Getting to St Mark's Square from the Cruise Terminal?

[richstowe]

It all sounds good . I have already pre-payed Naples (great deal) and all sounds good .

In Livorno I've reserved but may prepay for piece of mind . I will contact them for pick-up and drop-off info .

Hoping the pickup/drop off fees aren't too much . I'd be happy to walk but as you have mentioned , it might not be possible .

 

Thank you for all the great info Hank .

[richstowe]

It all sounds good . I have already pre-payed Naples (great deal) and all sounds good .

In Livorno I've reserved but may prepay for piece of mind . I will contact them for pick-up and drop-off info .

Hoping the pickup/drop off fees aren't too much . I'd be happy to walk but as you have mentioned , it might not be possible .

 

Thank you for all the great info Hank .

Silvia from Sifracar got back to me right away .

Ship pickup is 15 Euros and drop-off is another 15 .

Well worth it as she said we don't have to go to their office .

Edited May 28, 2016 by richstowe

[Hlitner]

Silvia from Sifracar got back to me right away .

Ship pickup is 15 Euros and drop-off is another 15 .

Well worth it as she said we don't have to go to their office .

 

Worth every Euro. We have long loved this company...and frequently recommended them here on CC. I should have mentioned that when we used them last month, they had no problem doing business on a Sunday! That is rare in Italy (and France) and their service helps us to overlook their somewhat high prices. No need to prepay these folks as they do all the paperwork right on the pier. As always, we also recommend having a GPS (they will rent you one if you do not have your own).

 

Hank

Edited May 28, 2016 by Hlitner

[Terpnut]

In Naples they will pick you up. I am not sure of the exact pick-up spot, but it it will likely be right out in front of the main cruise ship terminal building (if they do not make the place clear...ask for clarification). In Naples, everything is done outside the main terminal entrance...so you must walk from your ship through the long terminal building, down the steps, and out the door. ...

 

It all sounds good . I have already pre-payed Naples (great deal) and all sounds good .

 

Just a point of clarification on Napoli's cruise terminal. There are actually two entrances-one at the front and one at the back. While I assume the main entrance is the one that faces the city, the back entrance/parking lot (facing the bay) is nearly as big. We have gone out the front side and learned that our RomeinLimo tour or pickup was on the other. In any case, most cruise passengers don't automatically know which side is the front and which is the rear. I assume the exit arrows and most passenger flows heading to the front entrance/exit. So I just suggest you know WHICH entrance your pickup will be waiting. :)

Edited May 28, 2016 by Terpnut

[Hlitner]

Just a point of clarification on Napoli's cruise terminal. There are actually two entrances-one at the front and one at the back. While I assume the main entrance is the one that faces the city, the back entrance/parking lot (facing the bay) is nearly as big. We have gone out the front side and learned that our RomeinLimo tour or pickup was on the other. In any case, most cruise passengers don't automatically know which side is the front and which is the rear. I assume the exit arrows and most passenger flows heading to the front entrance/exit. So I just suggest you know WHICH entrance your pickup will be waiting. :)

 

Good point as we have never even noticed the rear exit/entrance (and we have been in that terminal at least 20 times). The main entrance (the front) is the side that faces the city. All the more reason to ask the tour company for their exact meeting spot.

 

Hank

Edited May 29, 2016 by Hlitner

[Terpnut]

Good point as we have never even noticed the rear exit/entrance (and we have been in that terminal at least 20 times). The main entrance (the front) is the side that faces the city. All the more reason to ask the tour company for their exact meeting spot.

 

Hank

We learned this the hard way when I had organized multiple tour vans with RomeinLimo, and I couldn't find some of our group. And the reason was because half the people went out the front and half went out the back! :)

[richstowe]

Thanks for the great info Terpnut and (again) Hank .:)

[cougfan]

Does RCCL provide a direct water shuttle from Brillance OS to St Marks Square? If so do you know the cost?

Thanks!

 

When we did the Venice Med cruise back in 2008 they did have a shuttle to St Marks. It was right in front of the ship on the pier. When we got off the boat the line was very long to get on it, we ended up walking. I can't find how much it cost, but I seem to remember it was $20-30 and was unlimited.

[Hlitner]

Just a few comments on the St Marks (called S. Marco in Venice). We think it is over hyped by many cruisers..to the exclusion of the rest of Venice. This is a fantastic tourist city, St Marks is only one place....and it is often an overcrowded square full of day tourists and lots of dirty pigeons.

 

So lets talk about options. If St Marks is your only goal you can certainly pay a lot of money (often $20 or more) for shuttle service which might be offered by your ship. But you will have paid for a shuttle boat to a single place...in an expansive city (plus other islands of interest). You can also take the Alilaguna boat from the port to St Marks which would cost you 8€ per person--one way.

 

We suggest that most folks would benefit from neither of these options. Instead, we suggest taking the People Mover (1.5€) from the port over to the Piazale Roma. From there you can walk over to the vaporetto docks (called ACTV) and take the vaporettos (water buses) anywhere around Venice plus to any of the other islands in the Lagoon (Murano, Burano, Lido, etc). The vaporettos do cost 7.5€ for a single ticket...but most no better. You can purchase a one-day (24 hours from when you validate) ticket for 20€ which give you unlimited use of all the vaporettos! Or, for 30€ you can buy a 48 hour pass. Once you have one of these passes you can go to an fro as much as you want, go around Venice to St Marks, go out to Murano, Burano, etc. All for that price. So instead of paying the cruise ship $20 for a shuttle to one place, you can buy a 24 ticket that will take you to anyplace!

 

There are quite a few different vaporetto lines (they have numbers) so it pays to do a little homework. But the #1 and #2 (kind of an express #1) simply circle Venice (in both directions). If you stay on the #1 or #2 for an entire circuit you will essentially get a ride the entire way around the island of Venice. If you want to go all the way out to the island of Burano (our favorite island) you can use the vaporetto ticket for this 45 minute boat ride.

 

The problem with a shuttle to St Marks Sq. is that it only gets you to that one place...and you will still have to buy a vaporetto (or Alilaguna) ticket to go anywhere else (except to places you walk). As to Vaporetto (ACTV) vs Alilaguna...they are essentially competing water buses...but the Vaporetto (ACTV) is the major public water bus company with more routes and frequency. Tickets are not interchangable between the two companies....which is why we always recommend the vaporettos.

 

Hank

Edited May 29, 2016 by Hlitner

[SteveinPhilly]

Does RCCL provide a direct water shuttle from Brillance OS to St Marks Square? If so do you know the cost?

Thanks!

 

It does $25.US per day - they run every 10-15 minutes. But probably not worth it - especially if more than one person.

[Hlitner]

It does $25.US per day - they run every 10-15 minutes. But probably not worth it - especially if more than one person.

 

Consider that they charge $25 (for one day) to simply take you back and forth to a single place (St Marks Sq). There is a lot more to Venice then St Marks Sq (we often do not even go there when we are in Venice). On the other hand, a 24 Vaporetto Pass costs a little less then $25....and you can use vaporettos to go anywhere around Venice plus all the other islands in the Lagoon.

 

The only downside to the vaporettos is that you must get from the port to the Piazale Roma (a main vaporetto stop) which you can do via the People Mover which will cost you 1.5€. And you also must get from your ship to the People Mover station (it is within the Port but can be a hike or short shuttle bus ride from the pier).

 

Hank

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

It does $25.US per day - they run every 10-15 minutes. But probably not worth it - especially if more than one person.

 

 

I thought I had seen somewhere that it was $25 for one day and either $40 or $45 for both.

 

Yes, there is more than just that place, but there is lots within walking distance from there, so using it as abase isn't a horrible idea.

 

 

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[delacruz]

I know this thread is about getting TO St Mark's Square, but I’d like to throw in my 2 cents that (unless you are meeting a tour there) maybe that is NOT where you want to go when you first arrive in Venice.

 

We returned 2 weeks ago from a cruise that included an overnight in Venice. When we sailed through the Lagoon into Venice and saw the MOB of people at St Mark's Square, we immediately changed our plan for the day. We originally planned to take the People Mover to Piazza Roma, buy the 24 hr ACTV pass for 20 Euros, and take the #1 Vaporetto, using it as a 'tour bus' to view all of the Grand Canal from the water, then disembarking at one of the San Marco stops.

 

Once we saw the mob, we decided to get off at the Rialto Bridge, tour around there a bit, get some pizza that I was craving, take our Gondola ride, and then head to San Marco as the sun went down and the tour buses had left with much of the throng. We also returned early the next morning to take the elevator up to the top of the Campanile for pictures.

 

In hindsight, if I could do it over again as my first trip, I’d still continue on all the way to San Marco on the Vaporetto for that first full effect of sailing the length of the canal, and THEN backtrack away from the Square until the crowds thinned out.

 

We were never planning on getting the Ship's Shuttle from the Pier to San Marco for $25. The ship's excursion desk will have you thinking this is the ONLY way to get there. First of all, even taking into account the additional cost of the People Mover, doing it ourselves was more cost effective. Second, as said, you have so much more versatility built into using the ACTV with all the different routes. And third, isn’t part of touring to have the experience of local life?

 

That said, for those with mobility issues or just not comfortable with DIY, the shuttle is certainly easiest.

 

We were going to get the 2-day ACTV pass (30 Euros), but figured out by the time we first activated the 24 hour pass (we docked at 3pm, boarded our first Vaporetto at 4pm on day one), since we were departing at 6:30 the next day, even if we used the Vaporetto past the 24 hr mark, we’d only be using it to return to the ship and that would be 7.5 Euros, so we'd only be 27.50 Euro into Vaporetto costs rather than 30. We ended up wandering and walked back to P. Roma on our last afternoon, so we were perfectly fine with the single day pass. Of course, you need to take into account what hours you’ll be docked to make your decision.

 

I don't even think there was any one thing or place in Venice that stands out to me, it's the overall experience. Being somewhat OCD, it was hard for me to 'let go' and wander, but on our last afternoon we put the GPS and maps away, walked away from the crowds, and that was our best time!

Edited June 10, 2016 by delacruz

[leongcpa]

Totally agree with Hlitner here.

 

My wife and I, on our third trip to Venice (which I love!), completely skipped St. Mark's Square, in favor of Burano, and just meandering random alleyways, eventually visiting several beautiful churches (Basilica dei Frari and San Georgio Maggiore)... to us, this was actually our best trip to Venice, yet... more relaxed...

 

 

Just a few comments on the St Marks (called S. Marco in Venice). We think it is over hyped by many cruisers..to the exclusion of the rest of Venice. This is a fantastic tourist city, St Marks is only one place....and it is often an overcrowded square full of day tourists and lots of dirty pigeons.

 

So lets talk about options. If St Marks is your only goal you can certainly pay a lot of money (often $20 or more) for shuttle service which might be offered by your ship. But you will have paid for a shuttle boat to a single place...in an expansive city (plus other islands of interest). You can also take the Alilaguna boat from the port to St Marks which would cost you 8€ per person--one way.

 

We suggest that most folks would benefit from neither of these options. Instead, we suggest taking the People Mover (1.5€) from the port over to the Piazale Roma. From there you can walk over to the vaporetto docks (called ACTV) and take the vaporettos (water buses) anywhere around Venice plus to any of the other islands in the Lagoon (Murano, Burano, Lido, etc). The vaporettos do cost 7.5€ for a single ticket...but most no better. You can purchase a one-day (24 hours from when you validate) ticket for 20€ which give you unlimited use of all the vaporettos! Or, for 30€ you can buy a 48 hour pass. Once you have one of these passes you can go to an fro as much as you want, go around Venice to St Marks, go out to Murano, Burano, etc. All for that price. So instead of paying the cruise ship $20 for a shuttle to one place, you can buy a 24 ticket that will take you to anyplace!

 

There are quite a few different vaporetto lines (they have numbers) so it pays to do a little homework. But the #1 and #2 (kind of an express #1) simply circle Venice (in both directions). If you stay on the #1 or #2 for an entire circuit you will essentially get a ride the entire way around the island of Venice. If you want to go all the way out to the island of Burano (our favorite island) you can use the vaporetto ticket for this 45 minute boat ride.

 

The problem with a shuttle to St Marks Sq. is that it only gets you to that one place...and you will still have to buy a vaporetto (or Alilaguna) ticket to go anywhere else (except to places you walk). As to Vaporetto (ACTV) vs Alilaguna...they are essentially competing water buses...but the Vaporetto (ACTV) is the major public water bus company with more routes and frequency. Tickets are not interchangable between the two companies....which is why we always recommend the vaporettos.

 

Hank

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

It's all well and good to point people elsewhere for a repeat trip.

 

But IMHO to imply or even say don't bother with San Marco would be like me telling people coming to NYC for the first time "there is so much more! Don't bother going to the Statue of Liberty or Times Square or The Empire State Building."

 

I know for me cruising is a way to get a taste of the places. I know good and well that I'm not going to be able to see it all while in port. I figure out what I want to see on the taste and use that as a springboard for plans for a future visit.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Terpnut]

I know this thread is about getting TO St Mark's Square, but I’d like to throw in my 2 cents that (unless you are meeting a tour there) maybe that is NOT where you want to go when you first arrive in Venice.

 

We returned 2 weeks ago from a cruise that included an overnight in Venice. When we sailed through the Lagoon into Venice and saw the MOB of people at St Mark's Square, we immediately changed our plan for the day. We originally planned to take the People Mover to Piazza Roma, buy the 24 hr ACTV pass for 20 Euros, and take the #1 Vaporetto, using it as a 'tour bus' to view all of the Grand Canal from the water, then disembarking at one of the San Marco stops.

 

Once we saw the mob, we decided to get off at the Rialto Bridge, tour around there a bit, get some pizza that I was craving, take our Gondola ride, and then head to San Marco as the sun went down and the tour buses had left with much of the throng. We also returned early the next morning to take the elevator up to the top of the Campanile for pictures.

 

In hindsight, if I could do it over again as my first trip, I’d still continue on all the way to San Marco on the Vaporetto for that first full effect of sailing the length of the canal, and THEN backtrack away from the Square until the crowds thinned out.

 

We were never planning on getting the Ship's Shuttle from the Pier to San Marco for $25. The ship's excursion desk will have you thinking this is the ONLY way to get there. First of all, even taking into account the additional cost of the People Mover, doing it ourselves was more cost effective. Second, as said, you have so much more versatility built into using the ACTV with all the different routes. And third, isn’t part of touring to have the experience of local life?

 

That said, for those with mobility issues or just not comfortable with DIY, the shuttle is certainly easiest.

 

We were going to get the 2-day ACTV pass (30 Euros), but figured out by the time we first activated the 24 hour pass (we docked at 3pm, boarded our first Vaporetto at 4pm on day one), since we were departing at 6:30 the next day, even if we used the Vaporetto past the 24 hr mark, we’d only be using it to return to the ship and that would be 7.5 Euros, so we'd only be 27.50 Euro into Vaporetto costs rather than 30. We ended up wandering and walked back to P. Roma on our last afternoon, so we were perfectly fine with the single day pass. Of course, you need to take into account what hours you’ll be docked to make your decision.

 

I don't even think there was any one thing or place in Venice that stands out to me, it's the overall experience. Being somewhat OCD, it was hard for me to 'let go' and wander, but on our last afternoon we put the GPS and maps away, walked away from the crowds, and that was our best time!

While I whole-heartedly agree that avoiding San Marco during the afternoon peak hours is best if you want to avoid crowding, and the evening hours can be gloriously serene by comparison, first-timers don't have too many options if they want to visit the Basilica, Campanile or Doge's Palace. If you must hit the major tourist spots at San Marco, definitely do the early timed entries and try to get it done in the mornings. Then, if you just want to stroll the piazza or enjoy a drink or some food, come back in the evening once all the day tour visitors have gone! :) Edited June 11, 2016 by Terpnut