Venice Boarding Procedure

I will be sailing on MSC Lirica out of Venice in May and wonder about the boarding procedure. (MSC reps could not tell me.) If I get a taxi to P. Roma, do I then go to the People Mover? Does the Port Authority or cruise lines have shuttle buses to transport passengers to their ships? It's a large port to be wandering around in with luggage. :(

the people mover gets you from P Roma to port for a cheap price

however depending on which pier your ship is docked it can indeed be a long walk with luggage from there and have never seen shuttles or indeed porters to help my husband who is registered disabled

taxis from P Roma to ship are expensive for the relatively short journey but will get you to just outside the ship

A taxi can get you directly to the cruise terminal. There´s no need for the People Mover or going to Piazzale Roma by taxi.

I have seen shuttle busses and I even used one once. But... I´ve never seen any shuttle busses when I arrived with my luggage. And there are no shuttle busses at disembarkation. The one I used once was in the afternoon. I´ve never seen one in the morning. So do not rely on any shuttle busses. We always walked with our luggage.

steamboats

What Steamboats said.

Taxi from the airport can get young the cruise terminal .

BUT then it can be a LONG walk to the pier and check in facilities. With several ships in port mist of the time it can be busy.

In 4 departures from Venice, I have never seen a shuttle, porter or even luggage trolley.

What I DID see last July at the Cunard check in were a few high-end limousines ( not regular taxis) who had stopped directly in front of Cunard check in. Perhaps some of those services have special privileges

Thanks for the responses. Is the actual passenger processing (documents, check-in, security) right at the ship or at a separate terminal?

Check-in process will be in the terminal building.

steamboats

Sorry if these seem like strange questions. I have been in Venice on a cruise as a stop, not as a point of embarkation. We came and went repeatedly, but never saw a terminal and our ship set up a kiosk outside, beside the ship for processing passengers. When you process through the terminal, I assume you check your luggage there, so walking to the ship, even at a distance, would not be problematic. Thanks for clarifying.

Nalla,

Baggage drop off is outside the terminal building where your ship is located. There are 9 passenger terminals in Venice at Stazione Marittima. See map here. Inside you will find check-in counters and seating areas and services.

There are two more areas the ships can dock: San Basilio for smaller ships (located in the Guidecca Canal). There used to be another location at Riva dei Sette Martiri. But that one was for smaller ships only and only for port stops and not for turn around.

steamboats

Thank you, steamboats. That's exactly what I wanted to know and the map is great.

I will be sailing on MSC Lirica out of Venice in May and wonder about the boarding procedure. (MSC reps could not tell me.) If I get a taxi to P. Roma, do I then go to the People Mover? Does the Port Authority or cruise lines have shuttle buses to transport passengers to their ships? It's a large port to be wandering around in with luggage. :(

If you taking taxi why you need People mover?Just take it to cruise port. There is no shuttles and long walk from People mover.

May I ask some supplementary questions? We're staying in a hotel near P.Roma so are planning to get the people mover. What happens when we get off it? How will we know where to go next? Presumably, I need to have stuck my luggage labels on at the hotel before I leave in the morning? Or will there be an opportunity to do that when I get to the terminal building? At what point will I need to be prepared with the generous tip for the porters I keep reading about on here?

May I ask some supplementary questions? We're staying in a hotel near P.Roma so are planning to get the people mover. What happens when we get off it? How will we know where to go next? Presumably, I need to have stuck my luggage labels on at the hotel before I leave in the morning? Or will there be an opportunity to do that when I get to the terminal building? At what point will I need to be prepared with the generous tip for the porters I keep reading about on here?

The question that nobody ever asks :). And its a great question. When you get off the People Mover you are still some distance from any of the cruise terminal buildings. But the walk is flat so folks are fine if they can walk and roll their luggage. Sometimes (not always) there is an internal port shuttle bus that stops at the circle just outside the People Mover Station. There are signs to the terminal and you will likely see others heading to the luggage drop off point. I hedge on the Terminal issue because there is more than 1 terminal building, but nearly all the mass market cruise lines use the same old building. You are in Italy where most folks are not "generous" with tips...although if anyone knows you are an American or Canadian they will happily have their hands out :).

Hank

HeddaGarbled,

Check out the link to the map of the port area I posted in post no. 8. You have to walk app. 10 min at least to get to any of the terminal buildings. The distance depends on what terminal your ship is docked.

As for the port shuttles... I´ve never seen any in the morning... I used one once in the afternoon.

steamboats

our experience with Venice port is we've never seen any porters until you get to the terminal building where you drop your luggage off directly in front of the baggage carts and all they do to put it on

As my husband struggles with distances we would gladly have tipped a porter to help us with our luggage on the long walks to ship from people mover on one occasion and Alilaguna the other

There are no porters at the People Mover station or at the Alilaguna stop. I wouldn´t expect any there actually. It´s not part of the terminal buildings. It´s sort of "your problem" to get to the terminal. If you decide to take the People Mover you have to know that you need to be able to walk and schlepp your luggage. Same for the Alilaguna boats which I don´t consider as travel friendly anyway as there is no storage or limited storage area for the luggage.

steamboats

There are no porters at the People Mover station or at the Alilaguna stop. I wouldn´t expect any there actually. It´s not part of the terminal buildings. It´s sort of "your problem" to get to the terminal. If you decide to take the People Mover you have to know that you need to be able to walk and schlepp your luggage. Same for the Alilaguna boats which I don´t consider as travel friendly anyway as there is no storage or limited storage area for the luggage.

 

steamboats

We had no problem with Alilauna boat to go to port. Was almost empty and very friendly crew.

Thanks everyone - very helpful.

We had no problem with Alilauna boat to go to port. Was almost empty and very friendly crew.

You´d been lucky!

Anyway it´s pretty expensive and you need to know that the trip takes more than an hour. So it´s an option if you have plenty of time.

steamboats

This thread is great - I have been searching here for awhile trying to figure out how to get from my San Marco hotel to the ship and there is little clear information.

One question I haven't been able to answer - how do you know which terminal building to go to? Neither the port website or the cruise line has any information on where to go once you get to the port area.

Also, we were planning on taking the Alilaguna Blue line from S. Marco. Based on the above, this might be a bad idea. Does anyone else have experience with the Alilaguna stop at the port? Is it a longer walk than from the People Mover? They appear to end in about the same location.

Thanks!

This thread is great - I have been searching here for awhile trying to figure out how to get from my San Marco hotel to the ship and there is little clear information.

 

One question I haven't been able to answer - how do you know which terminal building to go to? Neither the port website or the cruise line has any information on where to go once you get to the port area.

 

Also, we were planning on taking the Alilaguna Blue line from S. Marco. Based on the above, this might be a bad idea. Does anyone else have experience with the Alilaguna stop at the port? Is it a longer walk than from the People Mover? They appear to end in about the same location.

 

Thanks!

at entrance to port there are signs indicating which ships are docked where

depending on how many ships are in per day you could be lucky that its a short walk or unlucky that your ship is at the far end

you are correct that people mover and Alilaguna/water taxi docks are very close to each other

Incredibly helpful - thank you!

I can't think of another port where I spent so much time just figuring out how to get there :) Fortunately, I'm sure it's worth it.

May I ask some supplementary questions? We're staying in a hotel near P.Roma so are planning to get the people mover. What happens when we get off it? How will we know where to go next? Presumably, I need to have stuck my luggage labels on at the hotel before I leave in the morning? Or will there be an opportunity to do that when I get to the terminal building? At what point will I need to be prepared with the generous tip for the porters I keep reading about on here?

Take a cab from P. Roma, its worth the few extra Euros and will drop you right at the ship. That what we did last year. Watching fellow travelers walk for 10-15 mins pulling luggage after getting off the people mover is not a great way to start a vacation. There were some elderly folks who seem to be having a rough time. My hubby has just had emergency surgery 2 week priors so we were opting for easier route. Sometimes being frugal does not always pay off unless you know your ship is docked close to PM.

Will be doing the same again in 2019.

Love this thred! I've been searching for days for the same topic.

I'm sneaking into a question I too. Hasanyone travelled with small children?

We (family of 4 with children of almost 2 and 4 years old) will stay a coupleof nights somewhere in Mestre pre cruise with MSC Poesia.

With children, a stroller and luggage we want as few exchanges as possible, andpreferably not walk long stretches. How do we get the easiest from a Mestrehotel to the terminal?

We have not booked a hotel yet, but I guess we should try to find one near thetrain station? Or maybe bus or tram stop if that is a good alternative to getto Piazzale Roma?

Taxi from hotel to the terminal would be the easiest, but with small children Idon’t know it that is an alternative (considering safety)

I would try for a hotel in Venice rather than in Mestre, you will be much nearer all the sights.

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I would try for a hotel in Venice rather than in Mestre, you will be much nearer all the sights.

 

 

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Thank you for the advise, but I am not sure if we are are going in to Venice at all. With all the hassle of transporting luggage, stroller and kids over all the bridges I’m not sure it is worth it. We have been to Venice several times (pre kids), so even though I’d love to visit the beautiful city again I do not think it will be on this trip.