Venice: Pre- and Post-Cruise Hotel Dilemma

Have any of you found a way around the "2 night minimum stay" requirement of most Venice hotels for weekend stays?

If not, here's a hypothetical question for you: If you had to choose between staying 2 nights before your cruise and running the risk of missing your flight home because the debarkation process took too long OR staying 2 nights after the cruise and running the risk that flight delays or cancellations cause you to miss your sailing, which would you choose?

I find myself in this position for a May cruise and I'm leaning toward flying in to Venice 2 days early and taking my chances on the flight home, but I'd rather not have to make that choice, obviously. Theoretically, if everything went without a hitch, I should be able to fly into Venice the day of embarkation (I could arrive around 9:30am and the ship doesn't sail until 6pm), but I've had a flight to Europe cancelled before due to mechanical error, which caused my trip to be set back a day, so I worry. And the latest flight out of Venice that I can book is 11:30am (debarkation is listed as starting at 8am); I have no idea how doable that is.

This trip is already super expensive for me, because I'm a solo (hello, single supplement!), so I really don't want to spend more than $400US total on hotel costs, and there's only so much time I can take off from work, so staying 2 nights before and 2 nights after the cruise isn't realistic.

Anyway, I'm assuming most of you here are far more experienced at cruising than I am, so thought I'd seek your collective wisdom. I welcome any thoughts and advice you have. Thanks!

Gray

Or you could just catch the train to Milan and fly out of Milan if its possible to catch a later flight.

Or you could just catch the train to Milan and fly out of Milan if its possible to catch a later flight.

See, this is why it's always good to seek out other people's advice. I never even considered that option. That's a great idea, I'll look into it. Thanks!

See, this is why it's always good to seek out other people's advice. I never even considered that option. That's a great idea, I'll look into it. Thanks!

Thats what I did. I flew into Milan caught the airport bus to train station and hopped on a train to Venice. I think the train trip was like a couple of hours but the connections were much better than flying into Venice. It would probably work well in reverse too.

You could get a hotel in Mestre, which is the first land based town to Venice, and is linked by a road to Venice. There are easy transport links, and you are actually closer to the Port than if staying near St. Marks Square.

Also the hotels are cheaper here.

For example 1 night in Hotel San Carlo in a single room is £44 (GBP), Saturday May 9 2015. Try searching Venice Mestre on booking.com.

Mestre is a very convenient area in which to stay with easy links into Venice port and airport. No problems luggagewise with water buses and water taxis etc. and also some very pleasant hotels. We have stayed at the Hotel Venezia which we can recommend - the restaurant was excellent and rooms clean and comfortable.

Thank you, Trevor and Morgans! I didn't realize Mestre would have a different policy about one night than Venice. I'll check that out.

(icat2000--Flight out of Milan is definitely not going to work out. It's $1,000 more! But it was certainly worth a shot.)

Gray

Thank you, Trevor and Morgans! I didn't realize Mestre would have a different policy about one night than Venice. I'll check that out.

 

(icat2000--Flight out of Milan is definitely not going to work out. It's $1,000 more! But it was certainly worth a shot.)

 

Gray

What dates were you looking to fly and what airline? Usually Milan is a less expensive flight than Venice to the US.

I'm with those on staying in Mestre. Plenty of quality hotels to choose from and close to the airport.

I found no problem booking one night in Mestre. I would be careful, though, about finding places that have elevators (unfortunately, mostly the more expensive places) or else park some of your luggage at the "deposit baggage" place in Piazzale Roma, Venice for 7 or 8 euros per day. I have reserved at the Hotel Cris in Mestre, but it may be a little far to walk from the train station (where you arrive after taking an ATVO airport bus from the Venice airport) with cruise luggage. There are closer places (for example, Hotel Cortina or Best Western) but Hotel Cris looks like a good compromise between price and distance from train station. Cortina is very basic but affordable and less of a walk (maybe 5-10 mins. versus 15 for Cris with luggage, I'm guessing). Best Western Bologna (I think, but I may have name wrong) is more expensive, but looks nicer and is right across from Cortina.

I looked at hotels.com, trivago, and travelocity, as not all booking sites list the same hotels. By the way, some sites give a different price (in U.S. dollars) but they end up being the same price in euros (which is what the hotel charges), so beware of that. If you're going over the summer or in the fall, especially over the weekend, I would nail down reservations as soon as possible, assuming you can cancel them later. I've done a lot of research and found a bunch of hotels that are somewhat affordable in Mestre and Venice for only one night (and some for two nights) so if you want more info, post again.

What dates were you looking to fly and what airline? Usually Milan is a less expensive flight than Venice to the US.

I'm with those on staying in Mestre. Plenty of quality hotels to choose from and close to the airport.

slidergirl - I think the problem with flights is that I'm very limited as to what airlines I can fly due to my home airport. (I don't particularly want to have to change airlines at a layover airport.) Also I was looking at flying into Venice and out of Milan, and for some reason, that was more expensive than the RT Venice flights. Anyway, the Mestre hotel solution seems to be my best option at this point.

roothy123 - Thank you for the information! Luggage won't be much of an issue. I'm hoping to restrict myself to one carry on and one backpack, which I can handle just fine.

Yes, generally if you fly back from a different airport, you are charged more than a simple round trip. I was charged about $500 more on Lufthansa because I'm flying to Venice and then back from Istanbul. It was very difficult to find anything decent going to Venice from the Washington DC area. With my desire to get into Venice early to have as much time as possible, plus the relative paucity of nonstop flights, I was almost ready to take a train up to Philly (for USAir nonstop) or NY/NJ. However, in the end I decided to just relax and resign myself to the fact that I will have a long day of flying.

I applaud you for traveling light. That is what I keep hoping to do and never manage. For Venice, however, I am going to try extra hard. You really don't need all that much stuff on a cruise, unless you're into dressing up (I'm not).

I applaud you for traveling light. That is what I keep hoping to do and never manage. For Venice, however, I am going to try extra hard. You really don't need all that much stuff on a cruise, unless you're into dressing up (I'm not).

Don't applaud too loudly. I've only managed to go "carry-on only" a handful of times in my life (and I mostly hate it). :D

But it is definitely easier to navigate Europe with just a carry-on, so I am determined. I figure I'll have to do laundry aboard the ship.

Another vote for staying in Mestre. We stayed at the Hotel Tritone which is located directly across from the train station. If you don't like the train there is also a bus into Venice that stops right outside the hotel. It was the perfect location for us. Transportation into Venice took no more than 10 minutes and only cost a few euros. (I can't remember the exact amount but it wasn't expensive).

Another vote for staying in Mestre. We stayed at the Hotel Tritone which is located directly across from the train station. If you don't like the train there is also a bus into Venice that stops right outside the hotel. It was the perfect location for us. Transportation into Venice took no more than 10 minutes and only cost a few euros. (I can't remember the exact amount but it wasn't expensive).

Well, you were all quite right. It was SO much easier to book one night before and one night after in Mestre. I looked at a lot of options here, but finally decided to blow my entire hotel budget on Hotel Plaza across from the train station for convenience' sake.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! You all rock!

Gray

Glad you have got sorted. Have a great time.

Thanks, Dave and Marge!

On your airfare scenario what cruise line are you on? If its RCCL/Celebrity/Azamara then you should look at ChoiceAir. They usually have some of the best prices to be found. And they work real well for multi city flights. Im flying into Amsterdam and out of Rome. I booked our flight yesterday and was $500 cheaper than anyone else for the exact same. And im also flying out of a small local regional airport. Larry

And if Princess - Princess EZ Air.

We have Hotel Plaza booked for Sept. :)

My cruise is with NCL and I'm coming from Burlington, VT. If I recall correctly, they don't assist with air connections out of BTV. No surprise, as our airline options and flight times are very, very limited. I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to my travel, anyway, so even if they did, I'm not sure I'd take them up on it.

My cruise is with NCL and I'm coming from Burlington, VT. If I recall correctly, they don't assist with air connections out of BTV. No surprise, as our airline options and flight times are very, very limited. I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to my travel, anyway, so even if they did, I'm not sure I'd take them up on it.

Just a thought....

With the Canadian dollar dipping, would you consider flying out of Montreal? There might be some great options, but I don't know if this is something that would work for you.

You can always book the best one way fares on any airlines.

In any case, enjoy the cruise.

Just a thought....

With the Canadian dollar dipping, would you consider flying out of Montreal? There might be some great options, but I don't know if this is something that would work for you.

You can always book the best one way fares on any airlines.

In any case, enjoy the cruise.

Not really (I live so close to BTV airport, it would be ridiculous to fly out of another city). And in any case, I don't need to now, because being able to book 1 night hotel before and 1 night after my cruise solved my problem. So all's well that ends well. :)

Thanks for the suggestions.

Another vote for staying in Mestre. We stayed at the Hotel Tritone which is located directly across from the train station. If you don't like the train there is also a bus into Venice that stops right outside the hotel. It was the perfect location for us. Transportation into Venice took no more than 10 minutes and only cost a few euros. (I can't remember the exact amount but it wasn't expensive).

I second this, how easy can it get? No dragging baggage up and over bridges or over cobblestones.

Also, although the OP trip is over, note that I would stay at the Tritone one night before the cruise and one night afterwards.