venice gondola

[perakcruiser]

6 hours ago, bob10173 said:

Thanks. I think I will just take the shuttle to the Venice cruise terminal  and do my own thing once I get to Venice. Good plan?

That is what we will do in three weeks time 🙂 

 

Probably Vaporetto line 2 and then walk around the canals. 

[bob10173]

19 hours ago, Nikita4 said:

The Infos are on the website and you recive emails about the process in Marghera/Venice. 
They will bring you to the Venice Cruise Terminal by boat or bus from Marghera Industrial port side.

What website? Not MSC for sure.

[Nikita4]

On the German Website: 

VENEDIG - MARGHERA KREUZFAHRTEN 

INFORMATIONEN ZUR EINSCHIFFUNG FÜR KREUZFAHRTEN AB VENEDIG - MARGHERA 

Alle Einschiffungsprozesse, einschließlich der Gepäckabgabe, finden am Kreuzfahrtterminal von Venedig in der Venice Maritime Station (Venice Passenger Terminal) statt, daher werden die Gäste gebeten, den Hafen von Marghera nicht selbstständig aufzusuchen.

 

Ein Transfer mit der Fähre vom Kreuzfahrtterminal in Venedig zum Hafen von Marghera wird von MSC Cruises organisiert. Das Kreuzfahrtschiff legt im Hafen von Marghera ab. Gäste mit Behinderungen oder eingeschränkter Mobilität wenden sich bitte an ihre akkreditierten Reisebüros oder an das MSC Contact Center für gesonderte Vorkehrungen.

Gäste, die in Venedig einschiffen und auch die Stadt besichtigen möchten, können dies am letzten Tag ihrer Kreuzfahrt tun. Sie können sich für einen der MSC-Ausflüge entscheiden, die am Ausschiffungstag angeboten werden, oder die Stadt auf eigene Faust erkunden.

Gäste, die an einem MSC Landausflug in Venedig teilnehmen, werden direkt vom Schiff (angedockt in Marghera) mit dem Motorboot zum Markusplatz gefahren und genießen eine ca. 45-minütige Fahrt entlang des Kanals von Venedig. Das Team von MSC Excursions an Bord kümmert sich um jedes Detail.

[bob10173]

On 5/3/2024 at 2:21 PM, Nikita4 said:

On the German Website: 

VENEDIG - MARGHERA KREUZFAHRTEN 

INFORMATIONEN ZUR EINSCHIFFUNG FÜR KREUZFAHRTEN AB VENEDIG - MARGHERA 

Alle Einschiffungsprozesse, einschließlich der Gepäckabgabe, finden am Kreuzfahrtterminal von Venedig in der Venice Maritime Station (Venice Passenger Terminal) statt, daher werden die Gäste gebeten, den Hafen von Marghera nicht selbstständig aufzusuchen.

 

Ein Transfer mit der Fähre vom Kreuzfahrtterminal in Venedig zum Hafen von Marghera wird von MSC Cruises organisiert. Das Kreuzfahrtschiff legt im Hafen von Marghera ab. Gäste mit Behinderungen oder eingeschränkter Mobilität wenden sich bitte an ihre akkreditierten Reisebüros oder an das MSC Contact Center für gesonderte Vorkehrungen.

Gäste, die in Venedig einschiffen und auch die Stadt besichtigen möchten, können dies am letzten Tag ihrer Kreuzfahrt tun. Sie können sich für einen der MSC-Ausflüge entscheiden, die am Ausschiffungstag angeboten werden, oder die Stadt auf eigene Faust erkunden.

Gäste, die an einem MSC Landausflug in Venedig teilnehmen, werden direkt vom Schiff (angedockt in Marghera) mit dem Motorboot zum Markusplatz gefahren und genießen eine ca. 45-minütige Fahrt entlang des Kanals von Venedig. Das Team von MSC Excursions an Bord kümmert sich um jedes Detail.

Sorry, cannot read German.

[Nikita4]

3 minutes ago, bob10173 said:

Sorry, cannot read German.

Look on your country side, there will be informations about Venice. Or you can translate it with google.

[bob10173]

6 minutes ago, Nikita4 said:

Look on your country side, there will be informations about Venice. Or you can translate it with google.

The translation thing worked great. Thanks. We would like to do a MSC excursion but the description on line lacks a lot of info. Will wait until we board.

[Nikita4]

Where you board the ship?
When you will do an excursion in Venice on your own, they will transport you to the Venice Maritime Station in Venice, this took about 40 Minutes by boat. Then you are near the Canale Grande an can do a tour on your own. 
I will board the MSC LIrica in Venice-Marghera next Saturday and can inform you how it works on this ship at the moment in Venice.

[perakcruiser]

16 hours ago, bob10173 said:

The translation thing worked great. Thanks. We would like to do a MSC excursion but the description on line lacks a lot of info. Will wait until we board.

What information do you miss? Looks like only 3 excursions available.

[Stockjock]

We were in Venice last year.  My GF *really* wanted to do a gondola ride.  I didn't especially care, and I thought they seemed to be a bit pricey.

 

But if we visited Venice and didn't do a gondola ride, I'm pretty sure I would not have heard the end of it, so I booked a tour that included one and a lot more.  This was a third party tour that included a tour of Venice, boat rides to the nearby islands of Murano and Burano, and a gondola ride for I think 30 or 45 minutes.  I felt like I got a better value for my money by baking the gondola ride into a much more comprehensive tour.

I think this was a good way to do this, but Murano in particular was underwhelming, as we only had time to visit one shop and watch them make glass.  It was interesting, but I would have preferred more time to walk around.  Our time on Burano was also very limited.

As to your question about getting on and off, it could be tricky.  Depends on how bad your knee is.  But there is a pretty big step-down into some gondolas, and they can move around a lot.

One more tip:  Some of the smaller streets simply end at the canal.  One night, we almost walked into the canal while on our phones trying to get back to the hotel.  Neither my GF nor I swim, so it could have ended badly.  No light, no sign, no fence, the street simply ended at the canal.  So be careful where you walk, particularly at night.

[bob10173]

On 5/6/2024 at 2:21 AM, perakcruiser said:

What information do you miss? Looks like only 3 excursions available.

One tour is $89 and the other $151 and they sound the same. Lack of info. I am sure they aren't the same.

[bob10173]

On 5/5/2024 at 9:32 AM, Nikita4 said:

Where you board the ship?
When you will do an excursion in Venice on your own, they will transport you to the Venice Maritime Station in Venice, this took about 40 Minutes by boat. Then you are near the Canale Grande an can do a tour on your own. 
I will board the MSC LIrica in Venice-Marghera next Saturday and can inform you how it works on this ship at the moment in Venice.

Thank you. That would be helpful. We board in Athens. Round trip.

[bob10173]

On 5/6/2024 at 4:30 PM, Stockjock said:

We were in Venice last year.  My GF *really* wanted to do a gondola ride.  I didn't especially care, and I thought they seemed to be a bit pricey.

 

But if we visited Venice and didn't do a gondola ride, I'm pretty sure I would not have heard the end of it, so I booked a tour that included one and a lot more.  This was a third party tour that included a tour of Venice, boat rides to the nearby islands of Murano and Burano, and a gondola ride for I think 30 or 45 minutes.  I felt like I got a better value for my money by baking the gondola ride into a much more comprehensive tour.

I think this was a good way to do this, but Murano in particular was underwhelming, as we only had time to visit one shop and watch them make glass.  It was interesting, but I would have preferred more time to walk around.  Our time on Burano was also very limited.

As to your question about getting on and off, it could be tricky.  Depends on how bad your knee is.  But there is a pretty big step-down into some gondolas, and they can move around a lot.

One more tip:  Some of the smaller streets simply end at the canal.  One night, we almost walked into the canal while on our phones trying to get back to the hotel.  Neither my GF nor I swim, so it could have ended badly.  No light, no sign, no fence, the street simply ended at the canal.  So be careful where you walk, particularly at night.

Thanks. I feel the same way about the gondola ride but if we don't I will never hear the end of it. Must be a universal thing.

[Nikita4]

Most of the people will board in Venice, so there are not of excursions.

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, bob10173 said:

Thanks. I feel the same way about the gondola ride but if we don't I will never hear the end of it. Must be a universal thing.

It's kind of like buying anti-griping for infinity insurance.  She'd tell everyone that I was too cheap to buy a gondola ride in Venice for as long as we are together, and throw it back at me often.  So I'd rather just do the gondola ride, and again, have it included in a broader tour.

[perakcruiser]

3 hours ago, bob10173 said:

One tour is $89 and the other $151 and they sound the same. Lack of info. I am sure they aren't the same.

Definitely not. The 151 includes the Doge's Palace. The entrance fee there is very expensive, that is why the difference is so high. 

[mnocket]

So what is the procedure for taking a gondola ride?  Is there a kiosk at the dock where request a ride or do you just approach a gondolier? Who & when do you pay?  Do you pay cash or do they take credit cards?

Thanks.

[perakcruiser]

3 hours ago, Nikita4 said:

Most of the people will board in Venice, so there are not of excursions.

Was not the case at our last Eastern Med cruise. I expect a lot of people boarding at the other places. We board at Bari this time.

[Stockjock]

For anyone interested, here's the tour we did.  Not exactly cheap, but a good value imo and did include a gondola ride, admissions, etc.  9 hours long, so a lot is crammed into one tour.  And the rating as of this writing, is 4.9 out of 5 stars, so it seems to be well-regarded.

https://thetourguy.com/tours/venice/hidden-venice-express-st-mark-rialto-gondola

Edited May 8 by Stockjock

[Nikita4]

Fore one day this program is to much. Better to stay in Venice or Venice and Murano. But with Burano you don't have a lot of Venice in this day. There are so much interesting things do see in Venice. 

[Stockjock]

33 minutes ago, Nikita4 said:

Fore one day this program is to much. Better to stay in Venice or Venice and Murano. But with Burano you don't have a lot of Venice in this day. There are so much interesting things do see in Venice. 

The problem is that we only had 3 days in Venice.  The first day, we were jet-lagged and beat.  So we wanted to have one day where we really got in a lot to get the lay of the land.  The 3rd day, we just played it loose and did what we wanted to.

 

But at least for us, if it's a place we've not visited, and we're not there for long, it can make sense to take a day where you really jam a lot into a short period of time.  I enjoyed the tour, and again 4.9 out of 5 star rated, so obviously others have also enjoyed it.

[bob10173]

4 hours ago, Stockjock said:

It's kind of like buying anti-griping for infinity insurance.  She'd tell everyone that I was too cheap to buy a gondola ride in Venice for as long as we are together, and throw it back at me often.  So I'd rather just do the gondola ride, and again, have it included in a broader tour.

Definitely right on!!

[Lbsahm]

On 4/28/2024 at 9:18 AM, bob10173 said:

Thanks. Is there difficulty getting in and out of the boats? I don't use a cane but knee is not the best.

Last summer, our Gondolier kindly assisted each of us out of the boat. 
Trust me, with all the work they do making those gondolas go, they are more than strong enough. 

Edited May 8 by Lbsahm