Disembarkation - Venice

I will be cruising from Venice in June. Wondering if anyone would know what the earliest a person could possibly get off. Want to fly to Rome but the latest morning flight is at 10:30 am -- if we cant make that one it will be a 4:30 pm flight.

thanks in advance! Cruise On!

You can also post on the Italy Port of Call Forum for more response

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595

The first thing we need to know, here, or on the Italy board, is the schedule for your ship. Is the ship arriving the day before and spending the night (which means you can get off any time you wish, including early in the morning, to make your flight) or is the ship arriving that morning, in which case it would be harder to recommend a 10:30 flight.

You do know you can train to Rome almost as fast as you can fly, downtown to downtown? With many more options?

You don't tell us the ship or your scheduled docking time. Venice's Marco Polo Airport sometimes borders on the disfunctional...so you would want to be at the airport no later than 8 am although. since its a domestic flight you could push that to 8:30. But, why? If you are planning on going to Rome then you might want to simply take a train which gets you into the city. And you do not have to be concerned with domestic airline luggage limitations which can cost some folks a lot of money (if they are overweight or have too many pieces).

But to get back to your original question, the norm would be that those carrying their own luggage should be able to get off their ship within 30 minutes of docking. You would need some kind of transfer to the airport and there is no guarantee that land taxis will be waiting (although its likely). So you might want to prebook some kind of transfer.

If you were to take the train, and assuming you are mobile and can drag your luggage some distance, it is possible to use the People Mover to get from the port to the Piazale Roma,,,,walk across the square, over the pedestrian bridge and a few blocks to the train station. But this kind of Venice trek does require that folks are comfy with a long walk and dragging luggage.

Hank

Thank you for the quick responses. We will be on Royal Carribean. Docking at 6:45 am.

Thank you for the quick responses. We will be on Royal Carribean. Docking at 6:45 am.

You could make that flight if you do Express disembarkation (where you carry off your own luggage. Lets assume you are off the ship around 7:30, have arranged your own private car transfer, and then would be at Marco Polo Airport by 8. That would work. But consider that a train, from Venice to Rome would take you less than 4 hours...and take you from center city to center city. Flying to Rome means getting to the airport at least 2 hours before your flight, waiting about 45 to get off the plane and claim your luggage, and then you still have to get into Rome (we are assuming you are going into Rome). Once you work out all the timing, flying will take you at least as long as the train. I am not a big fan of European trains (which puts me in a minority), but in this case we would choose a train over air. Consider if you were to rush and take the 9:35 train you would be in downtown Rome (termini) by 1:20. or the 10:25 train gets you to Rome around 2:10. You would not have to deal with getting out to the Marco Polo airport, the hassles of checking-in, hoping your flight is on time (European flights are often delayed) and not dealing with the time and cost of getting from FCO into Rome.

Of course one could also argue that its easier to get from the cruise port to the airport..because a land taxi (or pre booked car) can get you between the two places. If taking a train out of Venice, you have to deal with a good share of walking (and dragging your luggage) since we assume you would use the People Mover (1.50€ per person). On the other hand, you would save 30-50€ just getting to the airport, and another bunch of money getting from FCO into Rome (we are again assuming you want to go to Rome). All this stuff is a consideration.

And then there is my favorite way of travel where we would likely rent a car (one way rental) and drive from Venice. Why? Because we love driving through Italy...and the route from Venice to Rome would give us the easy ability to stop (preferably for a few days or longer) in Tuscany! If one has the time the route could take you through places like Verona, Florence, the Chianti countryside, Siena, We could also stop at places like Montepulciano, Orvieto, etc. Some have wondered why DW and I have a long time love affair of driving in Italy (and most of Europe) and this would be part of the reason. Give me a rental car and a couple of months...and we would never be bored in Italy.

Hank

Awesome information Hank. Thank you. It is our first time in Europe so it's all new to us. What do you recommend for getting to Paris from Rome? Sorry I know this isn't a cruise question anymore.

Of course one could also argue that its easier to get from the cruise port to the airport..because a land taxi (or pre booked car) can get you between the two places.

You can get a taxi from the port to Mestre station, where you can hop onto a train to Rome. Closer and easier than the airport.

I know I'm a bit of a train fangirl, but seriously - take the train. It's sooo easy. And, if you don't care about getting the cheaper advanced-purchase fares, you don't even have to buy your tickets in advance, thus no worrying about your timing - just buy a ticket for the next train, there's at least 1 Freccia train per hour, taking 3h33 to Rome.

It is our first time in Europe so it's all new to us. What do you recommend for getting to Paris from Rome? Sorry I know this isn't a cruise question anymore.

Well, the train fangirl in me is compelled to point out that it's quite doable by train - in fact, only 1 transfer, in Torino - but it's a pretty long day, so most people would probably fly. However, if you've always wanted to see the Alps from a train, this would be your chance :D

City to city in Europe, I'm also a train person. The only drawback is you have to handle your own luggage on board. A frantic rush to the airport is not a fun way to end your vacation.

Awesome information Hank. Thank you. It is our first time in Europe so it's all new to us. What do you recommend for getting to Paris from Rome? Sorry I know this isn't a cruise question anymore.

It depends on how much time you have and your budget :). DW and I love driving between Paris and Rome, but sometimes will spend weeks on that journey. Consider that you can plan a driving route through nearly any part of France and then down through a big section of Italy. But even the most direct route is over 900 miles! Years ago we could get some good deals on one-way car rentals, But now, if driving dropping in a different country (such as France to Italy) the fees are quite high which makes this driving option fun, but not very economical. We now try to plan circular driving routes so that we can pick-up and drop cars in the same country. For example we rented a car at FCO (Rome) and drove up western Italy into France where we spent a month in the South of France. We then drove back into Northern Italy (using a different route) for a few days and dropped the car at MXP (Milan). By driving back to Italy we saved over $800 in one way drop fees (there are generally no one-way fees if dropped in the same country from where you rented) which paid for a few days in Italy :).

But, if you want to go between those two places in a reasonable period of time, flying is your best bet. There are several low cost European airlines flying this route although you always want to pay attention to each airline's luggage rules (luggage can sometimes cost more than the ticket). For example, Ryanair sometimes sells one-way tickets (Paris to Rome) for about $60.....but your luggage might cost you a lot more then $100. Vueling is another airline with relatively low fares..and their luggage fees are reasonable if you book and pay in advance.

Another option (which we have never done) is take the train. There are overnight trains (it takes 12-13 hours) but if you want to get some kind of sleeper accommodations it can cost you a lot more than an airline ticket.

Just keep in mind that when you do fly within Europe you need to pay attention to the options for getting to and from airports. If you travel light, there are usually some decent rail connections between cities and their airports. For example, in Paris you can take the RER (kind of like a suburban subway/train) from town to CDG. And once at FCO (Rome) there are a couple of decent train options (to town) or a low cost express bus.

Hank

The negatives of driving within some cities in Europe due to traffic restrictions are significant. Rome is one of them, as I understand it. Parking is just one of the issues. We used to drive in European major cities, we now avoid whenever possible.

Given that training into some of these major cities is relatively very easy, we train where possible. Conversely we drive extensively outside of the major cities- like our 3 week trip in Germany and Austria set for next May/June.

Thank you all for this valuable information. Unfortunately I am just a poor working man who only gets a few days in Europe after my cruise. We will spend a few days in Venice before the cruise. After the cruise, we wanted to make a quick trip to Rome before heading to Paris to finish off our vacation. Driving the country sounds amazing -- maybe someday. We are going with a group of 13 but only 5 of us are going to Rome. From all your tips, sounds like I will be jumping on the train to Rome and flying to Paris.

There are also overnight train options from Rome to Paris which might be a more efficient use of your time.

Thank you all for this valuable information. Unfortunately I am just a poor working man who only gets a few days in Europe after my cruise. We will spend a few days in Venice before the cruise. After the cruise, we wanted to make a quick trip to Rome before heading to Paris to finish off our vacation. Driving the country sounds amazing -- maybe someday. We are going with a group of 13 but only 5 of us are going to Rome. From all your tips, sounds like I will be jumping on the train to Rome and flying to Paris.

You should look into the low cost European airlines (Ryan Air, Vueling, and Easy Jet. These airlines do not usually show-up on the regular search engines so you may have to look at each of their individual web sites. As I said before, be careful to check both carry-on and checked luggage rules and fees. Once you price out these low cost airlines, then do a comparison by using one of the regular search engines (Kayak, Orbitz, Expedia, etc).

Hank

Thank you for the quick responses. We will be on Royal Carribean. Docking at 6:45 am.

Do note and take into account the fact that the entrance through the lagoon to the cruise port in Venice may well be fogged in. Thereby causing a later than planned docking. If it were me I would plan a train ride to Rome. More options, more flexibility.

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thanks again for all the great tips. looks like a train ride through Italy is in our future.