NCL Transfer from VCE (Venice) to the ship in Trieste

[klfrodo]

Still 600+ days out.

Our preliminary plans call for us to fly into VCE and visit Venice for 3- or 4-days pre-cruise. Then, we have to get to Trieste.

The easiest would be to just go back to Marco Polo Airport and jump on an NCL transfer.

Does NCL offer this service? Or is it only for those who book their air travel thru NCL and arrive on the same day?

 

I did go back 10 pages to see if this had been asked and answered.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

At one point I asked if we could do that but was told "NO".   Have not wanted to since.   But someone did ask "recently" about the same thing and my advice was to contact Reservations 1 800 327 7030 and ask there.   If the answer is "NO" ask to speak to a supervisor.

 

The point to make is that people take an NCL shuttle FROM the ship TO the airport with no flight details (we have done that innumerable times) so why can the opposite not be possible.

 

Not allowing it is inconsistent,   (NCL's middle name)

 

A P

[FLAHAM]

No, the easiest and most comfortable way to get from Venice to Trieste is by the modern train.  Short walk or, if you have heavy luggage, very short cab ride to cruise port.  

Edited November 25, 2023 by FLAHAM

[Brian V]

1 minute ago, FLAHAM said:

No, the easiest and most comfortable way to get from Venice to Trieste is by train.  Short walk or, if you have heavy luggage, very short cab ride to cruise port.  

Totally agree...you can catch a train direct from Venezia Santa Lucia to Trieste Centrale with a 15 minute walk (or 5 minute cab ride) to the pier. 2:05 travel time (plus walk) and direct service.

Way easier than getting back to the airport and a 15 minute walk to where the cruise line shuttle would collect you.

 

 

[KarimaJ]

Yes like Brian said train from Santa Lucia station is the easiest way, no need to go back to the airport. We took the 10:00am train the morning of the cruise and it was quick and easy. 

[complawyer]

we stayed in venice for 2 days and hired a shuttle service to drive us to trieste. spent a night in trieste (very lovely city), and there was an ncl agent in the hotel lobby, so we signed up, and the next morning there was a bus tgo take us directly to the pier. btw, its a little over an hr from venice to trieste.

we also do this if we're landing  in london to take us to southampton. gotta stay in london for a few days

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, FLAHAM said:

No, the easiest and most comfortable way to get from Venice to Trieste is by the modern train.  Short walk or, if you have heavy luggage, very short cab ride to cruise port.  

What's the luggage situation on the train?

I call myself Francis the mule when it comes to traveling with my better half.

[RD64]

2 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Still 600+ days out.

Our preliminary plans call for us to fly into VCE and visit Venice for 3- or 4-days pre-cruise. Then, we have to get to Trieste.

The easiest would be to just go back to Marco Polo Airport and jump on an NCL transfer.

Does NCL offer this service? Or is it only for those who book their air travel thru NCL and arrive on the same day?

 

I did go back 10 pages to see if this had been asked and answered.

Given that you are 600+ days away, any of their policies regarding transfers can change 1/2 dozen times by then.

[FLAHAM]

42 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

What's the luggage situation on the train?

I call myself Francis the mule when it comes to traveling with my better half.

Luggage rack above seats.  Europeans often travel by train between cities with luggage.

[klfrodo]

28 minutes ago, RD64 said:

Given that you are 600+ days away, any of their policies regarding transfers can change 1/2 dozen times by then.

Gee, I hadn’t even thought of that possibility. I’m so glad you took precious time out of your day to respond.

Thank you

[klfrodo]

9 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

Luggage rack above seats.  Europeans often travel by train between cities with luggage.

Yes they do.

How are these trains and train station set up for HC accessiblity? Someone traveling with us may be in a chair.

we need to start thinking about these things when planning the trip. We may need to make adjustments and accessibility will be a priority. They may even bypass Venice due to this and use NCL air and transfers unless we can figure out alternatives.

[KarimaJ]

1 hour ago, klfrodo said:

Yes they do.

How are these trains and train station set up for HC accessiblity? Someone traveling with us may be in a chair.

we need to start thinking about these things when planning the trip. We may need to make adjustments and accessibility will be a priority. They may even bypass Venice due to this and use NCL air and transfers unless we can figure out alternatives.

I would say from what I saw Venice is not a handicap friendly city. You need to go up Bridges and stairs to get around everywhere over the canals. There may be ways or ramps around but I don’t remember that. 

[klfrodo]

1 hour ago, KarimaJ said:

I would say from what I saw Venice is not a handicap friendly city. You need to go up Bridges and stairs to get around everywhere over the canals. There may be ways or ramps around but I don’t remember that. 

I'm aware of that. The person I quoted in post 11 was who I was directing the question specifically about the trains and train stations from Venice to Trieste.

 

There are websites out there that are directed towards Venice and people dealing with accessibility concerns. It can be done. The question is does the person concerned want to deal with the limitations.

[princeton123211]

10 hours ago, klfrodo said:

The person I quoted in post 11 was who I was directing the question specifically about the trains and train stations from Venice to Trieste.

At Santa Lucia Station in Venice you step up several steps into the train (vs the door height raised platforms you often see int he States). This can be a challenge for someone who is wheelchair bound and was for my father in law. 

 

While most of the trains don't have wheelchair lifts (or at least I didnt see them on our journeys), the station does have portable ones that can be set up next to the train. This does have to be arranged when you arrive at the station through a desk they have set up for disabled passengers. For this reason I would give yourself extra time when arriving. The station itself is fairly accessible in that it is one one level. 

[mapleleaves]

In the past the NCL transfer to Trieste was only available to those flying in on cruise day. Using NCL Air wasn't a requirement. The workaround was to provide NCL a legitimate flight # for a flight that arrives that morning, then get yourself to the airport from Venice.  ( it's a 20 minute drive, around 40E for 2 pax). 

 

IIRC the transfer to Trieste was $75pp and the last one was at noon.

 

I took the train to Trieste last yr.  I had read several reports that the train from Venice S Lucia station was often packed, with only single seats available, and/or no room for luggage so it sat on your lap for 2 hrs.  So I chose to travel from the Mestre station where I could board a Frecci train, book Business Class, and choose my seat. I chose a seat at the end of the carriage next to the luggage storage. A 2 hr trip, about 18E.  Our carriage was just about empty so we ended up moving the luggage to our 4 seater table since there was only 2 of us. ( Mestre is the last town on the mainland before you cross the causeway into Venice, 2e and 10 minutes by bus or train, maybe 20E cab)

 

After the cruise I took FlixBus from Trieste to VCE. About 25e but only because I didn't book in advance.

 

The downfall to the train or flixbus is that the stations are about a 15 minute walk to the pier. A flat easy walk on a nice day. But we arrived during a heavy downpour and had to wait an hr for a cab.

 

I didn't hear any reports this summer about crowded trains from Venice to Trieste so perhaps it was only an issue last summer. Regardless, I would probably do the same and take a Frecci train from Mestre in order to choose my seat and Bsns Class was quite nice. 

Edited November 26, 2023 by mapleleaves

[MedCruise_2022]

On 11/25/2023 at 6:25 PM, complawyer said:

we stayed in venice for 2 days and hired a shuttle service to drive us to trieste. spent a night in trieste (very lovely city), and there was an ncl agent in the hotel lobby, so we signed up, and the next morning there was a bus tgo take us directly to the pier. btw, its a little over an hr from venice to trieste.

we also do this if we're landing  in london to take us to southampton. gotta stay in london for a few days

We are also embarking in Trieste for an Eastern Med Cruise (NCL) in October 2024 and doing some initial research on transfer from Venice to Trieste.

We plan to stay in Trieste the night before the Cruise. May we know at which Trieste Hotel you stayed at?

Thanks! Will greatly appreciate other tips while in Trieste, if you may.

[complawyer]

hilton doubletree. we just walked around and looked atthe scenery, had a pizza at an out door cafe

[MedCruise_2022]

25 minutes ago, complawyer said:

hilton doubletree. we just walked around and looked atthe scenery, had a pizza at an out door cafe

Thank you for your reply. Will look into it.

[complawyer]

beautiful hotel

[yakcruiser]

On 1/30/2024 at 12:20 PM, MedCruise_2022 said:

Thanks! Will greatly appreciate other tips while in Trieste, if you may.

Do visit Castle Miramare if you get the chance. There is a city bus that runs out there. Also I stayed at the Hotel Vis a Vis in Trieste. Right across the street from the cruise port.

[MedCruise_2022]

20 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

Do visit Castle Miramare if you get the chance. There is a city bus that runs out there. Also I stayed at the Hotel Vis a Vis in Trieste. Right across the street from the cruise port.

Thank you! Yes, we plan to do some exploring in Trieste before our Cruise.

We plan to take the train from Mestre to Trieste since we are arriving two days before the Cruise.

I wonder how doable is it- with 2 small luggage-strollers and 1 big suitcase (we plan to get a Business Class from Mestre to Trieste).

Thanks!

[yakcruiser]

see below

Edited February 3 by yakcruiser

[yakcruiser]

20 minutes ago, MedCruise_2022 said:

Thank you! Yes, we plan to do some exploring in Trieste before our Cruise.

We plan to take the train from Mestre to Trieste since we are arriving two days before the Cruise.

I wonder how doable is it- with 2 small luggage-strollers and 1 big suitcase (we plan to get a Business Class from Mestre to Trieste).

Thanks!

 

4 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

It is very doable. There are luggage racks at the end of each train car. You will have to lift them up a couple of steps. You can either walk from the train station to your hotel if it's in the cruise port area or you can take a taxi for around 10 Euros. 

 

[MedCruise_2022]

3 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

 

 

Thank you again! So good to know...

We've taken the fast train and regional train (Venice to Florence; Venice to Padova-Verona) but only with small luggage.

Hoping that our Cruise in October embarking from Trieste pushes through! 

Our original cruise booking from Haifa to Rome--then changed to Athens to Rome in October 2024 was cancelled by NCL just days ago. 

Thanks!

[mapleleaves]

On 1/30/2024 at 1:20 PM, MedCruise_2022 said:

at which Trieste Hotel you stayed at?

 

You might want to check out the Savoia Excelsior in Trieste.  It is right across the street from the cruise pier so some rooms provide awesome views of the ship docked.