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Cruise Ships Finally Banned in Venice.

pete_coach

By pete_coach,
in Holland America Line

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pete_coach

pete_coach

Posted
Posted

Plus charging and entry fee to Venice.

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7335651/Cruise-ships-finally-banned-Venice-following-decades-long-battle.html

 

"Now, after a decades-long battle, residents in Venice have succeeded in getting cruise ships banned from docking there.

The Italian government yesterday announced it would begin re-routing the liners away from the historic city centre, which draws some 30 million tourists a year."

"By next year the plan is for a third to berth at ports well away from the city, such as the Fusina and Lombardia terminals three miles away across the lagoon on the Italian mainland."

"Authorities said tourists - even day-trippers who only visit for a matter of hours - will be charged an entry fee of between two and five euros (£1.70 and £4.40) but it could go up to 10 euros (£9) in the high season.

And by 2022, the city council said it hoped that most people visiting Venice will reserve an entry ticket to the city before visiting - then it can monitor tourism numbers. "

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cruisemom42 Great Review Rare

cruisemom42

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I agree it's a good thing -- just posted on the same topic over on the Italy Ports of Call Forum. Unfortunately the current news articles are short on details regarding how this will be accomplished.  See my post for additional detail:

 

 

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Mickb

Mickb

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Understandable but nevertheless a shame. Sailing into Venice at dawn is one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever had. The vista of the stunning buildings washed in the early morning light will remain with me as long as I live. I consider myself blessed to have had that opportunity.

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slidergirl

slidergirl

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Bravo!  

 

I still remember standing in a walkway on a sunny day.  All of a sudden, it grew dark and the sun was blotted out - it was a cruise ship going up the Canal.    

 

People will whine and say they will miss their chance to sail in the Canal and now they have to travel a little further to spend their few hours in Venice.   Too bad.  It is all worth it to try to save Venice from further destruction.  

 

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Randyk47

Randyk47

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Tennessee Titan said:

MOST cruise ships are well over 55000 gt....

 

Certainly.  Gives the smaller ship lines, mostly the luxury lines, a leg up as their ships are well under 55,000 GT.   It for sure pretty much eliminates all the big ship lines including HAL. I hadn’t looked at the HAL ship tonnage when I posted so wasn’t sure about the R and S class ships.  I see now they are over 55,000 GT so would be banned.

Edited by Randyk47
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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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7 minutes ago, Randyk47 said:

 

Certainly.  Gives the smaller ship lines, mostly the luxury lines, a leg up as their ships are well under 55,000 GT.   It for sure pretty much eliminates all the big ship lines including HAL. I hadn’t looked at the HAL ship tonnage when I posted so wasn’t sure about the R and S class ships.  I see now they are over 55,000 GT so would be banned.

 

Yes, HAL sold their only ship under 55,000 GT.  That ship already had commanded a premium price.  With a choice of sailing into Venice (which is amazing) or going a few miles away, that ship could have commanded even a better price for ports like Venice and, justifiably so.

 

That being said and being grateful to sail into Venice on that sold ship, I totally support what Venice is doing to save their land, architecture and sights.  It’s been at risk for years.

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Randyk47

Randyk47

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, kazu said:

That being said and being grateful to sail into Venice on that sold ship, I totally support what Venice is doing to save their land, architecture and sights.  It’s been at risk for years.

 

I agree on both points.  Sailing in or out of Venice is magical and I’m glad we’ve done both a couple of times.   I have sat at our hotel outside bar enjoying a bottle of Italian wine and have watched a number of huge cruise ships come and go.  It indeed is probably time they stop.  I don’t think that’s going to totally solve the wave and wake issue as even normal non-cruise ship traffic churns up the water but it may help.  It certainly removes the danger of a mechanical issue and a “runaway” large cruise ship which could be a significant disaster.

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Vineyard View Great Review Rare

Vineyard View

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3 hours ago, Aquahound said:

Looking further in to this, it appears to be a bit of fake news right now.  Apparently someone jumped the gun and this isn't happening anytime soon.

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/featured/contrary-to-reports-cruise-ships-are-not-banned-from-venice/

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I am certainly understanding of the various cruise ports considering how to manage the large influx of cruise ships moving forward (Venice, Dubrovnik, Barcelona, etc). 

Having been to Venice only once prior (and yes that early morning, following evening sailing in/out was one of the best), we had planned on going in a couple days prior to our NA RT cruise in May,  so we will just wait to figure out the best hotel area to book until this is more definitive. 

Appreciate this thread and all of the information. 

 

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ski ww Holiday Sharing Rare

ski ww

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We've never had the pleasure of sailing in/out of Venice and it now looks like we never will. But we understand why it had to be done, surprised it wasn't done earlier. 

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Randyk47

Randyk47

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Posted
37 minutes ago, ski ww said:

We've never had the pleasure of sailing in/out of Venice and it now looks like we never will. But we understand why it had to be done, surprised it wasn't done earlier. 

 

Actually it looks like while it might happen the supposed decision is actually more of a suggestion under study right now.   I had wondered about, and thought maybe I was wrong, there being passenger facilities on the mainland near Venice.   There are none and that will take time and money to build.

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terrydtx Great Review Rare

terrydtx

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22 hours ago, Randyk47 said:

Another article I read said the ban only applied to large cruise ships over 55,000 tons.  Devil is in the details.  

We are booked on the VO Viking Sea next September and the ship is under the 55,000 tons at 47,800, so we will still be docking in Venice.😝

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cruisemom42 Great Review Rare

cruisemom42

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Randyk47 said:

 

Actually it looks like while it might happen the supposed decision is actually more of a suggestion under study right now.   I had wondered about, and thought maybe I was wrong, there being passenger facilities on the mainland near Venice.   There are none and that will take time and money to build.

 

As usual in Italy, it is one thing to make a pronouncement and another to make it happen. I am still waiting for them to start charging an entry fee to visit the Pantheon in Rome, which was announced nearly two years ago...

 

That said, I think there is collective will to make a change, and there ARE limited facilities available at other places around the lagoon (more industrial than the current port but still potentially workable). However, they would still have to work out how to get passengers from point A to point B (Venice).

 

As I said in another thread, they are talking about facilities that are approximately 3 miles from Venice proper. Considering that people on Med cruises travel 45 miles into Rome or 60 to Florence (from where ships dock), 3 miles doesn't seem worth getting upset about, especially if it helps preserve Venice.

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Randyk47

Randyk47

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Posted
22 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

As usual in Italy, it is one thing to make a pronouncement and another to make it happen. I am still waiting for them to start charging an entry fee to visit the Pantheon in Rome, which was announced nearly two years ago...

 

That said, I think there is collective will to make a change, and there ARE limited facilities available at other places around the lagoon (more industrial than the current port but still potentially workable). However, they would still have to work out how to get passengers from point A to point B (Venice).

 

As I said in another thread, they are talking about facilities that are approximately 3 miles from Venice proper. Considering that people on Med cruises travel 45 miles into Rome or 60 to Florence (from where ships dock), 3 miles doesn't seem worth getting upset about, especially if it helps preserve Venice.

 

It probably doesn’t help that the $7 billion MOSE Venetian Lagoon Protection Project looks like a major disappointment and potential failure.  While totally a separate issue from cruise ships it was supposed to help control the seasonal flooding in Venice by controlling high tides.  The project has been plagued by poor design and poor materials.   Turns out that on top of more rapid corrosion than expected the lowly mussel has caused the gates to jam.  Some can’t be raised and some can’t be lowered because of them.   Supposedly going to take until 2022 to repair and finish the project and will cost another $1 billion.  Annual maintenance cost is now projected to be $100 million/ year.  Venice faces a lot of problems not just cruise ships.

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gwilli

gwilli

Posted
Posted

Maybe a bit selfish but would be disappointed if our overnight in Venice was moved to the mainland. We were there in 2016 when small boats blocked us in and delayed our departure for about two hours.  

30191330-6225-4A3A-8536-FFB6331D31A5.jpeg

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