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Venice for Cruisers

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

Compagnie du Ponant L'AUSTRAL in Venice

ABOVE: The French cruise ship L'Austral is moored at the San Basilio cruise terminal in central Venice.


Venice cruise alert: You may have read news stories about large cruise ships being banned from central Venice. See:


If you're ready to cruise:
Top 3 Tips for Venice Cruisers
Venice Cruise Ports (with maps)
Venice Cruise Terminals (city center)
Arriving: Transportation from your ship
Departing: Transportation to your ship
People Mover (Piazzale Roma to Marittima cruise piers)
Mestre for Venice Cruise Passengers (Venice Travel Blog)
Santa Marta pier


If you need a hotel near the pier:
Venice Cruise Terminal Hotels (article)
17 Hotels Near Cruise Ships

If you're thinking about a cruise:
Roundtrip Cruises from Venice
NCL Norwegian Jade Cruise Review (Venice to Venice)
Uniworld River Countess Cruise Review (Venice to Venice)
European Waterways Barge Cruise Review (Venice to Venice)
Compagnie du Ponant Cruise Review (Venice to Venice)
MSC Cruise Review (Venice to Venice)

More Venice cruising resources:
Baggage Storage - Left Luggage
Baggage Porters
Large Satellite Map - Port of Venice
Molino Stucky Hilton: Airport and Cruise Port Transportation
The Truth about Cruise Ships in Venice (Venice Travel Blog)


If you're cruising to or from Rome:
Civitavecchia - Port of Rome

Our European cruising site:
Europe for Cruisers

Important tips:

  • If you're checking in at the main Marittima cruise basin,  you can take the inexpensive (and barrier-free) People Mover automated tram from Piazzale Roma to the cruise terminals. After you've checked in, you'll board your ship or--if it's a larger vessel--you'll be bused to the ship's pier on the Italian mainland.

  • If you're staying in Venice before or after your cruise, we strongly urge you to read Venice Cruise Terminal Hotels or 17 Hotels Closest to Cruise Ships 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. It isn't unusual for passengers to be booked into a popular chain hotel that is nearly 28 km or 18 miles from Venice by train.

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.