Venice hotel

[margeecruiser]

I have asked this over on the roll call board, but haven't gotten any answers yet. We have booked a pre-cruise hotel stay in Venice with Celebrity. The cost is $329 per person, not per room. Our friends are outraged at this high cost and are telling me the internet shows prices less than 100 euros per room. I told them the Celebrity price includes transfers, taxes, air deviation, etc. but I don't know the exact price breakdown. My TA is on vacation, so I thought I'd ask here. I get very good, solid answers from the experts here. Anyone know the cost breakdown for Celebrity hotels? It is the Carlton Grand Canal in Venice.:rolleyes:

[Susan-M]

Cruise line hotel prices tend to be on the expensive side, but in a city like Venice, if you are only staying for one extra night, it could be worthwhile. When we went ('05) Celebrity used Sofitel (near Piazzale Roma). For approximately half the cost that Celebrty was charging, we were able to book the same hotel on our own. However, transportation costs can add up quickly in Venice (airport to hotel/hotel to ship). We kept those costs down by using the bus between the airport and P. Roma, and also used our feet. But for those who want or need door to door transportation, the transfers provided by Celebrity would be helpful.

 

Another consideration in using Celebrity's hotel in Venice is location ... most people like to stay near St. Mark's Square. If the hotel is in the Piazzale Roma area, it's a good 20 minute walk, or a vaporetto ride to St. Mark's.

 

One problem that we ran into was getting a hotel for just one night on a w/e ... most places that I contacted had a two night minimum.

 

If you haven't already, have a look at the Europe Board where there is a lot of discussion on hotels in Venice, and transportation between airport/port/hotel.

[Wirral Girlie]

I don't know when you intend to stay in Venice but I have just looked at the Carlton Grand Hotels website, and for one night stay on 5th September they charge 250 euros for the room. I think thats about $400. I stayed in Venice in March and it is not cheap! If your transfers are included then it is probably a reasonable deal. Water taxis are expensive but the vaporetto is reasonable if you buy a daily pass.

Whatever it costs, enjoy, it is a beautiful city and it is just as you see it in the brochures.

 

Kim

[junglejane]

Good points made so far. Check out the Mediterranean Ports of Call board. That's where we found the recommendations for our pre-cruise hotel this past June: Locanda Orseolo. It's a bed-and-breakfast style hotel, very charming, ideally located just off St. Mark's Square. I highly recommend it!

 

When we went in June, a double room was about 240 Euros (we are a family of 4, so we got a two bedroom room which was 350 Euros). But we also spent 120 Euros on a water taxi from the airport to hotel, which took us directly to the canal side entrance to the hotel (thus avoiding the need to schlep our bags through St. Mark's Square). The next day we got another water taxi to take us to the ship. That water taxi was 110 Euros, although we were able to share the cost with a couple from our Roll Call.

 

So, if we had been two people and had taken water taxis and not been able to share the cost, we would have spent 240+120+110 = 470 Euros or about $700. You can lower the transportation costs by taking public transportation (vaporetto) or sharing your water taxi with others. You can lower your hotel cost by staying outside of the main tourist area of Venice. But if you consider our transfer cost, the Celebrity price really isn't unreasonable for staying on the Grand Canal.

 

Venice is wonderful. You will love it.

 

--Junglejane

[agabbymama]

I have asked this over on the roll call board, but haven't gotten any answers yet. We have booked a pre-cruise hotel stay in Venice with Celebrity. The cost is $329 per person, not per room. Our friends are outraged at this high cost and are telling me the internet shows prices less than 100 euros per room. I told them the Celebrity price includes transfers, taxes, air deviation, etc. but I don't know the exact price breakdown. My TA is on vacation, so I thought I'd ask here. I get very good, solid answers from the experts here. Anyone know the cost breakdown for Celebrity hotels? It is the Carlton Grand Canal in Venice.:rolleyes:

 

I don't think I saw any hotels in Venice for less than 100 euros per room for our Oct '08 timeframe, and the Grand Carlton Canal is a first class hotel. I very seldom book hotel stays through the cruiselines as theirs is per person, not per room and that will always be more, but you do get the transfers and air deviation too, so it's all handled for you.

 

Try looking at www.venere.com yourself and see just what some of the prices are. I ended up booking Hotel Ca' Doge right at Piazzale Roma for the convenience (shuttle to pier right outside hotel door, bus to airport right outside hotel door, vaporetto stop across the plaza, plus there is a large Coop market there) etc.), but it was 175 euros (approx $243 per night). I'm sure you could find a hotel cheaper than $658 per night, but then you would have to do your own transfers, etc, so it's just what you are willing to pay.

[42trvl]

We just returned from a Venice to Barcelona cruise and considered both the cruise line's package and doing it ourselves for both pre and post cruise. Basically, I first decide the type of hotel and location I want then do the comparison between the two since something you can get real cheap directly is not necessarily going to be as nice or as conveniently located. One thing to keep in mind with Venice, regarding transfers, is that the water taxis are quite expensive, so if you add that on to your hotel rate, then the cruise line's deal may not be too bad and there is something to be said for the convenience of them handling everything. If you travel light, then public transportation may not be too bad, but transporting luggage on and off boats (and it's a bit of a walk from the aiport terminal to the boats) is a bit more challenging than it might be in other cities - it was amsuing at times watching people with large suitcases trying to get on and off packed public buses (boats, in Venice), which were rocking quite a bit. For us as a larger family, it was much more reasonable to do the hotel and taxis on our own (we stayed at the Westin Europa & Regina - very nice), than the per person charged by the cruise line. But for two of you, it may not be too bad to do their package - especially if the convenience is worth something to you. Also, not sure when you're going, but it can be real hot and uncomfortable there in the summer and it's nice to have someone else handling your bags and not trying to find the right roads and buses.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

The following is another option for you to consider.

 

There are hotels in Mestre, which is a 10 minute or so train ride from Venice, and there is very frequent train service from Mestre to Venice from early in the morning to late at night. When you reach Venice, you can purchase Vaporetto tickets (this is the water - public transportation system for Venice) or walk to Saint Mark's Square and other Venice sights.

 

In particular, check out the Best Western Hotel Bologna in Mestre. When we stayed here for two nights in 2006, it was an excellent hotel with a very nice breakfast included, especially for the price. It is right across the street from the Mestre train station. In 2006 the train fare was one Euro per person each way.

 

On the day of your cruise, you take the train or a taxi to Venice. Taxis are in fron tof the Mestre train station. I would check with the taxi drivers to make sure that they take you all the way to the cruise terminal in Venice.

 

We made arrangements with a small tour group that had two seats on their van and we went directly to the ship, which really worked out very well for us.

 

Mestre is much, much cheaper than Venice.

 

Fred

[hgrca]

We were in Venice last year and had our TA arrange the transfers. We were picked up at the airport taken to a private boat which took us directly to our hotel. The next day the private boat came again and picked us up at the hotel and dropped us off right at the pier and took our luggage in. It cost about $150 which we thought was quite reasonable given the prices in Venice. Most hotels are very expensive. We stayed at the Duodo Palace just a few minute walk from St. Marks square. It was very quaint but not elaborate. It fit the bill but was still around $300 or so a night for the two of us for a New York City size hotel room.

Hope this helps.

[margeecruiser]

Thank you all for the informative replys. These are all good and just what I was looking for. Please keep the replys coming. I would like to hear from more of you that have experienced various ways of doing Venice hotels prior to cruising.:)

[Bruin Steve]

When we cruised on the Millennium out of Venice in 2003, we availed ourselves of the Celebrity hotel package, staying 2 nights at the Carlton...

 

I don't recall the exact price...but, at the time, I did price it out versus doing it on our own. It did cost us a bit more, but it was a premium we were willing to pay, all things considered...

 

We have actually been to Venice several times and knew what we had in store with any options...

 

With Celebrity, a representative of their Venice land agents met us at the airport as we got off the plane and brought us to the luggage area to claim our luggage...They provided a large cart on which they loaded everyone's luggage and brought it to the bus...and then led us all to a bus waiting right outside the terminal...Our luggage was brought for us directly to the Carlton...The bus, by necessity, let us all out at Piazzale Roma and the land agent led us all on the short walk to the Carlton. Everyone on our bus was assigned a very nice room in the courtyard area...

 

At the end of our Venice stay, our luggage was picked up at our rooms and taken to the bus for us and we were again escorted to the bus which took us to the ship...

 

The hotel is actually fairly convenient as you can get anywhere in Venice easily by Vaporetti (public bus/boat)...There are a lot of reasonably priced restaurants right across the canal on Lista di Spagna near the RR station...

 

Last visit, at the end of our Oceania Nautica cruise, we rejected Oceania's hotel package--$699 per person for one night at the Gritti Palace...just WAY TOO overpriced...We instead booked the Anastasia, right near San Marco, for 130 euro per night (probably can't get close to that deal today) and took care of our own ground transportation--getting from the ship by a combination of free shuttle to Piazzale Roma, Vaporetti to San Marco, then by foot to the hotel, schlepping our luggage with us every leg on the route...From the hotel to the airport, we took the Vaporetti back to Piazzale Roma and the public bus from there to the airport...All of the local transportation was pretty cheap--all included on the 24 or 72 hour vaporetti pass...but the logistics and planning are clearly not as easy as letting Celebrity handle it...and, if you don't want to use cheap public transportation, you can use water taxis or other transportation which can get a bit more costly...

 

I would NOT consider staying in Mestre...You really miss out on a lot of the Venice experience...I have stayed at both Piazzale Roma and at San Marco, and, personally, EITHER works nicely...

 

Hope this helps...

 

Have fun...

[margeecruiser]

Thanks, Steve. We are traveling with one couple (out of 7) who feel the hotel thru Celebrity is too costly. But they fly first class to europe at least once a year for several weeks hotel and family stay. Just different strokes, I guess.

[Fredr]

Bruin,

 

I am not sure how my wife and I missed any part of the Venice experience by staying in Mestre.We saved hundreds of dollars in hotel costs. The train cost one Euro each way and we purchased our tickets at the hotel. The Santa Lucia train station in Venice is a short walk to the Vaporetto ticket office, or you cross the bridge by the train station and walk everywhere in Venice. We stayed in Venice until almost 11:00 PM and there were still several trains after that. Mestre is on the main train line that connects Venice with Milan and Turin.

 

We also found an excellent neighborhood restaurant in Mestre where the owner's wife was the waitress, the food was excellent and far less expensive than in Venice.

 

My DW and I could stay anywhere in Venice that we wanted to. However, I wanted the OP to know that there are less costly places (and just as nice) to stay in the Venice area and not get ripped off (to put it mildly).

And we went everywhere in Venice including Murano and Burano.

 

Here is a tip...ride the Vaporetto at night on the Guideca and Grand Canals, sit up front and outside.

 

Fred