Live from Italy, the Adriatic, and Venice 3/10/2023

[jc522]

The water taxis to and from St. Marks served the excursions. The last excursion of the day returned around 5pm. You needed to be on an excursion to take a taxi. They did not like the idea that we would book Venice On Your Own and come back whenever we wanted to hop a taxi. The water taxi to and from Chioggia (5 minute trip) ran every 30 minutes starting in the AM and ending around 9pm.

Edited March 25, 2023 by jc522

[springtravel]

2 hours ago, jc522 said:

The water taxi to and from Chioggia (5 minute trip) ran every 30 minutes starting in the AM and ending around 9pm.

Could you clarify this?  Where was the water taxi going that it only took 5 minutes.  Also, that it ran every 30 minutes.  We will be boarding Sky in Chioggia April 2 and trying to get our logistics straight.

Thanks

[Mrs Miggins]

Think there must be a misunderstanding in this post regarding 5 minute water taxi.  According to this board and friends that have done this with Viking say the trip is over an hour.  

[jc522]

2 hours ago, springtravel said:

Could you clarify this?  Where was the water taxi going that it only took 5 minutes.  Also, that it ran every 30 minutes.  We will be boarding Sky in Chioggia April 2 and trying to get our logistics straight.

Thanks

The 5 minute ride takes you through Chioggia harbor between the cruise ship port and the dock at the foot of Corso Del Popolo, Chioggia. It leaves the cruise dock headed for town on the hour, and it leaves the city dock to return to the ship on the half hour. You could also walk to/from Chioggia in 15 minutes.

 

I recall now that after several visits to Guest Services someone there told us to speak with the Viking dock coordinator in Venice if we wanted to arrange to stay in town past the scheduled return of our excursion. That gave us an extra hour in Venice. If you talk to enough different people in Guest Services you can usually find a way around the rules.

Edited March 25, 2023 by jc522

[jc522]

2 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Think there must be a misunderstanding in this post regarding 5 minute water taxi.  According to this board and friends that have done this with Viking say the trip is over an hour.  

I was referring to 2 different taxi routes. A 1:20 taxi ride for excursions to Venice. And a 5 minute ride for trips to Chioggia.

Edited March 25, 2023 by jc522

[jc522]

I'll restate the above for clarity (I hope):

 

Be wary of the advice that the Viking phone agents give you. I saw no water taxis to and from St. Marks except those that served the excursions. The last excursion of the day returned around 5:30 or 6:00pm. Initially we were told that you needed to be on an excursion to take a water taxi, and you had to return with the taxi for your excursion. After several visits to Guest Services someone there told us if we wanted to arrange to stay in town past the scheduled 4:45 return of our "Venice On Your Own" excursion we could speak with the Viking dock coordinator where the taxi unloaded in Venice. Note that a 4:45pm return means you are back at the ship at 4:45pm. The taxi leaves Venice at about 3pm. That does not leave a lot of time to tour Venice. Taking the last taxi instead of the one for our excursion gave us an extra hour or so in Venice. If you talk to enough different people in Guest Services you will eventually figure out who the more senior staff are and they won't be afraid to help you find a way around the "rules".

 

The 5 minute taxi ride to/from Chioggia takes you through Chioggia harbor between the cruise ship port and the city dock at the foot of Corso Del Popolo, Chioggia. It leaves the cruise dock headed for Chioggia on the hour, and it leaves the Chioggia city dock to return to the ship on the half hour. This taxi service ended at 9pm. You could also walk to/from Chioggia in 15 minutes.

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by jc522

[jc522]

50 minutes ago, jc522 said:

Note that a 4:45pm return means you are back at the ship at 4:45pm. The taxi leaves Venice at about 3pm. That does not leave a lot of time to tour Venice. Taking the last taxi instead of the one for our excursion gave us an extra hour or so in Venice.

We were able to visit St. Marks Basilica, the Doge's Palace, the Rialto Bridge and have some vino and pasta at a touristy cafe near the Rialto along the Grand Canal. If we rushed we probably could have also visited the Gallerie dell'Accademia or the Scuola Grande Di San Rocco.

Edited March 25, 2023 by jc522

[jc522]

As stated earlier, go to Chioggia during the day and at night for 2 very different and authentic old-world Italian experiences. It was the highlight of our cruise.

Edited March 25, 2023 by jc522

[-Lew-]

@jc522...   Thank you for the detailed instructions.  We'll be in Venice on the Sky October 12, 13, & 14.  It's anybody's guess whether your suggestions will work at that time, but they're a good starting point.

[jc522]

1 hour ago, -Lew- said:

@jc522...  

1 hour ago, -Lew- said:

@jc522...   Thank you for the detailed instructions.  We'll be in Venice on the Sky October 12, 13, & 14.  It's anybody's guess whether your suggestions will work at that time, but they're a good starting point.

You are welcome.

[jc522]

v

Edited March 26, 2023 by jc522

[Fieldofdreams]

6 hours ago, jc522 said:

As stated earlier, go to Chioggia during the day and at night for 2 very different and authentic old-world Italian experiences. It was the highlight of our cruise.

Thank you

[Vagabond51]

Not to belabor the point, but could I please ask for a bit more detail about the dock in Chioggia. You mentioned a 5 minute water taxi ride to the city dock at the foot of Corso Del Popolo or a 15 minute walk. Where is the cruise terminal in relation to this? I'll assume a person could walk off the gangplank and walk to the cruise terminal building, if so how long a walk would it have been for you. From looking at Google maps it appears there is a single bridge from the docking area to most everything else. Is it a security checkpoint or can you walk freely off the boat and into the terminal or town. Thanks!!

 

Also... Odd question I know, but do you remember your orientation to the dock when tied off. Was port inland or seaward? Thanks again!!

 

 

Edited March 26, 2023 by Vagabond51

[jc522]

9 minutes ago, Vagabond51 said:

Not to belabor the point, but could I please ask for a bit more detail about the dock in Chioggia. You mentioned a 5 minute water taxi ride to the city dock at the foot of Corso Del Popolo or a 15 minute walk. Where is the cruise terminal in relation to this? I'll assume a person could walk off the gangplank and walk to the cruise terminal building, if so how long a walk would it have been for you. From looking at Google maps it appears there is a single bridge from the docking area to most everything else. Is it a security checkpoint or can you walk freely off the boat and into the terminal or town. Thanks!!

 

Also... Odd question I know, but do you remember your orientation to the dock when tied off. Was port inland or seaward? Thanks again!!

 

 

The boat was docked maybe 50 or 100 feet from the terminal.

 

There is a bridge at Calle Airoldi. It's just a bridge, no security there. There is a guard at the entrance gate to the docks. When walking back from town just show the guard your stateroom key card.

 

Our starboard side was tied to the dock and looking out toward the city. Nice sunrise photos.

[lackcreativity]

16 hours ago, -Lew- said:

@jc522...   Thank you for the detailed instructions.  We'll be in Venice on the Sky October 12, 13, & 14.  It's anybody's guess whether your suggestions will work at that time, but they're a good starting point.

We are joining that cruise on the Sky in Venice on October 13, going on to Istanbul. According to our MVJ, I believe that we are still docking in Fusina. That would mean we have a whole different set of issues for the visit to Venice. Personally, Chioggia would be preferable for us, since we have visited Venice several times and would like a chance to see the smaller town on this visit. 

 

As you said, who knows for sure what will happen by October. When we took the Barcelona to Venice portion of this entire four leg journey last October, at the very last minute our disembarkation point was changed to Ravenna. Viking did a great job coming up with excursions there on a moment's notice, but excursions to Venice and the trip to the airport were negatively impacted.

Edited March 26, 2023 by lackcreativity

[-Lew-]

2 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

We are joining that cruise on the Sky in Venice on October 13, going on to Istanbul. According to our MVJ, I believe that we are still docking in Fusina.

 

Interesting...and confusing for sure.  You're correct about Fusina being listed in MVJ...I hadn't noticed.  However, Chioggia is still listed as our port here.

 

MVJ is likely accurate at this point in time.  It may boil down to opening the drapes on the morning of the 12th to see where we have docked.

 

There are a few roll calls that cover your itinerary.  Come on over and join us.  We could use some more participation.

[lackcreativity]

27 minutes ago, -Lew- said:

 

Interesting...and confusing for sure.  You're correct about Fusina being listed in MVJ...I hadn't noticed.  However, Chioggia is still listed as our port here.

 

MVJ is likely accurate at this point in time.  It may boil down to opening the drapes on the morning of the 12th to see where we have docked.

 

There are a few roll calls that cover your itinerary.  Come on over and join us.  We could use some more participation.

Since we are using Viking Air, I guess I will just see where they take us when they pick us up at the airport!😉

[shmabbies]

The water taxis to and from St. Marks served the excursions. The last excursion of the day returned around 5pm. You needed to be on an excursion to take a taxi. They did not like the idea that we would book Venice On Your Own and come back whenever we wanted to hop a taxi. 

 

We were on Sky from March 10-24 so I believe the same cruise as OP.  We had the opposite experience.  We did Venice On Your Own (VOYO) on Venice Day One March 16 booked on MVJ. We were told as we disembarked the water taxi from Chioggia to Venice that we could take whatever water taxi we wanted (servicing the excursions) back to the ship.  I believe our VOYO excursion was scheduled to return on the 3:15 water taxi (not sure about this).  We took a later one instead.  Personally I did think it was a little odd that Viking would risk all the VOYO people coming back at the same time, but nonetheless this is what we were told and this is what we did.  I would venture to say this is something they may stop doing because it really makes no sense - though I'm glad it worked for us!

 

DH and I did not think the 1.5 hour trip was that bad.  Our water taxi was new and clean and I thought the seats were comfortable.  There was plenty to see & photograph at least on the side I was sitting on.  It moves extremely slowly - we were told that most of the trip is a "no wake" area - it definitely seemed like a longer trip on the way back, but I was chatting with a "new friend" the entire time and it was fun.  We were pleasantly surprised at the dropoff point in Venice.  It really is close to St. Mark's Square.

 

Venice Day Two March 17 was the one that had nothing to book on MVJ and caused me a lot of angst prior to the cruise, but posters here had assured me that there would be excursions to book on board, and this was true.  You do need to hunt for the booking sheet thru the endless surveys that Viking places in the cabin (I have to say - what Viking doesn't do with advertisements for photos, spas, liquor packages etc. they more than make up for with surveys).  It's in your cabin EARLY ON and you must look for it, complete it, and return it to guest services promptly as those offers seem to fill up quickly.  We did the full day Verona tour at $189pp.  We loved it.  BUT it is a long way to Verona.  If the 1.5 hour transfer from Chioggia to Venice annoys you, you probably don't want to go to Verona.  But we thought it was a nicely done tour that included lunch in a restaurant in a former church and it was one of our favorites.

 

Venice Day Three March 18 I had booked the Chioggia walking tour on MVJ.  The ship five minute water shuttle takes the group from the pier to Chioggia.  The walking tour was informative and fun.  I expected to like Chioggia and I did.  It is like a micro Venice, of course without all the major sites.  When this walking tour was concluded, everyone dispersed thru the town.  There was no supervised walk back to the shuttle.  We stayed in Chioggia for quite some time and then took the ship water shuttle back to the ship.  It was virtually empty and very easy.  There is some kind of walking/bus alternative from Chioggia to the ship but I didn't run into anyone who took it and I don't know why anyone would take it when the water shuttle was easier and readily available.

 

My opinion is that the Chioggia thing is a work in progress, but for us I think it was handled as best it could be and future tweaking will take care of the rest of it.  There WAS a lot of rumbling and grumbling overheard, but there were also a lot of air problems for those arriving on Sky in Venice due to the strikes and so forth that likely impacted tours for those people, but those were beyond the scope of Viking - as was this whole deal of banning cruise ships in Venice.  Yes, there is NOTHING like sailing past St. Mark's Square on a ship, but those days are gone, probably never to return.

 

 

[jc522]

8 hours ago, shmabbies said:

 We had the opposite experience...

 

No, it was pretty much the same experience. Initially the Guest Services staff were not very flexible. Finally, one of the more senior Guest Services staff told us to speak with the dock coordinator in Venice. Like you, we were told to come back on any taxi that fit our schedule. We did. No problem.

[shmabbies]

5 hours ago, jc522 said:

Finally, one of the more senior Guest Services staff told us to speak with the dock coordinator in Venice. Like you, we were told to come back on any taxi that fit our schedule. We did. No problem.

 I apologize for my poor wording, I think I was just trying to say - and didn't - that we never dealt with guest services about the matter - and did not even deal proactively with the "dock coordinator" - somebody made a series of announcements when we disembarked the ship water taxi about the options available to us for returning to the ship after VOYO.  So it didn't seem as if anyone disliked the idea of taking a different water taxi back since the idea came from them.   You were way ahead of us in that you proactively gave thought to this in advance - we just responded to an announcement that was made.  That was what was "opposite."  I'm glad it worked out for both of us!  Wasn't it a gorgeous day??

[jc522]

Yes. It was a perfect day, and it was the most authentic old-world town on the cruise. A very pleasant surprise.

[CCWineLover]

On 3/27/2023 at 6:48 AM, shmabbies said:

DH and I did not think the 1.5 hour trip was that bad.  Our water taxi was new and clean and I thought the seats were comfortable.  There was plenty to see & photograph at least on the side I was sitting on.  It moves extremely slowly - we were told that most of the trip is a "no wake" area - it definitely seemed like a longer trip on the way back

 

 

Thank you so VERY much for your very detailed review.  I am following carefully since we will be doing this exact thing next year.  Gave me some very good information - although as you say, it could all change over time (hopefully for the better).   I had been thinking that at least in good weather it might be a wonderful water taxi ride to Venice with lots of great views to take pictures.  May I ask what side of the taxi did you sit on?   Was there a queue waiting when you wanted to get back to Venice?  Did you use Google off-line maps or something else?

Thanks again!

[shmabbies]

13 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Thank you so VERY much for your very detailed review.  I am following carefully since we will be doing this exact thing next year.  Gave me some very good information - although as you say, it could all change over time (hopefully for the better).   I had been thinking that at least in good weather it might be a wonderful water taxi ride to Venice with lots of great views to take pictures.  May I ask what side of the taxi did you sit on?   Was there a queue waiting when you wanted to get back to Venice?  Did you use Google off-line maps or something else?

Thanks again!

I am glad to help.  I was struggling so much for information prior to this cruise and really feel I need to pay it forward, at least, as we agree, for the present time, because I project there is going to be a lot of tweaking.  We sat on the starboard side of the water taxi (right side of the taxi as it faced forward).  I was right up against the window (not sure if it opened, didn't try) and put my flash off.  We were sailing along the island of Palestrina/Pellestrina which is very long.  Yes, there was a queue when we wanted to come back, but this was mostly our fault as initially I don't think there was, but we HAD to sit down at a cafe that was immediately adjacent for an adult beverage and before I could blink my eyes, the line was there.  We managed to get on but I did not have a window seat on the return, which didn't bother me as it was getting dark.  We used no maps in Venice.  We have been there before and didn't stray far from St. Mark's and used the Campanile to orient ourselves.  Any other questions, please ask!

[Fieldofdreams]

22 hours ago, shmabbies said:

I am glad to help.  I was struggling so much for information prior to this cruise and really feel I need to pay it forward, at least, as we agree, for the present time, because I project there is going to be a lot of tweaking.  We sat on the starboard side of the water taxi (right side of the taxi as it faced forward).  I was right up against the window (not sure if it opened, didn't try) and put my flash off.  We were sailing along the island of Palestrina/Pellestrina which is very long.  Yes, there was a queue when we wanted to come back, but this was mostly our fault as initially I don't think there was, but we HAD to sit down at a cafe that was immediately adjacent for an adult beverage and before I could blink my eyes, the line was there.  We managed to get on but I did not have a window seat on the return, which didn't bother me as it was getting dark.  We used no maps in Venice.  We have been there before and didn't stray far from St. Mark's and used the Campanile to orient ourselves.  Any other questions, please ask!

Any suggestions for booking shared transfer from Rome to  Civitavecchia? Meeting cruise ship Viking Jupiter on the 27th of September, 2023. We will be at the Rome Marriott Park Hotel. Thank you for any suggestions.

[-Lew-]

35 minutes ago, Fieldofdreams said:

Any suggestions for booking shared transfer from Rome to  Civitavecchia? Meeting cruise ship Viking Jupiter on the 27th of September, 2023. We will be at the Rome Marriott Park Hotel. Thank you for any suggestions.

 

We have used Bob's Limos a number of times for transfer from our Rome hotel to the shipside terminal.  They're excellent and I have no problem recommending them.  Here's a link to their FAQ.