CroisiEurope, a French company that offers 4- to 6-day cruises of the Venetian Lagoon and the Po.
Nicko Tours, a Germany firm that recently brought a river ship, Bellissima, to Venice for a program similar to CroisiEurope's.

We haven't cruised with either company, but we did enjoy a week-long cruise in the Venetian Lagoon on Peter Deilmann's Casanova a number of years ago. (Deilmann has since left the river-cruising business, and Casanova now cruises in Germany with Nicko Tours.)

Things to know:

CroisiEurope and Nicko Tours cruises depart from Venice's San Basilio pier and spend part of their time moored along the Riva dei Sette Martiri, a waterfront promenade above the Piazza San Marco facing St. Mark's Basin. The latter is a delightful place to spend the night on a ship, especially if your cabin is on the water side: On the Casanova, for example, we could open our window in the morning, stick our heads out, and look into the eyes of vaporetto passengers as water buses arrived and departed from the Giardini vaporetto platform.
Venetian Lagoon and Po River cruises are more about land excursions than cruising: Much of your time will be spent on buses or land tours, with the cruise vessel serving as a floating hotel.

For more information, see the cruise-line descriptions and click the links on the CroisiEurope and Nicko Tours pages in our European Cruise Guide at Europe for Cruisers.

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Hotel Advice:

Location can be important in a car-free city with 400+ bridges, especially when you're walking with luggage. Before you book, see:

Hotel Recomendations by Area
Find hotels that are handy to the airport, railroad station, cruise port, or Piazza San Marco, and in Mestre.

Aerial Venice Hotels
Read our tips on choosing the right sestiere or district. Then view individual hotels and their surroundings in large satellite photos and aerial close-ups.

MSC cruise ship in Venice

Venice for Cruisers:

Venice canal reflections

From our Venice Travel Blog:

A water taxi ride to Venice Airport
A warning about water taxis
Venice Railroad Station: a vaporetto view
Long lines at Venice Airport
Free boat trips to Murano
Need to pee? Prepare to pay
Crime in Venice
The perils of overpacking
Venetian daily life

Maggie in Venice

From Maggie in Venice:

A dog's life in Venice
A Beagle boards a water bus
Maggie in Venice video clips