The last thing anyone wants to see when heading out on a cruise is rain. The morning I was departing my hotel to head out for my cruise in Venice, all I saw was an overcast sky filled with clouds threatening to unleash havoc on an otherwise beautiful day. Of course, I hadn’t bothered to pack any wet weather gear since when I looked at the forecast before I left, it looked hot and dry. Was I ever wrong! Hopefully, you’ll learn from my trip and do better. Read on to see how to avoid problems and eliminate your fears about how to get to Venice cruise port.
With bags in tow, we headed toward the People Mover located in Piazzale Roma. Opened in 2010, this is an easy way for anyone, but especially those visiting Venice, to get to and from the cruise port. The entire 1/2 mile journey takes 3 minutes with stops at Tronchetto (parking), Piazzale Roma, and Marittima cruise terminal. Look for the glass overhang, which is the platform for the People Mover, but the entrance to the building is toward the front facing Piazzale Roma and the buses.
Purchasing tickets and riding the People Mover is simple. Tickets are €1,30 per person for each trip. To get a ticket, step up to the ticket machine, choose your language, and follow the prompts on the screen. Your ticket will print out and then you only need to take it with you and move toward the escalators toward the back. Scan your ticket and your on your way.
TSG Tip: Before arriving in a new city, take a few minutes to read about and understand public transportation. If you plan on using something like the People Mover, figure out where it will take you and if it is a feasible option for you. There was an American man in line in front of me asking for help from anyone nearby because he needed to get to San Marco after his cruise. The People Mover doesn’t go to San Marco so he was out of luck and I told him so, but he continued to ask as if someone else would offer him another answer. He could’ve spent a few minutes online to avoid the hassle of asking complete strangers and then having to deal with the wrath of his travel companions when he had to tell them he didn’t know what he was doing.
On the upper level of the station you’ll exit to the platform through the doors and then you’ll only have to wait a few minutes for the next train. As always the case when taking public transportation, look at the signage above the platform to make sure you’re going in the right direction. And please – do everyone a favor even if you’re not one who uses public transportation regularly and observe some simple rules:
- Move your bags out of the way so people can get around you.
- Don’t group together by the entrance making it impossible to get past you.
- When the train arrives it will have passengers on it so move to the side to let people off before boarding.
- The train doesn’t leave immediately so there’s no need to run or push your way on. Relax! You’ve a got a few minutes to get settled.
- Whether here or anywhere else, don’t be the stereotypical loud American. No one wants to hear your stories. You may think we do, but honestly — I don’t.
Heres’ a quick video of the People Mover in action in Venice at the Marittima cruise terminal.
As I mentioned previously, the entire trip is only a few minutes in length and before you can think of something witty to say in Italian, you’ll be at the cruise port stop. You’ll be able to see the tops of the cruise ships in port from the upper level. From here take the stairs, lift, or escalator down to the ground level. On the day that I was here the escalator was broken, which meant it was either the lift or the stairs. There are buses that can take you from the People Mover station to the ships, but we chose to walk. In hindsight, I wish that we’d taken the bus because we ended up getting completely soaked in a massive downpour of rain. You can see from the pictures as the sky continued to get darker and darker and then unleashed so much rain that I looked like a wet cat by the time I arrived at the ship.
The cruise terminal is easy to navigate although it felt like we were walking back to the US with how far it felt in the rain from the People Mover to Isonzo 2, the berth where the MSC Preziosa was docked. The first cruise ship I saw, the Norwegian Jade, was the easiest to get to followed by Royal Caribbean’s Splendour of the Seas. The rain continued to increase in intensity and at one point we had to take refuge in a building to not get caught up in both the rain and the wind gusts.
Want to see how bad the rain was? Take a look at the video below and yes my voice sounds shaky because I’m drenched and afraid I’ll get blown over by the wind!
Finally, the rain subsided and we headed back out toward Isonzo 2. On a sunny day, the walk is quite nice as it was after the cruise. But I was cold, wet, and not feeling it. When we arrived at the terminal, I was relieved and excited to begin the next leg of my journey on MSC Preziosa.
Overall, the People Mover was a fast and efficient way to get to the cruise terminal. There’s sufficient signage in English, and with heavy bags it can definitely shave a few minutes time off your travels. Anything that can get you onboard your cruise ship faster is always a good thing!