Transfer from ship to hotel in Venice

[megr1125]

19 hours ago, ollienbertsmum said:

Was this a Flix bus?  Are you sure there were no restrooms?  I thought that when we were half way between Trieste and Venice, then I saw someone getting up and going downstairs.  I realized there were toilets.  
 

Flooding was not expected.  Closed train lines are not going to happen regularly because of flooding. 

No, charter...

And I know closed train lines aren't always going to happen.  My point was, when you've got to travel 2-3 hours from the "Port City" (Venice) to the ACTUAL PORT, as in Ravenna or Trieste, one must be prepared to roll with it, be flexible and change things on the fly.  As it was, I changed my flight twice in the days before flying to Italy from Amsterdam based on a number of circumstances.  Luckily, AMS-BLQ and a private ride to my hotel worked out very well for me.

Edited June 18, 2023 by megr1125

[megr1125]

17 hours ago, jsn55 said:

What is anybody thinking with a 2.5hr plus trip and no stops?  I understand the logistics, but engaging busses with onboard facilities should be mandatory for any trip over an hour.  At the very least, RCL should have informed everyone of the situation when they booked the shuttle.  Early morning trips on busses with no facilities is medieval.  Many thanks for the warning!

They do, in the fine print.  It says something like (paraphrasing) we make a comfort stop halfway but that may be skipped based on timing.  Honestly , I don't know what the determining time factor was, and I didn't need to hit the restroom at Tronchetto when we got there, but at least half the bus did.  I'd say we were about 50ish people with only 2-4 empty seats.

 

[ollienbertsmum]

18 hours ago, megr1125 said:

No, charter...

And I know closed train lines aren't always going to happen.  My point was, when you've got to travel 2-3 hours from the "Port City" (Venice) to the ACTUAL PORT, as in Ravenna or Trieste, one must be prepared to roll with it, be flexible and change things on the fly.  As it was, I changed my flight twice in the days before flying to Italy from Amsterdam based on a number of circumstances.  Luckily, AMS-BLQ and a private ride to my hotel worked out very well for me.

I think the cruise lines have got to be clearer where the cruise goes from.  They do not go from Venice, they should not say that they do.  As you found out  Bologna is closer to Ravenna than Venice.  We stayed in Bologna for two days prior to our cruise and it worked well for us.  
 

Ljubljana is closer to Trieste than Venice or Treviso airports!  

[many cruises]

We used Treviso Car Service to get from the airport to our hotel on the Grand Canal.  First,  our driver met us at the airport.   Next, we drove to Piazzale Roma, then we switched to a private water taxi and on to our hotel on the Grand Canal.  It was seamless.  Treviso was right on time and took care of us!

[jsn55]

44 minutes ago, many cruises said:

We used Treviso Car Service to get from the airport to our hotel on the Grand Canal.  First,  our driver met us at the airport.   Next, we drove to Piazzale Roma, then we switched to a private water taxi and on to our hotel on the Grand Canal.  It was seamless.  Treviso was right on time and took care of us!

Hi, we'll be transferring from Trieste to Piazzale Roma in Venice.  How did you arrange for the private water taxi?  I haven't done any Uber/Lyft stuff, I really don't use my phone for much and it won't work outside the US anyway.  Having a private water taxi sounds great. 

[princeton123211]

11 hours ago, jsn55 said:

How did you arrange for the private water taxi?

Water taxis are readily available there, especially with its proximity to Santa Lucia Station. You shouldn't have an issue flagging one down-- I remember a bunch of them congregating near the bridge over to the station. While expensive water taxis are a great way to see the city from the water and can be the quickest way to get to many hotels or places. 

 

Also worth considering a water taxi to the airport-- quite a nice ride and a great way to begin or end a trip to Venice. 

 

11 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I really don't use my phone for much and it won't work outside the US anyway.

You might want to check with your phone carrier-- most US carriers will provide a daily pass for international use for as low as $10 per day which is just billed as you go. It can be a tremendously important resource to have-- in Venice especially, with its winding alleyways, I often would use my phone's GPS to see where I was. 

[euro cruiser]

12 hours ago, jsn55 said:

Hi, we'll be transferring from Trieste to Piazzale Roma in Venice.  How did you arrange for the private water taxi? 

If Piazzale Roma is as far as you are going, there's no need for a water taxi.  If you are going on from there to another location in Venice, you can download the water taxi fare chart from the city's web site here:  Tariffe taxi acqueo | Comune di Venezia.

[TKATeacher]

On 6/17/2023 at 1:12 PM, megr1125 said:

Bus ride from Porto Corsini in Ravenna to Tronchetto (opposite Pizzale Roma) was about 2.5 hours.  We did not (I was sailing with Royal) make a comfort stop and there were no restrooms on the bus.

We just did this same transfer with Royal on June 25...husband and I were assigned one shuttle bus (2.5 hours and no comfort stop) and our daughters another shuttle bus (they are 18 and 20), but their shuttle bus took 3 hours and had a comfort stop. So no confirmed regularity on this one!

[jsn55]

47 minutes ago, TKATeacher said:

We just did this same transfer with Royal on June 25...husband and I were assigned one shuttle bus (2.5 hours and no comfort stop) and our daughters another shuttle bus (they are 18 and 20), but their shuttle bus took 3 hours and had a comfort stop. So no confirmed regularity on this one!

Outrageous!  

[jsn55]

Thanks for this, now I'm comfortable that I've learned as much as I can learn and should be able to make it all work.  Have to admit that I'm motivated by trying to impress my nephew with my travel skills, he's never been to Europe.

 

As for my phone, it's a $50 Tracfone, $125 a year for talk/text/data.  Been a customer for years.  I just can't seem to get excited about paying ten times that much for a phone like everybody else.  Until I travel, of course.  Might have to bite the bullet one of these days.    Or maybe look for a carrier that is cheap so I could use that phone for travel ... I do like the idea of GPS access and probably a dozen other tasks that I don't even know about.

Edited June 27, 2023 by jsn55
added thought

[princeton123211]

38 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

Until I travel, of course.  Might have to bite the bullet one of these days.    Or maybe look for a carrier that is cheap so I could use that phone for travel ... I do like the idea of GPS access and probably a dozen other tasks that I don't even know about.

You can also easily rent a smart phone for your time in Europe. There are multiple companies that will rent you a phone with unlimited calling/data in Europe and you just return it when done. My parents similarly didn't have an international plan on their normal phone and we were able to rent one for them for around $150 a week for their European trip. Would highly recommend it-- outside of hotels there aren't many land lines anymore there. 

[yakcruiser]

15 hours ago, jsn55 said:

Hi, we'll be transferring from Trieste to Piazzale Roma in Venice.  How did you arrange for the private water taxi?  I haven't done any Uber/Lyft stuff, I really don't use my phone for much and it won't work outside the US anyway.  Having a private water taxi sounds great. 

Wow! I am not the only one who has a tracfone that doesn't work outside the US. I just leave it inside my suitcase until I get home. I have never had no problem finding my way around without GPS. When leaving Trieste port you can take a 5 minute taxi ride or walk to the train station and take a two hour ride to Santa Lucia train station in Venice. If I remember correctly there were water taxis waiting outside at the canal.

[jsn55]

9 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

You can also easily rent a smart phone for your time in Europe. There are multiple companies that will rent you a phone with unlimited calling/data in Europe and you just return it when done. My parents similarly didn't have an international plan on their normal phone and we were able to rent one for them for around $150 a week for their European trip. Would highly recommend it-- outside of hotels there aren't many land lines anymore there. 

Thanks for this; but I am unwilling to waste hours of my trip trying to figure out how to use the phone.  Perhaps I'll post on the Roll Call to see if anyone is bringing a teenager with them on the cruise.  I could just hire that teen to set it all up and tell me how to use it.  I'm a whiz on a computer, but don't do well learning a system that has 3 or 4 different ways to do every single thing.  Every time you think you've learned something, the phone insists that you do it a different way.  I am aware that my ability to enhance travel experiences and be efficient without a phone will come to an abrupt end one of these days.

[megr1125]

On 6/26/2023 at 10:14 PM, jsn55 said:

Hi, we'll be transferring from Trieste to Piazzale Roma in Venice.  How did you arrange for the private water taxi?  I haven't done any Uber/Lyft stuff, I really don't use my phone for much and it won't work outside the US anyway.  Having a private water taxi sounds great. 

 

Via this company

 

https://www.motoscafivenezia.com/it/contatti.php

 

You should entertain having a phone though, as that's how you'll find out what your water taxi number is.  I called them when I got off the bus.  Your idea about a rent-a-teen is a good one though.  😄  I often tell people who are not tech savvy to go find a kid!  

[megr1125]

On 6/27/2023 at 11:26 AM, TKATeacher said:

We just did this same transfer with Royal on June 25...husband and I were assigned one shuttle bus (2.5 hours and no comfort stop) and our daughters another shuttle bus (they are 18 and 20), but their shuttle bus took 3 hours and had a comfort stop. So no confirmed regularity on this one!

 

It would be nice if they'd be consistent.  LOL.  That'll never happen.  I swear it's probably up to the whim of the driver.