Can someone PLEASE explain Venice/Revenna transportation for Eastern Med cruise

[shipmate13]

I am booked on Celebrity Constellation for July of next year for an Eastern Med. Cruise.  I thought we flew into Venice and got on the ship at that location but I noticed that it says on my booking day 1 and 2 are in Revenna, Italy and our airline does not fly in there it flies to Venice.  Those of you who have done this already, what do you do for transportation to get to Revenna to board the ship once you land in Venice Airport??? Does the ship stay there in Revenna the first two days of this itinerary?  Do you have to go back and forth between there and Venice to visit sites?  I am very confused about this and really would like it if someone could explain how that works.  Thank you in advance.  

[goofysmom99]

Nearest flight option is Bologna (BLQ) which is just under an hour to the pier in Ravenna.  You can book Celebrity's transfer from the airport for embarkation day.  From Venice (VCE), it's a 3 hour bus ride to the port via X's airport transfer ($45).  They also offer one from Piazzale Roma in the city on embarkation day, too (still 3 hrs).  You overnight in Ravenna.   There will be some local ship's tours available for day 2.  You won't be going back to Venice on day 2 .  If you want to spend time in Venice, fly in a few days early, see the sights, and take an X transfer.  It's a long, gruelingly slow ride on 2 lane road that's almost solid trucks. 

[cruisemom42]

I agree with everything posted above, just wanted to clarify that the shuttle which leaves from Venice proper (as opposed to the airport) leaves from Tronchetto, not Piazzale Roma -- Tronchetto is easily reached from Piazzale Roma using the same People Mover that previously was taken to the Venice Port.  It is kind of like a raised monorail, relatively easy to navigate with luggage as there are elevators (as well as escalators and stairs).

 

You will need to purchase a ticket from the automated machine at ground level, go up one level to board the People Mover, and stay on it until it reaches the last stop (Tronchetto).  It's a short ride, about 5-7 minutes. Go down to ground level and exit; you'll see the buses and Celebrity staff with clipboards very close by.

 

One caution:  be sure to validate your People Mover ticket prior to boarding the train. (I can't remember for sure but I think the validator is downstairs, not upstairs).  Hold onto it, because you'll need to feed it into the slot at the exit to get the bar to swing and let you out.

 

[CruiserMickey]

If you want to see Venice, I would suggest staying a day or two before boarding your ship. Last month we stayed in Venice for three nights, then took the train to Ravenna. At the train station there was a bus chartered by Celebrity to take people to the ship. The tickets for the bus did not need to be booked ahead, and the ticket price ($10) was added to our stateroom account.

[Pushkin]

We did a cruise from Ravenna last July.  If taking the train, be aware that you have to change trains. It was stressful for us even though we had one bag each.  The connecting station did not have an elevator, so it was two flights down and two flights up.  Also, the second train was standing room only.  I would fly into Venice for a few days and take the X transfer from Venice to Ravenna (possibly open jaw ticket to fly home from Bologna). 

[Stem to Stern]

We flew into Venice pre-cruise.  We stayed there five nights and still did not see and do everything we wanted to.  It is a magical city.  The morning of embarkation we took a private transfer from Venice to Porto Corsini where the ship docks near Ravenna.  We booked this through TA recommended Airports Shuttle Express.

The website is:

www.airports-shuttle-express.com

The driver collected us at 9:00am at the parking lot of Piazzale Roma in a full-size Mercedes sedan which was able to pass the many slow-moving vehicles on that two-lane road mentioned above.  The trip was two hours for us.  It was fun watching the GPS screen on the dashboard of the car as we made our way down the coast through this rural part of the region.  Once on board we heard a couple of horror stories from fellow passengers about less than ideal circumstances on the Celebrity transfer buses.  We were told when they arrived they were asked to stay on the bus until the line inside the terminal subsided.  Our friends’ bus left Tronchetto at 10:30 and the ride was three hours, so they did not get on board until much later than we did.  They arrived with quite a large group of passengers from several buses versus us arriving when the crowd wasn’t too stacked up.

We paid dearly for the private transfer, but we arrived at the port promptly for our 11:00am boarding time.  Payment was by credit card to the driver upon arrival at the port.  For us it was worth it to spend more and spare ourselves the potential aggravation which we do not always manage gracefully.😬😉

After the cruise we spent two nights n Bologna and flew out of there.  Coincidentally, we shared a six-passenger van to Bologna booked through the same company by another roll call member and that worked out to 75 euros per couple which we thought was a bargain.  The driver dropped off each couple at their hotels in Bologna.  This driver only accepted cash in euros not US dollars.  We would not hesitate to use this company again.

[shipmate13]

I cannot thank each and everyone of you for responding to my post.  I feel so much better knowing options as I have never experienced this type of situation prior to getting on board a ship.  It sounds overwhelming a bit but I am sure that it will work out.  At least I have time to figure out what option is best for us.  thanks once again!!!!

[LisaLisa87]

DH and I are considering this same itinerary, and I have a couple of questions. I figured I’d tag on to this thread rather than starting a new one. I guess I don’t understand the point of the overnight when we would be 2-3 hours from Venice. We would probably fly into Venice 1-2 days early (I don’t think we could swing more than that). Embarkation day would be pretty much like any other embarkation day, but what would we do the next day (the ship leaves port at 5pm on day 2).

 

Do people go back to Venice, or are there interesting things to do in Ravenna? It seems slightly disingenuous that X bills this as an overnight in Venice. Do some people stay in Venice and board on day 2? Even if that’s an option, it’s not ideal since we’d be paying for both a night onboard and an additional night in Venice.

 

Thank you in advance for any insight!

[cruisemom42]

40 minutes ago, LisaLisa87 said:

DH and I are considering this same itinerary, and I have a couple of questions. I figured I’d tag on to this thread rather than starting a new one. I guess I don’t understand the point of the overnight when we would be 2-3 hours from Venice. We would probably fly into Venice 1-2 days early (I don’t think we could swing more than that). Embarkation day would be pretty much like any other embarkation day, but what would we do the next day (the ship leaves port at 5pm on day 2).

 

Do people go back to Venice, or are there interesting things to do in Ravenna? It seems slightly disingenuous that X bills this as an overnight in Venice. Do some people stay in Venice and board on day 2? Even if that’s an option, it’s not ideal since we’d be paying for both a night onboard and an additional night in Venice.

 

Thank you in advance for any insight!

 

With the ship leaving port at 5pm, it doesn't really leave time to go to Venice and back, with a travel time of nearly 3 hours each way. I would agree that it's smarter to spend a few days in Venice before you go to Ravenna and board the ship, and do not try to go back.  

 

There are plenty of things to see in Ravenna. Ravenna has some of the BEST preserved mosaics from the later Western Roman Empire/Early Byzantine era, when the city was, for a while, one of the capitals of the Empire. It's about a 20-30 minute ride from the port into the city, but X had shuttles running on the second day for us. Once in town, everything is easily walkable in a rather compact central old heart of the city. 

 

https://theportablewife.com/travel/destinations/one-day-in-ravenna-itinerary/

 

Celebrity offered a few tours on the second day (none to Venice that I recall), including Ravenna and a couple of other nearby small charming towns. However, I'd just recommend doing Ravenna on your own.

 

[LisaLisa87]

Thanks for your input @cruisemom42! We've decided to go ahead with this itinerary because it checks a lot of boxes for us. We'll plan to spend a couple of days in Venice before heading to Ravenna since we've never been there.

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by LisaLisa87

[honmani2]

We are on a ten day cruise leaving from Ravenna on October 2.  How do you reserve the Celebrity shuttle from Venice to Ravenna and back?  I'm assuming the shuttle leaves from the airport, VCE.  

 

Are there any other options besides catching the train to get from Venice to Ravenna port?  The shuttle services I looked at cost an arm and a leg to book.

[ezemoney]

celebrity needs to re-think this itinerary for flight planning. Ravenna to Venice can be quite costly by private transfer plus the time it takes to get to Venice. it would be nice to do a Rome to Rome. i understand it would make the cruise longer but a couple of sea days would be nice on a port heavy cruise.

 

 

[Boatdrinknc]

I booked transportation through my TA for travel from Ravenna to Venice city center for $58 per person. They also have travel from Venice airport and train station to Ravenna port. You can book what you need by calling Celebrity.