Venice

Venice Cruise

La Serenissima, a pearl of the rarest beauty

MSC Cruises shore excursions can be a clever option for visiting the monuments that draw the largest cruise crowds in Venice: the Basilica di San Marco – the mausoleum of the city’s patron saint – and the Palazzo Ducale – the home of the doge and all the governing councils.

Certainly these are the most dramatic structures in Venice: the first a mosaic-clad emblem of Venice’s Byzantine origins, the second perhaps the finest of all secular Gothic buildings. But you would be rewarded for visiting every parish: a roll-call of the churches worth visiting would feature over fifty names, and a list of the important paintings and sculptures they contain would be twice as long. 

Enjoy your cruise holiday in Venice walking in Piazza San Marco: the only piazza in Venice, all other squares being campi or campielli. Its parades, festivities and markets have always drawn visitors, the biggest attraction once being the trade fair known as the Fiera della Sensa, which kept the Piazza buzzing for the fortnight following the Ascension Day ceremony of the Marriage of Venice to the Sea; nowadays the Piazza is the focal point of the Carnevale shenanigans. 

The coffee shops of the Piazza were a vital component of eighteenth-century high society, and the two survivors from that period – Florian and Quadri – are still the most expensive in town. The glass-blowing industry is what made Murano famous all over Europe, and today its furnaces constitute Venice’s sole surviving manufacturing zone. 

Murano’s street-level premises are given over almost entirely to shops selling glasswork, and it’s difficult to walk more than a few metres on this island without being invited to step inside a showroom. Some of them have furnaces attached, and you shouldn’t pass up the chance to see these astoundingly skilful craftsmen in action.

Excursions & Activities

Reach the Port

Leave the motorway to Venice at the Venezia-Porto exit and follow the signs for Venezia - Stazione Marittima - Terminal Passeggeri.
Venice Passenger Terminal website for useful information: www.vtp.it

PARCHEGGIO VTP  (Venezia Terminal Passeggeri)
 
Address: Port of Venice - Cruise Terminal
Tel. +39 041 2403090
  • MSC Parking is bookable online up to 48 hours before your cruise departure. Bookings after the 48 hour deadline can be made directly with MSC Parking, and the same reduced rates will be applied when presenting your cruise travel documents
See Rates

Parking Rates

VEHICLE DAYS RATES
Car 8 € 99
Van 8 € 198

Santa Lucia Station St. Lucia Railway station is just a short walk from Piazzale Roma (approx.600 metres), where you can take the People Mover train to the Marittima terminal entrance for a modest fare.
Società Cooperativa Venezia 1907 provides a luggage transport service in the railway station, which will take your luggage directly to your cruise ship. Designated staff on Platform 1 will collect your labelled luggage (labels are provided with your cruise tickets or alternatively provided by the “Società Cooperativa Venezia 1907) and deliver them to the ship.  MSC Cruises cannot be held responsible for any problems with the service and any complaints should be addressed to the service provider.

Venezia-Mestre Station
The railway station is approximately 10 km from the Cruise Terminal. Taxi service available.

A taxi service is available to take you from Marco Polo airport to the Stazione Marittima cruise terminal. The journey takes approximately 20 minutes, depending on the traffic.
Alternatively, you can take a taxi boat. An MSC shuttle service is also available.
Please go to the MSC booth just outside the arrivals hall on your right.

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