Cruise guest says they won’t visit Venice again

Venice is one of Italy’s must-see destinations, but after the city banned cruise ships, it’s become a little more difficult to reach. A cruise guest has taken to Reddit to complain about their journey to the city.

Since Venice banned cruise ships from disembarking passengers in the city, many cruise companies drop guests in nearby Ravenna before transporting people via coach or train to Venice.

A Reddit user, ‘PrivatePilot9’ said they wanted to see Venice but were disappointed to see they’d be dropped “hours away” from the city.

They said: “We’d probably want to fly into Venice since going all the way to Italy and not seeing Venice would be just wrong, but the whole getting to and from Ravenna thing seems like it could be a big pain in the butt and costly as well.”

Cruise companies are likely to charge passengers for the transfer to Venice, which may be more than passengers expect to pay.

One cruise guest ‘peppymac’ said: “We did this in October. Drive to Ravenna was two hours, through industrial, maritime areas. Honestly, nothing to see.

“Ravenna cruise port was a shambolic hut of chaos. We were embarking 1,000 people between two ships simultaneously.

“The lines were long for screening and security with only two stations. It was a far cry from what you would have previously experienced while embarking in Venice. We both agreed we would not cruise out of Venice again.

“The hassle of the transfer rubbed the shine off what was otherwise our favourite weekend in Venice ever.”

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The guest said they chose to stay in Venice for a few days before joining the start of the cruise in Ravenna.

Another guest ‘Summs123’ said: “It’s a total marketing ploy and should be illegal to say it departs from Venice.”

If guests don’t want to pay for the cruise line transfer, they could book their own coach trip or train.

Another guest ‘PostingSomeToast’ said: “If your ship is not stopping overnight in Venice, there are many helpful travel agents in town who will arrange two or three nights in town with transport in and out and onward to your cruise embarkation.”

Tourists desperate to explore Venice in depth would probably be better off booking time in the city at the start or end of their cruise.

Alternatively, guests could book a cruise on a smaller ship, as small ships are still allowed to drop passengers in the city.

Venice banned mega cruise ships after complaints about pollution and over-tourism caused by the ships.

Another guest complained that they had to travel into Rome from Civitavecchia on a Mediterranean cruise.

However, as Rome isn’t a coastal city, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to the majority of cruise guests.

Travel agents should be able to advise guests on their trip to make sure they choose the right itinerary.

Venice isn’t the only top destination to be cracking down on cruise ships and tourists may face restrictions in a range of ports.

From Anguilla in the Caribbean to Spain, there are a few places where cruise ships are under pressure.

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