How do you get from the train station to the cruise ship docks in venice.Can you check into your cruise early and leave your luggage there so you can see Venice prior to boarding the ship?
Thanks

It is not too far from S. Lucia, the Venice rail station, to Stazione Marittima, the Venice cruise terminal. If you do not have many pieces of luggage, you can walk from S. Lucia over a white bridge to the other side of the Grand Canal. Than go along the right side to the next (smaller)bridge; cross it to Piazzale Roma. The cruise line (check with them) may offer shuttle bus service to the dock from Roma. Again, if you have small amount of luggage is it short walk to the docks but bus is easier. There will be taxis at Roma as well but last November they were charging 75 Euros for the ride of maybe 5 minutes - total rip off. Better to wait for the bus.

Or you can take the line 1 Vaporetto from the rail station to Piazzale Roma, then do the shuttle bus as described above. You will buy your ticket for the Vaporetto at the boarding point in front of the train station - and make sure you are going in the right direction ie towards Piazza Roma!

I did it last year, but can't remember the number Vaporetto. I think it's 1, but I'm not sure. It will drop you at a Plaza and your ship should have shuttles there, but if not there are taxis that will take you to the ship for about 15 euros. Actually your best bet is to go on www.cruisecritic.com. Go to the Europe message board and do a search for the info. It's there. Have fun.

Cruise ships berth in at least three places in Venezia. You need to find where your particular ship will be berthed. Most of the bigger ships use the Stazione Marittima which can be reached by road from Piazzale Roma; some smaller ships use San Basilio which can be reached by boat from the station or by road taxi; a few ships use Riva Sette Martiri which is along the waterfront from Piazza San Marco and can be reached only by boat.
Luggage can be left at Santa Lucia station. You can explore the city, then return to the station to collect your luggage and go to your cruise ship.

75 EUROS!!!!!!! that's insane! Reisander, you must of sent your reply as I was writing mine. I know we did take the taxi, because I didn't want to wait for the shuttle and I KNOW it wasn't even close to that amount. My DH would have had us walk before paying that! Could the rates have increased that much from May 07 to November 07?

No here was the deal. The shuttle bus was very unorganized and there was a mass of cruisers wandering around trying to find the bus and they were getting very frustrated (in fact extremely angry). Obviously the taxi drivers picked up on this and they were quoting that rate to the upset and anxious cruisers. Some were dumb enough to take them up on it. We waited for the bus. I talked to several people later on the ship that had been screwed by the taxi drivers and most were charged in that price range. Total rip off and did not reflect too well on the taxi operators.

That makes sense. What bothers me the most about your answer is that you went in November. I went in May, and we had the same disorganized disaster of no shuttles, didn't know exactly where to wait and what to look for. Were you on RCCL? We were and when we got home I let them have it. Everyone waiting was angry and hot, and that's why we took a taxi. I can't believe this happens regularly. BUYER BEWARE, if you're sailing out of Venice! Just getting on the ship may ruin your vacation.

Z - yes we were on Splendour of the Seas and I agree. We all thought RCCL really dropped the ball on the bus. There should have been a rep at the bus lot with signs so cruisers would have at least known where to gather. The bus itself was not well marked, there was only one, and the driver was actually rude. However, I do not know for sure if RCCL is responsible for the bus or if it is the Venice port authority. Regardless, it was a poor start to what turned out to be a wonderful cruise.

I did it last year. Be aware that some ships do not have the shuttles and others do, the first thing would be to determine what your line is doing. I was on Princess no shuttle. The walk from the P. Roma is short but does involve going up a hill and if you bag is heavy or you have several it can take it out of you, especially if it’s warm, the bulk of the walk is down hill to baggage area where you dump your bags then walk to the building to check in and board your ship. We walked and should have taken a cab but the folks who did said it was only 20e again a rip (75 is a total rip) it’s less 7 min in cab but again it depends on the bags. Get out at home with your packed bags and see how far you can go.