Best way, most cost effective, safest all the above for Seniors to get from Cruise ship to Venice train station for same day travel to Milan. We have extra luggage and want to minimize logistics from point A to point B as much as possible.

Is it possible to make arrangements in advance?

We are debarking the ship not embarking. My mistake!!

That's nothing that requires advance planning. I cannot figure how you are figuring Venice, but it's a perfectly functioning modern city, just that what elsewhere are cars are boats there. So safety is no matter at all, nor is "for same day travel" - if you'd walk from the harbour to the train station, it would take about 35 minutes... of course you won't do that with your luggage, but just so you understand you're not traveling around half the globe from the ship to the train. The most cost-effective way is very simply to take the vaporetto (water bus); if you can't handle your luggage, take a taxi boat, which will be quick and convenient but unreasonably expensive.

You can get a taxi as you exit the cruise ship. The simplest may be for the taxi to take you back to the mainland right to Venice Mestre train station. I don't know if there are porters at the Venice Mestre train station.

All trains from Venice pass through Mestre. You'd have just a few minutes to board the train. How much extra luggage do you have, and can you manage it on/off trains by yourself? If not, that's a problem.

Another alternative is to take the cruise ship shuttle bus, people mover, or taxi the 2min ride to Piazzale Roma, which is just across the Grand Canal from the Venice Sta Lucia train station. With extra luggage I'm not 100% sure the best way to get across the canal - there may be porters who can walk you across the new bridge, or they may allow luggage carts across. I don't know. The advantage of Venice S.Lucia train station is that trains are parked there for a while before departing. You'd be able to board at your leisure.


Here's the port of Venice website.

http://www.vtp.it/terminal/trasporti...X&prg=2&page=2

J62.

The Italian Tourist Agency has questioned rationale for taking a taxi to Piazzale Roma as being "impractical" Do you have any idea why if it's only 2 minutes away from the Cruise Ship? Also I understand the WaterBus goes to the Piazzale Roma and only a WaterTaxi goes to Sta Lucia. From the Piazzale we understand it is a short walk across a pedestrian bridge to Sta Lucia. We have learned the most economical is a auto taxi to Piazzale with a short walk. Apparently the WaterBus is more expensive and the WaterTaxi price is reportedly ridiculous. Can anybody confirm please

I suspect the Italian Tourist Agency considers it impractical since it's really pretty close, there is a people mover system, and I believe some cruises run shuttle buses. Taxis may also cause unwanted congestion near the cruise ship terminal and/or Pzle Roma. Fewer vehicles is usually more desirable, especially in crowed spaces.

Able bodied persons with minimal, wheeled luggage could hoof it all the way to the train station. I sensed that you didn't fit into that category.

Waterbus will be 6.50 euro per person and would also require some walking just to get to the bus stop. There ARE waterbuses that run to Sta. Lucia - but not sure if they are the same ones that also stop at the cruise ship port.

I am not familiar with the people mover or if your cruise will run shuttle buses. I think that's relatively easy to find out on your last day of the cruise.

I think the important thing for you to figure out is how well can you manage your own luggage, including on/off a bus, waterbus, train, etc, and for what distance can you walk with all your luggage. I would not count on there being luggage carts that you can wheel all the way from the cruise or even Pzle Roma over to the train station. I do know that the luggage carts at Sta. Lucia have wheel brakes that activate if you go beyond a certain perimeter.

Heavens, why would you walk from Piazzale Roma to the train station? With your luggage? What a useless hassle! As I told you immediately, you can go directly from the Cruise Port to the train station; who said vaporetti don't go there? Which public transport system on this planet doesn't connect to the train station? Depending on where within the quite large port area your ship lands, you walk to either the S. Basilio or the S. Marta stop, and you have direct vaporetto connections to the Ferrovia (the train station). From S. Basilio, it's line no. 2; from S. Marta, I'm not 100 percent sure but think the no. is 51 (anyway, it's the only vaporetto line heading north there).

Why would you walk from Piazzale Roma to the train station?

Because that's a much shorter & easier walk than from the main cruise ship terminal (where the larger ships dock) to either S. Marta or S. Basilio vaporetto stops.

Yes, some of the smaller cruise ships do dock right near S. Basilio, so from there it would make sense take the vaporetto. What cruise line/ship are you on? That may make all the difference.

J62, sorry, but that's just plain wrong. I think you are right that the small ships dock near S. Basilio, but if so, that means the large ships would dock at S. Marta. What should be easier about walking from Piazzale Roma (above all: how would you figure they get there, from the cruise port?) to the Ferrovia than taking the vaporetto from S. Marta that will bring you to the Ferrovia in about 6 minutes? Walking all the way would be 35 minutes, as I said above, and with the luggage?

By the way, also what you said about the Mestre train station is really bad advice. There are no porters there, and steep, not very walkable stairs up and down to get to the train with the luggage, and nowhere an elevator. Venezia-S. Lucia, on the other hand, has no stairs and is very manageable.

So please, arthurames, believe me: this is really so extremely easy, it's almost incredible that this thread has already grown so long. Just find out (in advance, if it makes you feel better, but after debarking would certainly be early enough) which vaporetto stop is nearer to where you ship docks, S. Marta or S. Basilio; take the vaporetto in the direction of Piazzale Roma, but don't get out at Piazzale Roma but at the next stop, Ferrovia. The train station will be in front of you. From S. Marta, the vaporetto will take about 6 minutes, from S. Basilio, perhaps 12.
Alternatively, if you think you cannot walk from the ship to the vaporetto stop, or if you cannot handle your luggage, take a BOAT taxi to the Ferrovia (NOT a car taxi to Mestre), which will, as I said above, be unreasonably and incredibly expensive (hence the advice that you got from the Italian Tourist Agency), but certainly comfortable.

J2 and Franco,

Your comments are sincerely appreciated. We will have wheel luggage and are 70ish but in good health. The Pacific Princess is a small ship and will find out where she docks.

You two have been wonderful.

Thank you