St. Mark’s, the Rialto and a vaporetto down the Grand Canal, done right.
Venice is still the most beautiful place a cruise can take you, but since 2021 big ships are banned from the Giudecca Canal and the St. Mark’s basin, so where your ship actually docks depends on its size: yachts under 25,000 tons still tie up at the Marittima and San Basilio in the city, mid-size ships use the mainland berths at Fusina and Marghera with a boat or shuttle into town, and the biggest ships sell Venice from Chioggia, Ravenna or Trieste with a coach ride. Once you are in, the day is the Basilica, the Doge’s Palace, the Rialtò and a vaporetto the length of the Grand Canal. SmartCruiser lists every cruise that calls here from every line, priced with taxes, fees and port expenses included, with the sailings that carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit or instant savings at the top.
Three ways to do Venice
The big sights with timed tickets, the city on foot and by vaporetto, or the lagoon islands: pick your day and the buttons filter the list of sailings below.
The Basilica, the Doge’s Palace and the Campanile
- St. Mark’s Basilica is timed entry, online only since July 2025 (about €10 to €12 as of 2026, slots release 45 days out and sell out weeks ahead in summer); no bags inside, shoulders and knees covered
- The Doge’s Palace is about €30 to €35 with the Correr Museum; book the slot and allow 90 minutes for the Golden Staircase, the council halls and the Bridge of Sighs
- The Campanile elevator (about €15 to €18) is the view of the lagoon and your ship; on a 5 hour call from the Marittima that is the whole day with lunch
Best for: first-timers, art and history lovers
Rialto, the back canals and a Grand Canal vaporetto
- Ride vaporetto line 1 the whole length of the Grand Canal from Piazzale Roma to San Marco (about 35 minutes, €9.50 for 75 minutes or €25 for a 24 hour pass); stand at the stern rail
- Walk back by the Rialto Bridge and market, the Frari church for the Titians (a few euros), and the quiet canals of Dorsoduro to the Accademia bridge
- A gondola is a fixed €90 for 30 minutes by day, €110 after 7 pm, cash, up to five people; a traghetto gondola ferry across the Grand Canal is €2 for the same photo
Best for: couples, photographers, repeat visitors
Murano glass, Burano color and the Lido
- Murano is 10 minutes by vaporetto line 4.1 or 4.2 from Fondamente Nove: glass furnaces with free demonstrations, the Glass Museum (about €10) and a pricey showroom on every corner
- Burano is another 30 to 40 minutes on line 12: the painted fishermen’s houses, lace shops and risotto de gò by the canal; allow 4 hours for both islands
- Ship excursions do Murano and Burano by private launch in about 4 hours, the only sane way on a call of 8 hours or less from the mainland berths
Best for: families, shoppers, those who have done St. Mark’s
Venice cruises: SmartCruiser picks first
Every cruise that calls at Venice from every line, whether it docks in the city, at Fusina and Marghera, or at Chioggia, priced live with taxes, fees and port expenses included. The picks at the top are sailings where booking with SmartCruiser gets you something extra: instant savings or bonus onboard credit. Below them, every other sailing that stops here, with full sorting by home port, line, month, length and price.
SmartCruiser picks
Sorted by what you save, biggest firstEvery cruise that calls at Venice
Stack any filters, then pick a sortPrices are per person, double occupancy, in US dollars, and include cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as published by the cruise line at the moment you load this page. Fares are capacity controlled and change daily; the fare is confirmed when you book. Flights, hotels and transfers are extra unless the line’s offer says otherwise. SmartCruiser instant savings and bonus onboard credit are provided by SmartCruiser on top of the cruise line’s price and are not available when booking direct; amounts are per stateroom, vary by stateroom category and are shown for the lowest category offered. Special SmartCruiser rates are pricing SmartCruiser holds on that sailing for its clients, with extra onboard credit; you book your own stateroom and travel on your own. Senior fares apply to guests 55 and over; resident fares need proof of residency in a listed state or province at check-in; police and fire fares apply to active or retired police, fire and EMT personnel with ID. Qualifier-fare savings are measured against the best fare the cruise line offers the general public for the same stateroom category on the day the list was pulled, updated weekly.
Home ports that sail to Venice
Venice is both a turnaround port for small and mid-size ships and a call on Adriatic and Greek Isles itineraries; pick a home port and the list above filters to cruises leaving from there.
Things to do in Venice
Budget 45 to 90 minutes each way between the ship and St. Mark’s depending on your berth, then spend what is left like this.
Which lines call at Venice?
In 2026 Venice and Chioggia expect 55 ships and 366 calls, more than 90 percent of them premium and luxury vessels; the big-ship lines sell Venice from Ravenna and Trieste instead.
When to go
Venice is humid and crowded in summer, prone to acqua alta flooding from October to January (now mostly held back by the MOSE barriers), and foggy and cold in winter; spring and early fall are the sweet spots.
Venice questions we answer every day
Where do cruise ships dock in Venice now, and how do I get to St. Mark’s?
Since August 2021 ships over 25,000 gross tons are banned from the Giudecca Canal and the St. Mark’s basin, so only yachts and sailing ships (Windstar, Star Clippers, Ponant, Emerald) still dock at the Marittima or San Basilio in the city; from there the People Mover (€1.50, 4 minutes) runs to Piazzale Roma and vaporetto line 1 takes 25 to 35 minutes to San Marco. Mid-size ships (Viking, Oceania, Regent, Silversea, Seabourn, Azamara, Explora, MSC Lirica and Armonia) use the mainland berths: Fusina, where the terminal’s own boat (line 16, about €10 one way, €15 return, hourly) reaches the Zattere in 25 to 30 minutes, or Marghera, where the line shuttles you to the Marittima in 15 to 20 minutes and you continue as above; a water taxi from Marghera to St. Mark’s is about €70 to €80 for up to four. A handful of ships use Chioggia, about 90 minutes away by vaporetto line 11 or shuttle. Budget 45 to 60 minutes gangway to piazza from the Marittima and 75 to 90 minutes from Marghera or Fusina. The port authority is dredging the Vittorio Emanuele III channel to bring ships up to about 50,000 tons back to the Marittima, originally for 2027, but as of 2026 the work is behind schedule, so check your line’s port notes.
What about Venice (Ravenna) and Venice (Trieste) cruises?
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity turn around in Ravenna, and Norwegian, Princess, Holland America and MSC’s bigger ships in Trieste; both are sold as Venice, and both are a 2 to 2.5 hour coach ride from Piazzale Roma. If you sail from either, the honest plan is to fly in a day or two early, stay in Venice, and take the line’s transfer to the ship on embarkation day; the same-day coach excursion from the port leaves you 3 to 4 hours in the city. Our specialists price the pre-cruise hotel night with the cruise.
Do cruise passengers pay the Venice access fee?
On the dates it applies, yes, if you are not sleeping in a Venice hotel. In 2026 the day-tripper fee ran on 60 dates from April 3 to July 26, 8:30 am to 4 pm: €5 per person booked at least four days ahead, €10 booked later, children under 14 exempt, paid online at cda.ve.it for a QR code (fines are €50 to €300). The cruise terminals, Piazzale Roma and the station are outside the fee zone, and Murano, Burano and the Lido are exempt. The 2027 dates were not published as of October 2026 and the city has floated raising the fee, so check the official site before you sail; some ship excursions include it.
How do I get around Venice, and what does it cost?
On foot and by vaporetto. A single ACTV ticket is €9.50 for 75 minutes, the 24 hour pass €25, and since 2024 tickets bought on board are card only; validate at the white readers. Line 1 is the slow Grand Canal tour, line 2 the express, lines 4.1, 4.2 and 12 go to the islands. Water taxis are €70 to €120 a ride, gondolas a fixed €90 for 30 minutes. The city is a maze of bridges with steps, so leave the roller bag and the stroller on the ship.
What money do I use, and will my phone work?
Italy uses the euro and almost everything in Venice takes cards, including the vaporetto; carry cash for gondolas, traghetti and cicchetti bars. Italian is the language and English is universal in the tourist core. Venice is on Central European Time, six hours ahead of New York. Most US carriers sell a daily international pass of about $10 to $12, or buy an eSIM before you sail; the alleys play havoc with GPS, so download the map offline.
Is Venice safe, and should I book excursions through the ship?
Venice is one of the safest cities in Europe; the cruise lines and the U.S. State Department warn only about pickpockets on the crowded vaporetti and around the piazza and the overcharging at tourist-trap restaurants (check for a posted menu with prices). The bigger risk is time: the transfers from Fusina, Marghera, Chioggia, Ravenna or Trieste are long and the city swallows hours, so on a call of 8 hours or less from a mainland berth, book the ship’s transfer or excursion for the departure guarantee and do your own thing once you are in the city. Carry a photo of your passport and leave the original in the cabin safe.
Are taxes and fees included in the prices here?
Yes. Every price on this page includes the cruise fare, government taxes, fees and port expenses, so the number you see is the number you pay for the cruise. Flights, hotels, shore excursions and onboard gratuities are extra, and SmartCruiser adds bonus onboard credit on the picks at the top that you cannot get booking direct.
Talk to a Venice cruise specialist
Tell us your dates and whether you want to dock in the city on a small ship or add a Venice hotel night to a bigger one and we will find the Adriatic sailing with the most SmartCruiser value, then book it for you. Monday to Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 6 ET.