Venice Overnight and Free time

[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi, don't normally post here - but I see people seeking some info on Venice. I'm happy to help. I think it's a bit of a shame and a missed opportunity to take an organised tour in Venice. You could spend the money much more wisely ......

 

Some basic stuff.

 

Venice is the restauant and cafe overcharging capial of Europe. But if you follow this advice you'll be fine. Be aware that many restaurants and bars apply a two tier (I suspect three or infinite tier - a price for family, another for Venetians, another for Italians, another for the police, another for foreigners, and then the sliding sale ....... :( ) pricing which basically means they overcharge all visitors. This has been a scandal over the years and bars and restaurants must display prices by law. This means that when you are eating in any establishment in a prime tourist area you are going to pay a high starting price even based on advertised prices, and then pay some more when stuff is inflated or added. So do not take your coffee on the tables and chairs on any of the piazzas and ALWAYS make sure you've seen the price list before you sit down and order anything. I consider myself fairly canny but I managed to be stiffed with a 12 euro expresso on my last trip. As long as you get a menu with prices, and check the bill you should be fine.

 

Venice is all about walking and the vaporetti - for which you can get cheap tickets for your visit. Walking always entails getting lost so get a good pocket map.

 

If you are interested the first European Jewish ghetto was in Venice which was one of the few places in Europe toleant to Jews (actually they wanted the inernational banking .... ) and it is still a really interesting and original area to visit. Still has it's lockable night gates and is still the Jewish quarter.

 

You could if so inclined, make some of your eating plans around "picnics" and you'll get some nice bread and cheese and cold meats in many of the small markets and stores including the main one spanning the Rialto bridge.

 

If you want to ride on a gondola, ask and neogiate first. It is very expensive. A very cheap cheeky alternaitve is that you'll see ferries going across the Grand Canal that are gondolas. The gondola expeience for a few cents!

 

The secret of taking a vaporetti ride on the Grand Canal is to go "the wrong way" ie make your way to one of the stops at the top of the canal or say from Chiesa dei Gesuati and then go down the canal arriving at rather than starting from any of the stops near San Marco. Everyone starts at the St Marco end which is a great shame.

 

Enjoy your trip.

 

Jeff

[Clay&Jenn]

As a sideline to this thread: Jenn & I will be in Venice next year for a Sept. 23 sailing on the Mariner. We plan on spending a couple of days pre cruise. I know that hotels are pretty expensive, anyone have an opinion, (given the criteria of proximity to departure point, clean, great view, & great dining) as to which one is the biggest bang for the buck?

[forgap]

Have to jump in here as I totally fell in love with Venice. First trip was in 2011 during carnivale and the second was pre-cruise last October. We stayed 8 days the first time and stayed in a rented apartment and 2 days the second time were we stayed in a lovely little hotel near the Jewish ghetto. (http://www.cadogaressa.com/location.htm). It was a very easy vaparetto ride to Piazzale Michelangelo and the people mover to the cruise ship.

 

I kept a blog with pictures for our first visit with a lot of practical details. You can find it here:http://www.fou-gras.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-03-20T15:18:00-07:00&max-results=7

 

Enjoy!

[TedC]

Thanks for the memories - and the great pix!

 

Been there several times, by land and by sea. Can't get enough of Venice.

 

(Just bring a lot of cash and or credit cards!)

[drcandon]

As a side note to this conversation, does anyone have an idea which terminal Regent uses...Marittima or San Basilio ( correct spelling?)..

 

We are staying one day post in Venice in the Regent preferred hotel (not by choice -Westin) but missed out on the deal(???) to get us to the hotel on disembarkation and then to the airport the next day...So I am trying to figure out which waterbourne routes and vaporetto to take..

 

Any help is appreciated...I don't particularly want to hire a private water taxi ...thanks

[ChatKat in Ca.]

We've stayed twice at the Westin and been happy with the rooms, service and location. For the airport transfer, we were able to share the water taxi with another couple making it reasonable.

[Threechicks]

As a side note to this conversation, does anyone have an idea which terminal Regent uses...Marittima or San Basilio ( correct spelling?)..

 

We are staying one day post in Venice in the Regent preferred hotel (not by choice -Westin) but missed out on the deal(???) to get us to the hotel on disembarkation and then to the airport the next day...So I am trying to figure out which waterbourne routes and vaporetto to take..

 

Any help is appreciated...I don't particularly want to hire a private water taxi ...thanks

Usually San Basilio.

[forgap]

Last October it was Maritima. You can go on line and look at the harbor schedule to get the dockage site for your date.

[drcandon]

I asked today and it is San Basilio we will be docked at...I am curious though...as I said I missed out on the Regent post cruise hotel package, but after a conversation today I got the impression that sometimes Regent has excursions included with the post tour "stay and play" is this correct? If so is anyone taking one?

[Judy S]

WOW, I'm glad I found this thread. I've been reading the "Roll Call" thread. I agree with a number of you. No need for a water taxi. From the ship, take the "people mover" for one Euro. It lets you off near the bus terminal. From there, you can take a vaporetto down the Grand Canal (or in the reverse order depending on where you're going). We found it to be most convenient. From the bus terminal, you can take a bus to the airport. A year or so ago, it was 5 Euro. We even took the vaporetto to Murano and Burano. Yes, some glass and probably lace could be made in China. Generally, you can tell by the price and quality. We bought a couple of large, heavy pieces of glass from a shop in Venice, and had them shipped. We were very pleased with that arrangement. IMHO, the best way to see Venice is to walk and get lost. Just have a good map and look for signs pointing to San Marco, the train station (Ferrovia) or bus station (Piazza Roma) or Rialto, please forgive my spelling.

[jhp]

. No need for a water taxi. From the ship, take the "people mover" for one Euro. It lets you off near the bus terminal.

 

Is this people mover something new in past few years? Once it took me forever to walk from the bus station to the ship. I can't imagine what a people mover would look like, unless you are talking about a plain old bus!

[forgap]

It is very similar to the trains in the airport that go from one concourse to another. Very clean and new. Be warned, though, it's still a walk from that to the ship...not bad but not good if you are infirm in any way. (About 2 city blocks)

[TedC]

Bring your skate board!

[Threechicks]

I'm not going to be very popular for saying this but, if you can afford to take a Regent cruise you can afford a water taxi. If going to San Basilio the taxi takes you right to steps from the water up to the terminal. There is someone there to take your luggage from the taxi to the ship. From there you walk a few feet into the terminal but you aren't registered there (at least we weren't). A Regent shuttle picks you up and takes you to the gangway of the ship (depending on how far away it is docked) and you are registered in the theatre. Very simple.

[Port 11]

We were on the Mariner in May and stayed in Venice the night before through Regent, they also supplied the Water Taxi to San Bastillo.

 

We found the steps up to the dockside quite steep with no handrails. The queue to get through Security was dreadful and completely unorganised, this was due to Port Staff, not Regent Staff. Once through we had a very long walk to get to the Ship, but once on-board, with a nice cold glass of 'Bubbly' registration was well organised and quick.

 

I seem to remember Regent used to always have some of their own staff in the Ports overseeing everything and this worked very well, but perhaps they are not allowed to do this anymore - Pity, you felt the cruise had already started when you saw the staff in their smart white uniforms walking around to make sure things were running smoothly.

[ChatKat in Ca.]

I'm not going to be very popular for saying this but, if you can afford to take a Regent cruise you can afford a water taxi. If going to San Basilio the taxi takes you right to steps from the water up to the terminal. There is someone there to take your luggage from the taxi to the ship. From there you walk a few feet into the terminal but you aren't registered there (at least we weren't). A Regent shuttle picks you up and takes you to the gangway of the ship (depending on how far away it is docked) and you are registered in the theatre. Very simple.

 

I don't travel very light. I cannot imagine taking a people mover with two suitcases and a carry on per person which is about what I take on a cruise.

Now, I admit to being a bit of a princess. The Vaporetto are pretty full everytime I have seen them. I agree completely with 3 Chicks. I did find a couple onboard who we were able to share the water taxi from the ship to the Westin. It worked perfectly.

[susar]

We will also be on this cruise and I'm hoping the ship will be Sparkling clean!

[susar]

We are also on this cruise!! Not planning on going to Murano but tours everywhere else. I was commenting on the Roll Call for our cruise looking for other couples that might want to book a private tour to Medjugorje from Dubrovnik for about $60pp if we can get 8. It is 2.5 hours away.

[Judy S]

Just got our cruise documents, YAY! Still no cabin assignment, just a G guarantee. Wait and see, I guess.

[JPR]

You should be aware that it is a fairly long walk from the water taxi stop to the airport. Unless you have just a single roller suitcase and a carry-on, or if you are running close on your flight, you will want to pay another $30 for a minivan to take you from the water taxi stop to the airport. (And perhaps vice versa)