Star Venice to Athens quesitons

[Milliegirl229]

We will be on the Viking Star March 2017 from Venice to Athens and have some questions:

- Does Viking offer any transfers from the ship to the St. Marks Square area the day of embarkation?

- Information/review on the optional Lake Bled excursion would be appreciated.

- We have Viking air, flight from Athens is 6:05am, what time should we be prepared for our transfer?

We have done Viking River cruise and many ocean cruises and we are so excited about this opportunity to combine the best of both.

Thank you.

[roothy123]

Regarding the shuttle, I can only tell you what you MIGHT experience in Venice based on our cruise last fall. I would guess that each cruise could be different, since Venice is a very popular cruise destination and availability of boats may be different each day a cruise ship goes there. Also, and probably more importantly, we did not dock at the regular cruise dock there (Statione Marittima), and I don't know how often this happens. Ocean cruises are at the mercy of the port, so they could dock one place one time and another the next time. We docked on the water to the side of the cruise dock, convenient to a public vaporetto (water bus) stop (San Basilio). We embarked in Venice and left that evening. However, some Viking cruise itineraries may call for an overnight there. Viking did provide a boat shuttle (free, I believe) to a place a bit past St. Mark's Square. IF your cruise docks at the same place we did (San Basilio) and Viking offers a shuttle, that's great. If not, if you're adventuresome you could take an ACTV water boat (vaporetto) from the San Basilio stop to St. Marks, although I forget which lines go there. (San Basilio is a relatively small stop.) If you dock at the regular cruise dock (Marittima) you can probably take an Alilaguna water boat from a place inside the port (but not necessarily right where the ship docks). Another alternative is to take the "People Mover" to Piazalle Roma, find the water boats there, and take one that is going to St. Mark's.

 

I know; it's confusing. Unfortunately you can't just get in a taxi and ask them to take you to St. Mark's! The water boats go just about everywhere, but you have to know where to catch the one you want, how to use the ticket machines to get tickets, etc.

 

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-cruise-terminal-marittima.htm is helpful in giving you a bit of information on how to get to the cruise port and around.

 

In Venice, I would keep in mind that there are multiple stops and quays for the water boats and water taxis, shuttles, Alilaguna boats, etc. in the St Mark's area. If you take a shuttle organized by Viking, make sure you look carefully when they let you off so you know where you need to go to return on the Viking arranged shuttle. The good news is that it's usually easy to determine where you need to walk (and there will be some walking, and often steps) to get to St. Mark's Square. You'll see and recognize it when the boat comes in from the lagoon to its stop. In most cases, when you're on the walkway along the water, you'll need to turn left. Don't forget to stop at the Bridge of Sighs. It will likely be apparent when you see lots of people with (annoying) selfie sticks and cameras.

 

As for Athens, I'd rather not hazard a guess, but I can tell you that it will be QUITE early that you'll have to get up that day! Not sure if any breakfast will be available that day, so you might want to raid your refrigerator for a bag of potato chips to eat in a pinch, or order something from room service the night before.

 

Enjoy! We did Venice to Istanbul last year (loved Istanbul, but now all the cruise lines are avoiding it) and it was a fabulous cruise. Post again if you want a link to my pictures or more info on Venice.

[Milliegirl229]

Thank you for the information on transportation options in Venice. We will get our docking information about 3 weeks out and then study routes and best options from our dock to areas we want to visit and there definitely seems like many choices. We booked our air through the cruise line so we are set from the airport to the ship.

 

Please let me know the link to your photos as I would enjoy seeing them. Good tip on Bridge of Sighs and to watch out for selfie sticks.

 

Good to know you had a great cruise, we are looking forward to all the ports, as first time visiting all ports. Thanks again for the information.

[roothy123]

Here are 2 links to my photos:

http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/venice&page=all

http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/venice__more&page=all

 

Other tips: Don't take a backpack, even a very small one, to St. Mark's Square if you want to go in the cathedral. They will turn you away and make you go check it, and where you check it isn't all that convenient. Large purses, however, seem to be accepted. We didn't book tickets on line but if you want to avoid lines, you might want to do that. In March, however, the lines will hopefully be manageable.

 

If you take the vaporettos, know the difference between the regular ACTV ones and the yellow ones run by Alilaguna. We saw several people being ticketed on the way back from Murano because they had Alilaguna tickets instead of ACTV.

 

As you may have heard, it's easy to get lost in Venice. There are very few street signs and many dead ends. If you venture much off the beaten track, allow plenty of time to get back to the ship. The locals will try to help, but there's only so much they can do.

 

We went to Venice a day or two early. So.. don't expect to be able to see as much as we did!