Best Mediterranean Ports Of Departure - Venice, Italy

By booking a cruise vacation departing from Venice, you have of course, already treated yourself to wandering the streets of arguably the most spectacular and beautiful city in the world. So make sure you allow at least two to three days somewhere in your vacation to enjoy breathtaking Venice.

The most famous of Venice's buildings are those within fabulous St Marks Square - the Basilica, the Campanile and the Doge's Palace. All 3 were started in the late 10th century, and in the next 300 years the square and buildings saw many improvements and changes.

Cruises from Venice generally visit one or more of three areas, the Adriatic Sea, the Ionian Sea (with its wonderful Greek Islands), and Turkey.

For a comprehensive presentation of cruise ship timetables and schedules check cruises from venice.

A sample of cruise ship cruises would be:
Greek Islands In The Sun from MSC (Venice, Baris, Corfu, Athens, Mykonos, Santorini, Katakolon, Dubrovnik, Venice), 'Mediterranean Empires from Holland America Line (Venice, Split, Athens, Istanbul, Mykonos, Kusadasi, Santorini, Katakolon, Venice), and Damation Gems from Seabourn (Venice, Sibenik, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Koper, Trieste, Venice),

Venice Cruise Terminal contains three areas: the Marittima basin, which can berth the biggest cruise ships that operate from Venice, and and the smaller Santa Marta and San Basilio quays. These two are nearby in the Giudecca Canal.

Marittima is the largest of the ship docks at the Port of Venice's Venezia Terminal Passeggeri, with 3 terminal buildings and enough docking space to manage several large ships at once. Ships docking here include the Carnival Dream (Carnival), , Musica (MSC), Splendour of the Seas (RCI), Fortuna (Costa), and Armonia (MSC). It includes the Isonzo Quay (berths 18 and 20), the Tagliamento Quay (berths 107, 109, 110, and 112), the Piave Quay (117) and the TM Quay (TM berth).

Santa Marta (Quays 24 to 28) and San Basilio (Quays 29 to 31) is the long wharf than runs from the main area to the Fondamenta Zàttere, the promenade beside the bank of the Giudecca Canal. Santa Marta hosts cruise ships such as Black Prince (Fred Olsen), Wind Spirit (Windstar), and Insignia (Oceania). San Basilio berths smaller ships such as the Regatta (Oceania).

If you're embarking on a cruise ship at Venice, the simplest method to travel between the airport and the cruiset terminal is to buy the transfer when booking your cruise.

If you've booked the components of your vacation separately, the following details how to get to the Venice Cruise Terminal.

From the airport
The cruise terminals are a 15- or 20-minute cab ride from Venice's Marco Polo Airport. A cheaper alternative is the airport coach to the Piazzale Roma, followed by a taxi or bus ride. Another alternative is a private water taxi, pricey but fun.

From the Piazzale Roma
The Piazzale Roma forms the major transport hub for Venice and is the last point motor vehicles can reach before the center of the city. It sits at the end of the access road to Venice. The piazza is home to the bus station, and sits between the train station, and the cruise and ferry terminals. There is also a major Vaporetto stop (For ACTV timetables see www.actv.itj).

The least dear option to reach the cruise terminals from Pizzale Roma is the free shuttle bus, which runs back and forth on days with cruise departures. Another option is a cab, but these can cost upwards of 20 euros, riotously expensive for a 2 minute ride.

For the Maritima terminal a third option is bus #6, which runs to the Tronchetto ferry port, this has a stop adjoining the cruise terminal. A further possibility is to travel on foot, as it's a 10 minute walk from Piazzale Roma to the Maritima cruise terminal, though this can be very wearying on a hot day, with heavy luggage. To walk take the road back towards the mainland, and after crossing the railway make a left towards the port entrance, crossingover the bridge.


To get to Santa Marta or San Basilio terminals you can take vaporetto lines 61/62 from Pizzale Roma. Don't attempt to go it on foot, because it's over half-an-hour, with intricate mapreading.

From Venezia Santa Lucia Train Station
It's a quick walk to cross the Ponte della Costituzione (Constition Bridge) to reach the Piazzale Roma.

From Venezia-Mestre Train Station
Mestrerailway station is located on the mainland. Catch bus line 2, this departs right in front of the station, to Piazzale Roma on Venice island.

Travelling From the Piazza San Marco
Alilaguna (website http://www.alilaguna.it) operate an boat service between the Piazza San Marco and Marittima (Line M) every half hour during the daytime. The trip takes 20 minutes. As an alternative, you can catch a vaporetto (# 1 or 2 line) to the Piazzale Roma and carry on from there as described.