Venice hotel before cruise

[Wayfairers]

We will be in Venice a few days before our NCL cruise leaves in October. This is our first trip to Venice and we plan to follow the advice of getting lost in the alleyways while exploring the town. Any suggestions for a hotel that is within walking distance of the cruise port and within walking distance of the city center? Budget is TBD based upon what it takes to get the location and amenities we want.

[Langoustine]

My wife and I just spent a week in Venice on a land tour. Walking can involve crossing lots of bridges (steps, no ramps) so getting your luggage to and from your hotel can be an issue. Do you need an elevator in your hotel? (This narrows your choices quite a bit, if you do.) Your best bet is to find a hotel very close to a vaporetto stop with no bridges to cross. There are some great places in the San Marco area and Dorsoduro that would fit the bill, but without knowing what you require (and your budget) it's difficult to be specific.

[Wayfairers]

We don't need an elevator. We would like to have free wifi, a/c shouldn't be needed in November and that is about it. Don't worry about budget...if you have suggestions I'd love to hear them. The main requirement is being able to get to the cruiseport without use of public transportation or taxi. Unless the vaporette has room for luggage...

[CathyCruises]

We don't need an elevator. We would like to have free wifi, a/c shouldn't be needed in November and that is about it. Don't worry about budget...if you have suggestions I'd love to hear them. The main requirement is being able to get to the cruiseport without use of public transportation or taxi. Unless the vaporette has room for luggage...

 

You CAN take luggage on the vaporetto, but I"d advise against it because the route you'd be taking is very crowded. However, were you to stay near St. Mark's Square, you could take AliLaguna which does have a place for luggage and it will take you right to the cruise port. Very inexpensive.

 

My new favorite place to stay is the Hilton Molino Stucky which is on Guidecca, an island just across from Venice proper. It's not like any Hilton you've ever seen, it's built out of an old flour mill and it is gorgeous. If you can score a room on the canal, even better, fabulous views. You can reach it by Alilaguna from the airport and take Alilaguna right to the cruise port, there is a dock right at the hotel. I was able to get a room on Hotwire for $135, a total steal. They also have a free shuttle every twenty minutes across the canal.

Edited June 9, 2015 by CathyCruises

[Wayfairers]

Cathycruises once again you have a great answer to my question. I'll check that hotel out We will be taking a train into Venice. This is the cruise that takes us back to the US after spending 3 months in Europe/UK.

[rnargo]

I stayed at the Best Western Hotel Olimpia last fall and really liked it! It is only one bridge away from the bus depot and people mover to the cruise ships. I think it is two bridges to the train station.

 

Check it out on Trip Advisor! :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CruisingGs]

When we did our cruise out of Venice last year, we stayed in Mestre. It is just before the bridge to Venice. We hopped on the bus to Venice to go explore. My parents took the bus to the port before we boarded, too. We drove our car to park at the port. It saved us money staying there. I am all about saving money ;)

[Tiggertastic]

I'd book the Hilton Molina stucky. It's one stop on the vaparetto to the ship. They are used to passengers bringing on luggage and stack it in the entrance then help to get it all off. The hotel runs a free shuttle every 30 mins to St marks square

Edited June 9, 2015 by Tiggertastic

[mapleleaves]

if you stay at the Hilton and are arriving by train, I'd suggest a water taxi from the station to the hotel. The train station is on the other side of the Grand Canal so it's a little more work to get to Piazzale Roma for a transfer to the hotel, (unless you can easily manage your luggage).

The hotel may or may not charge a service fee for making the reservation. This web site will give you an idea of what a private water taxi SHOULD cost:

http://www.motoscafivenezia.it/eng/

[RMLincoln]

We stayed in Mestre last time and will again in September. We are arriving by train and our hotel is across from the train station and down one block, so it's quite, off the main drag. To get to Venice it's 5 minutes on the bus to Piazzal Roma then it's a vaporetto to anywhere you want to go... we love riding the vaporettos in Venice.

 

To get to the cruise ship we take the bus - very easy even with luggage, enter wide the middle door of the bus, flat, just the one step from the curb. From P. Roma we take the people mover - all ramps - to the first or second stop depending on where our ship is parked - you can easily see the ships from the people mover. Short stroll/roll on flat pavement from the people mover to the terminal. The People Mover is similar to an airport automated train. Use euro coins, it gives change.

 

Staying in Mestre makes for minimal luggage work and no expensive water taxi. You can take a bus from the airport to Mestra if you are flying in instead of arriving by train. Prices are much less than in Venice proper. We stay at Hotel Montepiana, small family run hotel with helpful, friendly staff and simple breakfast - breads, cereal, yogurt, cheese wedges, juice, coffee, tea, hot chocolate. Small grocery store around the corner, bus tickets at the tobacco shop at the bus stop.

 

I can hardly wait to be there again! m--

[kadey]

We have cruised out of Venice a few times and it's one of our favorite ports to cruise from! We have also done land tours with Venice included. Our feeling has always been that we are there for a few short days and we would rather stay right in Venice,often around the Rialto area . We don't want to spend our time taking boat rides in and out of the heart of Venice when we can just walk out our door and be in the thick of things. It's also nice to be close to our hotel or B and B if we want to stop back to our room to wash up,take a quick rest or drop off some souvenirs ! Since it it such an expensive city we often find lovely B and B's in Rialto or st. Mark area.The walk from St Marks to Rialto Bridge area is 10 minutes and the route is filled with fun shops,restaurants and other Venetian finds! We stayed at Rialto B an B on our last trip. Great location with a boat stop about 1 minute away. I'd be happy to make other suggestions if something like this interests you. Both DH and I are heavy packers and have taken our bags and carry on on both type of bus boats to the port. We have never had a problem bringing luggage on even if its crowded. You have to decide whats important to you. Please let me know if I can answer any other questions for you! We did NCL Spirit out of Venice and had a fantastic trip!

[Wayfairers]

Wow...that sounds awesome. I actually prefer B&Bs. Do you have a favorite?

[kadey]

Wow...that sounds awesome. I actually prefer B&Bs. Do you have a favorite?

Bed and Breakfast Rialto- there are only 3 rooms. Bottom two share a bath. The suite has a private bath. This B and B sits on a beautiful canal and the views from the many windows in this room are amazing. A true Venetian experience .Huge room.

 

Venezia Leon D'Oro - Fantastic location. one minute from Rialto Bridge. Very clean and all private baths. Typical venetian B and B. no water view.

 

B and B Al Teatro- right by Beautiful La Finese

 

All three are great locations and very easy access to bus boats.Absolutely lovely to be in St Marks Square at night with the orchestra playing, a yummy gelato then a easy stroll to your lodging through the beautiful Venice streets. No better way to end a night!!

[Regguy]

I'd book the Hilton Molina stucky. It's one stop on the vaparetto to the ship. They are used to passengers bringing on luggage and stack it in the entrance then help to get it all off. The hotel runs a free shuttle every 30 mins to St marks square

 

I don't think the Vaporetto goes to port. P.roma is the closest it gets, and it's more than one stop. Perhaps you're thinking of the Alilaguna?

[CathyCruises]

I don't think the Vaporetto goes to port. P.roma is the closest it gets, and it's more than one stop. Perhaps you're thinking of the Alilaguna?

 

Yes, it is Alilaguna, one stop right to the port

[Tiggertastic]

Basically just get on the water bus that comes from St marks direction to the hotel as next stop is cruise port, no matter which brand it is. Vaparetto is translation for ferry/steamer. There are 2 brands that run ACTV and Alilaguna

Edited June 11, 2015 by Tiggertastic

[Gordo]

We sailed out of Venice last year, and stayed at the Hotel Moresco before the cruise and the Hilton Molino Stucky when we returned.

 

While both hotels were nice, we would definitely recommend the Hotel Moresco. It is a smaller hotel, with the most charming staff. You can walk to most of the tourist locations, and it is close to the cruise terminal.

 

The Hilton does offer a free shuttle to get you over to the Square, but then we felt a little pressured with timing to get back to catch it, versus a lovely stroll to return to the Hotel Moresco.

[roothy123]

We're going to Venice pre-cruise and I looked long and hard for hotels within my (kind of limited) budget. I finally settled on the Hotel Rio. We can get there (in late September, anyway) by the public 5.1 vaporetto (less crowded than some better known ones). There is NO bridge to cross if you take the 5.1 to San Zaccaria Danieli, and it's a 7 minute walk to the hotel. If you take the Alilaguna or a different public vaporetto there is at least one long bridge to cross, but at least there are options. I would not be willing to walk from P. Roma to the hotel, but at least it is well served by public transportation.. Alilaguna gives you a scenic ride but takes at least an hour and a half from the airport to San Marco Square, so we'll probably take the airport bus and pick up the 5.1 from Piazzale Roma. The hotel sounds nice, but I think the rooms are a little small, could be a little noisy, and has no elevator. Those things don't bother us, but for some, it might be an issue. At least it's convenient, easy to get to with or without luggage, and reasonably priced. There are restaurants near by, although some people suggest going away from St. Mark's Square to find better ones than around there.

 

If nobody above mentioned this, the site venice for visitors has lots of good info on how hard it is to get to various hotels. Once you're there, though, you can walk quite a bit and get pretty far within a half hour, so there's some sightseeing that's easy to do once you're settled - except, of course, the lagoon islands, Giudecca, and perhaps the very far corners of the city. I would book early, be very aware of cancellation policies (and minimum booking periods), remember that "first floor" in Europe is actually second, and as you already know, many hotels in center city don't have elevators. Booking.com is a good site for me, as they provide info on size of rooms. ACTV.it is vaporetto website; alilaguna.it is Alilaguna's.