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Visiting Venice on Oceana - Where Will We Dock?


tring
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We will be on Oceana next October and will be in Venice one day. Can anyone tell me where the ship docks there? I think the Fred Olsen ships can still go right in, but not sure about the larger ones like Oceana, as I remember something about restrictions for the larger ships some time back.

 

We have not been to Venice before (cruise or otherwise), so would we be able to just walk ashore, or will we need a shuttle bus or tour to get into the centre?

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We went into the port in Venice last year on Oceana. It's an amazing sail-in down the Guidecca Canal - be sure to be up on deck to see it!

The port is close to Piazzale Roma which is walkable from the port or you can take the people-mover (overhead tram) for part of the distance. From P. Roma you can catch the vaporetto to St Mark's which is a great ride under the Rialto Bridge and down the Grand Canal for completely different views which are impossible to see except from the water.

You can get a water taxi direct from the port to St Mark's but that goes down the Guidecca Canal which you've just come down on the ship so much better to go via the Grand Canal.

It is possible to walk from P. Roma into the main tourist spots (Rialto and St Mark's) by following the signposts you will see at first floor level on the buildings at frequent intervals. You'll feel as though you're lost but it's the best way to explore Venice. It takes about 40 minutes.

We've got one of those PopUp maps of Venice which we find very useful.

If you're able to walk OK Venice is easy to explore on foot and independently. Fab city. Enjoy.

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Thank you very much for those replies. The instructions for getting around Venice will be really useful and will look at those details and other research so we know exactly what to find when we arrive.

 

I normally do a lot of research for all cruise ports, but we will be on board Oceana for 24 nights with only 6 sea days, so a lot to take in, but we must make the most of Venice. We hope to have a relaxing time on that cruise, just having a stroll round most ports as we have a couple of other hols booked for this year (including a Russian River cruise with extra nights independently in hotels in St Petersburg ad Moscow) which will take quite a bit of prior research. Most of the Med ports are new to us, though we have have actually done a lot of cruising/land holidays to unusual places thinking that we can leave the Med until we get older - but age is advancing already clear.png?emoji-smile-1742

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We did the 17 night relocation on Oceana to Malta last year so might be able to help with other ports if you have further questions. We are on her again during the summer - they are great itineraries with many ports being easy walk-off and excellent for DiY exploration. Enjoy!

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We were on the relocation cruise last year Southampton to Malta, we sailed right past St Marks square but we had to be up early, We walked from the port to the main train station and then bought a Vaporeto day ticket I think for 20 Euro's but that gave us unlimited travel all day. We did find it hard to get out of the port but once we had found the way out it was easy and just a short walk of about 5/10 minutes and you were at the Vaporeto station and we caught the water bus along the grand Canal to St Marks square. To eat and drink try some where thats along one of the smaller streets as cafe's and bars along the Main canals and squares are very expensive. But most of all enjoy yourself's.

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Just seconding what's gone before. Last July we enjoyed the sail in on Oceana. We walked all the way from the ship to St Marks, around, about and back. I also used a free sat nav program on my phone. There was a shop my wife wanted to return to, so I took a photo of the street sign in case we could not find our way back - which was the case.

 

Most articles I read on Venice said the best thing to do is get lost. It's great fun. The signs on the building will point you back to a major area when you need them to.

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We will be on Oceana next October and will be in Venice one day. Can anyone tell me where the ship docks there? I think the Fred Olsen ships can still go right in, but not sure about the larger ones like Oceana, as I remember something about restrictions for the larger ships some time back.

 

We have not been to Venice before (cruise or otherwise), so would we be able to just walk ashore, or will we need a shuttle bus or tour to get into the centre?

 

See this link, it may help

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/08/venice-cruise-ship-traffic-restricted-amid-concerns-over-damage-to-buildings

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Having done this our selves 2 years ago and returned last year for a long weekend I can say you will love your time there.

Yes for now the big ships still dock in the same place, until the new facilities are open they are still able to.

As you get off the ship go to one of the small little shops and purchase return tickets for the people mover. For us we paid 1 Euro 50c I think, it's not expensive anyway.

Then head out of the port on foot and you will see the monorail over head.

They run quite often so you won't have much of a wait.

From there you can walk to all the main sights quite easy.

 

If you want to use the water buses you can get a ticket from most of the small shops by the train station. This you will find by walking through the bus stops and head over a very big and modern bridge the T. station is on the Left.

 

Enjoy your time there we loved it but found a day was not enough time there.

Again it's fun to get lost and we did several times. We found it useful to have google maps when we did.

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Thank you for those other replies - they are most useful and I will put this thread on favorites, so I can read it again nearer to the cruise. I will look into the other ports, but will not need to worry too much as we should be able to pick up details at the ports. We have been cruising some very unusual, far flung places and it has been very difficult to find any information at all on some ports. Will be more relaxing to just follow a well trodden path for once.

 

We had been intending to go to Venice fore a short break, or as part of a longer land holiday for a long time, but have never got round to it, so good that we will be going there on Oceana. The other ports do look good and it is the large number of ports visited that appealed to us, along with a decent price.

 

We are returning to the UK on the ship and are doing a couple of cruises together which gives a really good price as we only need one flight, but will get a free coach to Manchester airport (45 mins from home) and will not need to get to Southampton to sail out (which in our books also means an overnight in a hotel as we would not want a hectic day (and concern over if we will get there in time) before the cruise. Flight and transfer back to Manchester courtesy of P&O, males the whole lot so much easier.

Edited by tring
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We are finding this thread very informative as we will be on board Oceana in April and Venice will be one of our ports of call.

 

Could someone please confirm if the following is still an option, and if so does the implied charge also apply to Select Price passengers.

 

“From the berth (Stazione Marittima), Water shuttles will run to St Marks Square - this is a charged for service and information regarding this service will be provided to you on board a few days before the call.”

 

 

The above information is from P&O’s Port Shuttle Information Page.

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We are finding this thread very informative as we will be on board Oceana in April and Venice will be one of our ports of call.

 

Could someone please confirm if the following is still an option, and if so does the implied charge also apply to Select Price passengers.

 

“From the berth (Stazione Marittima), Water shuttles will run to St Marks Square - this is a charged for service and information regarding this service will be provided to you on board a few days before the call.”

 

 

The above information is from P&O’s Port Shuttle Information Page.

 

Sorry can't confirm whether this is inclusive or charged as an extra for Select Fares but would reiterate that should you want the experience of sailing down the Grand Canal to St Mark's that the water shuttles do not go that way. It retraces the route taken by the ship down the Guidecca Canal. It's interesting but doesn't go under the Rialto Bridge and you don't see the magnificent palaces which line the Grand Canal, views which can't be seen other than from the water.

 

That may not be important to you and taking the most convenient way in - the water taxi is closer than getting to the people mover to get to P. Roma though not that much closer if walking isn't a problem. But the first time we went on the water shuttle I was disappointed that we didn't see the Grand Canal.

Edited by kruzseeka
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Thanks for the explanation.

We have booked P&O's'Gondola Ride' excursion.

This apparently includes a water bus trip from the ship along the Grand Canal (I want to confirm that it takes this route) with commentary from a guide. It then drops you off near st Marks Square for your Gondola ride after which you have some free time before you return by water bus. What we wanted to do was to stay longer and return by P&O water shuttle later in the day. That's the plan anyway. :)

Thanks tring for starting this thread, very informative.

Edited by P-L-B
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Thanks for the explanation.

We have booked P&O's'Gondola Ride' excursion.

This apparently includes a water bus trip from the ship along the Grand Canal (I want to confirm that it takes this route) with commentary from a guide. It then drops you off near st Marks Square for your Gondola ride after which you have some free time before you return by water bus. What we wanted to do was to stay longer and return by P&O water shuttle later in the day. That's the plan anyway. :)

Thanks tring for starting this thread, very informative.

 

You'll get the best of both worlds then. But still worth watching the sail-in from on deck - the elevated view from the deck is fantastic. Last time we went it was misty on the approach across the Lagoon but far from being disappointing it was so ethereal and magical! One of my favourite images/memories.

 

If you're doing the Grand Canal plus some of the smaller ones on a gondola you will have a great experience of Venice. Catching the water bus back to the ship later sounds like a good plan to explore further and maximise your time in Venice. Hopefully it will be covered by your Select Fare but if not, it would be worth paying either for the water taxi or a vaporetto to get back to the port later to allow you to spend more time in the city.

 

You can also walk back to the port if you're not too exhausted - it only takes about 45 minutes from St Mark's at a strolling pace around the equivalent of the back streets (along the smaller canals) and is really interesting. You can't go wrong just keep following the signs back to P. Roma then from there the people mover to the entrance of the port. Whatever you decide I hope you love Venice as much as we do. :)

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Hols4

Select fares passengers were charged for the launch to St.Marks square the first time we visited Venice,so we decided to use the people mover and route Number 1 Water Bus to the Rialto Bridge last year which was much nicer.

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