Venice replaced with Trieste

[excitedofharpenden]

2 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Flights will be the problem for us on our return to the UK.  Getting from Trieste to Venice Airport with bags will be something of a nightmare.  

We have not yet booked flights for our April 2022 cruises -  may have to go with Azamara flights although we usually do our own.   I guess they will be expensive !

Yes, I think for me if I do book one I'll do a cruise that starts in Trieste so I have the option of going to Venice if I want to for a couple of days and ends up somewhere else. It's exciting on the train at the start of the trip, but I don't fancy schlepping my luggage at the end. I just want to get home. 

 

Having said all that, I looked up Trieste and it looks a decent place (Miramare does look nice). Just not much around it. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

35 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Yes, I think for me if I do book one I'll do a cruise that starts in Trieste so I have the option of going to Venice if I want to for a couple of days and ends up somewhere else. It's exciting on the train at the start of the trip, but I don't fancy schlepping my luggage at the end. I just want to get home. 

 

Having said all that, I looked up Trieste and it looks a decent place (Miramare does look nice). Just not much around it. 

 

Phil 

Good thinking I will go for a relook with that in mind

[mwf7501]

We are on the Oct 10, 2022 Onward, which theoretically starts with an overnight in Venice.

 

Is there any expectation that Trieste will still be the "Venice solution" in Oct 2022, or is that so far in the future there is just no way to predict?

 

Frankly I am kind of hoping that with this much planning time available, AZ might consider itinerary changes for late-2022 cruises that included a Venice embark/debark.

[excitedofharpenden]

15 minutes ago, mwf7501 said:

We are on the Oct 10, 2022 Onward, which theoretically starts with an overnight in Venice.

 

Is there any expectation that Trieste will still be the "Venice solution" in Oct 2022, or is that so far in the future there is just no way to predict?

 

Frankly I am kind of hoping that with this much planning time available, AZ might consider itinerary changes for late-2022 cruises that included a Venice embark/debark.

It's really hard to tell. If Trieste is a bit of a disaster for Azamara that prides itself on destination immersion they may very well have a rethink. And with the speed at which the wheels turn in Italy it's not like there will be a quick solution. The lightening strikes they have on public transport there don't fill me with confidence either. OK if you haven't got far too go, but Venice/Trieste?

 

Phil 

[laurieb]

3 hours ago, mwf7501 said:

We are on the Oct 10, 2022 Onward, which theoretically starts with an overnight in Venice.

 

Is there any expectation that Trieste will still be the "Venice solution" in Oct 2022, or is that so far in the future there is just no way to predict?

 

Frankly I am kind of hoping that with this much planning time available, AZ might consider itinerary changes for late-2022 cruises that included a Venice embark/debark.

From what I heard in a webinar yesterday, there is a good possibility that there will be new passenger facilities on the mainland; still up in the air but enough of a chance to not change future itineraries yet.

[Host Jazzbeau]

19 minutes ago, laurieb said:

From what I heard in a webinar yesterday, there is a good possibility that there will be new passenger facilities on the mainland; still up in the air but enough of a chance to not change future itineraries yet.

The big question is 'when'?  Rome wasn't built in a decade...

[uktog]

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The big question is 'when'?  Rome wasn't built in a decade...

Indeed and will there be local objections- environmentalists are getting very active where cruise facilities are involved 

[norn iron]

3 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

It's really hard to tell. If Trieste is a bit of a disaster for Azamara that prides itself on destination immersion they may very well have a rethink. And with the speed at which the wheels turn in Italy it's not like there will be a quick solution. The lightening strikes they have on public transport there don't fill me with confidence either. OK if you haven't got far too go, but Venice/Trieste?

 

Phil 

Trieste airport is so poorly served, meaning flights to Venice and then the train are looking like the best option. The thought of lightening train strikes is a nightmare.

 

We are booked with Onward next June and the only option for Trieste is two connections from either Belfast or Dublin. Connections from outside of Europe really only have Frankfurt as a hub.

 

Thankfully our homeward flight is direct from Istanbul to Dublin.

[uktog]

4 minutes ago, norn iron said:

Trieste airport is so poorly served, meaning flights to Venice and then the train are looking like the best option. The thought of lightening train strikes is a nightmare.

 

We are booked with Onward next June and the only option for Trieste is two connections from either Belfast or Dublin. Connections from outside of Europe really only have Frankfurt as a hub.

 

Thankfully our homeward flight is direct from Istanbul to Dublin.

Yes our only options for Trieste are connections that are eye watering  tight 40 minutes at Frankfurt or 50 minutes at Munich. Not good for my blood pressure at all! 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Guideline reminder:  you can't mention (or hint at) Travel Agents or Agencies by name

[nordski]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

Yes our only options for Trieste are connections that are eye watering  tight 40 minutes at Frankfurt or 50 minutes at Munich. Not good for my blood pressure at all! 

If we are ever faced with this choice, in your view is Munich the better selection based on its smaller size?

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

44 minutes ago, nordski said:

If we are ever faced with this choice, in your view is Munich the better selection based on its smaller size?

Small size is easier to navigate, but the larger airport often has more flights – so if you miss one there is another.  So two issues to juggle...

[uktog]

6 hours ago, nordski said:

If we are ever faced with this choice, in your view is Munich the better selection based on its smaller size?

 

 

Thanks,  when UK was in the EU, I was more relaxed about tighter European connections but now we don’t have the privileges of quicker passport control I need to look at all sorts of scenarios.  At least daughter in law’s family are in Munich if it goes pear shaped there I suppose.  

[Mrs Miggins]

In view of the Venice situation I thought I might look at moving my Quest April B2B forward so that Venice was in the middle thus avoiding the problem.  However Quest does not appear on the schedule for one week following our current debark in Venice/Trieste? on May 1st.  I presume a Charter ?

Currently I can get BA flights to Barcelona returning from Venice for under £500 for both of us.  Waiting for flight price from Azamara.

[Riocca]

Have those affected by the change to Trieste been offered anything regarding transportation to and from Venice?

 

Regarding U.K. customers a change in Embarkation/Disembarkation port would obviously be a major change and their t&c’s would allow for cancellation without penalties. I would have thought Azamara would be keen to avoid this and provide transportation as most guests would have air travel arrangements to Venice Marco Polo.

 

A few years ago we were flying into Venice and there was a large group going to a festival in Pula Croatia, talking to them it was the cheapest and easiest option to fly into Venice and then use the coach service to Pula. 

We now have two cruises that either start or finish in Venice, hopefully the Marghera cruise port will happen but if it’s Trieste we will make it work. We’ve had a quote of £100 for a car for the trip with a travel time of 1 hour 40 minutes so it’s not a lot different from the Rome to Civitavechia trip we’ve all accepted over the years.

[laurieb]

5 hours ago, Riocca said:

Have those affected by the change to Trieste been offered anything regarding transportation to and from Venice?

 

Regarding U.K. customers a change in Embarkation/Disembarkation port would obviously be a major change and their t&c’s would allow for cancellation without penalties. I would have thought Azamara would be keen to avoid this and provide transportation as most guests would have air travel arrangements to Venice Marco Polo.

 

A few years ago we were flying into Venice and there was a large group going to a festival in Pula Croatia, talking to them it was the cheapest and easiest option to fly into Venice and then use the coach service to Pula. 

We now have two cruises that either start or finish in Venice, hopefully the Marghera cruise port will happen but if it’s Trieste we will make it work. We’ve had a quote of £100 for a car for the trip with a travel time of 1 hour 40 minutes so it’s not a lot different from the Rome to Civitavechia trip we’ve all accepted over the years.

We’ve had nothing in regards to an offer of transportation; we’ve already purchased train tickets though so doesn’t really matter.  I received a quote for a private transfer for four for €360!  Went with the train 

[nordski]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

Thanks,  when UK was in the EU, I was more relaxed about tighter European connections but now we don’t have the privileges of quicker passport control I need to look at all sorts of scenarios.  At least daughter in law’s family are in Munich if it goes pear shaped there I suppose.  

Ahhh, thanks, of course I didn’t think of that.

 

I guess you might be potentially joining us in the long, snaking line at Frankfurt as those with EU credentials walk through the 3 much less busy wickets designated for them. And there will be the blank and detached stares of airport functionaries who have no thought of reassigning staff. 😄

 

I have been through Munich twice with a better experience and perhaps we will hear efficiency reports from those heading to Trieste.

[uktog]

6 minutes ago, nordski said:

Ahhh, thanks, of course I didn’t think of that.

 

I guess you might be potentially joining us in the long, snaking line at Frankfurt as those with EU credentials walk through the 3 much less busy wickets designated for them. And there will be the blank and detached stares of airport functionaries who have no thought of reassigning staff. 😄

 

I have been through Munich twice with a better experience and perhaps we will hear efficiency reports from those heading to Trieste.

Hopefully Azamara come up with a better solution for us all or those itineraries will not be popular.  Appreciate the change at Venice was not their making but it needs a quick reassurance/contingency so we can go ahead with a booking with confidence it will not be a disaster of a flight experience

Edited August 20, 2021 by uktog

[Mrs Miggins]

Riocca,  interested in where you got your £100 car transfer quote from.  When I looked very briefly it came in at £350 - .  My cruise isnt til next April so hopefully the trailblazers will let us know about their Trieste transfer.   I understand that other cruise companies, who are using Ravenna, are offering their clients free transfers to and from Venice Airport even though flights were booked independently. 

[Riocca]

8 minutes ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Riocca,  interested in where you got your £100 car transfer quote from.  When I looked very briefly it came in at £350 - .  My cruise isnt til next April so hopefully the trailblazers will let us know about their Trieste transfer.   I understand that other cruise companies, who are using Ravenna, are offering their clients free transfers to and from Venice Airport even though flights were booked independently. 

I assume it’s ok to give details as these are taxi companies not travel agents, my usual go to is Airport Taxi Transfers who we’ve used a number of times without any problems, their price was £212. Then I saw posts relating to an app called gettransfers others have said it’s good but can’t comment, their price varies by car but the cheapest was £100.

 

 

Really surprised Azamara haven’t offered a solution to this, I realise the problem is not of their making but it’s a major itinerary change which within the U.K. carries responsibilities. As they have continued to offer Venice as an embarkation/disembarkation port I hope they have a plan.

[Riocca]

Just had a quick scan of the Azamara website and to date it’s only the two October 2021 cruises affected so far. They may be hoping that the Marghera option actually happens as promised, I’m hoping the cruise companies have more information on this than we do. 
I’ve done some homework but our flights home next May are booked and we’re going to make it work whatever happens.

[manc]

We are booked on b2b2b and the last port is Venice on 1 May. There is no change to the itinerary so far as we want to stay on for a few days and then take the Orient Express back to London. 

[Mrs Miggins]

1 hour ago, manc said:

We are booked on b2b2b and the last port is Venice on 1 May. There is no change to the itinerary so far as we want to stay on for a few days and then take the Orient Express back to London. 

Hopefully see you onboard for your final two cruises.  Orient Express sound fantastic.

 

Riocca I assume you have booked flights independently ?  Thanks for the transport information.  Our only other option is the dreaded Ryanair from Trieste and that takes us back to the wrong side of London so we would book BA from Heathrow.  

[Riocca]

1 minute ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Hopefully see you onboard for your final two cruises.  Orient Express sound fantastic.

 

Riocca I assume you have booked flights independently ?  Thanks for the transport information.  Our only other option is the dreaded Ryanair from Trieste and that takes us back to the wrong side of London so we would book BA from Heathrow.  

Yes always prefer doing our own flights, we could do EasyJet from Bristol which is only a couple of miles away but opted for BA from Heathrow as we could use our Avios. Club class flights cost us 50p each so if we have to cancel for any reason it’s not a lot to lose as we get the Avios back.

[Vineyard View]

Oceania has also announced Trieste as the substitute port this Fall. They are offering transportation to and from Marco Polo. 
Flights are booked so train or private car will be the choices of this is still the port. I appreciate the information on the private. There will be four of us traveling together so we will do some homework. This is all very helpful in a less than ideal situation