Venice for Cruisers (2020)

How to reach your ship, hotels near the Marittima and San Basilio cruise terminals, roundtrip cruises from Venice, cruise reviews, and more.

ABOVE: NCL's Norwegian Jade leaves Venice on its way to the Adriatic Sea.

August, 2019 news alert:

• The Italian government has proposed moving large cruise ships from the Marittima cruise basin to distant terminals on the Italian mainland. (This wouldn't affect small to midsize ships.) Details are still sketchy. For an up-to-date information on your ship's mooring location, contact your cruise line or ask your travel agent to do it for you.

Important tips:

• The Port of Venice often provides free shuttle buses from the Piazzale Roma (where land taxis and Venice airport buses discharge passengers) to the pier and back. The buses are coaches with luggage space underneath, and they typically run at half-hour intervals from the time the ship disembarks one batch of passengers until boarding of new passengers is complete. Check with your cruise line to learn if a shuttle will be available.

• If you're staying in Venice before or after your cruise, we strongly urge you to read Venice Cruise Terminal Hotels before choosing a hotel location.

• Do not assume that your cruise-travel agent knows Venice: We often get panicky e-mails from cruisers who have been booked into hotels that are a long distance on foot (or a painfully expensive water-taxi ride) from the cruise piers.

More transportation advice:

Arriving in Venice
How to reach the city by plane, train, car, or ship, with links to articles on airport transportation and related topics.

Getting Around Venice
An introduction to Venice's water transportation system, with links to articles on vaporetti, gondolas, traghetto ferries across the Grand Canal, etc.

Accessible Venice
If you use a wheelchair, can't walk long distances, or have trouble with steps (e.g., on bridges), read this article before you arrive in Venice. The article includes links to special maps and other local resources in English.