Disembarkation procedures in Venice

We have an ongoing thread about disembarkation in Venice and I'm hoping someone here has the answer to this :

Is it Policy at the port in Venice that All Luggage must be picked up overnight outside your cabin and that taking your own luggage (self-disembarkation) is not allowed. Some are saying this is the port policy in Venice and others are saying it's the Cruise line's (NCL) policy ?

I can't seem to find anything thru the search option. If anyone has the answer to this , we would greatly appreciate the help.

cheers...the Ump...:D

We have an answer to our question, so if anyone is interested here it is.

Yes it is the policy of the Port of Venice, no one is allowed to self-disembark with their luggage.

We have an answer to our question, so if anyone is interested here it is.

Yes it is the policy of the Port of Venice, no one is allowed to self-disembark with their luggage.

I would think one small luggage would be allowed to stay in the cabin for clothes and other items needed for the evening and next morning. This would have to be the procedure. Otherwise what do you do with your toiletries, dirty clothing from the evening before, clothing to be worn the next morning and your night clothes? Do you just carry those items in your hand and then repack your bags when your other bags are picked up.

We will be meeting an airport transfer shuttle at 6:00 am so we will need to be off the ship and have our luggage in hand before that, possibly, as early as five thirty.

We have an answer to our question, so if anyone is interested here it is.

Yes it is the policy of the Port of Venice, no one is allowed to self-disembark with their luggage.

Ump, where did you get this answer?

Ump, where did you get this answer?

From here Clay, I must say that I was more interested in the pics, than what was being described and someone had pointed out that review. It's at the end of post #95. I just assumed that he knew what he was talking about as he did experience the subject at hand.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1691665&highlight=venice+disembark&page=3

cheers...the Ump...:D

We have an ongoing thread about disembarkation in Venice and I'm hoping someone here has the answer to this :

Is it Policy at the port in Venice that All Luggage must be picked up overnight outside your cabin and that taking your own luggage (self-disembarkation) is not allowed. Some are saying this is the port policy in Venice and others are saying it's the Cruise line's (NCL) policy ?

I can't seem to find anything thru the search option. If anyone has the answer to this , we would greatly appreciate the help.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

Well hello again, umpy10! :)

I just happened to Google * Port of Venice...self-disembarking*.....and up pops this thread that I hadn't seen!!

I read Tiggerman101's amazing review too.....and also missed the part about putting out luggage the night before!! But I've read it now!

I guess I'm going to have to learn to relax about it.......and make lots of lists of things to keep hold of the night before we leave!! Hey ho!! :o

Ump, I had read his review too "back in the day" but had forgotten about his comment regarding the luggage....just find it surprising that it isn't commented more around here. FWIW, I have emailed the Port of Venice and asked. Will post if I hear back from them.

Ump, I had read his review too "back in the day" but had forgotten about his comment regarding the luggage....just find it surprising that it isn't commented more around here. FWIW, I have emailed the Port of Venice and asked. Will post if I hear back from them.

I hope you don't mind my chipping in here, but I would be interested in the reply from the Port of Venice too! I'm the worried woman who wants to keep her luggage with her at all times!! :o

I originally thought I was going quite mad, thinking I'd read about no easy walk-off in Venice, till someone pointed me in the direction of Tiggermans review!

TIA :)

I emailed the Concierge aboard the Splendour of the Seas and was told that they offer self debarkation starting at around 7:00. I received this information not too long ago. I'm thinking that this might be an NCL policy.

We were on Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas twice in 2011 (June and October). We opted for the self-disembarkation as we needed to catch the People Mover to Piazzale Roma when it opened at 7am in order to catch the ATVO bus to get to the airport in time for our flight.

We are going on a cruise later this month that ends in Venice. We need to be off even earlier in order to catch a 7am coach transfer from the Tronchetto to Treviso airport. This will be our first time with Carnival and will be doing self-disembarkation whether they like it or not.

NCL may not give the option of self-disembarkation but it's certainly not against port rules.

We were told by our concierge in May of 2010 that self-embarkation was not allowed (we were on NCL Gem in Venice). We sat on our aft deck and watched MANY people do just that! Next time, we will self-disembark and get off the ship early with our own luggage,

We left the Celebrity Silhouette last June, following an overnite in Venice, with our own luggage to meet a pre-arranged 6:30 am transfer to the airport.

We were told by a cruiseline rep that once the ship docked in Venice we were free to depart anytime prior to the mandated disembarkation time.

Hi all, below is a copy of the e-mail I received from NCL this morning regarding disembarking in Venice. Not sure it actually makes it any clearer, but hey ho......they replied promptly enough!! ;)

Thank you for contacting Precruise@ncl.com

· Standard debarkation is scheduled for the second day the vessel is in Venice. However, guests may choose to disembark on the first day once the ship clears local customs.

· Guests who choose to disembark early must do so on their own with no luggage assistance (just as if they were utilizing our Easy Walk-off program).

· Please note that the facilities in Venice are not friendly for guests with a lot of luggage and early disembarkation should be discouraged. If it is absolutely necessary for a guest to leave the vessel early, please be advised of the restrictions, and that the passageway is limiting. We highly suggest they disembark comfortably during the normal debarkation program, where their luggage will be offloaded and waiting in the terminal.

Regards,

Precruise@ncl.com

Just to confuse things even further, below is a copy of an e-mail I received from the Port of Venice!!! :eek:

Dear Dianne,

you can handle on your own just the hand bags, the other will be disembark by the portres company of the Venice Cruise Terminal.

Regards.

Antonio

Da:

A: "info@portabagaglidelporto.it" info@portabagaglidelporto.it

Cc:

Data: Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:38:38 +0100 (BST)

Oggetto: Self-disembarking at the Port of Venice

We have an ongoing thread about disembarkation in Venice and I'm hoping someone here has the answer to this :

Is it Policy at the port in Venice that All Luggage must be picked up overnight outside your cabin and that taking your own luggage (self-disembarkation) is not allowed. Some are saying this is the port policy in Venice and others are saying it's the Cruise line's (NCL) policy ?

I can't seem to find anything thru the search option. If anyone has the answer to this , we would greatly appreciate the help.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

I have sailed out of Venice twice in the past three years, once on NCL and once on Costa, both times we were allowed to carry out small Carry On Items that our Clothes and Toiletries were in. They took our Big Luggage the night before.

I emailed the Concierge on the Splendour of the Seas last week about our upcoming cruise and she confirmed that self debarkation started at 7:00 AM for those carrying their own luggage off of the ship.

I have sailed out of Venice twice in the past three years, once on NCL and once on Costa, both times we were allowed to carry out small Carry On Items that our Clothes and Toiletries were in. They took our Big Luggage the night before.

That would be in line with the reply I got from the Port of Venice. Thank-you for your reply. :)

I emailed the Concierge on the Splendour of the Seas last week about our upcoming cruise and she confirmed that self debarkation started at 7:00 AM for those carrying their own luggage off of the ship.

Thank-you for your reply. Although it differs from the reply I received from the Port of Venice, I guess we will have to wait until August!! :confused:

Thanks to all for trying to help.......it's appreciated! :)

Ok, here is the real story at least for our disembarkation this morning, May 4, 2013. There was no mention anywhere, dailies, announcements, etc, of being forbidden to do express walk off, similarly, there was not the usual offering of it along with a special time to do so. From my discussions with the and from what I saw this morning, the issue is the single escalator (or sigle elevator) that all ships on the NCL side of the pier have to use to get from the disembarkation level down to the luggage pickup level. I saw many Norwegian passengers pulling their luggage with them and the only problem is that the port has personnel posted at the top of the escalator controlling access..when someone arrived with a large suitcase, he delayed them getting on until there was plenty of room. I suspect they have had crowding issues in the past. Please note that for our cruise, a large number of passengers were staying aboard, so the sel disembarking passengers didn't create a real issue....I can imagine if everyone was getting off the ship and most chose to do express walk off, that it could create a traffic jam at the top of the escalator.

Hope this answers some of the questions...if you have others, ask away!

We did self-assist off the Carnival Legend this morning without any problems. This was allowed at any time up until 8.30 when all passengers were required to be ashore. They had a separate exit from the ship at dock level and by-passed using the high-level walkway that the passengers not doing self-assist used.

Thank you to Clay and clivep for the helpful answers! :)

So is there anything in particular we need to do to disembark with our own luggage. e.g. specific time / place on the Norwegian Jade (to be a little more specific than just NCL, etc)? Not concerned about the luggage itself since my wife and I travel only with what fits in a plane's overhead compartment, e.g. one soft piece of luggage and one day pack each, ala Rick Steves.

Also, is there anything in particular we need to do at the port to board the Norwegian Jade with our own minimal luggage? Want to be sure we're not erroneously redirected by porters or port staff. We hope to board later where, presumably, cabin access would be available. In a place like Port Canaveral we'd board early with our luggage and be stuck with it for several hours till cabins opened--still not a problem.

Just wondering if we need to do anything special at the Port of Venice to not be herded along with folks checking their luggage in with porters, e.g. go in one line versus another, or bypass one part of the port area versus another, etc. How do we make this process go smoothly?

Can't advise about walk on since we boarded in Cittivechia but I saw lots of folks there boarding without dropping their luggage. As far as walk off goes, I think you can just go when you want to.

Can't advise about walk on since we boarded in Cittivechia but I saw lots of folks there boarding without dropping their luggage. As far as walk off goes, I think you can just go when you want to.

Thanks Clay.

We were on the NCL Spirit May 11, 2013 cruise from Barcelona to Venice. We were allowed to disembark early on May 23 in Venice. You were required to show your airline ticket to Customer Service Desk on the ship for early disembarkation. The time allowed for early disembarkation were 4, 5, and 6 am. We choose the 4 am disembarkation for a 7:30 am flight. You needed to carry your own luggage off the ship. The limo (click airport transfer) we reserved at 4:15 am was on time. We reached the airport at 4:50 am. There was a little waiting area outside security that you can wait for your transportation. Everything went well.