Chances of Disembarkation Port Change in Chioggia

[katben26]

Hello fellow cruisers,

We are due to disembark from Chioggia on 10/22/23 after our Empires of the Mediterranean Cruise.  We did not book a post cruise excursion as we have been to Venice already.  Instead, we were planning on booking a private tour from Chioggia to Padua and Verona and then having the car service drop us off at our hotel near the Marco Polo airport in Venice for a flight home on October 23.  My concern is that I have seen on other blogs for different Viking Mediterranean cruises that passengers say they received last minute emails telling them they would be disembarking in Ravenna or Fusina instead of Chioggia.  I called and spoke with a Viking representative who said they are "pretty sure" they will dock in Chioggia and "not to believe everything I read".  They did say that only 1 cruise ship is allowed to dock at Chioggia at a time. I asked the representative if transfers to the airport would be available wherever they dock and she told me they would be but only for people who have same day flights out of Venice.  I am leary of booking a private tour if I don't know for sure where we will be disembarking but I also do not want to get stuck somewhere and have to overpay for a last minute taxi or Uber to take us all the way to the Venice airport and miss a day of sightseeing.  Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated!  Thanks in advance.

[MrRandal]

I started scrambling when I first saw we were docking in Chioggia and called Viking direct. We booked our own air, and are taking a train from Venice to Milan on disembarkation day. They initially told me it was up to me to find transportation to Venice from Chioggia. I asked the rep if Viking was seriously going to just dump their passengers on a dock 30-40 miles away from their "advertised final port"? After insisting to speak to a customer service supervisor, I was finally told that Viking was offering a seat on their buses that they have for the people who booked using Viking air. This was a trip from the boat to the airport. We were told they would put us on one of their buses, but no guaranty when it would leave Chioggia or arrive at the airport, where we would have had to take a taxi to the train station. We were given a reservation and charged $49US each. Reading that some buses were leaving Chioggia as early as 3:30am, I found a company through rome2rio that will pick up the 2 of us in a Mercedes at the port in Chioggia at 8:30am and take us directly to the Railway station for $134US. I imagine that will be cheaper if we dock in Fusina, more if we dock in Ravenna. We leave Sept 18 from Barcelona for a Med Odyssey cruise, still scheduled for Chioggia at this point.  

[katben26]

Thank you Mr. Randal.  Did they say they are "for sure" docking in Chioggia?  I have gotten the impression that they never confirm where their final disembarkation place will be for sure.  

 

[millybess]

1 minute ago, katben26 said:

Thank you Mr. Randal.  Did they say they are "for sure" docking in Chioggia?  I have gotten the impression that they never confirm where their final disembarkation place will be for sure.  

 

I think they let you know well ahead where you will be docking around Venice.  That's our experience and that jives with what I've read on this board for some time before our Empires and Odyssey cruises.  We were fortunate in May/June to have docked in Chioggia which is a lovely port.

 

Having said that, we also had a chat with the GM while on board and he said that most of the future dockings, but not all, would be in Fusina.

 

 

 

 

[MrRandal]

On 8/17/2023 at 2:26 PM, katben26 said:

Thank you Mr. Randal.  Did they say they are "for sure" docking in Chioggia?  I have gotten the impression that they never confirm where their final disembarkation place will be for sure.  

 

According to Viking we are still scheduled to dock in Chioggia. Also verified that on Sept 29 and Sept 30 (our ship, our dates) the Viking Neptune is scheduled to be in port on the website www.whatsinport.com (great website by the way). I assume that may change, but will feel a little more comfortable when our final documents arrive. We got our luggage tags today, so  hopefully the docs will arrive shortly via email.

[MrRandal]

[HDS]

3 hours ago, MrRandal said:

According to Viking we are still scheduled to dock in Chioggia. Also verified that on Sept 29 and Sept 30 (our ship, our dates) the Viking Neptune is scheduled to be in port on the website www.whatsinport.com (great website by the way). I assume that may change, but will feel a little more comfortable when our final documents arrive. We got our luggage tags today, so  hopefully the docs will arrive shortly via email.

Thank you MrRandall for alerting me to the www.whatsinport.com website.  Have you found it to be accurate?

[longterm]

We were on one of the first Viking cruises into Venice after the lockdown; we docked at Fusina, then they moved the ship to another dock nearby (I forget its name now); then, the next day they moved us BACK to Fusina.

 

So if it were me, I'd make my own arrangements to get to the airport.

[millybess]

52 minutes ago, HDS said:

Thank you MrRandall for alerting me to the www.whatsinport.com website.  Have you found it to be accurate?

No.  I have found that the whatsinport website is not accurate.  You will need to find the actual port website (if you can) and often they are not up to date.  

[HDS]

I found it very easy to find the ports that most concern me for our cruise on the www.whatsinport.com website.  Millybess, do you have instances of when the site is now, or has been, inaccurate?

[Peregrina651]

On 8/17/2023 at 5:26 PM, katben26 said:

Thank you Mr. Randal.  Did they say they are "for sure" docking in Chioggia?  I have gotten the impression that they never confirm where their final disembarkation place will be for sure.  

 

 

There is no such thing as "for sure" when it comes to docking (or anything else involved in operating a cruise vacation; just read the contracts). The Harbormaster is in charge and the Captain docks the ship wherever the Harbormaster tells him -- and at whatever time he tells him. Sometimes Viking knows well in advance of a change and sometimes they don't know until they are pulling into the harbor. The companies that provide shore side services to the cruise ships  are used to this and know how to deal with last minute changes. 

 

48 minutes ago, longterm said:

We were on one of the first Viking cruises into Venice after the lockdown; we docked at Fusina, then they moved the ship to another dock nearby (I forget its name now); then, the next day they moved us BACK to Fusina.

 

So if it were me, I'd make my own arrangements to get to the airport.

 

Bob, I'm just the opposite. I'm convinced that Viking is going to get me to the airport on time, whether it is paid or complimentary, regardless of where the ship docks. Viking and their providers know how long it takes to get to the airport from whatever berth they are assigned. They are moving 100s of guests at disembarkation and the last thing they want is 100s of guests missing flights.

 

 

[Peregrina651]

33 minutes ago, millybess said:

No.  I have found that the whatsinport website is not accurate.  You will need to find the actual port website (if you can) and often they are not up to date.  

 

Even the merchant marines who haunt this forum, will agree with you on this one.

[longterm]

12 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

Bob, I'm just the opposite. I'm convinced that Viking is going to get me to the airport on time, whether it is paid or complimentary, regardless of where the ship docks. Viking and their providers know how long it takes to get to the airport from whatever berth they are assigned. They are moving 100s of guests at disembarkation and the last thing they want is 100s of guests missing flights.

 

 

You're probably right; they're obligated to move all the fliers to the airport, and they'll get it done. Since you paid for the transfer, I would just relax, enjoy your time in Venice, and count on them to get you to the airport on time.

 

 

[millybess]

17 hours ago, HDS said:

I found it very easy to find the ports that most concern me for our cruise on the www.whatsinport.com website.  Millybess, do you have instances of when the site is now, or has been, inaccurate?

I’ve tried using it several times. The latest — and forever last — was last year.

 

We were in Imerovigli on Santorini. We decided to go into Fira for lunch and to visit a woodworker’s shop for a particular gift. If you have ever been to Santorini, you know how crowded it can get.

 

For whatever reason, I couldn’t find the Santorini port information and against my better judgment, I used the aforementioned website. Only 2 cruise ships in port that day. Perfect!  That would be manageable. But actually there were six. The tiny laneways of Fira were impossible to navigate.