Venice Cruise Terminal

[ozcruizer]

We are due to sail on Noordam from Venice on Saturday, 26th and are wanting to know whether we will need to know the specific pier the ship sails from. We've been to Venice before but not cruised from there. In fact, I seem to recall the tour director pointing out the Noordam which was in port at the time!

 

I have looked at various websites but not even the Venezia Terminal Passaggeri seems to have that specific information. Does anyone know of a website or whether it's essential to know the precise pier?

 

Thanks everyone.

 

Ozcruizer

[mskaufman]

We were there last summer and did not have to know the pier before getting to the terminal.

[kazu]

We didn't need to know which pier either. We took a water taxi (what a great experience) and the driver knew where to go. :D

[KirkNC]

All the ships are in one location. When we got off the people mover last time, HAL had a rep there who direct us to a bus that took us straight to the ship.

[MobyandDick]

We are leaving on NA in May and this is what we found out using cruise critic harbour report:

"Cruise Terminal 103, 107, 108 and 117 are used"

Googlemaps show a good view of the harbour. Kind regards!

[catl331]

Don't worry, you'll be able to see the ship if you take the People Mover, and if you arrive by taxi or shuttle bus they'll take you right to the terminal. We were at berth 21, and it was a long walk from the P.M. dragging bags. HAL reps were at each point where there was a choice of which way to go.

Edited April 18, 2014 by catl331

[Hlitner]

All the ships are in one location. When we got off the people mover last time, HAL had a rep there who direct us to a bus that took us straight to the ship.

 

Well, this is not always as true as you might think. The entire situation in Venice is in the Italian courts and seems to change with the phases of the moon. But there is interesting history with this port and there are actually at least 3 different docking locations, although most folks will dock at the Maritima Cruise Port (the one you mentioned).

 

So for those interested here are some facts. There are currently 3 docking locations depending on the size of the ship and the number of ships scheduled to be in the main cruise port. One docking position is not far from the main cruise port and located right along the Giudecca Canal. This is still used by some smaller ships (usually European lines not well known in the US). The other port is actually the large commercial port located a few miles from Marghera on the mainland. This is where some Italian authorities want all the large cruise ships to berth, but the courts have held-up the change (it could change again with the phases of the moon).

 

And there is even another location (not currently used) located along the Giudecca Canal about 250 yards from St Marks Square. This is perfect for the passengers and horrible for Venice..so it is not used very often. We once docked there on the Grand Princess (in 1998).

 

Here is a link to the latest on the Venice situation:

http://www.eturbonews.com/44799/biggest-cruise-ships-give-venice-wide-berth-november-30

 

Hank

Edited April 18, 2014 by Hlitner

[catl331]

It was easy seeing our ship and it was there overnight which was great except that the first night at 4 a.m. in heavy rain they slowly(we didn't feel it) moved in down past St Marks. Hopefully no passengers were out partying and went back to the original pier. This did work out well for us but when it was time to leave--problems with some computer thingee. This was the N. Amsterdam only a few mos. old. We spent another day in Venice and missed Croatia. The part was taken off a Cunard ship that was still running test runs. I wanted to check Croatia off my bucket list.

[cruisencrazy]

There is a special line of the vaporetta that goes to the cruise terminal. It allows for all of your luggage. It was not expensive at all and not nearly as crowded as the regular water busses. Once you get to the cruise area, there are very clearly marked signs everywhere. Also, it will be easy to visually spot your ship. Make sure you are all the way aft to sail away. We had an aft facing cabin and it was worth every penny. Sail away from Venice is breathtaking!!

[cruisemom42]

There is a special line of the vaporetta that goes to the cruise terminal. It allows for all of your luggage. It was not expensive at all and not nearly as crowded as the regular water busses. Once you get to the cruise area, there are very clearly marked signs everywhere. Also, it will be easy to visually spot your ship. Make sure you are all the way aft to sail away. We had an aft facing cabin and it was worth every penny. Sail away from Venice is breathtaking!!

 

I believe what you are talking about is not a vaporetto. It's a separate line, called Alilaguna. It transports people from the airport and from limited points within Venice to the cruise port.

 

http://www.alilaguna.it/?lang=en

 

Vaporetti do have some limited space for bags and if you aren't overpacked it can be fine to take them. The "rule" seems to be one suitcase per person is fine and that they will charge you if you are in excess of that. However in practice, I think it isn't well enforced.

[cruisencrazy]

Thanks Cruisemom, couldn't remember the name of it. We used it last year and found it to be super easy. The vaporetta was a zoo.

[Hlitner]

We should clarify that a vaporetto (ACTV) ticket is not valid on the Alilaguna and vice versa :)

 

Hank

[ozcruizer]

Don't worry, you'll be able to see the ship if you take the People Mover, and if you arrive by taxi or shuttle bus they'll take you right to the terminal. We were at berth 21, and it was a long walk from the P.M. dragging bags. HAL reps were at each point where there was a choice of which way to go.

 

Thanks for your input, everyone. I am sure we will not have too much difficulty finding the ship with the dark grey/blue hull! :)

 

Now just have to finish packing and get on that plane!

 

Ozcruizer

[bvocruise]

Well, this is not always as true as you might think. The entire situation in Venice is in the Italian courts and seems to change with the phases of the moon. But there is interesting history with this port and there are actually at least 3 different docking locations, although most folks will dock at the Maritima Cruise Port (the one you mentioned).

 

So for those interested here are some facts. There are currently 3 docking locations depending on the size of the ship and the number of ships scheduled to be in the main cruise port. One docking position is not far from the main cruise port and located right along the Giudecca Canal. This is still used by some smaller ships (usually European lines not well known in the US). The other port is actually the large commercial port located a few miles from Marghera on the mainland. This is where some Italian authorities want all the large cruise ships to berth, but the courts have held-up the change (it could change again with the phases of the moon).

 

And there is even another location (not currently used) located along the Giudecca Canal about 250 yards from St Marks Square. This is perfect for the passengers and horrible for Venice..so it is not used very often. We once docked there on the Grand Princess (in 1998).

 

Here is a link to the latest on the Venice situation:

http://www.eturbonews.com/44799/biggest-cruise-ships-give-venice-wide-berth-november-30

 

Hank

 

Does anyone know if HAL will be able to dock at the current location next May and June? I called HAL and they did not know that there may be a change in where ships dock or the route they take into Venice. I think HAL will be okay because their largest ship is smaller than the number published in the articles I read.

 

I'm sure someone here on CC probably knows the answer to my question.

 

Below is an article on the this topic.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/11030820/Cruise-industry-urges-swift-solution-for-Venice-ship-ban.html

Edited August 24, 2014 by bvocruise

[Hlitner]

Does anyone know if HAL will be able to dock at the current location next May and June? I called HAL and they did not know that there may be a change in where ships dock or the route they take into Venice. I think HAL will be okay because their largest ship is smaller than the number published in the articles I read.

 

I'm sure someone here on CC probably knows the answer to my question.

 

Lets be real honest with this issue. Nobody (and we mean NOBODY) knows the answer to your question. The Venice port situation has become a political football ( or soccer ball) in Italy and politics there are even crazier then our own politics. There will certainly not be an alternate sea/lagoon route to the port in that time frame so they will either go there using the normal route or have to go to the mainland port. My own guess would be that the HAL ships will still use the current routing to the regular port..but that is just a guess.

 

Hank

[bvocruise]

Lets be real honest with this issue. Nobody (and we mean NOBODY) knows the answer to your question. The Venice port situation has become a political football ( or soccer ball) in Italy and politics there are even crazier then our own politics. There will certainly not be an alternate sea/lagoon route to the port in that time frame so they will either go there using the normal route or have to go to the mainland port. My own guess would be that the HAL ships will still use the current routing to the regular port..but that is just a guess.

 

Hank

 

Thank you for the reply, I imagine I'm not the only one with the question.

[Arubababe52]

In previous post, someone said that when exiting people mover HAL rep directed them to a bus. Is that still being done? I'm cruising on Sept 9 and I'm debating taking the people mover or getting a cab from our hotel, which is close to Piazalle Roma. I don't want to be walking 1/4 mile with my luggage. Does anyone know if there are buses or how far it really is? thanks

 

 

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[Tbay]

There was no bus when we were there in July. Make sure you stake out a spot on the port side for the sail away. Amazing!

[syesmar]

I never saw any shuttles, but this site has more info/options: http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/mobile/articles/venice-cruise-port-transportation-ground.htm

 

It's hard to know in advance exactly where you'll be. You could be just on the other side of the People Mover with very little walking (like the Noordam was when we were there), or another 10-15 minutes away, like we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam.