Direct call of Venice, Italy

[HeinBloed]

I found it in the 2025 itineraries of NORWEGIAN PEARL:

 

Does it mean they will maybe anchor in front of Lido or call Marghera and take their guests by tender boats to St. Mark’s Square?

 

[kjquilts]

In April we were on the Norwegian Star from Trieste to Lisbon.  Our second day was tender to Venice.  Luckily since we were spending two nights in Venice prior to taking the train to Trieste morning of the cruise we decided to do a ship excursion in Venice (Murano and Burano).  I believe they did have an excursion to St Mark's.

 

The ship anchored approximately an hour from Venice and we tendered to the Venice cruise port on large double decker "tender" boat.  For the trip in to Venice we sat on top and had great view going down the grand canal.  Once we got in to the terminal we met our excursion group and took a small boat to Murano, then Burano, then back to the cruise terminal where we took another double decker "tender" for another hour long ride back to the ship.  

 

I heard that people who didn't have excursions through NCL were pretty much on their own once they arrived at the cruise terminal.  If we did this itinerary through NCL I would book an excursion through them for the Venice day.

 

We dearly loved Venice, stayed in the Cannaregio district very close to Santa Lucia train station.  Train ride to Trieste was excellent and very inexpensive.  We had a little trouble with the ticket machine but they have very nice employees to help out "elderly" tourists.

[HeinBloed]

26 minutes ago, kjquilts said:

In April we were on the Norwegian Star from Trieste to Lisbon.  Our second day was tender to Venice.  Luckily since we were spending two nights in Venice prior to taking the train to Trieste morning of the cruise we decided to do a ship excursion in Venice (Murano and Burano).  I believe they did have an excursion to St Mark's.

 

The ship anchored approximately an hour from Venice and we tendered to the Venice cruise port on large double decker "tender" boat.  For the trip in to Venice we sat on top and had great view going down the grand canal.  Once we got in to the terminal we met our excursion group and took a small boat to Murano, then Burano, then back to the cruise terminal where we took another double decker "tender" for another hour long ride back to the ship.  

 

I heard that people who didn't have excursions through NCL were pretty much on their own once they arrived at the cruise terminal.  If we did this itinerary through NCL I would book an excursion through them for the Venice day.

 

We dearly loved Venice, stayed in the Cannaregio district very close to Santa Lucia train station.  Train ride to Trieste was excellent and very inexpensive.  We had a little trouble with the ticket machine but they have very nice employees to help out "elderly" tourists.

 

Now I understand:

 

This sounds like anchoring near Lido. And land based tenders were used.

 

But when you went to the cruise terminal I am sure you went through Giudecca Canal and not Canale Grande (unless you passed the Rialto Bridge).

 

But honestly spoken:

 

When you arrive at cruise terminal you can walk in five minutes to the People Mover which takes you to Piazzale Roma. Here you find many providers of public tours. All major destinations including Murano/Burano and St. Marks, can go by Vaporetto (water bus).

 

I saw many years ago that Princess took their passenger by tender boat directly to St. Mark’s.

 

Thanks for your input. This sounds like an interesting option instead of Trieste, Monfalcone, or Ravenna.

Edited November 7, 2023 by HeinBloed

[Trevor Fountain]

Trieste is a City 160 km from Venice. It is not close to the Lido and has nothing to do with the port of Venice served by the people mover/

There will be ships tours to Venice, or you can get a train from Trieste to Venice.

[HeinBloed]

57 minutes ago, Trevor Fountain said:

Trieste is a City 160 km from Venice. It is not close to the Lido and has nothing to do with the port of Venice served by the people mover/

There will be ships tours to Venice, or you can get a train from Trieste to Venice.

 

As you see:

 

The itinerary starts in Trieste.

 

There is obviously an additional stop around Venice, and other cruisers have already reported that they were taken by tender to the city of Venice.

Something you cannot do out of Trieste.

WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT TOURS FROM TRIESTE!!!

[CruisingAlong4Now]

It appears as if this cruise starts in Trieste for embarkation and then sails to Venice overnight for a tender port stop in Venice the day after embarkation.  Probably for marketing purposes, they show embarkation as "Venice (Trieste) Italy." 

 

10-day Cruise to Greek Isles: Santorini, Athens & Croatia from Venice (Trieste), Italy on Norwegian Pearl (ncl.com)

Edited November 7, 2023 by CruisingAlong4Now

[MeHeartCruising]

This is a thread that somewhat discusses NCL using Venice as a tender port in recent time.  There is a lot of other commentary about Venice that can be ignored, but I wanted you to know that NCL does have a history of trying to stop in Venice for a day visit using tender boats from shore.  The thread indicates one person's experience with that.

 

 

[yakcruiser]

8 hours ago, HeinBloed said:

 

As you see:

 

The itinerary starts in Trieste.

 

There is obviously an additional stop around Venice, and other cruisers have already reported that they were taken by tender to the city of Venice.

Something you cannot do out of Trieste.

WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT TOURS FROM TRIESTE!!!

I too was on the Star in April. Whatever you do make sure you get on the first tenders at 6:30. And then run to the People Mover and get there before my fellow Americans who do not understand how a ticket machine works.

[bluesea777]

The cruise terminals in Venice proper are now no longer in use to large ships, and the ships no longer can cruise along the canal between Lido and Venice proper.

 

So, you can forget about cruising to/from Venice, embarking/disembarking in Venice, enjoying the sail away from/in to Venice like the days up to covid. The ships now can only go to port somewhere in Marghera via the Santa Maria del Mare canal/pass.

 

Venice port has changed.

 

As for the ship's excursions to Venice, think hard before submitting yourself to one, your ship will port in Marghera and the tenders are long and you'll have little time in Venice proper. Not worth the time and expense.  Best to do a few days in Venice proper (there'll be less people, no doubt) pre- or post-cruise and travel to/from Trieste on embarkation/disembarkation days.

 

P.S. I have heard Trieste itself is very nice place to stay a day or two pre- or post-cruise.

 

 

 

 

[complawyer]

trieste in and of itself is beautiful. last year we flew into venice for a few days (love venice) booked the muranp, burano tour, got off at st marks square, had a cappucino, took a gondola ride. prior to leaving home, we booked a shuttle service to take us from venice to trieste, stayedone night, just nadred around, grabbed something to eat, and the next morning we were on a bus to the cruise port. if we didnt love venice so much, i would just fly into trieste or a few day.

 

its about an hr + from venice to trieste, so i would be leary of taking a tender all the way rom trieste to venice

[bluesea777]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

trieste in and of itself is beautiful. last year we flew into venice for a few days (love venice) booked the muranp, burano tour, got off at st marks square, had a cappucino, took a gondola ride. prior to leaving home, we booked a shuttle service to take us from venice to trieste, stayedone night, just nadred around, grabbed something to eat, and the next morning we were on a bus to the cruise port. if we didnt love venice so much, i would just fly into trieste or a few day.

 

its about an hr + from venice to trieste, so i would be leary of taking a tender all the way rom trieste to venice

Tender from Trieste to Venice? No, it’s a tender from Marghera to Venice. Marghera is a port on mainland Venice and that’s where the ships go when making a call at Venice. 
 

 

[yakcruiser]

5 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

Tender from Trieste to Venice? No, it’s a tender from Marghera to Venice. Marghera is a port on mainland Venice and that’s where the ships go when making a call at Venice. 
 

 

We tendered from offshore to the old cruise terminal in April. It was a 90-minute ride. And Trieste is definitely underrated.

[HeinBloed]

1 hour ago, bluesea777 said:

Tender from Trieste to Venice? No, it’s a tender from Marghera to Venice. Marghera is a port on mainland Venice and that’s where the ships go when making a call at Venice. 
 

 

Back to my original question:

 

1. I am not interested in any information if Trieste is nice or not - I have been there and familiar.

 

2. I am not interested in any information why Venice is not called anymore - this is clear.

 

3. I am only interested in first-hand-information of fellow-cruisers who already made the experience with the tender.

 

4. Marghera is used by MSC and others as embarkation/debarkation port. But passenger handling is done at the terminals in Venice. Guests are taken by tender boats or buses and baggage is transferred by trucks.

 

5. It would not make too much sense to have the double call in Trieste and Marghera.

 

6. One guest already reported that she was taken through Canale Grande - but I assume she is talking of Guidecca Canal on the way to the cruise terminal. This would only make sense if they anchor somewhere East of Venice like around Lido and tender through the Canal. From Marghera at the Mainland there would be  no canal like Canale Grande to pass through.

 

Any one who did this tendering, here???

[yakcruiser]

1 hour ago, HeinBloed said:

Back to my original question:

 

1. I am not interested in any information if Trieste is nice or not - I have been there and familiar.

 

2. I am not interested in any information why Venice is not called anymore - this is clear.

 

3. I am only interested in first-hand-information of fellow-cruisers who already made the experience with the tender.

 

4. Marghera is used by MSC and others as embarkation/debarkation port. But passenger handling is done at the terminals in Venice. Guests are taken by tender boats or buses and baggage is transferred by trucks.

 

5. It would not make too much sense to have the double call in Trieste and Marghera.

 

6. One guest already reported that she was taken through Canale Grande - but I assume she is talking of Guidecca Canal on the way to the cruise terminal. This would only make sense if they anchor somewhere East of Venice like around Lido and tender through the Canal. From Marghera at the Mainland there would be  no canal like Canale Grande to pass through.

 

Any one who did this tendering, here???

Like I said in the last post we tendered from offshore SE of Venice in April from the NCL Star. We were dropped off at the old cruise terminal. It was a 90-minute tender ride. Those of us on the 1st tender at 6:30 had a good trip but everybody on the later tenders said it became a disaster. When we got to the People Mover we had to wait for over 30 minutes because some people couldn't figure out how to use a ticket machine. We had to wait for over an hour for a tender going back because everybody decided to go back at the same time at around 5:00 PM. And they used 3 large land based tenders. And we did go through the Giudecca canal.

[TrumpyNor]

1 hour ago, yakcruiser said:

Like I said in the last post we tendered from offshore SE of Venice in April from the NCL Star. We were dropped off at the old cruise terminal. It was a 90-minute tender ride. Those of us on the 1st tender at 6:30 had a good trip but everybody on the later tenders said it became a disaster. When we got to the People Mover we had to wait for over 30 minutes because some people couldn't figure out how to use a ticket machine. We had to wait for over an hour for a tender going back because everybody decided to go back at the same time at around 5:00 PM. And they used 3 large land based tenders. And we did go through the Giudecca canal.

Instead of using the people mover, it is actually possible to walk from the pier and up to Piazzale Roma in just 15-20 minutes. Or just take a regular taxi - I believe the fixed price is €20 for up to 4 persons. Yes, the taxi is expensive, but still may be worth it if it gives you one extra hour to explore Venice.... 😉

[HeinBloed]

4 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

Like I said in the last post we tendered from offshore SE of Venice in April from the NCL Star. We were dropped off at the old cruise terminal. It was a 90-minute tender ride. Those of us on the 1st tender at 6:30 had a good trip but everybody on the later tenders said it became a disaster. When we got to the People Mover we had to wait for over 30 minutes because some people couldn't figure out how to use a ticket machine. We had to wait for over an hour for a tender going back because everybody decided to go back at the same time at around 5:00 PM. And they used 3 large land based tenders. And we did go through the Giudecca canal.

 

Ninety minutes, Guidicca Canal, and Land-based tenders.... It sounds like offshore Venice is around and not Marghera (an industrial port on the mainland with shipyards around).

But generally, it's a brilliant idea.

Thanks for your first-hand-input.

 

 

[yakcruiser]

11 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

Instead of using the people mover, it is actually possible to walk from the pier and up to Piazzale Roma in just 15-20 minutes. Or just take a regular taxi - I believe the fixed price is €20 for up to 4 persons. Yes, the taxi is expensive, but still may be worth it if it gives you one extra hour to explore Venice.... 😉

We should have got out of line and walked but we still had a great day in Venice.