NO MORE VENICE SAILINGS!

[sidari]

Finally the Italian Government have made a decision.

 

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

[Selion]

Read through the entire article.  Seems to me Venicians don't want tourists, period.

[Beardface]

Banning cruise ships?

 

Can't really argue with that.  The displacement from these massive modern ships has been wrecking the infrastructure and causing the city serious issues over time.

 

Banning tourism in general, which appears to be the goal here?  Ehhh

 

I went there on my honeymoon.  Stayed there 3 nights in a hotel and had a great time, and I could never imagine doing it again on a cruise where you only get a few hours.  Its worth visiting once, but I'm not sure I even want to go back.  Florence and Rome were much better, in my opinion.

[Host Jazzbeau]

As usual the Press is better at copying press releases than doing any reporting on their own.  The ship that MSC Opera crashed into was NOT a 'small tourist boat.'  The Uniworld River Countess is a small [130 passengers – that part was right] river ship that sails around the Venice lagoon and up the Po river.  Too bad the reporter doesn't read Cruise Critic – they would learn a lot! 

[sidari]

8 minutes ago, Beardface said:

Banning cruise ships?

 

Can't really argue with that.  The displacement from these massive modern ships has been wrecking the infrastructure and causing the city serious issues over time.

 

Banning tourism in general, which appears to be the goal here?  Ehhh

 

I went there on my honeymoon.  Stayed there 3 nights in a hotel and had a great time, and I could never imagine doing it again on a cruise where you only get a few hours.  Its worth visiting once, but I'm not sure I even want to go back.  Florence and Rome were much better, in my opinion.

90,000 tons is the current size limit for ships going into Venice so not huge ships. We have overnighted in Venice on one cruise and a lot of passengers stay before and after a cruise that begins there so to say people spend little while there is being somewhat untruthful.

[mef_57]

Not the first post about this on this today.  Not the same news reference, but same topic.  Can it be merged?

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2686237-sailing-into-venice-to-end/

Regardless, nothing can be done 'tomorrow' and other articles state 'talks are happening'. The suggested alternate ports may or may not have the infrastructure to support multiple cruise ships and passengers for some time yet.  Expect a phased out approach at best.

If these are normally major container ports, that dock space has been booked for months already, so let's do some independent research of what is mentioned and make some logical observations rather than take media as the truth.

[Oxo]

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/spanish-steps-rome-sitting-fine/index.html

FYi about other restrictions. 

[Beardface]

1 minute ago, sidari said:

90,000 tons is the current size limit for ships going into Venice so not huge ships. We have overnighted in Venice on one cruise and a lot of passengers stay before and after a cruise that begins there so to say people spend little while there is being somewhat untruthful.

When we were on our honeymoon, we passed the Celebrity Silhouette and her 122,000 tons in the Grand Canal on the ferry back from Burano.  So even if they were looking to just scale back, enough damage has already been done over time from the mega ships that used to be allowed in that they really need to cut it all off to preserve what they can from here on out.

 

And, another thing.  The Venice airport was grossly inadequate for the volume of passengers that disembarked from that ship the next day.  We arrived to the airport nearly 3 hours before our flight, and had to sprint from security to the gate to not miss it.

[sidari]

The 90k limit has been in place for some time now, we sailed Divina to Miami in 2013 from Venice, the ships don't sail in the Grand canal but the Guidecca Canal.

[G.M.T.]

24 minutes ago, Beardface said:

 

Banning tourism in general, which appears to be the goal here?  Ehhh

 

So that the citizens of Venice can get their city back and lead a n ormal peaceful life.

 

Rome is almost following suit, in banning eating and sitting on the  Spanish Steps (fine of €400).

[sidari]

The number of people living in Venice will not keep the number of businesses open!

[mnocket]

Misleading Title!

Cruise ships will now dock in the industrial port that is close by. Venice is not disappearing from cruise itineraries. 

[Norwich Cruiser]

3 hours ago, Beardface said:

Banning cruise ships?

 

Can't really argue with that.  The displacement from these massive modern ships has been wrecking the infrastructure and causing the city serious issues over time.

 

Banning tourism in general, which appears to be the goal here?  Ehhh

 

I went there on my honeymoon.  Stayed there 3 nights in a hotel and had a great time, and I could never imagine doing it again on a cruise where you only get a few hours.  Its worth visiting once, but I'm not sure I even want to go back.  Florence and Rome were much better, in my opinion.

Each to there own but have visited and stayed in all a few times and we prefer Venice to both Rome and Florence.

Many itineraries now overnight in Venice which we have done a couples of times and found it to be rather nice.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

Misleading Title!

Cruise ships will now dock in the industrial port that is close by. Venice is not disappearing from cruise itineraries. 

 

My prediction is that without the dramatic sail in/out and being parked in an industrial area where you can't walk from the ship – cruise ships calling on Venice will drop dramatically.  It would IMHO be better to dock in Trieste and take an excursion into Venice for the day – that way you can also enjoy Trieste.

 

Also, at the moment there is no infrastructure to absorb lots of cruise ships on the mainland near Venice, so this is probably just a small step where the government has decided not to oppose the change.  Now they have to decide whether to construct a new passenger cruise port somewhere or dredge out a new channel to get the ships to Marittima without going through the Giudecca Canal – which of course will happen with all Italian speed 

[mnocket]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

My prediction is that without the dramatic sail in/out and being parked in an industrial area where you can't walk from the ship – cruise ships calling on Venice will drop dramatically.  It would IMHO be better to dock in Trieste and take an excursion into Venice for the day – that way you can also enjoy Trieste.

 

Also, at the moment there is no infrastructure to absorb lots of cruise ships on the mainland near Venice, so this is probably just a small step where the government has decided not to oppose the change.  Now they have to decide whether to construct a new passenger cruise port somewhere or dredge out a new channel to get the ships to Marittima without going through the Giudecca Canal – which of course will happen with all Italian speed 

Another possibility is that they decide that cruise ship tourists just aren't worth it and they either outright ban cruise ships or ban buses (like Paris has).

[sidari]

It is not likely that the commercial port would be used, Trieste would be more suitable and MSC have a stake in the port. By using Trieste the larger ships like Divina, the Seaside and Meraviglia class could also use the port.

Another alternative is for cruise ships to use the commercial route and then turn East towards Maritimo and continue to berth where they do now which means they avoid the Guidecca Canal.

If as the story says that Venice wants to decrease tourist numbers then ships will be banned altogether from using Maritimo at the cost of local jobs.

[mnocket]

1 minute ago, sidari said:

It is not likely that the commercial port would be used, Trieste would be more suitable and MSC have a stake in the port. By using Trieste the larger ships like Divina, the Seaside and Meraviglia class could also use the port.

Another alternative is for cruise ships to use the commercial route and then turn East towards Maritimo and continue to berth where they do now which means they avoid the Guidecca Canal.

If as the story says that Venice wants to decrease tourist numbers then ships will be banned altogether from using Maritimo at the cost of local jobs.

I don't think the loss of local jobs is a major concern.  From what I've read, Venice much prefers land tourists that stay in local hotels and spend more money in local shops and restaurants.  I think it's entirely possible that Venice might do away with cruise ships all together as the land tourists are adequate in numbers to support the local economy.

[sidari]

You seem to have forgotten about those who stay before and after a cruise and spend money, if taking money is the main concern then the merchants of Venice should reduce their ridiculous over expensive prices then people would spend more.

We have been and stayed in Venice, cruised out of and into Venice and overnighted in Venice on a cruise, on each occasion we have spent money which has been away from the likes of St Marks Square and seen much more of Venice than the few places most tourists head to. 

[Atlanta07]

 

This title is so misleading - and frankly irresponsible. Read the articles - do you research. Yes - there are going to be changes and cruise lines may indeed go to close by specific ports - however ships are not being banned. They are looking for a reasonable amount of ship activity - especially for locals - that locals will participate in for those decisions. 

 

https://www.thelocal.it/20190810/no-venice-isnt-about-to-ban-cruise-ships-from-its-lagoon

[sidari]

Cruise ships will be stopped from sailing out of Venice at some point along the current route of Guidecca Canal, if they were to move to Marghera they are not sailing out of Venice, if they move to Trieste they are not sailing out of Venice, if they use the Lido they are not sailing out of Venice, so the story or thread title is not misleading!

[flag fan]

I have never sailed into or out of Venice (but was on a land vacation there decades ago), but I agree with the ban.  The canals of Venice should be limited to boats smaller than cruise ships.  There is nothing wrong with docking nearby (Trieste or the industrial dock) with trips into Venice.  If you want to glide up and down a canal to see the sights, there will be plenty of options to do so on a smaller boat that will create less damage to the city's infrastructure.  

[sidari]

Sadly many of the smaller boats are the problem but those in charge refuse to accept it, minute by minute they are tearing about causing waves and ignoring speed limits but nothing is said or done about it, it is easier to blame cruise ships.

[Hlitner]

As one who has cruises on many different cruise lines, I want to clarify to the subject.  Yes, it is true that large ships (such as those operated by MSC) are likely going to be banned from the Guidecca Canal and need to dock at other piers located on the mainland (we have our own concerns about the increased bus traffic that will result).  But this does not mean that folks cannot continue to cruise into Venice.  But they will simply have to cruise on lines with smaller vessels :).   

 

Hank