Venice Water Taxi Required by Princess?

[the admiral12]

I am on the Ruby this week and we are three days away from Venice. Today Princess issued everybody a water taxi ticket which they will charge us $15 per head for. The only way to avoid the charge is to return the tickets tonight.

 

Do I need a water taxi ticket on our day in port prior to disembarkation? Is that a reasonable price?

 

How can they charge us for things without our approval?

[Hlitner]

I am on the Ruby this week and we are three days away from Venice. Today Princess issued everybody a water taxi ticket which they will charge us $15 per head for. The only way to avoid the charge is to return the tickets tonight.

 

Do I need a water taxi ticket on our day in port prior to disembarkation? Is that a reasonable price?

 

How can they charge us for things without our approval?

 

Princess has done this for many years and they will tell you its done as a convenience to the passengers. If you do not use the tickets you can return them to Guest Relations at any time in the next few days and they will credit the money back to your account. Personally, we think those water taxis are a bad use of money. The water taxis will only take you to one place...which is St Marks Square. There is a lot more to Venice then that single place and it just makes a lot more sense to take the People Mover over to the Piazale Roma where you can access the entire ACTV (vaporetto) system. You can buy timed vaporetto tickets to best suit your schedule. If you are in Venice for one day a 24 hour ticket is usually the way to go.

 

Hank

[John Bull]

Yes, that's quite a nerve, isn't it.:rolleyes:

 

But it's standard Princess procedure for Venice.

For one trip out-&-back it's poor value, but vaguely worthwhile if you are going to go into Venice again tomorrow. And the last return is well past midnight.

Much cheaper to take a 5 or 10 minute walk (depends where you berth) to the people-mover (one euro), which takes you to a vaporetto stop where you can sail down the canal to the Rialto or St Marks for a couple of euros.

 

I think there's a box for unused tix at Guest Relations - if not, I'm damned if I'd join a line tonight - I'd return the tix when convenient to me.

 

JB :)

[D4]

Princess did the same thing on our cruise in November 2012. We turned the form back in so we wouldn't be charged. I thought it should have been handled the opposite - turn in the forms if you want to be charged for that service.

 

We were staying at Hotel Santa Chiara which I selected because of its location on the Grand Canal and it backs up to Piazzale Roma. I had already planned to take the People Mover (1 euro per person)and buy a 72 hour vaporetto pass.

 

So my advice is to use their service if you want, but you don't have to.

[paul929207]

It is not a water taxi service. It is a shuttle between the ship and San Marco Plaza. We always turn it back in as we walk all over the city and thus have no need for the shuttle.

[dog]

I read somewhere Celebrity offers water taxi for $22pp to P. san Marco. Do they have you sign up for it or is it handled the same way as Princess?

 

thanks,

 

dog:)

[TMLAalum]

I read somewhere Celebrity offers water taxi for $22pp to P. san Marco. Do they have you sign up for it or is it handled the same way as Princess?

 

thanks,

 

dog:)

 

With Celebrity, the choice is yours to sign up for their shuttle to San Marco. If you are interested and want to maximize your time in Venice, sign up pronto as boarding times from the ship to San Marco are assigned times based on when you purchase the service. We had a group of six with us last year and several weren't up for DIYing to the People Mover and vaporetto, so we decided on this option the evening prior to arriving in Venice and given a later board time to San Marco than we would have liked.

Returning back to the ship, it's first-come, first-serve for the water shuttle- you just need your voucher.

[CathyCruises]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I BELIEVE the ship water taxis take you around the southern part of the island to San Marco and do not take you the long way, down the Grand Canal. So not only are you paying a lot, you are also missing a lot.

[aquilegia]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I BELIEVE the ship water taxis take you around the southern part of the island to San Marco and do not take you the long way, down the Grand Canal. So not only are you paying a lot, you are also missing a lot.

 

I didn't use the shuttle but I am sure you are correct as to the route it takes. It's designed to get people into the city as conveniently as possible. It would take them way longer to go round to the north and then come back down the length of the Grand Canal, it wouldn't be practicable for a shuttle. But having said that, the route the boat along the Giudecca is also very interesting and Venice is so small that you're likely to see all the major landmarks during your visit anyway. I don't think the route is a reason not to take the shuttle, but for me the unnecessary cost was.

[John Bull]

I didn't use the shuttle but I am sure you are correct as to the route it takes. It's designed to get people into the city as conveniently as possible. It would take them way longer to go round to the north and then come back down the length of the Grand Canal, it wouldn't be practicable for a shuttle. But having said that, the route the boat along the Giudecca is also very interesting and Venice is so small that you're likely to see all the major landmarks during your visit anyway. I don't think the route is a reason not to take the shuttle, but for me the unnecessary cost was.

 

We used the shuttle-boat ( yes, as others have said, it's not a water-taxi), & agree 100%.

A pleasant & convenient form of transport, but not cheap - about the same value as ships' shuttlebuses.

 

JB :)

[KirkNC]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I BELIEVE the ship water taxis take you around the southern part of the island to San Marco and do not take you the long way, down the Grand Canal. So not only are you paying a lot, you are also missing a lot.

 

Yes that is correct, you pay more and take a less scenic route.