terminal.htm

 

Upon arrival at the airport for 5 euros you can take a nice bus to the edge of the city at the

Piazzale Roma

 

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/piazzale_roma.htm

 

 

After arriving at Piazzale Roma, you could have booked a hotel nearby and walk there, or take a water taxi (expensive) or the public transport (water buses).

 

 

The cruise port is not hard to get to from Piazzale Roma. There is a people mover from there to within 500 yards of the cruise terminal (walkable with dragging luggage).

 

 

If you book a cruise, make sure you are in a great viewing spot for the sail away. Leaving or coming into Venice is fantastic.

[markarmel]

My wife and I did a 12 night cruise out of Venice on Holland America's newest ship the Nieuw Amsterdam in September 2011. Ports included Split in Croatia,Athens,Santorini,Mykonos and Olympia in Greece and Istanbul and Kusadasi(Ephesus) in Turkey. Staff on the ship were really good and the food was fantastic.Whilst I think HAL ships dont have the WOW factor that Royal Carribean ships have we still found Nieuw Amsterdam a fantastic ship to cruise on. By the way the 12 night cruise we did was the second part of a 24 night cruise so you may want to check that out also. Whether you go with HAL or Royal Carribean it is a great part of the world to see and there are some great bargains around at the moment. Hope this helps. Have fun planning.

[cazz0069]

That all sounds incredibly divine. Decisions, decisions. I have been looking at some of the cruises that leave from copenhagen that include Russia, Sweden, Finland etc which is also a very tempting route. Thanks for the advice everyone.

[newfarmers]

That all sounds incredibly divine. Decisions, decisions. I have been looking at some of the cruises that leave from copenhagen that include Russia, Sweden, Finland etc which is also a very tempting route. Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

Hi again Cazz

 

The Baltics is amazing - we did a 12 night Baltic two years ago with NCL. As I posted earlier, we also sailed with HAL from Venice. That was an 11 night Med cruise to Lisbon and then 14 night trans Atlantic to Rio. We stayed in Venice three nights prior to the cruise.

 

As some have said Venice is expensive but if you (not you Cazz :), anyone) can afford to consider a cruise out of Venice, then an extra few hundred for a couple of nights in Venice is worth the extra few weeks of saving.

 

I'd have to look it up but I decided if we were staying in Venice we would stay in a canal front room. We stayed at a place called Hotel Lisbona. Paid way less than $200/night and worth evey penny fr the third floor shoebox we squeezed into:D. The sounds of the gondaliers below us was just fantastic. Directly across from us, I could have gently thrown a tennis ball and hit it, was The Bauer, one of Venice's most expensive hotels. They couldn't even open their windows to take in the sounds of what was below us.

 

Lots of pictures (and details) of both our HAL Med cruise and our NCL Baltic cruise in the blog I write when we travel. Select the travelpod link below in my signature. The HAL cruise is Three Continents and the Baltic cruise included in Cor Blimey we're off to Old Blighty

 

Cheers Pete

[4774Papa]

Hi again Cazz

 

The Baltics is amazing - we did a 12 night Baltic two years ago with NCL. As I posted earlier, we also sailed with HAL from Venice. That was an 11 night Med cruise to Lisbon and then 14 night trans Atlantic to Rio. We stayed in Venice three nights prior to the cruise.

 

As some have said Venice is expensive but if you (not you Cazz :), anyone) can afford to consider a cruise out of Venice, then an extra few hundred for a couple of nights in Venice is worth the extra few weeks of saving.

 

I'd have to look it up but I decided if we were staying in Venice we would stay in a canal front room. We stayed at a place called Hotel Lisbona. Paid way less than $200/night and worth evey penny fr the third floor shoebox we squeezed into:D. The sounds of the gondaliers below us was just fantastic. Directly across from us, I could have gently thrown a tennis ball and hit it, was The Bauer, one of Venice's most expensive hotels. They couldn't even open their windows to take in the sounds of what was below us.

 

Lots of pictures (and details) of both our HAL Med cruise and our NCL Baltic cruise in the blog I write when we travel. Select the travelpod link below in my signature. The HAL cruise is Three Continents and the Baltic cruise included in Cor Blimey we're off to Old Blighty

 

Cheers Pete

We found a hotel on venere.com for 85 euros per night. It was a nice three star half a KM from the train station.

[cazz0069]

Hi again Cazz

 

The Baltics is amazing - we did a 12 night Baltic two years ago with NCL. As I posted earlier, we also sailed with HAL from Venice. That was an 11 night Med cruise to Lisbon and then 14 night trans Atlantic to Rio. We stayed in Venice three nights prior to the cruise.

 

As some have said Venice is expensive but if you (not you Cazz :), anyone) can afford to consider a cruise out of Venice, then an extra few hundred for a couple of nights in Venice is worth the extra few weeks of saving.

 

I'd have to look it up but I decided if we were staying in Venice we would stay in a canal front room. We stayed at a place called Hotel Lisbona. Paid way less than $200/night and worth evey penny fr the third floor shoebox we squeezed into:D. The sounds of the gondaliers below us was just fantastic. Directly across from us, I could have gently thrown a tennis ball and hit it, was The Bauer, one of Venice's most expensive hotels. They couldn't even open their windows to take in the sounds of what was below us.

 

Lots of pictures (and details) of both our HAL Med cruise and our NCL Baltic cruise in the blog I write when we travel. Select the travelpod link below in my signature. The HAL cruise is Three Continents and the Baltic cruise included in Cor Blimey we're off to Old Blighty

 

Cheers Pete

 

Thanks Pete, i will have a squizz at your blog. That hotel in Venice sounds amazing. The more we think about it though, i think we are leaning more towards the Baltics cruise. Which ship did you sail with? I think its Norwegian Star doing it at present, and a really good price for a balcony starting at around $1700...its only 9 nights though...would like at least 2 or 3 more days :)

[newfarmers]

Thanks Pete, i will have a squizz at your blog. That hotel in Venice sounds amazing. The more we think about it though, i think we are leaning more towards the Baltics cruise. Which ship did you sail with? I think its Norwegian Star doing it at present, and a really good price for a balcony starting at around $1700...its only 9 nights though...would like at least 2 or 3 more days :)

 

We enjoyed our first NCL cruise very much. Liked the freestyle dining, the specialty restaurants, the attitude of the crew. Main dining room was the most 'ordinary' food we've had on a cruise, but then that must be taken in context - it was still good but not in the same ocean as food on Celebrity or HAL. Specialty restaurants were good. Our only issue with NCL was with their treatment of independent travellers (those not on shorex). I won't go into it here, it's all detailed on the blog.

 

I agree about the nine day cruise length (pretty short) except if you're sailing Baltic from Copenhagen. Then nine is heaps. Whatever you choose you MUST overnight in St Petersburg. A day is not enough. Ours was 12 days round trip from Dover. Next year's Sun Princess will be our shortest - 11. Time to start ramping back up to three or four weeks (or longer) :D

 

cheers

 

pete

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Whatever you choose you MUST overnight in St Petersburg. A day is not enough.

 

I have to agree with that. For anyone planning a Baltic cruise, St Petersburg is the highlight. Most cruise lines allow 2 full days there.......and you need it.