Help - Transportation to Cruise Ship Terminal - Venice

[michigal]

Fellow cruisers, I’m hoping you can provide some guidance…in planning our cruise from Venice on the Splendour of the Seas on November 8, I’ve read about the options for arriving at the cruise port. With regard to the people mover and the bridges, I need a little help, specifically with the following (we’re arriving 2 days early):

 

If we stay in Mestre (which was suggested as an economical alternative from some seasoned cruisers), what is the closest point we can be dropped off to the cruise terminal (and by which means...taxi, bus, etc.)? Once dropped off, how far do we need to travel with our luggage (each person will have a rolling full size suitcase and a rolling carry-on).

 

If we stay in Venice, for example in the Piazzale Roma area, same question…how far do we need to travel with our luggage?

 

The reason I’m asking is because one person in our party has some slight mobility issues, and I want to make their transportation to the ship is as easy and painless as possible. Thanks in advance for your help!

[insanemagnet]

To answer some of your questions.

 

Mestre. Cheaper, but a bit rubbish.

 

There is little or nothing there, and it is a 20 minute bus ride to Piazzale Roma. It is OK if you want to go exploring Venice in the day, but the buses from Mestre can be very busy in the morning.

 

After a long day in Venice, will you really want to get a bus back to the hotel in Mestre, freshen up, and then get a bus back into Venice for the evening, and then get a bus back to Mestre again. Venice in the evening is *nothing* like Venice in the day.

 

The hotels in Mestre can organise a minicab to take you and your luggage to the ship's berth for about €35 for four people. The bus is €1.30 each, but with luggage is OK if you are fit, but wouldn't be fun otherwise.

 

The bus ends up at Piazzale Roma, which is where you can get the People Mover to the terminal, and costs another €1.30 each. It is on an elevated level, and when I went through recently the lift at Piazzale Roma was broken, so you needed to take the luggage up the escalator. And at the terminal, the escalator was broken, so you needed to use the lift. Neither occurrence seemed unusual.

 

From the People Mover to the ship is 500 - 800 meters or so. Far enough with luggage.

 

Getting to Mestre from the airport, regular fast ATVO buses, but they only have two stops in Mestre, so your hotel can be quite a distance from the bus stop.

 

If you choose to stay in Venice, the bridges all have steps. So be prepared to carry your luggage, or pay one of the fit young men with the baggage trolleys.

Edited August 18, 2014 by insanemagnet

[Ewoodspark]

Why don't you try a transfer similar to this one?

http://www.airport-transfers-direct.com/venice-transfers/taxi-from-venice-cruise-terminal-to-venice-marco-polo-airport.html

[Earl Rosebery]

A taxi fro m your Mestre hotel can access the port and drop your luggage at the ship's drop off point. Figure on about 30 euros. Your hotel can arrange.

 

If you stay at P. de Roma, the people mover tram will get you to within 200 yards of the luggage drop off. No worse than many airport parking lots..

[ama]

How big is your party? You mention that you will be in Venice two days prior. What attractions are you planning to see? We visited Venice this past June - there were 7 of us (2 young kids and my mom who has some mobility issues - she can walk but not for long periods of time). We were there for 4 days prior and I opted for a hotel in Venice, because I wanted to be within walking distance to sights. Do some research when booking your hotel - some have a private docks. Our hotel was a 1-2 minute walk from the dock (no bridges to cross). We took a water taxi from the airport, then another to the cruise terminal. This made it extremely easy considering all the luggage we had too.

 

Being at a centrally located hotel allowed us to take breaks in the middle of the day, which was wonderful.

 

Personally I think the bigger issue is the luggage. I personally would not want to be lugging luggage across bridges or walking far rolling them. Again for our party, taking a water taxi and staying central really made our time in Venice easy and great. Have a wonderful cruise!

[Captain Canuck]

we stayed at a hotel on the island across from St Marks...room had a view across the lagoon of Venice proper. couple hundred feet of flat from our hotel to the water bus stop. had a pass for the water bus for the length of our stay. about 10 minutes ride to St Marks. much cheaper and quieter than Venice hotels.

 

only issue in taking luggage to cruise was getting onto the water bus. was a bit busy and Italians are not great at waiting in line. had to almost knock people over with luggage cutting me off. would not be easy with mobility issues.

 

so best bet might be near train station with easy access from airport.

[mapleleaves]

There are 2 hotels located on Piazzale Roma so a taxi can drop you off at the door; ca doge and santa chiara. And 4 more hotels which require a walk of about 2 blocks and 1 small bridge to cross; Best Western Olimpia and Arlecchino, Papadopoli pricier, or the Marinella about a block behind the Olimpia & much cheaper.

 

 

Whether you stay in Mestre or Piazzale Roma, a cab will drop you off at the same place at the pier. Obviously the cab will be cheaper from PRoma since its less than a mile away.

 

You can take ATVO (the airport express bus) from the airport to either Mestre or Piazzale Roma. It's like a greyhound bus with a luggage hold underneath. 3 or 4 steps up to get into the bus. 7E pp. At Mestre it will drop you off by the train station and in PRoma at the edge of the square.

 

With mobility issues I think the PRoma location might be easier ... saves the commute back and forth to Mestre.

 

This link includes a map of PRoma. If you click on DIRECTIONS AND MAP next to the BEST WESTERN OLIMPIA you'll see where the bus drops you off and where the Olimpia is located. Or do that for any hotel on the list.

 

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/bridges/piazzale-roma.htm

 

The entrance to the People Mover is located at the edge of the PRoma. With the walk to the berth it might be a 10 minute walk alltogether

Edited August 19, 2014 by mapleleaves

[CathyCruises]

There are 2 hotels located on Piazzale Roma so a taxi can drop you off at the door; ca doge and santa chiara. And 4 more hotels which require a walk of about 2 blocks and 1 small bridge to cross; Best Western Olimpia and Arlecchino, Papadopoli pricier, or the Marinella about a block behind the Olimpia & much cheaper.

 

 

Whether you stay in Mestre or Piazzale Roma, a cab will drop you off at the same place at the pier. Obviously the cab will be cheaper from PRoma since its less than a mile away.

 

You can take ATVO (the airport express bus) from the airport to either Mestre or Piazzale Roma. It's like a greyhound bus with a luggage hold underneath. 3 or 4 steps up to get into the bus. 7E pp. At Mestre it will drop you off by the train station and in PRoma at the edge of the square.

 

With mobility issues I think the PRoma location might be easier ... saves the commute back and forth to Mestre.

 

This link includes a map of PRoma. If you click on DIRECTIONS AND MAP next to the BEST WESTERN OLIMPIA you'll see where the bus drops you off and where the Olimpia is located. Or do that for any hotel on the list.

 

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/bridges/piazzale-roma.htm

 

The entrance to the People Mover is located at the edge of the PRoma. With the walk to the berth it might be a 10 minute walk alltogether

 

Great info, and it gets repeated (and retyped!) so often that it should be a sticky!! I get typing fatigue after saying the same things so many times--I want to be helpful but sometimes I just don't have the energy to go through it all again!

[sunsetbeachgal]

We disembarked in Venice last summer with a party of six including luggage and two children. We opted to stay in Mestre and booked private car and driver in very nice minivan door to door cruise Port to hotel and then hotel to airport two days later. Mestre is convenient and very reasonable but no charm whatsoever. All four of the adults had stayed in the historic area of Venice on prior trips, so this time we opted for easy transportation and no schlepping of luggage. For us it worked out great, but if this is your first time to Venice, you might want to consider Piazelle Roma or historic areas.

Edited August 20, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[michigal]

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions! Our party of 4 arrives late on a Thursday afternoon and will cruise on the Splendour on a Saturday. We will also have a one-night stay in Venice after disembarking. I think we will opt for one of the hotels on the Piazzale Roma, for the convenience factor.