Pre-cruise hotel

[Tink55]

We are flying to Venice the day before our cruise.  I looked at booking our hotel through Holland, it was $679 per person for a total of $1358.  When I look at the hotel online it was only $356.  Why is it $1000 more if I book through Holland?  Does it include transportation from the airport and to the ship?

[oakridger]

Yes, it includes transfers and a pile of cash into HALs pocket!  I always book my hotel directly and pay for a cab/Uber.  Much cheaper!

 

P.S.- This is also the case with most cruise lines pre and post packages.

Edited June 20, 2022 by oakridger

[CruiserBruce]

99.82% of the time you can do better on your own booking hotels and transportation. 

[iancal]

4 hours ago, Tink55 said:

We are flying to Venice the day before our cruise.  I looked at booking our hotel through Holland, it was $679 per person for a total of $1358.  When I look at the hotel online it was only $356.  Why is it $1000 more if I book through Holland?  Does it include transportation from the airport and to the ship?

It is called profit margin.

 

Some people want the HAL service, see value in it, and are willing to pay for it.   It probably includes transfers and handholding.

 

We are accustomed to making our own arrangements.

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by iancal

[Tink55]

My concern is the transfers.  Will it be hard to get a ride to a hotel?  Does Italy have Uber?  Or taxi?  Do I just wait until we get to the airport to figure out a ride to the hotel?  I’m a planner and I like to have all my arrangements made beforehand.  Thank you all for your help.

[*Miss G*]

5 minutes ago, Tink55 said:

My concern is the transfers.  Will it be hard to get a ride to a hotel?  Does Italy have Uber?  Or taxi?  Do I just wait until we get to the airport to figure out a ride to the hotel?  I’m a planner and I like to have all my arrangements made beforehand.  Thank you all for your help.

 

It’s not hard; it just takes research.  Contact your hotel and ask about transportation.  They will make the arrangements or let you know the procedure.  Also check out the ITALY PORTS BOARD and read “Live From” threads on this board.  You need to be sure which port you are sailing from because Venice proper is not a port stop anymore.  Find your roll call.  They will have more info.

[iancal]

It is a snap.

 

Check out trioadvisor, ric Steve’s forums, lonely planet blogs.  Or perhaps a rome2rio.com

 

Last time we exited the airport we saw a bus and climbed on.  Took us to the main square by the railway station.   Language not a problem.  A little different for us because we only do carry on.

 

Or…email your hotel and ask for help.

 

All of info you require is a keystroke away.  Google is your friend. Don’t be put off by language issues…you will not have any.

Edited June 20, 2022 by iancal

[jeh10641]

3 hours ago, Tink55 said:

My concern is the transfers.  Will it be hard to get a ride to a hotel?  Does Italy have Uber?  Or taxi?  Do I just wait until we get to the airport to figure out a ride to the hotel?  I’m a planner and I like to have all my arrangements made beforehand.  Thank you all for your help.

Six years ago, I booked a three night stay in Rome using Trip Advisor to find a hotel.  Then I had to get to Civitavecchia for my cruise. I again turned to Trip Advisor for suggested modes of transportation and found a private car service for about $150 total for the two of us. Very nice.

[cruisemom42]

In all likelihood you cannot take a land taxi to your hotel unless you stay on Piazzale Roma, which is just at the edge of Venice proper.

 

As others have said, double check about your departure; as of last year almost NO cruise ships depart from Venice, although some are bussing passengers to a nearby commercial port (Marghera).  Most are now departing from either Trieste or Ravenna, both of which are several hours from Venice and require different arrangements.

 

If you want to do research on Venice hotels and Venice transportation (how to get around using the vaporetti and other methods), I have not found a better site than this one, which also gives advice specifically for cruise passengers:

 

Venice for Visitors | An in-depth travel guide to Venice, Italy (europeforvisitors.com)

 

The more you dig around in it, the more useful info you'll find.

 

Don't buy into the expensive cruiseline package!