Exploring Venice at Night

St. Mark's Square - Venice

Our ship overnighted in Venice, Italy which gave us the opportunity to explore the city of canals at night.  Taking a water taxi from the ship, we made our way to St. Mark's Square where we began our self-guided walking tour.

Here are just a few of the sights we saw that night.  Click on images to enlarge them.

Rialto Bridge

The Piazza San Marco may be more famous, but the Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) is the true heart of Venice. As we approached the Rialto Bridge, there were many people checking out the local shops.  It was just starting to get dark.

Be Prepared to Climb Stairs

If you plan to walk through Venice, be sure you have good walking shoes and are able to climb stairs.  This is especially challenging if you have luggage and are heading to the train station (which was our main objective for the evening).  We wanted to figure out where we'd be going in the morning to catch the train back to Rome.

With its gondolas, canals, amazing restaurants, and unforgettable romantic ambiance, Venice is definitely a city for one's bucket list.  

Many Perspectives of Venice

Our first glimpse of this amazing city was from the ship's deck as we sailed past the canals to our dock.   Next we saw the city from a water taxi and then explored during the day by foot and finally gondola before returning to our ship for dinner.  The most amazing view was walking through the narrow streets and over canals at night.   The lights cast a glow that really changed the mood of the city.

 

Gondola's 

Along the Grand Canal, the restaurants were filled with visitors and local patrons enjoying an evening meal with a view.   The moon was almost full and shone brightly on the city below.

Returning to Our Ship

What a beautiful sight as we concluded our nighttime exploration of Venice via water taxi back to our ship.  

Time for You to Explore

We hope that you enjoyed this brief visit to Venice at night. Check out our Diary of our 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise for more stories about Venice and our other ports as well as links to our photo albums.

  Photo Albums:

Venice - Evening 64 photos

 

Venice at Dusk  38 photos

 

Venice at Night  50 photos 

 

Follow #FriFotos on Twitter and Facebook

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Connect With Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers


Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

Sailing Into Venice by Cruise Ship

A View Worth 

Getting Up Early For

We have been cruising for about 30 years and have had many early arrivals into port.  Most of the time, we are still in bed as the ship pulls into the harbor.  If we have a balcony, we may go out on the veranda to get a glimpse as we arrive.  More often than not, we are already docked when we go out for our first look around.

The Captain or Cruise Directory usually says something about the next port the night before we arrive.  They usually describe the weather and call passengers attention to anything that stands out in their minds.  

Don't Miss Sail Into Venice ...

"We should be arriving in Venice around 7 AM and I encourage you to be up on deck to watch the sail in" said the captain.  "This is a view that you won't want to miss.  It will be one of your highlights of the entire cruise".  

7 AM, are you kidding me?  I'm on vacation and we don't get up that early.  (those were the thoughts going through our mind, however...) If the Captain is making this big a deal about it, then we should probably listen to him or we'll regret it later.  After all, we did get up on deck by 5 AM for sail into the Panama Canal and we haven't regretted that  to this day, many years later.

OK, we'll get up, but we aren't going alone.  Our traveling companions were going to be up there with us.  The four of us found a good vantage point out on deck and got ready for our arrival.

First Glimpse

The picture above was our very first image of Venice as we started sailing into the harbor.  The skies were still overcast from the evening as the sun hadn't started to rise yet.   Even the sun is still asleep, what are we doing up?  All we could see from our vantage point was a beacon.

And then it happened...   We started to see the cathedral spires and other buildings in the distance.  As we got closer, we could see bridges and canal passages that darted between buildings.   The harbor was full of life as boats of all sizes darted along side of us.   Some were carrying passengers while others had various supplies.   There was a fisherman who glanced up as we sailed past his small boat.

The captain has a pretty good view as we sailed in.  On Star Princess, the bridge has a glass enclosed platform, on each side of the ship, where the captain or other staff can get a birds-eye view of our surroundings.  We were seeing the same thing as he was, just a little later as the ship moved slowly along the lagoon.

Sailing Past Iconic Buildings

Continuing our sail in along the Venetian Lagoon, we pass The Doge's Palace, a gothic palace which was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme authority of the Republic of Venice.

Just beyond Doge's Palace is St. Mark's Square, perhaps the most well-known attraction in Venice.

The Captain was right - what a view from this perspective of all the sights of Venice.   This was only the beginning, as we hadn't even arrived at our docking place yet.  After breakfast, we'd set out to explore the city on water from two other vantage points - from the water, in a water taxi and later a gondola,  and on foot.

Venice Cruise Terminal

Two other ships had already arrived in Venice ahead of us - Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas and Seabourn Spirit.  We would sail past both ships before finally docking in our berth.


The journey along the Venetian Lagoon had taken about an hour.  Many lasting memories had been captured on film and in our minds during that time.  We are so grateful to the Captain who encouraged us not to miss this sail in.

We've painted an image in words here, but words alone don't do justice to this experience.   Check out our  Venice photo albums on Facebook, starting with our arrival:   Arriving in Venice by Cruise Ship

Come back again to read more about our time in Venice.   Search our blog for other pictures and stories about our Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise or see:  Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles.

Why not plan your own Venetian memories today?  We'd be glad to offer our advice and help you plan.

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Connect With Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers


Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

Concordia Disaster Rekindles Venice Restrictions

Seabourn Spirit Docked in Venice, Italy

Could Concordia Disaster Impact Cruises to Venice

UNESCO has called on the Italian government to restrict access of large cruise ships to culturally and ecologically important areas, particularly Venice and its Lagoon which are visited by some 300 large cruise ships a year.

 

Arriving in Venice on Star Princess
Docked Next to RCCL Voyager of the Seas

UNESCO World Heritage Site - Venice

In a letter sent to the Italian Environment Minister on behalf of Director-General Irina Bokova, the Assistant Director-General for Culture Francesco Bandarin writes that “the tragic accident [of the Costa Concordia on 13 January] reinforces longstanding concern over the risk that large cruise liners pose to sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, particularly the Venice Lagoon and the Basin of San Marco." 

After presenting UNESCO’s condolences for the tragic loss of life caused by Costa Concordia accident and praising the efforts of the rescue teams and local population in dealing with the disaster, the letter urges the government to act quickly to develop alternative plans for maritime traffic around the World Heritage site of Venice. 

UNESCO contends that the cruise liner traffic in Venice is particularly damaging because of the fragile structure of the city. The ships cause water tides that erode the foundations of buildings. They contribute to pollution and impact the cityscape as they dwarf monuments in the heart of the city.

Venice Canals from Star Princess Deck

 Sailing into Venice

Those that follow our blog on a regular basis know that we were on Star Princess last May/June for a 12 Night Greek Isles & Mediterranean Cruise - Rome to Venice. Our captain urged us to be up on the outside decks before 7 AM to see the ship entering into Venice harbor.   It was an amazing sight - seeing Venice from a different perspective.

View our photo album on our Facebook Fan Page:

Arriving in Venice by Cruise Ship

As you can see from these images, the pier where we were docked was far from the heart of the city. In fact, one must take a water taxi or use the people mover to get into the city proper.

What Does the Future Hold

UNESCO's plea is not a new one, but it seems to have some new life as Italy's environment minister, Corrado Clini, appeared to take up the cause Tuesday.

"The aim is to free St. Mark's basin from the big ships once new canals have been dug," Clini was quoted by the Italian news agency ANSA as saying during a public appearance in northern Italy.

But Clini added that "in the meantime, it will be up to the port authority and to the city to decide which (sea) traffic is sustainable and compatible" with Venice's particular situation."

Venice officials have said that since tug boats guide the big cruise ships through the part of the lagoon weaving through the city, the risk of accidents is virtually eliminated.

In a city where "cars" are replaced by gondolas and small water craft, it is unthinkable that there could be a ban on larger vessels.   Let us hope that the cruise industry, UNESCO, and Italian authorities can work out a plan which protects Venice for years to come and still allows future generations the pleasure of seeing this amazing city of canals from the perspective of a cruise ship.

If a Mediterranean cruise, that includes Venice, is on your bucket list, you might want to plan that trip now in case restrictions are indeed put in place in the near future.

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

Connect With Us On

        

Sign-up for Exclusive Email Offers


Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

Where is Chris?

HAPPY
THANKSGIVING

Allure of the Seas

 

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here already. Where did 2011 go? As has become my tradition, I'd like to share with you some of the things that I'm thankful for and highlight some of my adventures this year.

I hope that you, your family, and friends have plenty to be thankful for this holiday season. I know that I have plenty of things to be thankful for, including my health, family, and friends and the ability to share my love of cruising with all of you. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to explore new worlds with family and friends again this year.

While this has been another tough economic year, it appears that the cruise industry has weathered the storm once again.

The value of cruising has never been stronger. Even in these tough times, more and more families have taken to the seas.  Indications are that the record discounts offered the past two years will be coming to an end.  In the meantime those discounts have made cruising an even better value, and consequently we have seen a surge in first-time cruisers.

The photos above are from some of our cruises this year.  The highlight of the year was our Mediterranean and Greek Isles cruise on Star Princess.   We spent two nights in Rome before the cruise and one additional night after returning to Rome by train from Venice, Italy.  If you can't guess where I am in the picture above, I'm in Fira, Santorini, Greece.  Our ship can be seen in the background. Learn more about our cruise in our article: Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles
 

Cruises Inc. and Cruise One held the 2011 National Conference on Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas which just ended its inaugural season sailing to the Eastern and Western Caribbean on alternate weeks.  We have written several articles on the Allure and posted many photos on our Facebook Fan Page.


We wonder what the Pilgrims, who came to the New World in Tall Ships, would think about the Allure of the Seas.  Their ships measured 110 feet, held 150 passengers at most, and took months to cross the Atlantic.  The Allure is more than 10 times that length (1182 feet), holds almost 8000 passengers and crew, and took just a couple weeks to cross the Atlantic.

Thank you for making our blog column a part of your lives in 2011.   I hope that the information we share helps you to dream about future cruises of your own. I'd be honored to help you plan those trips. I have the best job in the world - helping make dreams come true. For that, I'm truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to All