I'm cruising to Greek Isles with two friends the first week of October. We'll end the cruise in Venice and travel to Rome for a few days. We have hotel reservations and need information for the train trip to Rome. We are aware of luggage concerns and are willing to reduce luggage to accommodate.

Has anyone made the trip from the Venice cruise terminal to the train station?

What is the distance between the two and how did you get there (taxi, etc.)?

I am confused on the train service. Are there different train providers? Is there a preference? Should we reserve tickets or purchase at the train station?

Information is greatly appreciated,
Judy

We recently ended our cruise in Venice. Our ship (Celebrity) docked in the terminal slot that was the least convenient for disembarking. We pulled our luggage to the people mover which has an elevator. There is an elevator where you get off the pm also. Can't remember the name of the bridge which is two short blocks away from there but we made arrangements to meet a porter there who took our four bags onto a trolley and hauled it all the way to the train station for ten euros--well worth it for sure! I assume you are going to the main train station as we did for our trip to Florence. There are individuals who claim to be porters/luggage handlers but the licensed ones wear neon green vests and have trolleys. We did buy the tickets in advance and they are cheaper if you do so.

You have some answers on your earlier thread. Click on your own screen name to find your previous threads.

We will travel form the Venice Saint Lucia train station.

Nini - how did you arrange for a porter or did you just find one when you got off the ship? Do you recall the site you used to purchase tickets and which train line you used?

Kybiurbon - thanks for the replies on my previous post. I am watching both for information. The more information I have, the better prepared I'll be. Thanks again for any information you can share.

We were in Venice for a few days pre-cruise and checked out what would be involved getting to the station. The bridge has many steps that would not be fun with luggage. DH talked with the porter when we checked out the way to get to the station. It would be an easy walk without luggage--not really that far from the cruise terminal. It is a bit of a hike to just get to the people mover. DH got the tickets from a site called The Man in Seat 61 or something similar.

I've heard of Th Man in Seat 61. Will check that out. Thanks

Get your tickets at the national rail site, trenitalia.com There are three levels of ticket prices - if available. Super Economy - no changes under any circumstances. Economy - can be change once paying difference in price. Base - standard fare can be exchange until the train leaves the station. SE and E tickets are limited and sell out early. Base fare tickets can easily be bought the day of travel. If you book in advance over the internet then book a later AM to around noon ticket.

The problem with asking the same question more than once is that people cannot built on other answers and sometimes you get wrong information that no one corrects. Should keep all in the same place. And poster waste time with duplicate answers.

A comment on your luggage since your raised the question of porters. Reduce it. We have done 12 European cruises. Our first cruise out of Venice in 1993 with LOTS of luggage was a disaster since we spend another week in Italy after the cruise. Since then for the other 11 cruises, a couple as long as 22 days, it is three carryon size bags for two of us. One rolling bag and two backpack style of carryon size bags. Life is so much easier.

>>>The problem with asking the same question more than once is that people cannot built on other answers and sometimes you get wrong information that no one corrects. Should keep all in the same place<<<

Yes, it usually helps to keep them together in one thread, but for your question about the cruise port, it would likely get more response on the cruise forum. Many people only visit or answer questions on certain forums so there might be quite a few on the cruise forum that have used the various porters in Venice, but never visit the Europe board so won't see your question.

http://www.fodors.com/community/cruises/

Trenitalia has porters in certain train stations that can be booked in advance (at least 20 hours in advance), but they are for meeting your train and transporting your luggage to taxi, etc. (basically station service only). The info is in Italian.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...008916f90aRCRD

There are also baggage transport services, but only on certain days and your luggage might not arrive when you want (some places it arrives the next day). You can check the service Trenitalia lists for details (it's not the same as the porters in the station).

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/inde...008916f90aRCRD

Back from the trip and thought I would close out with a few comments. I'll keep the comments to the land portion only. Flight to Venice was uneventful and on time. We took a water taxi form the airport to hotel. Actually, my travel agent arranged that for a cost of 295.00 which was a total rip-off. It's quite easy to find a water taxi for a much cheaper cost. Our hotel was located close to the train station and the ship terminal. We dropped the bags at the hotel and took off site seeing. Thank goodness we had a first floor room since there are very few hotels with elevators in Venice. We took the water bus to Murano, ate gelato, came back to Venice for a nice outdoor meal, did some shopping, rode a gondola and went to sleep. Next morning took a water taxi to St Mark's square and the Basilica. The water taxi was 60 euros one way; sort of pricey but you have to visit there. Arriving back at our hotel, we walked to the ship terminal and found the people mover and several porters standing around, so we arranged to have our bags picked up. No problems getting to the ship and starting the cruise. On our return to Venice, we took a cab instead of the people mover to save time. Remarkably, the same porter was standing there when we arrived. He took our bags to the train station. It was very simple to purchase a ticket to Florence and we managed our bags quite well. I had a 24" bag and a back pack. I packed everything I needed for Florence and Rome in the back pack and never opened the suitcase post cruise. At someone's suggestion, we checked our bags in Florence. It was simple to find the place to hold bags. We took one of the on and off buses to get highlights of the city. The line to the Academia Gallery was long, but worth the wait to see the statue of David. We visited the Duomo but here was just not enough time to visit the Uffizi Gallery or anything else. The on off buss gave us the city highlights.... This was my third trip to Florence and was a bit too rushed for my taste, but my friends were happy for the time there. We easily picked up our bags and purchased tickets to Rome. We arrived at our hotel after 11pm and crashed. The two full days in Rome were rushed but not too bad. Again, we took the hop on and off the bus. The only two things we missed on our list were the Pantheon and Spanish steps. This was my second trip to Rome and I found such a difference with the crowds. We had a guided tour for the Sistine Chapel and Basilica and I'm glad we did. On my first trip to Rome, the Sistine Chapel had no lines or crowds and was so reverant. This time the crowds were horrid and the guards were constantly yelling SILENCE! Not the experience I was expecting. Rome is a gorgeous city. The Trevi fountain was closed for repairs so I couldn't throw in coins to ensure a return visit one day, but one can only hope. As an added bonus, we were able to see the Pope on Sunday. I'm not catholic, but it was quite amazing to hear him speak.

So, if you want to see Venice, Florence and Rome, in five days it's doable, but you don't have much time to stop and 'feel' the city. For me it was not such a loss since I have spent more time in all three cities. My friends wanted a flavor of all three and to hit the highlights, so that's what we did!

I know I created two posts on the same topic (shame on me!), so I'll post final comments in both posts.

Thanks for all the advice and comments. If anyone has questions, please ask.

Judy

<i><font color=#555555>"We took a water taxi form the airport to hotel. Actually, my travel agent arranged that for a cost of 295.00 which was a total rip-off."</font></i>

A <b>total rip-off</b> is an understatement. I would threaten legal action with the agent and try to get some of my money back. No travel agent should be permitted to get away with this level of extortion.

A private water taxi from the airport to Venice, reserved on VeniceLink.com, will cost €99. The price is the same for 8-or-less people, 10-or-less bags.

If you don't mind a 20-40 minute wait, you can reserve a Shared Water Taxi, which will cost €25-per-person, minimum two people. Multiple stops may be required.

<i><font color=#555555>"Our hotel was located close to the train station and the ship terminal…took a water taxi to St Mark's square and the Basilica. The water taxi was 60 euros one way; sort of pricey"</font></i>

<b>Sort of pricey</b> is also an understatement. Today, €60 equals around $76. That's very expensive for a 10-minute boat ride. Unless you're in a hurry, it is not necessary to spend that much money to get to Piazza San Marco from the train station or cruise ship terminal.

A one-way ticket on the vaporetto costs €7, and it's good for an hour no matter how many boat transfers you take. You can buy the ticket on every boat, the price is the same. The boats that traverse the Giudecca Canal will get you from the cruise terminal to San Marco faster than if you travel via the Grand Canal.

Good points to keep in mind for the next trip. The price was for three people; not just me, but still high. I have already emailed my travel agent about the water taxi in Venice.

I normally arrange most things. But ask her for help when not sure. She normally does well and gives good advice.

At any rate, the trip was wonderful.

Now to unpack and get back to work.....

<i><font color=#555555>"The (295.00) price was for three people; not just me"</font></i>

That's a 200% markup from the standard rate. As I said in an earlier post, a party of 8-or-less can take a private water taxi for €99.

When I plan a trip, travel days are for travel only. I'm NEVER is rush to get anywhere. I don't invite stress on arrival day. I try to do nothing more than a leisurely check-in and an organized un-pack.

As long as you're not in a hurry and you don't care about a possible 40-minute wait, and you're traveling with more than one person, the Shared Water Taxi is a great choice for €25-per-person. You can get lucky and be the only two people on the boat. If you happen to have more than yourselves on board, the ride can be more interesting than the Alilaguna, because the Shared Taxi will go places and use canals that the Alilaguna does not utilize. The Shared Taxi ride can be a fast, affordable way to see the canals of Venice that no other service can match.

we took the water taxi from airport as we wanted to get to our hotel quickly. It was well worth the 99E. Quick, took us right around the corner from our hotel.