Venice Card vs. ACTV travel card??

[Kayelache]

We will be in Venice two days pre-cruise. It looks like the Blue Venice Card, which for 48 hours runs about 36 Euros, while the 48 hour ACTV travel card for just transportation is about 8 euros less. The blue Venice card includes free toilets (what is the charge if you have to pay?) and some discounts around town, while the orange Venice card is quite a bit more expensive but has free admission to some museums. We've already booked the "Secret Itinerary" tour at the Doge's Palace, which is one of the included museums. and charged it to my credit card.

Is it really worth the extra money to buy the Venice card, and, if so, Blue or Orange? At six euros a ride, it looks like it would be very worthwhile to get the unlimited travel card for the water buses. Everything is going to be SO expensive in Europe, I'd like to make my poor weak dollars go as far as possible!

[Emom]

We attended a Rick Steves lecture this weekend on Rome, Florence and Venice. They said that unless you're staying more than 2 nights, it's usually not worth buying the Venicecard (but if you're taking more than 2 vaporetto rides per day, the ACTV usually pays for itself).