How to get from the port at Ranenna into Venice?

[lsok]

Our cruise ends in Ravenna and we need to get to our hotel in the Dorsoduro area of Venice. I just found out today that I missed out on the ship's transfer-- it was listed under "shore excursions" ! So now we need to book something on our own.

 

Hoping for the most direct transport. I am aware of the distance involved-- we dock very early and don't have any tours booked in Venice yet, so not under any time constraints.

 

Thank you for your help.

[euro cruiser]

You can take the train from Ravenna to Venice, there are multiple options throughout the day but all require a change of trains en route:  EN - Trenitalia

 

There is a direct bus, Flixbus, but only one run per day at 8:45 AM.  This is a pretty quick and easy option (trip takes under three hours):  https://www.flixbus.it/

[cruisemom42]

16 hours ago, lsok said:

I just found out today that I missed out on the ship's transfer-- it was listed under "shore excursions" !

 

So it's too late to book it?  Or it's full?  (Just trying to understand....). It's probably the easiest option, if there's any way you can still book it.

[lsok]

32 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

So it's too late to book it?  Or it's full? 

Yes, sold out. I had no idea it was listed under shore excursions 

[MeHeartCruising]

16 hours ago, lsok said:

Our cruise ends in Ravenna and we need to get to our hotel in the Dorsoduro area of Venice. I just found out today that I missed out on the ship's transfer-- it was listed under "shore excursions" ! So now we need to book something on our own.

 

Hoping for the most direct transport. I am aware of the distance involved-- we dock very early and don't have any tours booked in Venice yet, so not under any time constraints.

 

Thank you for your help.

 

OP, when is your cruise?  Have you actually called the cruise line or are you basing this on what shows as a full excursion on the website?  Usually when I see a transfer shown on the excursions page, it is an excursion that goes and sees things on its way to the airport or to a final destination, hence the excursion listing.  For the cruise lines I use, I don't usually see a pure transfer listed as an excursion.

 

You don't mention your cruise line, but when I first called Royal Caribbean about getting a transfer from Ravenna to Venice, they told me they didn't offer one.  I called back a couple days later and "voila!" they were more than happy to sell me one.  It turns out the first agent didn't know what he/she was talking about and didn't know how to look it up.  If the cruise is a ways off, I would keep trying.  They may add more buses or you may get an agent that knows how to deal with the internal computer system to sell you one.  

 

Also, not that you would want to wait that long, but they were still selling transfers to Venice on board the ship during my cruise.

 

In my opinion, the ship transfer is the easiest method and worth the money.

[cruisemom42]

4 minutes ago, lsok said:

Yes, sold out. I had no idea it was listed under shore excursions 

 

Oh that's too bad.... 😖

 

Those who've used the Flixbus have said it's pretty simple and the timing should work pretty well.

 

The train isn't a bad option, it just can be a bit less fun if toting lots of luggage due to the need to change trains. Look on the schedule for trains with only one change (some have two).

 

If you book through Trenitalia (and you should, link given above by euro cruiser), they will sometimes try to give you a very short connection between trains. It's not impossible to make those connections, but you are better off doing yourself a favor and choosing a routing that allows more time between, since you will have to figure out where you're going pretty quickly. Train stations have screens that show the location (track number, or in Italian binario). Ferrara is probably the most frequent transfer point -- it's not a huge station, and there are elevators if needed to cross under the tracks.

 

[lsok]

Update on a transfer from Ravenna to Venice:

I called Celebrity a couple days ago and asked if they were going to add any busses for the post cruise transfer from the port of Ravenna into Venice which shows as "sold out".   The price listed on the shore excursion page was $87.99 per person. Below is the description of this transfer:

 

"This transfer is recommended for guests traveling from Ravenna to Venice. The transfer will drop you off at Isola Nova del Tronchetto, in the Venice city center, where you can easily access buses, cars, taxis, and water taxis to continue your journey. Before the cruise ends, you will receive your luggage tags and important debark information"

 

The person I spoke with said that he could book us (husband and me) for $58 per person.  So I did -- he didn't ask for any payment info.  I called my travel agent after I hung up and he confirmed that we were indeed booked on this transfer and payment was due now, which we did through him.  So we are set-- except for getting from the train station in Venice to our hotel.  Not sure why the price was lower-except that maybe that was the "pre-cruise" excursion price.

Hope this helps some others on this board.

[MeHeartCruising]

14 minutes ago, lsok said:

Update on a transfer from Ravenna to Venice:

I called Celebrity a couple days ago and asked if they were going to add any busses for the post cruise transfer from the port of Ravenna into Venice which shows as "sold out".   The price listed on the shore excursion page was $87.99 per person. Below is the description of this transfer:

 

"This transfer is recommended for guests traveling from Ravenna to Venice. The transfer will drop you off at Isola Nova del Tronchetto, in the Venice city center, where you can easily access buses, cars, taxis, and water taxis to continue your journey. Before the cruise ends, you will receive your luggage tags and important debark information"

 

The person I spoke with said that he could book us (husband and me) for $58 per person.  So I did -- he didn't ask for any payment info.  I called my travel agent after I hung up and he confirmed that we were indeed booked on this transfer and payment was due now, which we did through him.  So we are set-- except for getting from the train station in Venice to our hotel.  Not sure why the price was lower-except that maybe that was the "pre-cruise" excursion price.

Hope this helps some others on this board.

 

$58 is about the "normal" price for the transfer in past years.  I have no idea why they also sell a higher priced excursion that does the same thing, apparently.

 

I just wanted to make sure you are clear on where the transfer that you booked drops you off at.  They don't usually drop you at the train station.  In fact, the Venice train station can't be reached by motor vehicle.  They usually drop you off at the People Mover station on the island of Tronchetto, which is one of the islands of Venice, the city.  The People Mover is sort of like an elevated, above ground subway.  You would get on it and ride it 2 stops to Piazzale Roma, which is closer to the city center and its hotels.  From Piazzale Roma, you will need to figure out how to get to your hotel.  Is this your understanding too?

Edited February 9 by MeHeartCruising

[lsok]

12 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

I just wanted to make sure you are clear on where the transfer that you booked drops you off at.  They don't usually drop you at the train station.  In fact, the Venice train station can't be reached by motor vehicle.  They usually drop you off at the People Mover station on the island of Tronchetto, which is one of the islands of Venice, the city.  The People Mover is sort of like an elevated, above ground subway.  You would get on it and ride it 2 stops to Piazzale Roma, which is closer to the city center and its hotels.  From Piazzale Roma, you will need to figure out how to get to your hotel.  Is this your understanding too?

Edited 9 minutes ago by MeHeartCruising

Thank you for that information-- I just assumed that it was a train station.  We are staying in the Dorsoduro section of Venice-- so guess I'll figure out how to get to our hotel from the Isola Nova del Tronchetto

[MeHeartCruising]

4 hours ago, lsok said:

Thank you for that information-- I just assumed that it was a train station.  We are staying in the Dorsoduro section of Venice-- so guess I'll figure out how to get to our hotel from the Isola Nova del Tronchetto

Dorsoduro is near P. Roma, but not immediately close to it.  You certainly can walk it, but depending on you hotel location you’ll likely need to go up and down multiple bridges with luggage.  I would ask your hotel what the recommend. 

Edited February 10 by MeHeartCruising

[edinburgher]

On 2/7/2024 at 1:39 AM, lsok said:

don't have any tours booked in Venice yet, so not under any time constraints.

Tours are not really essential for Venice as it is quite compact and perfectly suited  to walking, and as there are no roads, you cannot be driven around.You would only need some information either with you, or which you could access when you are there.You can also use the vaporetti to get around any longer distances, although nowhere in Venice is far from anywhere else,. but for shorter distances walking is best. You would find info on "walking tours of Venice"online, or even better, try searching for "self guided walking tours of Venice".

 

The absolute best scenic  "tour" would be by vaporetto along the Grand Canal, line 1 or 2.

Past threads about Venice include the following

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=venice&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=464

[elaine5]

On 2/9/2024 at 3:54 PM, lsok said:

Thank you for that information-- I just assumed that it was a train station.  We are staying in the Dorsoduro section of Venice-- so guess I'll figure out how to get to our hotel from the Isola Nova del Tronchetto

$58 is one way transfer pricing. We did it V-Ravenna in August. Santa Lucia train station is just over a pedestrian bridge once you get off the People Mover. You have to be able to carry your own luggage and there are a lot of steps--but they also have porters (for a fee) to carry it up.

This is photo of walking down the bridge from SL train station towards People Mover. I think I saw some taxis in this area (maybe next to people mover bldg (tall white/glass bldg far right corner) or line of people to left in photo). 

Edited February 18 by elaine5