Roundtrip Cruises from Venice
2013
ABOVE: Compagnie du Ponant's L'Austral
at the San Basilio cruise terminal in Venice. (See our
illustrated cruise review.)
More than a dozen cruise
lines operate roundtrip cruises from Venice, mostly from spring through fall.
 Such
roundtrip cruises offer a great way to combine a Venice land vacation with a sea
voyage--which means you get two back-to-back vacations with only one air or
train fare.
Below are links to cruise or ferry lines that cater to
English-speaking passengers and have regularly-scheduled itineraries in 2013
which begin and end in Venice.
Ocean cruises
 Compagnie
du Ponant
France's luxury cruise line caters to international travelers (including
Anglophones) and has been on a shipbuilding spree in the past few years. See our
illustrated review of a recent
cruise from Venice on Compagnie du Ponant's 264-passenger "megayacht,"
L'Austral.
In 2013, L'Austral will offer seven-night
roundtrip Adriatic itineraries from Venice with visits to ports in Croatia and
Montenegro. Departures are from late May through mid-September, and itineraries
often vary slightly from week to week.
 MSC
Cruises
Mediterranean Shipping Company, a.k.a. MSC, is one of the world's largest cargo
operators. It entered the cruise business just over 20 years ago, launched the
MSC Crociere brand in the mid-1990s, and now operates more than dozen large
ships that cater to a multilingual, multinational audience.
MSC offers weekly seven-night roundtrip voyages in the
Eastern Mediterranean on MSC Divina
from late March through October, with additional seven- to 11-night roundtrip
cruises on MSC Fantasia and other ships during the season. (See our
MSC
cruise review at Europe for
Cruisers.)
 Costa
Cruises
Europe's largest and oldest cruise line has been in business for more than 60
years. From spring through fall, Costa Fascinosa offers weekly
seven-night cruises from Venice to Greece, Turkey, and Croatia, while Costa
Magica sails on a slightly different itinerary that includes Italy, the
Greek Islands, and Croatia.
We haven't cruised with Costa from Venice, but see our
illustrated
Costa Magica cruise
review at Europe for Cruisers.
which is about a roundtrip cruise from Rome.
 Seabourn
This U.S.-based luxury cruise line has scheduled more than a dozen roundtrip
sailings from Venice in 2013. All sailings are on the
Seabourn Spirit, a yacht-like ship with 104 suites, and each 10- or
11-night cruise includes an overnight stay in Venice.
 Royal
Caribbean International
RCCI is an American value-priced cruise line that has been reaching out to
European travelers in recent years. In 2013, two of the company's ships--Spendour
of the Seas and Legend of the Seas--will offer seven- to 11-night
roundtrip cruises from Venice.
 Holland
America Line
Nieuw Amsterdam, HAL's
newest ship, will offer seven roundtrip cruises from Venice between May and
September. Itineraries are 12 or 24 days. The 86,000-ton ship carries 2,106
passengers, has a US $3 million art collection, and is the fourth Holland
America vessel to bear the Nieuw Amsterdam name.
 Celebrity
Cruises
Royal Caribbean's premium-priced subsidiary has a handful of 11- to 14-night
roundtrip itineraries from Venice on its calendar in 2013. All cruises are on
Celebrity Silhouette, a 2,886-passenger ship that entered service in
2011.
 Norwegian
Cruise Line
NCL's Norwegian Jade is
cruising from Venice and back more than a dozen times in 2013, with ports of
call in the Adriatic and the Eastern Mediterranean. Itineraries (including
combined cruises) range from seven to 14 nights. The 93,558-ton
Norwegian Jade has a capacity of 2,402 passengers.
 Princess
Cruises
In 2013, Pacific Princess has
two 24-day roundtrip cruises from Venice on its schedule. Both are to the Black
Sea and Holy Land, with departures on August 7 and 31. The ship, which is
relatively small by today's standards, carries only 680 passengers.
 Azamara
Club Cruises
This upmarket boutique line has
three seven-night roundtrips from Venice in 2013. The 702-passenger ship on the
itinerary, Azamara Quest, is a sister ship to Oceania's
Regatta, which
we've reviewed at Europe for Cruisers.
We sailed on Azamara Quest in 1999 during its final voyage as the
R7 of Renaissance Cruises.
Lagoon and river cruises
 CroisiEurope
River cruising is the specialty of this 35-year-old French line, which operates
trips of four to six nights from Venice year-round (including Christmas and New
Year's cruises). Part of the time is spent cruising, and the rest is used for
excursions by water or land to the Lagoon Islands, Chioggia, Ferrara, and/or
Verona.
We haven't cruised with CroisiEurope, but we moored
alongside its Michelangelo and crossed through that ship's lobby to a
Peter Deilmann River Cruises ship, the
Casanova, a number of
years ago. We've often seen Michelangelo moored near the public gardens
in Venice, and we think it would be a great way to enjoy the Venetian Lagoon.
 Uniworld
In 2013, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises will offer
seven-night cruises from Venice to the Po (with side trips to Padua, Ravenna,
and Verona) on River Countess,which is being moved to the Venetian
Lagoon from Germany and Central Europe. You can book the cruise only or a 13-day
tour that includes Florence and Rome. For details, see the
Italy pages at Uniworld.com.
 Nicko
Tours
This German company operates six- and seven-night cruises from
Venice to the River Po on
MS Bellissima, with shore excursions to cities such as Padua, Mantua,
Ferrara, or Verona, depending on the itinerary. The onboard language of Nicko
Tours is German, but announcements, menus, programs, etc. are available in both
German and English.
 European
Waterways Ltd.
From the end of March until late
October, European Waterways runs six-night cruises aboard
La Bella Vita, a
20-passenger hotel barge. The itinerary begins in Venice, includes stops at
small ports in the Venetian Lagoon, and heads up the Po River toward Mantua,
with return transportation to Venice by bus. (In alternating weeks, the cruise
runs in the opposite direction.)
Ferries
If you're more adventurous, or if you insist on having
your car as a companion, you can combine back-to-back ferry trips into a
minicruise:
 Anek
Lines
This Piraeus-based shipping company operates cargo-and-passenger ferries that
link Venice with Igoumenitsa and Patras. (Anek sometimes stops at Corfu as
well.) Anek also runs ferries from Patras and Igoumenitsa to Ancona, Italy,
which is down the Adriatic Coast from Venice.
7th inset photo copyright © Celebrity
Cruises.
8th inset photo copyright © Holland America Line.
10th inset
photo courtesy of Princess Cruises.
11th inset photo copyright ©
Azamara Club Cruises.
12th inset photo copyright © Uniworld
Boutique River Cruises.
14th inset photo copyright © European Waterways Ltd.
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