Venice Port to Marco Polo Airport

[michaelc214]

DW and I are returning from the Niew Amsterdam Inaugural cruise to Venice on July 13, 2010 and disembarking on July 14th. We have a tentative airline reservation for 12:55PM on the 14th.
Will this give us enough time to get to Marco Polo, go through customs and security or should we look at a later flight?

Thanks!

[ladykay54]

I'll be interested to see the replies on this. I'm traveling with friends on the next part of that cruise from July 14th to the 26th. We have a direct flight (the only one available from the NY area) at noon on the 26th. Our TA assures us that we should have enough time but it's making me nervous.

[scottjeanne]

Michaelc:

We are on the same cruise as you are. You will have no problems. We dock in Venice the night before. Though the itinerary says we disembark at 5 am, I am sure you could do so earlier. Even leaving at 5 am would give you plenty of time.

Have you joined the roll call for this cruise? Would you be interested in a meet and greet? Are you staying in Venice before the cruise?

Transportation in Venice is very expensive. It is 90 euros to take a water taxi to the airport. Consider sahring a ride with another cruiser. The price is per taxi not per person.
Jeanne

[smslms]

It's difficult to give you a definitive answer, but maybe this will be of some help. Once off the ship and luggage in hand you'll probably find the area outside the terminal to be pretty congested. The route to the airport is not that congested and traffic is not all that bad, but it might depend on whether you're on a bus or have private transportation. Marco Polo is a very busy airport, long lineups, and of course it always seems as though everyone is flying on the same carrier as you.
Last time we were there our original flight time was somewhat similar to yours and we weren't very comfortable with it so we decided to book a hotel in Mestre for the night. We let the ship clear out, took our time, and had a car arranged to take us to the hotel in Mestre. The driver was on time, the trip to the hotel took about 20 minutes. We stayed at the Laguna. The cruise lines will book you in there at $500-600 per night, but we booked on line and paid under 200 euros. The hotel is modern and clean, used by a lot of the airline crews. There's not a lot to do in the area but it's safe to walk around in, with lots of little local bars where you can buy food and a drink. The hotel also has it's own restaurant which we only used for breakfast. We had a late morning flight the next day and arranged for a cab to the airport through the front desk. Cab was there in no time and took about 30-35 minutes to the airport, which as I said earlier was very busy. The way we did it is not for everybody, but it gave us a bit of a chance to relax after a hectic 24 day cruise, with not so much pressure to catch our flight. Costs a bit more, but what's another $200-300 when you consider the total cost of a Med cruise. Hope this is some help.

[lilybob]

We started our cruise last summer in Venice so here's another option to consider http://www.alilaguna.it/index.en.html

You would have to transfer lines in San Marco. If you had the time and could stay overnight, enjoy the city and stay in the Canareggio neighborhood. There is an Alilaguna line that goes from there to the airport with only one stop at Murano. Canareggio is about a 15 minute walk to San Marco Square but it's a lovely neighborhood with restaurants where you will find the locals. I believe the Alilaguna was 13 Euro and we each had one large suitcase and duffle/attache type bag that were easy enough to handle on the boat. When you get off at the airport it's an easy 10 minute walk from the landing to the terminal

I also think if you got off the boat fairly early you would have time enough to catch the flight you already have booked. Either way, enjoy!

[jtl513]

Transportation in Venice is very expensive. It is 90 euros to take a water taxi to the airport. Consider sahring a ride with another cruiser. The price is per taxi not per person.
Jeanne
A land taxi right from the ship to the airport is 50 Euros (plus tip) for up to 3 people. If you want a cheap way and are not in a hurry, take the new People Mover (if the Marine Terminal Station is ready by July) to Piazzale Roma for one Euro pp, then an Express ATVO Fly-Bus to the airport for three Euros pp. The bus runs every 1/2 half hour, so this is not the choice to make is your time is tight. If the People Mover is not ready by July, a land taxi from the ship to Piazzale Roma is about 10 Euros.

[Jemima]

Most Venice flights to the US are in the morning. Those may be the only flights available depending on your US destination. Take the HAL transfer to the airport. The airport is small and, at least the time we were there, not well organized. Probably I should see very disorganized.

[catl331]

Take the HAL transfer to the airport.The HAL transfer is $79 per person each way - more than double the price of a taxi for two - and you may be sitting there a while waiting for the bus to fill up. Worst possible choice, IMO ... except maybe a water taxi for just two!

[Jemima]

The HAL transfer will get you there and on time. The transfer buses also may have priority over taxi and independent arrangements. Once, not at Venice, those of us with transfers could board immediately; but others had to wait so that the transfer buses could fill and leave on time. We always take the transfer when flying out the same day.

[emileg]

DW and I are returning from the Niew Amsterdam Inaugural cruise to Venice on July 13, 2010 and disembarking on July 14th. We have a tentative airline reservation for 12:55PM on the 14th.
Will this give us enough time to get to Marco Polo, go through customs and security or should we look at a later flight?

Thanks!
We are on the same cruise. Please join our roll call as Scottjeanne has suggested. We are four pages and growing. Here is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1009178

[michaelc214]

Thanks to everyone for their input. DW and I bit the bullet and finalized flight plans last night.
I'll check out the roll call for the cruise this week-end.

Thanks again!
michaelc214

[Pettifogger]

I have the greatest respect for jtl513, who has provided me with information no one else could, but her statement that, in Venice, "A land taxi right from the ship to the airport is 50 Euros (plus tip) for up to 3 people." surprised me; I would have expected that it would be much more, even though it's not very far. If someone could confirm that estimate, I'd abandon any thought of going any other way.
Separately, we're going to stay there a few extra days. If anyone has any experience leaving something like their two largest bags at Marco Polo airport, I'd be grateful for any tips or warnings.

[Modern_Viking]

I have the greatest respect for jtl513, who has provided me with information no one else could, but her statement that, in Venice, "A land taxi right from the ship to the airport is 50 Euros (plus tip) for up to 3 people."... If someone could confirm that estimate, I'd abandon any thought of going any other way.



Last August I used an advanced reservation from this company for a trip from the Venice airport to the cruise port: venice.airports-shuttle.com (http://venice.airports-shuttle.com)

The cost was 38 Euros, one way, for two people. The transfer went very well. The driver didn't speak English, but it was a good car, on-time, and all worked well enough for me to suggest them to others.


Here is another link offering for a different company that also provides on-line price information (I have not ever used them): http://www.europeantransfer.com/


I stayed at a hotel after the cruise, then took a water taxi back to the airport. The water taxi was far more expensive and drops you a long way from the check-in areas. Cars (land taxis) can take you right to the check in area and are much easier.

I did not ask the price, but there were some land taxis lined up for hire near the baggage claim area for people without reservations.

[bishop84]

The HAL transfer is $79 per person each way - more than double the price of a taxi for two - and you may be sitting there a while waiting for the bus to fill up. Worst possible choice, IMO ... except maybe a water taxi for just two!

At about $8 per mile per person I would say that the HAL transfer appears to be an expensive option for such a short journey. Especially as you can see the airport from the upper decks on a good day.

[jtl513]

I have the greatest respect for jtl513, who has provided me with information no one else could, but her statement that, in Venice, "A land taxi right from the ship to the airport is 50 Euros (plus tip) for up to 3 people." surprised me; I would have expected that it would be much more, even though it's not very far. If someone could confirm that estimate, I'd abandon any thought of going any other way.I've seen figures ranging from 40 to 50 Euros in several places (guide books etc) and figuring that they might be a bit out of date I mentioned the high-side figure of 50. Then a person on our roll call mentioned this site for advanced reservations: http://www.lowcostaxi.net/

Just walking out the front door of the airport and taking the first taxi in line could well cost more, but I intend to either make an advance reservation or negotiate the price at the curb before getting into one! :)

BTW, I'm a "he" ... John :)

[lulubell]

You have plenty of time-you can take a land cab as suggested or a bus but there's some luggage hauling involved to piazzela roma?? .
Put insect repellent on you before entering the airport are-we were badly bitten by mosquitoes last july [all eight of us].

[Pettifogger]

John: Sorry, but I assume everyone on this board is female except a few whose pictures show otherwise or who use a masculine, first person pronoun. However, when I stop and think about, "jtl513" does have a masculine sound about it. I should have stopped and thought about it.

lulubell (or anyone): "When you said, "you can take a land cab as suggested or a bus but there's some luggage hauling involved to piazzela roma??" I assume the luggage hauling just refers to the bus and not to both the bus and the land cab?

[jtl513]

... or a bus but there's some luggage hauling involved to piazzela roma??I presume the ATVO bus driver loads and unloads the luggage compartment at the airport and Piazzale Roma. What luggage hauling are you talking about? From the bus to a taxi or People Mover to get to the Maritime Terminal?

John: Sorry, but I assume everyone on this board is female except a few whose pictures show otherwise or who use a masculine, first person pronoun. However, when I stop and think about, "jtl513" does have a masculine sound about it. I should have stopped and thought about it.I guess you must have signatures turned off. :)

My jtl513 is just initials and birthday. It's funny, but when I don't know the sex of a poster, I tend to think first that it's a woman. My wife, who is also a CC member and poster, tends to think first that it's a man! I don't know for sure, but I think there are more women than men members/posters.

[Pettifogger]

John: It sounded to me like a laboratory in Southern California. What are signatures?

[jtl513]

John: It sounded to me like a laboratory in Southern California. What are signatures?It's a block of text that is automatically added to the bottom of a person's posts, like the signature block on business letters. It consists, at a miniumum, of a person name, but many other things are commonly added. If you would like to see a sample, click on my name and choose View Public Profile. At the bottom you will see a signature block with my name, an email link, a countdown clock, and a list of my past cruises.

If you are not seeing people's signature blocks, and would like to, click on User CP in the header bar for this page (left of FAQ), choose Edit Options, and half way down under Thread Display Options click on the box that says Show Signatures, and then click Save Changes down at the bottom of the page.

If you would like your own signature block, again go to User CP, Edit Signature, type in what you want. Down at the bottom, choose Preview Signature, and if you like what you have entered then Save Changes. :)

[SAN]

Keep all the information coming. My group of 8 is still deciding whether to take the ship's transfer or get a private driver. Our travel agent recommend's the ship's transfer in order to get off the ship early. My daughter, who is developmentally disabled, is a very slowwwww walker. Is the ship's transfer bus right there as you get your luggage? Do the private cars park where the buses park?

[SabreSailor]

It's been my experience in Venice that there is a free shuttle bus provided by either HAL or the port that goes from the ship to Piazzale Roma. You might check with the port lecturer while you're on board the ship. Once there, you look for the big blue bus (AVTO) that takes you in a jiffy from Piazzale Roma to Marco Polo for 3 Euros each - probably the only good deal in all of Venezia! My recollection is that you handle your own luggage - or perhaps I was just antsy when it wasn't happening.

Marco Polo is a disorganized airport - tiny for a city the size of Venice....