Seabourn Quest Departing from Venice, Italy

[JoTreacy]

Hi

I am booked on this wonderful cruise in July and I am wondering where the ship docks in Venice, Italy?

 

How do passengers access  the ship?

 

My research tells me that transport is mainly by "vaporetto" or small boats so it may be difficult with luggage etc.

 

Thank you for any helpful hints and advice.

[margbem]

42 minutes ago, JoTreacy said:

Hi

I am booked on this wonderful cruise in July and I am wondering where the ship docks in Venice, Italy?

 

How do passengers access  the ship?

 

My research tells me that transport is mainly by "vaporetto" or small boats so it may be difficult with luggage etc.

 

Thank you for any helpful hints and advice.

Unfortunately Venice has closed its doors to cruise ships now and they have to depart from elsewhere (some still in Venice at Marghera) as the ships sailing up the Guidecca canal have been causing huge issues for the city. It appears (fingers crossed)  that Seabourn will be using Marghera so passengers will still check in at Marittima but will then be taken by bus to board the ship. Some cruise lines have moved to Trieste or Ravenna which are significant distances away.   

 

You would have to make your own way to Marittima so by taxi (land from Piazzale Roma,) vaporetto or private water taxi or the people mover, also from Piazzale Roma.

 

My advice would be to stay near Piazzale Roma so you can travel by land taxi. Much easier than trying to take luggage on the vaporetto. If not, maybe a water taxi?

 

Have a look at Venice for Visitors. A wonderful website for all information.

[cruiseej]

We've done it multiple times by vaporetto. These aren't small boats; think of it as a large bus, but on water. It's efficient and inexpensive. Getting on and off is not difficult. The downside is that you have to be capable of maneuvering your luggage to the vaporetto stop, and then from where they drop you at the port to where you check in for your cruise. The latter can be a bit of a walk, depending where you have to check in. Four of us did this in 2019, when the ships still docked at the cruise port, and it was a long walk with luggage to where the ship was docked. (But within minutes of arrival, we were on the ship, seated at an outside table at the Colonnade, enjoying a breeze and sipping cold white wine, and all was well!)

 

A private water taxi directly from your hotel (if you hotel is on a canal which allows water taxis to pull up) can make it simple to depart your hotel and get to the cruise port — but you'll still have at least somewhat of a walk from where thy drop you to the cruise terminal.  Private water taxis cost quite a bit more than the vaporetto — but it's a pretty cool way to make the trip! Or, as noted above, you can stay at a hotel near the road entrance onto Venice, so you can get a conventional taxi to the cruise terminal; the downside is that this location is a bit further from central Venice.

 

This assumes you'r staying at a hotel before the cruise, which I realize you didn't say. If you are flying in the day of the cruise, then you can get a bus or taxi from the airport to the cruise terminal. Or you can go from the airport to the cruise terminal via water taxi (for a lot more money but a unique experience!).

 

As stated above, you should verify with Seabourn that you will check in for your cruise at the Marittima Cruise Port terminal. (If your cruise is July 2 or July 12, this port website shows the Quest departing from the Marghera docks, so that is likely what is planned.) You will check in at the Marittima terminal in Venice, drop off your luggage, get your Covid test (if they're still doing that at the time), and then get on a bus for the 15-minute ride to the mainland Marghera port where the ship is docked. (They have no check-in facilities there, which is why they still use the cruise port on the island of Venice for check-in.)

[JoTreacy]

Hi margbem and cruiseej

Thank you so much for the valuable information.  My cruise is on July 12 as you note so its great to know that the ship will depart from the Maghera docks.  Very valuable information.

Many thanks again

 

Jo

Perth WA

[legal holiday]

When you disembark in Venice can you have a car pick you up at the Marghera pier for trip to airport, or do you have to take a Seabourn bus back to the Marittima Cruise Port terminal in Venice proper before you can have a car pick you up.  If it is the later, it seems inefficient and a time delayer.

[marazul]

Seabourn usually has transport options for disembarking guests that are not on the website.  You get the information on board a couple of days before the end of the cruise or you can ask at Seabourn Square earlier.  I would suspect that they will offer direct buses to the airport, but because this is a new port no one has done it yet.  This would be consistent with their offerings on other ports.

[cruiseej]

15 hours ago, legal holiday said:

When you disembark in Venice can you have a car pick you up at the Marghera pier for trip to airport, or do you have to take a Seabourn bus back to the Marittima Cruise Port terminal in Venice proper before you can have a car pick you up.  If it is the later, it seems inefficient and a time delayer.

 

Because there is no cruise terminal at the industrial Marghera port, I don't know whether there is a place for luggage to be sorted for pick-up there. I also don't know if they allow taxis/hired cars to queue there to pick up passengers. 

[margbem]

52 minutes ago, cruiseej said:

 

Because there is no cruise terminal at the industrial Marghera port, I don't know whether there is a place for luggage to be sorted for pick-up there. I also don't know if they allow taxis/hired cars to queue there to pick up passengers. 

I think, but don't know for certain, that passengers still check in at Marittima with their luggage and are then taken by bus to Marghera. I presume disembarkation would be the same as Marittima is geared up for passengers and luggage. 

[legal holiday]

Seabourn should provided better guidance on the Venice port arrangements.  If you order a car for pick up, where does it go to pick you up?

[curmudgeon98]

37 minutes ago, legal holiday said:

Seabourn should provided better guidance on the Venice port arrangements.  If you order a car for pick up, where does it go to pick you up?

I think all the cruise lines (and the port) are still figuring things out about how operations will work this year.  Most of the Marghera port space is purely industrial, with no provision for passengers wandering about or private vehicles.  The Fusina section is slightly better, being set up for truck ferries, but it is still quite limited.  

 

Seeing how the April and May cruises operate may give a better picture.  One of the Viking ships was in Venice recently, and it seemed like the process required some extra patience. 

 

Private water taxis might be an option (they can take you to the airport), but I suspect they would have to be arranged through the ship and might depend on whether there are customs formalities to be dealt with.

[madera1]

We have a cruise booked the first week of June that is round trip Venice. Hoping to know the exact embarkation port by end of April in case ai need to change hotel arrangements. We then have a Holland America cruise that begins two days later that is also round trip Venice. 

[curmudgeon98]

3 hours ago, madera1 said:

We have a cruise booked the first week of June that is round trip Venice. Hoping to know the exact embarkation port by end of April in case ai need to change hotel arrangements. We then have a Holland America cruise that begins two days later that is also round trip Venice. 

It will be interesting to see how things work out.  Early June has a pretty busy port schedule listed for Marghera.  June 11, in particular has three ships of a size that might use the Fusina docks (Azamara, Oceania, and Seabourn), aside from any ferries coming in.  There were plans to have dock space for four ships at Fusina, but only half of that seems to have been fully completed (based on satellite maps photos).

 

June 12 is also a bit tricky with two large cruise ships that would be using the industrial docks.

 

I expect it can all be done, and passenger check-in or debarkation will be done using busses between whatever dock is used and the Maritimma cruise facilities (the only place where there is sufficient space for check-in, baggage claim, customs, etc).  May take a bit of extra patience and some challenges with baggage handling if you are staying in Venice proper.

[cruiseej]

@madera1  The best source of definitive information about Venice embarkation and disembarkation is contacting each cruise line. But you can get a pretty good idea by checking a cruise post schedule, like this one (click the Schedule tab). It shows the Quest departing the Marghera port on June 4 and June 11. And the Oosterdam departing on June 13. It's very likely you'll check-in at the old Marritima port cruise terminal, where you'll drop your luggage and check-in (including Covid testing, if required at that time), and then be put on a bus to cross the causeway to the mainland where the ship awaits at the industrial port. 

[madera1]

Thanks for the information and I am hopeful that both cruises end up embarking and disembarking at the same terminal!

[HalFan]

We are booked on the Encore in September-October.  Last night we received an email from Seabourn with the following information:

 

"Please be advised that due to new Italian travel restrictions, in Venice we will now dock at the Marghera shipyard rather than the Venezia Terminal Passeggeri on Sunday, October 9, 2022. Guests with Seabourn tours will be transported directly from and to the ship. For guests with independent arrangements in Venice, we will offer complimentary transfers to and from the Venice Cruise Terminal. As the Marghera shipyard is an industrial port, independent transportation from and to the port will not be permitted."

 

October 9 is a disembarkation and embarkation day, but we are continuing on the next cruise.  Those who are getting off or on will probably get a different message, but at least we know that we are docking in Marghera and not some other more distant port.

[Sidney68]

I am travelling on Quest on 21st June from Venice and have heard this evening that our port has been moved to Ravenna some 3 hours away. Seabourn have scheduled two transfers at 12.30 and 5.30 and so I am hoping that my flight gets in early enough for the first as I certainly don’t want to be hanging around the airport for hours! I also have an add on 2 nights in Venice at the end of the trip so will need to perhaps look at a private transfer back to Venice as early as possible on the last day as I really want to make the most of the short stay I have. 

[legal holiday]

No official word yet from Seabourn, but it looks like Seabourn is moving all 2022 cruises on Quest that were to leave from Venice to now depart (and return) from Ravenna instead, which is up to three hours away.  No information from Seabourn yet about how they are going to accommodate passengers landing at Venice airport or staying in Venice hotels the night before.

[margbem]

22 minutes ago, legal holiday said:

No official word yet from Seabourn, but it looks like Seabourn is moving all 2022 cruises on Quest that were to leave from Venice to now depart (and return) from Ravenna instead, which is up to three hours away.  No information from Seabourn yet about how they are going to accommodate passengers landing at Venice airport or staying in Venice hotels the night before.

We will be seriously displeased if this happens. The Quest appears in the Marghera port schedule for its sailings from Venice this summer. What on earth happens if people have a flight home at lunchtime on the day of disembarkation? Venice airport is a nightmare anyway with long queues necessitating an early arrival there. I don’t blame the Venetian authorities for wanting to stop cruise ships sailing up the Guidecca canal but they needed to get everything arranged for alternatives before banning them. It’s a nightmare for the cruise companies.

[margbem]

I have just spoken to someone at Seabourn UK who has confirmed that all Venice sailings are now from and to Ravenna. As it stands at the moment if you booked flights through Seabourn you will be taken to Ravenna free of charge. If not, you will have to make your own way there. 
 

I suspect that customer pressure may make them rethink this and provide transfers for everyone! Hope so, anyway.

[legal holiday]

The only good news is that it appears that the ship will not leave Ravenna until 9 PM on the first day and will return to Ravenna on the final day by 5 AM.   Presumably these times are to deal with the logistics of Venice being three hours away.  However, the lack of direct communication from Seabourn is frustrating.  With only two months to go, everybody has already booked hotels and air.

[margbem]

And just having looked at transfers, round trip €800, it’s ridiculous that Seabourn will not provide them.

[legal holiday]

Seabourn needs to provide free bus transportation from the airport or from the Venice cruise terminal to Ravenna on embarkment day and reverse on the final day.  It is not fair that for operational purposes they are adding up to $1,000 to the cost to get the new location.