Venice Port changed to Ravenna for 2022 sailings

[wjfan417]

6 hours ago, Tuscany4 said:

We’re also reasonably content. We’ve done Venice a few times and have managed to change our flights with BA. They have 4 flights a day to Bologna, and it’s somewhere we haven’t been before. Our return flight is at 11.40am so will need to leave the ship by about 0830 at the latest. Our last day has an overnight in Ravenna so we will visit then.

i will miss the sailing away past St marks square but alas that is a thing of the past with the new restrictions. For those that have never done it I strongly recommend trying it just once with someone like Windstar, or Ponant etc who have the really small ships that are still allowed to.

Our picture is from a Venice sail away. Great experience!

[Azamarajunkie]

2 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

I would like to do the same but our flights were booked via Azamara as I was worried about our eventual docking area and transfers. which I knew were tenuous.   We are on the 17.15 from Marco Polo.  

 

We also booked ours with Azamara  but they have given us the 18.55 flight from Marco Polo to Heathrow. We’re hoping they don’t transfer us to the airport too early.

[Janet&Carl]

On 3/31/2022 at 9:23 AM, HalifaxYorksCruiser said:

Just got the same e mail and filled out the form for the complimentary transfer. The offer of FCC is pretty pathetic. 

 

 

Generous I thought considering those with Black sea cruises got nothing but the changes.

[les37b]

On 4/1/2022 at 6:31 PM, Mrs Miggins said:

Except that Viking have been using Fusina/Marghera for several months.

 

On 4/1/2022 at 7:23 PM, mchell810 said:

 

And that is the plan for Silversea as well (as they did last fall).

 

I think Seabourn are also using Fusina. All will be providing complimentary transfers from with the airport or the Cruise Terminal, though to be fair, it is a relatively minor deviation.

[manc]

We cancelled b2b2b that would have commenced in the next few days. One of our concerns was where would we debark. With fewer flights etc we were concerned about Trieste was being hinted at. We wanted a few days in Venice before flying home. This was one factor in our decision to delay cruising a little longer.

 

Our next booked cruise is the Black Sea and we have lost most of the new ports and yet no compensation/reduction offered. 

[mchell810]

9 hours ago, les37b said:

 

 

I think Seabourn are also using Fusina. All will be providing complimentary transfers from with the airport or the Cruise Terminal, though to be fair, it is a relatively minor deviation.

 

I agree Fusina/Marghera is a minor deviation.  My comment was intended to point out that Azamara's letter regarding the change to Ravenna is rather misleading bc it suggests there's no option closer to Venice.  Also,  Azamara's leadership has had nearly a year to figure this out, so they are very late in announcing the move to Ravenna for cruises that start this month.

[les37b]

3 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

 

I agree Fusina/Marghera is a minor deviation.  My comment was intended to point out that Azamara's letter regarding the change to Ravenna is rather misleading bc it suggests there's no option closer to Venice.  Also,  Azamara's leadership has had nearly a year to figure this out, so they are very late in announcing the move to Ravenna for cruises that start this month.

 

No argument from me on that! You can understand last minute changes for red list covid outbreaks, government restrictions and wars, which can flare up or maybe vanish and wait and see policy adopted. 

 

But ships being banned is not changing anytime soon and no excuse for advertising one of the best sail aways and cities to visit and the change you face. The rest of the itinerary would need to be outstanding for me not to want to cancel.

 

It's a bit like Silversea telling me my Tower Bridge start has now been moved to Southampton (even if Southampton might be nearer than your deviation!)

[Janet&Carl]

12 hours ago, manc said:

We cancelled b2b2b that would have commenced in the next few days. One of our concerns was where would we debark. With fewer flights etc we were concerned about Trieste was being hinted at. We wanted a few days in Venice before flying home. This was one factor in our decision to delay cruising a little longer.

 

 

 

There is a direct train between Trieste and Venice - I think it takes about 1 1/2 hours so a minor deviation you could still spend a few nights in Venice.  Venice is one of our favourite places 🙂

 

[blobby113]

We are on b2b cruises in October. Venice has changed to Ravenna, and we have garbled emails since about the substituted ports. The second leg, which is now Ravenna to Rome, has Dubrovnik at Day 3 on our emails, but the Azamara website still has the original Day 3 port Ancona everywhere except the map! As well, the second leg, which starts on October 10 in Ravenna, instead starts on October 1 according to the Azamara email! Do any similar Azamara cruises have typos or inconsistencies?

Barry

[NC&KY]

For our April 9 cruise there are now 2 Venice excursions offered from Ravenna, a "Venice on Your Own" option as well as a guided tour. Each is listed as 9 hours.

[combine]

1 hour ago, NC&KY said:

For our April 9 cruise there are now 2 Venice excursions offered from Ravenna, a "Venice on Your Own" option as well as a guided tour. Each is listed as 9 hours.

For our disembarkation day there are 3 tours for  our 23 April Quest. Two involve transfers to Tronchetto Bus Terminal and one to Marco Polo airport.

As expected they do clarify that any cruises booked after today will incur the transfer  fee.

• Note that if you booked your cruise prior to April 4, 2022, this transfer is complimentary. Afterwards, it's $139.00 per person to be charged onboard

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by combine

[encorehere]

The email I received only has VCE to/fr Ravenna transfer information, I will arrive Venice early and really wish they have transfer service from Venice city center.  I tried to call Azamara several times and always on hold for hours then phone got disconnected.  Any one know if transfer from Venice city center to Ravenna is offered?  If so I would greatly appreciate if you can share the email and link to sign up.  Thanks in advance!

[tert333]

32 minutes ago, combine said:

For our disembarkation day there are 3 tours for  our 23 April Quest. Two involve transfers to Tronchetto Bus Terminal and one to Marco Polo airport.

As expected they do clarify that any cruises booked after today will incur the transfer  fee.

• Note that if you booked your cruise prior to April 4, 2022, this transfer is complimentary. Afterwards, it's $139.00 per person to be charged onboard

 

Thanks for posting.  I went online and saw that as well.  Very fair of them to do that.

[bz]

Encorehere, Azamara is compiling information and may well have transfers from the city center.  They just need to tabulate the responses.  The lady I spoke with said the emails went out before they should have - imagine that - and they will be making decisions soon.  She also told me no need to fill out the form by April 4, but we did.  Not taking any chances.  We are flying in 3 days early as are many others, so I think the chances of a city center bus are good.

[encorehere]

1 minute ago, bz said:

Encorehere, Azamara is compiling information and may well have transfers from the city center.  They just need to tabulate the responses.  The lady I spoke with said the emails went out before they should have - imagine that - and they will be making decisions soon.  She also told me no need to fill out the form by April 4, but we did.  Not taking any chances.  We are flying in 3 days early as are many others, so I think the chances of a city center bus are good.

Thank you bz! 

[alix1886]

On 4/4/2022 at 6:27 PM, encorehere said:

The email I received only has VCE to/fr Ravenna transfer information, I will arrive Venice early and really wish they have transfer service from Venice city center.  I tried to call Azamara several times and always on hold for hours then phone got disconnected.  Any one know if transfer from Venice city center to Ravenna is offered?  If so I would greatly appreciate if you can share the email and link to sign up.  Thanks in advance!

 

On 4/4/2022 at 7:13 PM, encorehere said:

Thank you bz! 

My travel agent told me Azamara informed her I have to fill the form we received as a link to a monkey survey and that they were planning transfers from the city center.They are supposedly sending a new email shortly

[Jeep61]

OBC might be a nicer option rather than a $300 FCC.  

[laurieb]

On 4/3/2022 at 11:27 AM, mchell810 said:

 

I agree Fusina/Marghera is a minor deviation.  My comment was intended to point out that Azamara's letter regarding the change to Ravenna is rather misleading bc it suggests there's no option closer to Venice.  Also,  Azamara's leadership has had nearly a year to figure this out, so they are very late in announcing the move to Ravenna for cruises that start this month.

I imagine that means no option for Azamara.  Just because there's a port there doesn't mean the port authorities are going to say yes.

[mchell810]

3 hours ago, laurieb said:

I imagine that means no option for Azamara.  Just because there's a port there doesn't mean the port authorities are going to say yes.

 

It's still disingenuous of Azamara to pretend there weren't options in the Venice area just bc they couldn't act quickly enough to secure docking.

[Host Jazzbeau]

30 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

It's still disingenuous of Azamara to pretend there weren't options in the Venice area just bc they couldn't act quickly enough to secure docking.

Frankly that's a pretty strong accusation unless you have facts to back it up.  All the cruise lines have been scrambling, and I have no idea whether having a few small ships helps or hurts Azamara in these negotiations.  I suspect that they were hoping to squeeze into the Fusina terminal, but that proved impossible – but I don't have any knowledge of what went on.

[norn iron]

8 hours ago, Jeep61 said:

OBC might be a nicer option rather than a $300 FCC.  

Horses for courses. My forthcoming cruise ex Ravenna has good OBC, a future cruise that I have booked has no OBC so the $300 is very welcome.

[mchell810]

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Frankly that's a pretty strong accusation unless you have facts to back it up.  All the cruise lines have been scrambling, and I have no idea whether having a few small ships helps or hurts Azamara in these negotiations.  I suspect that they were hoping to squeeze into the Fusina terminal, but that proved impossible – but I don't have any knowledge of what went on.

        

           _______________________________________________________

Just got the Mail with the explanation

Dear Azamara Guest,

We would like to update you with some important information regarding your upcoming voyage scheduled to embark or debark from Venice, Italy.

The Italian government has implemented new rules around cruise ships in and around Venice, Italy, making it impossible for almost all cruise lines, including Azamara ships, to continue to dock there.

        ___________________________________________________________

 

This was posted early in this thread -- the bolded italics are mine for emphasis.  The use of the word impossible is inaccurate.  Had Azamara's statement said they were unable to dock near Venice I would have no issue.  It is possible for cruise ships to dock near Venice -- other cruise lines are doing it.

Edited April 7, 2022 by mchell810

[Host Jazzbeau]

36 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

        

           _______________________________________________________

Just got the Mail with the explanation

Dear Azamara Guest,

We would like to update you with some important information regarding your upcoming voyage scheduled to embark or debark from Venice, Italy.

The Italian government has implemented new rules around cruise ships in and around Venice, Italy, making it impossible for almost all cruise lines, including Azamara ships, to continue to dock there.

        ___________________________________________________________

 

This was posted early in this thread -- the bolded italics are mine for emphasis.  The use of the word impossible is inaccurate.  Had Azamara's statement said they were unable to dock near Venice I would have no issue.  It is possible for cruise ships to dock near Venice -- other cruise lines are doing it.

"Impossible for almost all cruise lines."  This is accurate.  Most cruise lines have moved their Venice embarkations to Ravenna or Trieste.  Only a few are trying to use Marghera.

 

Azamara had originally intended to use Marghera, but have now decided that it is better to use Ravenna.  [Do you have actual knowledge that the Italian government has NOT implemented new rules that led to this decision?]

 

If you don't trust their judgment on this, will you feel safe on their ships at all?  The Captain is going to use his best judgment to keep you safe – and will probably not give you an explanation for any changes that you will find acceptable based on this level of parsing.

 

If you really want to dock in Marghera, there are a few cruise lines that can accommodate you.  I hope you enjoy the experience.  [Frankly, what I have read about Marghera is not very appealing.]

[Mrs Miggins]

Viking are using Fusina/Marghera.  Azamara were showing on Cruisemapper for our cruise at Marghera.  Certainly not ideal, but for those that booked cruises because they wanted to see or revisit Venice it must be a huge disappointment.  Sitting on a coach for 5 hours + to visit this wonderful place for a few hours must be a very sad option for many.

I have not been to Ravenna, so not so bad for me but nevertheless a 2.5 hour coach to Marco Polo airport for an Azamara booked BA flight to Heathrow at 17.15 is not appealing.  I would guess we will be dumped at the airport for many hours.  The airport does not typically open European flights until 2 hours before flight.

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

1 hour ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Viking are using Fusina/Marghera.  Azamara were showing on Cruisemapper for our cruise at Marghera.  Certainly not ideal, but for those that booked cruises because they wanted to see or revisit Venice it must be a huge disappointment.  Sitting on a coach for 5 hours + to visit this wonderful place for a few hours must be a very sad option for many.

I have not been to Ravenna, so not so bad for me but nevertheless a 2.5 hour coach to Marco Polo airport for an Azamara booked BA flight to Heathrow at 17.15 is not appealing.  I would guess we will be dumped at the airport for many hours.  The airport does not typically open European flights until 2 hours before flight.

I suspect that for those of us with lunchtime flights it will be a 7am or earlier disembarkation and for later flights suspect it will be 9am to 10am latest. If Ravenna is going to be used by cruise lines long term then they really need to have flights packaged to Bologna rather than Marco Polo and yet the likes of Royal Caribbean are still packaging Ravenna cruises with flights to Marco Polo.