Possible to do "Easy Walk-Off" with luggage at Venice Cruise Port?

[TrumpyNor]

Is it still  the policy of the Port of Venice (or NCL?), that no one is allowed to self-disembark with their luggage (eg. the NCL "Easy Walk-Off" with luggage) when disembarking in Venice, Italy? I have tried to search here on CruiseCritic and also general Google  searches, and have found some conflicting information in this matter. Did only find "old" information though, from 2016 and earlier. Hope someone who have desembarked in Venice during the last year have some information in this regard.

Edited April 26, 2019 by TrumpyNor

[snirpville]

Three of us walked off with our luggage in Venice in October 2018. They "didn't recommend it" but it was not forbidden and many others were doing the same thing.

[projecthandbag]

We walked off last August with carry-on size luggage.  I didn't realize until later that they didn't have the walk-off option.  No one said anything to us nor did they check to see if we had a colored tag.

[snirpville]

Yeah, it wasn’t “advertised” but I asked at guest services and he said yes but they didn’t recommend it. We did it anyway and we each had a large suitcase plus carry ones. No one said anything. 

[imwmn913]

Good to know!  We might want to do this in October, so if this is an 'unadvertised option' something to consider!

 

For those that did it - what do you advise ? Are we going to encounter any 'barriers' that make it difficult to get the suitcase over, or can we simply walk off?  We've done this on previous cruise lines, but that was years ago.

 

Thanks!

[snirpville]

12 minutes ago, imwmn913 said:

Good to know!  We might want to do this in October, so if this is an 'unadvertised option' something to consider!

 

For those that did it - what do you advise ? Are we going to encounter any 'barriers' that make it difficult to get the suitcase over, or can we simply walk off?  We've done this on previous cruise lines, but that was years ago.

 

Thanks!

We didn’t really do anything special. Just kept our suitcases in the room. We were in no rush to get off as we were staying another 2 days so we left the rooms before 8am as they requested and went to the buffet with the luggage. Waited there and ate until about 9:30 and then got off. Easy.

 

Not really sure why it’s not recommended but I didn’t really care as we were not explicitly told no.

[KeithJenner]

There are a few terminals at Venice. In one of them you have to use a lift to disembark, and it isn’t very big. If lots of people were carrying their own luggage then it would potentially cause some delays.

 

I have always assumed that this is the reason why they don’t allow walk off at Venice, even though the other terminals are fine.

 

If you do choose to take your own luggage and happen to dock at that terminal then you may need to be a big thick skinned, as you will probably get some looks or comments from other passengers as your bags stop them from being able to get into the lifts. I have never seen anything to physically stop you from doing it.

 

Personally, as someone who usually carries off my own luggage, but knowing that the port doesn’t really allow it and having seen how much of a nuisance it could be, I choose to do as they wish.

[imwmn913]

Snirpville...that is what we've done before as well.  

Keith...you are right about not wanting to inconvenience others. Since we're staying in Venice for a couple of days after the cruise we aren't in a panic to rush off, etc.

 

Just exploring our options.

Thank you both for your replies. 

 

[TrumpyNor]

10 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

There are a few terminals at Venice. In one of them you have to use a lift to disembark, and it isn’t very big. If lots of people were carrying their own luggage then it would potentially cause some delays.

 

I have always assumed that this is the reason why they don’t allow walk off at Venice, even though the other terminals are fine.

 

If you do choose to take your own luggage and happen to dock at that terminal then you may need to be a big thick skinned, as you will probably get some looks or comments from other passengers as your bags stop them from being able to get into the lifts. I have never seen anything to physically stop you from doing it.

 

Personally, as someone who usually carries off my own luggage, but knowing that the port doesn’t really allow it and having seen how much of a nuisance it could be, I choose to do as they wish.

Thank you so much for taking the time to give a detailed reply to my question! Personally I have only done the "Easy walk-off" once myself (and never in Venice), but have friends who wanted to know. 🙂

Edited April 27, 2019 by TrumpyNor