Venice, Italy Port Reviews

After debarkation we spend 2 days in Venice at a boutique hotel on the main canal. It was very busy here but full of shops and wonderful restaurants.

biggest letdown of port. Since we could not dock IN Venice the ship docked in Chiogga, Azamara's first time there. Cute little town with potential, but not there yet. Ship shore tour to Venice involved a 2 hour transfer, 4 hours in Venice and 2 hours back.

poor guide,not enough time

Chioggia is not really Venice, it's about an hour from Venice.

Excursions in Venice were not organized by the ship, but we did several things on our own: canal tour and St. Marc's Campanile. Venice is unique in the world.

We began in Venice and took the bus to Chioggia, which is not too convenient to travel to. I realize that cruise ships cannot moor in Venice any longer, but having to commence the cruise in another port is inconvenient.

Okay, so we skipped Venice but had a wonderful day in Trieste. Visited Miramare castle in the morning and then walked around town to see the main square, Roman amphitheater and castle on the hill. There’s an elevator to the castle in the back of the underground parking lot by the amphitheater. Beautiful port - glad we stayed!

I opted for the Venice Walking Tour and Gondola Experience through Crystal Cruise, but once again, the experience was marred by disorganized staff and local guides awaiting instructions. We waited for over an hour before our tour began, causing us to rush through it and be late. The Gondola tour didn't justify its cost; it's more economical to arrange it independently than to pay $169 through the cruise line. The walking tour was limited to entering St. Mark's Square; we didn't get to visit the cathedral or anything else due to time constraints. This experience, along with several other shortcomings of Crystal Cruise, prompted me to write this review. I hope it serves as a warning because it's a significant waste of both time and money.

No excursion since we began & ended here. One of our best experience here was the night before the cruise when we stayed near Santa Lucia train station & had a very special dinner near the canals - & after the cruise we had lunch near St Mark's Square at a wonderful rooftop cafe - look up for yellow umbrellas - lovely spot!

Arrival day spent at a hotel, could the crew plan a bus tour of the city? Rather than sitting in a hotel for 4 hrs?