It is now official - the port of TRIESTE is the NEW "Venice port" for NCL

[TrumpyNor]

As we have a 7 days roundtrip cruise from Venice, Italy booked for July 2022, and no cruiseships except the very tiny ones are allowed in to Venice port since summer 2021,  I have been trying to do some research to find out the likely alternative ports we would be sailing from, and there were three different alternative options that were likely to be the replacement port:

• Port of Ravenna
• Port of Trieste
• Port of Monfalcone

 

Until today my research had retulted in absolutely no clear answers, just guesses everywhere - not even my PCC at NCL could find out anything a couple of weeks ago. But today I was just checking my online cruise summary as I am waiting for a Latitudes Diamond upgrade to be activated on our Venice-cruise, and then I noticed this:

 

 

So the city of Trieste, located in Italy’s extreme northeast  (kind of surrounded by the country of Slovenia), will be the starting point for all cruises offered to/from "Venice" by NCL. Instead of the cruise ship (and city) being as little as 14 km/9 miles) from Venice Marco Polo Airport, Port of Trieste is located about 152 km/95 miles from Venice Marco Polo Airport. That is some distance..... 

 

For those who may have no idea what I am talking about, here is some information:
https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-cruising-changes.htm

 

Personally my husband and I have been on several cruises to/from Venice in the past, and was looking forward to spending a night there pre-cruise. Well, I guess not - will instead plan on finding a hotel in Trieste for the night before the cruise, as I do NOT want to travel for several hours just to get to the port on embarkation day... 

Edited January 13, 2022 by TrumpyNor

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

I wouldn't take this as the final decision........

[TrumpyNor]

2 minutes ago, Funky Fusion FoodsJ said:

I wouldn't take this as the final decision........

What do you mean? ALL cruises on ncl.com to/from Venice now have Trieste listed as the port, so seems pretty final to me...

 

[CruiseMH]

24 minutes ago, TrumpyNor said:

 will instead plan on finding a hotel in Trieste for the night before the cruise, as I do NOT want to travel for several hours just to get to the port on embarkation day... 

 

I`ve been in Trieste already and this city is a little jewel. Way more calm than Venice but dozens of magnificent historic buildings. So you won`t make a mistake if you stay one or two days in Trieste before your cruise.

[TrumpyNor]

Just now, CruiseMH said:

 

I`ve been in Trieste already and this city is a little jewel. Way more calm than Venice but dozens of magnificent historic buildings. So you won`t make a mistake if you stay one or two days in Trieste before your cruise.

Thank you very much for that information, happy to hear that!

[aubreyc1988]

I always find the smaller, rural towns a more accurate/authentic experience anyhow! I bet it is LOVELY, it is a bucket list item for me after the pandemic. 

[Keith.W]

Just booked the VIVA for the Greek Isles  Sept 2023 and the port of TRIESTE it is , i was looking forward to exploring Venice but i new the VIVA wouldn't be able to cruise out of  it given the current rules.

[bluesea777]

32 minutes ago, TrumpyNor said:

What do you mean? ALL cruises on ncl.com to/from Venice now have Trieste listed as the port, so seems pretty final to me...

 

 

Yes ....

 

 

A change for us if we are to go on a cruise out of "Venice" next time. We have been to Venice a few times and have cruised out of Venice, and we greatly enjoyed that but it's now a "been there done that" thing for us - now more expensive and crowded (prolly no more crowds now that cruising is now banned from Venezia-Stazione Marittima Porto.

 

Trieste is so close to the Slovenia border .... we have been to Koper Slovenia by ship and have taken a tour to Ljubljana & Lake Bled - very picturesque.

 

 

[SliderNc]

Trieste is gorgeous and a wonderful city to spend a day or two in pre/post cruise.  Spent many a land vacations in that area growing up and the city of one of my family's favorite.  If I remember correctly, the area where the cruise port is has some really nice hotels and restaurants. 

 

There was some talk that they were going to build a new channel that would not go through the city center of Venice so that the larger ships could use the port in the future.  Just don't know the timeline on that or if/when it will happen.

[DCGuy64]

We went on a cruise last August from Trieste and took the train, from Venezia Mestre to Trieste was just over 2 hours, and it was a very pleasant journey. Venice is definitely a beautiful and picturesque city, but Trieste is a little gem of a town and we had outstanding food while there. What it may lack in terms of Venice's many tourist sites, it more than makes up for by the lack of hordes of tourists. 😄

[SpainAlien]

Well that's a bit more tricky, there are no direct flights showing from our local airports (Spain) on the dates we want, only 2 direct flights per week for a 10 hour journey time via Frankfurt. Maybe the flights will open up closer to the season

[TrumpyNor]

7 minutes ago, SpainAlien said:

Well that's a bit more tricky, there are no direct flights showing from our local airports (Spain) on the dates we want, only 2 direct flights per week for a 10 hour journey time via Frankfurt. Maybe the flights will open up closer to the season

It is only a couple of hours with train from Venice, but we will be arriving at Venice airport around 16.00 and would probably not be in Trieste until around 20.00 - so not ideal. I have at least booked a hotel right across the street from Trieste cruise port, so should be in walking distance there....  😉

[kochleffel]

Royal Caribbean is using Ravenna, which is worth visiting but not very convenient if you're flying to Venice. For Ravenna, Bologna is an alternative airport. It's possible to fly to Trieste from Frankfurt and Munich, and I would consider taking Lufthansa via either of those (service from Munich is on Air Dolomiti, an Italian subsidiary). ITA, the successor to Alitalia, also flies there from Rome.

 

 

[RD64]

As several people have already mentioned, Trieste is truly a gem. I am probably biased because I have relatives that live there and in the surrounding region.

 

Assuming that the Viva sails from Trieste - and not from nearby Monfalcone - you will be surrounded by hotels, restaurants, and cafes directly across from the cruise ship pier - splurge and stay at the Savoia Excelsior - literally right across the street. Nothing beats a Spritz Aperol on a warm summer night sitting in Piazza Unita - the largest piazza in Italy, almost overlooking the Adriatic.

 

If you are planning on staying several days - the hinterland offers a variety of things to do off the typical beaten path.

 

Cheers.

[TrumpyNor]

10 hours ago, RD64 said:

As several people have already mentioned, Trieste is truly a gem. I am probably biased because I have relatives that live there and in the surrounding region.

 

Assuming that the Viva sails from Trieste - and not from nearby Monfalcone - you will be surrounded by hotels, restaurants, and cafes directly across from the cruise ship pier - splurge and stay at the Savoia Excelsior - literally right across the street. Nothing beats a Spritz Aperol on a warm summer night sitting in Piazza Unita - the largest piazza in Italy, almost overlooking the Adriatic.

 

If you are planning on staying several days - the hinterland offers a variety of things to do off the typical beaten path.

 

Cheers.

 

Thank you to all of you who have taken your time to write som descriptions about Trieste, it is highly appreciated!

 

I actually booked a night at the Savoia Excelsior purely because of its location, that it is a luxury hotel comes as an extra bonus. Only downside for us is that we booked our flight to Venice several months ago, at a very good price. With arriving at Venice airport at 4.00 PM, then getting luggage, transport to train station, and the train itself, it is very possible that we will not arrive in Trieste until 8.00 PM or even later... Even though I can cancel our current plane tickets without a penalty, the price to purchase new tickets (either for arriving in Venice two days before the cruise and then have more time to get to Trieste without stressing too much, or for flights to Trieste) are much higher than then what I have paid for our current tickets).

 

So allthough would be nice to explore a new Italian city instead of Venice, will arrive there after dark and the cruise is the next day. 

 

 

Edited January 14, 2022 by TrumpyNor

[phillygwm]

17 hours ago, CruiseMH said:

 

I`ve been in Trieste already and this city is a little jewel. Way more calm than Venice but dozens of magnificent historic buildings. So you won`t make a mistake if you stay one or two days in Trieste before your cruise.

The one trip I was most looking forward to was my 2019 Greek Isles cruise out of Venice; it was also the most disappointing.  Not because of anything on ship, which was fine, but Venice and each of the ports were overrun with people.  Admittedly, we were there at a peak time (June) because it was my graduation present to my niece and she had a short window between graduation and the whole adulting thing.  I'm glad I saw Venice, despite the mob, but the prospect of a "little jewel" without huge crowds would be nice!

[BklynBorn47]

51 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

The one trip I was most looking forward to was my 2019 Greek Isles cruise out of Venice; it was also the most disappointing.  Not because of anything on ship, which was fine, but Venice and each of the ports were overrun with people.  Admittedly, we were there at a peak time (June) because it was my graduation present to my niece and she had a short window between graduation and the whole adulting thing.  I'm glad I saw Venice, despite the mob, but the prospect of a "little jewel" without huge crowds would be nice!

 

Several times when travelling with grandchildren we have had the "short window" you describe. Of course, we realized the irony of our complaints since WE were part of the mob.  That said, before Covid we could visit these popular destinations on our own and even stay awhile because of the off season prices (right next to the Rialto Bridge in April 2019). Weather was great and fewer tourists. Sadly, "on our own" is unlikely to return any time soon.  

Looking forward to traveling now with any cruise line looking out for my well-being.  
We have b2b NCL (Lisbon-Iceland) in June and b2b with Windstar (Athens-Istanbul-Black Sea) in Sept.  

[cruisemom42]

19 hours ago, aubreyc1988 said:

I always find the smaller, rural towns a more accurate/authentic experience anyhow! I bet it is LOVELY, it is a bucket list item for me after the pandemic. 

 

While it is definitely lovely, I wouldn't consider it small or rural. The population is about the same as Venice.

[46harley]

The changed port sounds lovely.  I did cruise from Venice twice - spent an extra day once, and cruiseline had an overnight the 2nd time.  I do recall reading that the City of Venice was no longer going to accept ships.  Thats understandable. 

[The Traveling Man]

I'm looking forward to seeing Trieste.  We've been to Venice several times and really enjoy it, but as others have said, it's a case of "been there, done that" for us.  Since direct flights from the US to Trieste are few and far between, we probably will fly to Genoa or Milan, spend a couple of days there, then take the train to Trieste, perhaps with a stopover in Venice.  I appreciate the info about the Savoia Excelsior hotel.  We definitely will look into that.

[RD64]

As Cruisemom42 says - it is anything but rural. It is a city - it is the regional capital. A mix of Italy, Austria, and Slovenia that you will not find anywhere else.

[RD64]

As an option - even further off the standard tourist track - stop and spend a night in Udine - about 1/2 way between Venice and Trieste. Another undiscovered gem to most North Americans - unless you are stationed at the American airforce base in Aviano. Napoleon, Attila the Hun, and numerous others found reason to stop here. You can too on the way to Trieste.

[CruiseMH]

4 hours ago, phillygwm said:

The one trip I was most looking forward to was my 2019 Greek Isles cruise out of Venice; it was also the most disappointing.  Not because of anything on ship, which was fine, but Venice and each of the ports were overrun with people.  Admittedly, we were there at a peak time (June) because it was my graduation present to my niece and she had a short window between graduation and the whole adulting thing.  I'm glad I saw Venice, despite the mob, but the prospect of a "little jewel" without huge crowds would be nice!

 

You were there in June?You should have been there in August,thats the real main season with even more crowds. 😄

 

Trieste is not completely free of tourists,in summer there are also a lot of them but much less than in Venice or Dubrovnik.

 

 

[RD64]

As an aside - if you are taking the train from Venice, make sure to sit on the right hand side of the train. As you approach / pass the Monfalcone stop (the last one before Trieste I believe) you will pass the Monfalcone shipyard where the Prima / Viva were / are being built. You will get a good view of whatever ships are being built.

[The Traveling Man]

31 minutes ago, RD64 said:

As an aside - if you are taking the train from Venice, make sure to sit on the right hand side of the train. As you approach / pass the Monfalcone stop (the last one before Trieste I believe) you will pass the Monfalcone shipyard where the Prima / Viva were / are being built. You will get a good view of whatever ships are being built.

Thanks for the tip !