Roundtrip Cruises from Venice

ABOVE: NCL's Norwegian Jade leaves Venice for the Eastern Mediterranean.

2021 alert: You may have read news stories about large cruise ships being banned from Venice. In reality, not much is likely to change for the foreseeable future. See "Cruising in Venice: What's changing in 2021-2022" for details.

Are you having trouble choosing between a land vacation and a cruise? Not to worry: In typical years, more than a dozen cruise lines and ferry companies offer ship voyages that begin and end in Venice. Such roundtrip cruises offer a great way to combine a Venice holiday with a trip by ship--allowing you to enjoy back-to-back vacations with only one air or train fare.

Below are links to cruise and ferry lines that welcome English-speaking passengers and normally have regularly-scheduled roundtrip voyages from Venice.

Ocean cruises

Norwegian Cruise Line
NCL's Norwegian Gem will offer three different five- to nine-night roundtrip itineraries in the Adriatic and Aegean during 2022, with frequent departures from Venice from spring through fall.

We took a 14-day NCL cruise from Venice a while back. For details, see our illustrated Norwegian Jade cruise review and photo diary.

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 roundtrip cruise from Venice on Compagnie du Ponant's 264-passenger "megayacht," L'Austral.

In 2022, two Ponant ships--Le Jacques Cartier and Le Lyrial--will offer a seven-night "Best of Croatia" itinerary on multiple dates in June, July, and August.

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 a large fleet of megaships that cater to a multilingual, multinational audience.

MSC operates dozens of roundtrip voyages in the Eastern Mediterranean from spring through fall. Most are seven nights in length. To learn about our own roundtrip cruise from Venice with MSC, read our illustrated MSC Poesia cruise review.

Costa Cruises
Europe's largest and oldest cruise line has been in business for more than 60 years. From Venice, Costa usally operates a busy calendar roundtrip cruises in the Eastern Mediterranean, with several different itineraries and departures from spring through fall.

We haven't cruised with Costa from Venice, but see our illustrated Costa Magica review about a roundtrip cruise from Rome.

Royal Caribbean International
RCCI is an American mass-market cruise line that has reached out to European travelers in recent years. Unfortunately, its so-called "Venice" cruises now arrive and depart at Ravenna, which is more than two hours from Venice by road or rail. (Still, you might consider combining a roundtrip RCI cruise with a stay in Ravenna if you're flying in or out of Venice Marco Polo Airport.)

Holland America Line
HAL has several roundtrip cruises from Venice on its 2022 calendar, with itineraries ranging from a short seven-night Adriatic cruise to a 28-night voyage in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean and the Holy Land. Two ships--Westerdam and Volendam--will cruise from Venice in 2022.

Silversea Cruises
One of our own favorite cruise lines is offering a handful of seven- and eight-night roundtrip sailings from Venice in 2022. Two ships are featured: Silver Spirit and Silver Dawn.

Celebrity Cruises
Royal Caribbean's premium-priced subsidiary has three six- to 10-night roundtrips from Venice on its calendar in 2022. All are aboard Celebrity Constellation or Celebrity Infinity, with departures in May and July.

Azamara
In 2022, this boutique cruise line is offering seven- to eight-night "Intensive Croatia" cruises from Venice on two ships, Azamara Onward and Azamara Pursuit. Sailing dates are in May, July, and October.

Crystal Cruises
The large-ship luxury line's Crystal Symphony will operate a single week-long roundtrip cruise from Venice in October, 2022. The ship will call at ports in Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, and Slovenia.

Lagoon and river cruises

The itinerary begins in Venice, includes stops at small ports in the Venetian Lagoon, and heads up the Po River or the adjacent Bianco Canal toward Mantua, with return transportation to Venice by bus. (In alternating weeks, the cruise runs in the opposite direction.)

CroisiEurope
River cruising is the specialty of this French company, which operates the Michelangelo in Venice, the Venetian Lagoon, and the Po Delta. Part of the time is spent cruising, and the rest is used for excursions by water or land.

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 Corru, Igoumenitsa, and Patras. Anek also runs ferries between Greece and the Italian ports of Ancona and Bari, making it possible to build a longer cruise with connecting voyages.

In normal years, more than a dozen cruise lines and a ferry company offer roundtrip itineraries from Venice, Italy that make it easy to combine a cruise with a Venetian holiday. The pandemic wiped much of the 2021 calendar clean, but this article will help you choose a roundtrip voyage in 2022.

Ocean cruises

Lagoon and river cruises

Ferries