Venice bans cruise ships from Giudecca? Latest news

[CruiseMH]

On 8/10/2019 at 8:57 AM, ollienbertsmum said:

 

 

   There have to be transport links to get tourists to the start of their cruise.      Is it really that difficult???

No,it is not.

Mankind has already done so many impressive infrastructure projects,so building a cruise port outside the lagoon should not be a problem.

But it is Italy.And politics in Italy are a nightmare.Decisions take decades. I am absolutely sure that the new cruise port outside the lagoon will not be completed during the next 20 years.

 

[travellovers2]

We're booked on HAL Niew Amsterdam for May 2020.  Do you think this cruise will be rerouted if they make that decision based on the size of ship?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[travellovers2]

I finally found the tonnage and it will definitely be one of the ones banned. 🙄

 

How soon will this decision be made? It seems that they have talking about this for many years. Is it real now?

 

We may reconsider this cruise if it does not leave from Venice. We have sailed out of Venice before. It is the most beautiful sail away we have experienced on a cruise.  

 

 

[dogs4fun]

1 hour ago, travellovers2 said:

I finally found the tonnage and it will definitely be one of the ones banned. 🙄

 

How soon will this decision be made? It seems that they have talking about this for many years. Is it real now?

 

We may reconsider this cruise if it does not leave from Venice. We have sailed out of Venice before. It is the most beautiful sail away we have experienced on a cruise.  

If you read through all the posts you will see that there simply is no definitive answer to your question. If sailing out of Venice is the determining factor for you, you can simply book a cruise that does not include VCE.

Edited August 14, 2019 by dogs4fun

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, travellovers2 said:

I finally found the tonnage and it will definitely be one of the ones banned. 🙄

 

How soon will this decision be made? It seems that they have talking about this for many years. Is it real now?

 

We may reconsider this cruise if it does not leave from Venice. We have sailed out of Venice before. It is the most beautiful sail away we have experienced on a cruise.  

 

 

 

Did you really book the entire cruise predicated only on a sailaway from Venice? (Especially if you've experienced it at least once...?)

 

As the previous poster says, there is no definitive answer at this time. However, unlike some previous declarations, this one does include some actions that could take place without large engineering works having to be completed first -- i.e., moving at least a third of the largest tonnage vessels to other ports already functioning in or around the lagoon. Only issue would be figuring out transportation, and given the massive amounts of busses I've seen leaving ships at other Med ports for destinations much further away (Rome, Florence, Cairo for starters), I think the lines could easily manage it.

 

Will it happen?  And if so, when?  At this point, no one knows. I am considering booking a 2020 cruise that departs from Venice and I'd actually RATHER it depart from elsewhere as I'd like to see Venice/Italy actually DO something about the damage before it's too late.

[Love the beach]

2 hours ago, travellovers2 said:

I finally found the tonnage and it will definitely be one of the ones banned. 🙄

 

How soon will this decision be made? It seems that they have talking about this for many years. Is it real now?

 

We may reconsider this cruise if it does not leave from Venice. We have sailed out of Venice before. It is the most beautiful sail away we have experienced on a cruise.  

 

 

Well........we were on the July 27th sailling out of Venice, due to sail at 6pm....there were heavy thunderstorms in the area and they closed the port! It was well after midnight when we all gave up waiting and went to bed as we were exhausted! Someone said it was close to 2am before we sailed!

[chipmaster]

5 hours ago, travellovers2 said:

I finally found the tonnage and it will definitely be one of the ones banned. 🙄

 

How soon will this decision be made? It seems that they have talking about this for many years. Is it real now?

 

We may reconsider this cruise if it does not leave from Venice. We have sailed out of Venice before. It is the most beautiful sail away we have experienced on a cruise.  

 

 

 

Lots of noise right now as the recent collision is on everyone's mind to push their hot agenda.

 

Building a new port, arranging the logistics all takes some time, especially with what I see about Italian planning and execution.

 

I loved my sail-away but viewed it as a great bonus upon the great few days I was able to stay and do the walk-around in Venice.   Hopefully the city itself is equally wonderful that make it a continued major port/stop for cruising, regardless

[travellovers2]

22 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Did you really book the entire cruise predicated only on a sailaway from Venice? (Especially if you've experienced it at least once...?)

 

Yes we did!! This wouldl have been our third time in Venice. The first time was our honeymoon so we spent a week there and another week going around Italy. We fell in love with Venice so we went back to experience the sailaway in 2013 on the Ruby Princess.  We wanted to experience that again,  so we looked at cruises sailing out of Venice and found this one on HAL and one on the Edge. But the one on the Edge, which we would have loved since we have not been on it yet, did not have the exact dates we were looking for.

 

We read all the posts and watched quite a few videos on youtube.  We decided to cancel the cruise and go to Italy on our own. Happy Travels!

Edited August 15, 2019 by travellovers2

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, travellovers2 said:

 

We read all the posts and watched quite a few videos on youtube.  We decided to cancel the cruise and go to Italy on our own. Happy Travels!

 

You'll have a wonderful experience and probably see more of Italy on your own. Enjoy!

[chipmaster]

3 hours ago, travellovers2 said:

Yes we did!! This wouldl have been our third time in Venice. The first time was our honeymoon so we spent a week there and another week going around Italy. We fell in love with Venice so we went back to experience the sailaway in 2013 on the Ruby Princess.  We wanted to experience that again,  so we looked at cruises sailing out of Venice and found this one on HAL and one on the Edge. But the one on the Edge, which we would have loved since we have not been on it yet, did not have the exact dates we were looking for.

 

We read all the posts and watched quite a few videos on youtube.  We decided to cancel the cruise and go to Italy on our own. Happy Travels!

 

Just be ready  everywhere there are crowds

 

If you think there are a lot more tourist compared to a few years ago, yeah there are a lot more

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-hottest-perk-in-tourism-making-the-crowds-disappear-11565793755

 

"1.4 billion in 2018, according to the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization. That is up from 1.32 billion in 2017 and 680 million in 2000"

 

"This year, Le Sirenuse had to take measures to thwart the crowds at its own property. The hotel has become a favorite of Instagrammers seeking selfies on its terrace and pool deck. “Hotel guests were saying they found it irritating being subjected to people walking everywhere and infringing on their privacy,” says Antonio Sersale, the hotel’s owner. So this spring, Le Sirenuse instituted a new policy: If you’re not staying at the hotel, you need a restaurant or bar reservation to enter the property. An employee stationed at the front door enforces it."

 

"In the evenings, the main pedestrian streets of Oia, Santorini, are so jammed with tourists wanting to catch the town’s iconic sunset that it “looks like a football game with the masses going in and out of the stadium. And the stadium is the sunset,” says Evangelos Dimos, general manager of the Mystique, part of Marriott International ’s Luxury Collection brand. So Mystique staff tell their sunset-seeking guests to skip town altogether. Instead, concierges will book private catamarans for guests to watch from the sea or usher them via hotel cars (taxis can be hard to find) to the quieter towns of Megalochori or Akrotiri, where they can view from low-key bars and cafes. Rooms including breakfast begin at about $1,180 per night in high season. The catamaran tour is about $175 per person or nearly $1,700 to rent the entire boat."

 

Love it pay a hefty penny to go to an iconic place only to book a tour to escape it, best sunset off my deck or out of my bedroom view, LOL

[ollienbertsmum]

3 hours ago, chipmaster said:

 

 

"In the evenings, the main pedestrian streets of Oia, Santorini, are so jammed with tourists wanting to catch the town’s iconic sunset that it “looks like a football game with the masses going in and out of the stadium. And the stadium is the sunset,” says Evangelos Dimos, general manager of the Mystique, part of Marriott International ’s Luxury Collection brand. So Mystique staff tell their sunset-seeking guests to skip town altogether. Instead, concierges will book private catamarans for guests to watch from the sea or usher them via hotel cars (taxis can be hard to find) to the quieter towns of Megalochori or Akrotiri, where they can view from low-key bars and cafes. Rooms including breakfast begin at about $1,180 per night in high season. The catamaran tour is about $175 per person or nearly $1,700 to rent the entire boat."

 

Love it pay a hefty penny to go to an iconic place only to book a tour to escape it, best sunset off my deck or out of my bedroom view, LOL

 

I laugh too.   I recall going to Santorini in 1979.  I had a great time.  I recall no detail except the black beach.  

The sunset in Oia was not "a thing".   I still enjoyed Santorini.  I am sure that there was sunset and dawn.  Just not something that tourists felt they had to see.  

 

I have since been to places where sunset was "a thing" - in Angkor Wat in Siem Reap and Bagan in Myanmar.    In both cases, the go to places were somewhat disappointing.  I had a taxi driver take me to a much better place away from the crowds in Bagan.    I have the photos to prove it.  Do photos have to be the reason for travel though??

 

Basically the sun rises and sets all around the world.  Sometimes the light is better than other times.  Enjoying the trip has to take priority.