Cruising into Venice Italy is one of those magical travel moments. For us, it was several years ago, and we were on the NCL Spirit. We stood at the bow of the cruise ship, and despite the crowds, looking out it was captivating.
I shared my photos of Venice at the time, but for some reason, these remained in my files until today.
One of our first views of the main island of Venice was these bridges over the Rio de Sant’Elena
The channel markers guide as we are cruising into Venice. In the distance, we can see the dome of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.
Cruising into Venice, we pass by the Piazza San Marco, the main square. From the canal, we see Doge’s Palace and the campanile (bell tower) for the basilica.
It was interesting to see the apartments in Venice as we passed.
We sailed past the beautiful Church of Santissimo Redentore.
We pass the white columns on the Campo di Sant’Agnese on our final approach, cruising into Venice and heading towards the port.
A few facts about the Port of Venice:
- Arrival by sea travels through the Venetian Lagoon, which is how I was able to capture all the shots above.
- The port of Venice is the eighth busiest commercial port in Italy as well as being one of the busiest cruise ports in the Mediterranean.
- Annually, nearly 500 ships arrive and depart carrying 700,000 cruise passengers from 32 different cruise lines. One look at the images above and you can see why it is so popular. We love cruising, and Venice is a magical port.
Don’t Miss: 25 Tips for Cruising
- Wondering what to do once you arrive? Check out what we did or Rick Steves’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports
We arrived into Venice from Athens Greece. It was the final port of a 12-night Mediterranean Cruise that started in Barcelona, Spain.
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Such wonderful views from the cruise ship. I have never seen Venice from these perspectives. Fascinating.
We were quite high up on an upper deck. I think that makes a big difference.
Funnily enough we have just planned a Mediterranean cruise for next year which departs from Rome and finishes in Venice. So naturally I found this post very relevant. The photos I see of Venice are simply amazing and I can’t wait to see it all for myself. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Our cruise was 12 nights and started in Barcelona, ending in Venice. I blogged about many of the ports, sharing my best tips for each. Check them out if you want.
Beautiful photos. I’ve yet to have the pleasure of travel to this beautiful place.
I hope you get a chance. Venice is quite magical.
Hi Rhonda – what amazing views … and if I ever go – I will cruise in! Can’t say I approve of that route, or perhaps any route now – because of the ‘wash’ and because of the pollution and huge numbers of people … but incredible photos – cheers Hilary
You make some excellent points about the negative sides of cruising. The crowds and pollution really apply to all travel these days, unless you are backpacking or cycling.
Oh, I love these photos of Venice. Such a great city!
Thanks. I agree, it is a wonderful place to visit.
nice photos!
Thanks Tanja.
What a gorgeous place!
Thanks Tamar 🙂
The view from the ship gave you a great photo opportunity. Those are awesome.
Thanks Alex. Being on an upper deck really changes the perspective.
Hi Rhonda, Always love some great photos of beautiful Venice! Sounds like you had a great cruise. I never get tired of seeing the city and this reminds me that I haven’t shared photos from our wedding there in October. ~ Jessica
What a magical place for a wedding. I can’t wait to see those photos.
What beautiful views of a lovely place you took some nice photos Rhonda and so clear too, my brother recently visited there
Have a scenictastic day & thanks for “dropping” by LOL 🙂
Did you brother approach via sea? It is really a cool way to come into Venice.
What wonderful photos from the ship. I understand that Venice is sinking into the water. I hope that all those brilliant places are not lost. I’ve never been there. maybe some day.
Have a wonderful Tuesday Rhonda. See ya.
Cruisin Paul
Sadly, it is true that it is sinking, or that world water levels are raising. I hope they are not lost as well.
Never been there. Those are some amazing photos you took. Very nice.
Thanks Patrick.
Arrived by plane in Venice, then took a cruise out of Venice to the Greek Islands. It’s so lovely especially with blue skies.
Ooh, that would be a fun cruise to take. I have only been to a few of the Greek Islands, but I loved them.
Anything on a boat is awesome. I can remember the first time we cruised to San Francisco. It was magical. I’m guessing you felt the same doing this cruise into the city. Way cool.
Have a fabulous day. 🙂
I can imagine sailing into San Francisco. It would be truly magical, to cross under the golden gate and have the city open up in front of you.
I arrived on train. It blew my mind seeing the water at the curb as you walked out of the station – even though I knew it was there, seeing it was so amazing!
We never made it to the train station.
Beautiful shots!
Thank you for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/08/cats-consumate-contortionists.html
Thanks.
Thanks so much for the tour, at least i have the views in my mind. I’ve been to Rome but might not be there in this lifetime.
I hope you get to Venice, it is so different from anywhere else I have been.
Drooling over the stunning view you saw!
LOL – thanks Merlinda
Looks like a wonderful – and obviously photogenic – place. Thanks for sharing.
Being high up as we were coming in made a difference too.
I’ve always, always, always wanted to visit Venice! Thanks for sharing your pictures with us at OMHGWW!
I don’t think I would want to live there, but it sure is a great place to visit.
I went there 3 times and I really enjoyed it. We managed to come down there during the Carnivale, Rhonda. It was one unforgettable trip indeed
This was my second visit, but nothing as exciting as Carnival.
What a great series of pictures. I really like the overall views – you have some amazing shots of the areas you cruised past. Usually the photos I’ve seen of Venice show details of buildings, etc. so it was interesting to see a different perspective with a wider angle.
I think being up high on the ship really makes a difference for the photos.
Wonderful photos! I’m getting some serious wanderlust!
LOL – that’s the idea.
My favorite city! I never get tired of it!
http://travelingbugwiththreeboys-kelleyn.blogspot.com/
I have only been twice, but I love it too.
Venice was interesting but not one of our favorites. It was hot, tons or people, and it smelled… all of which could have been fixed if we would have visited in the early spring. I think I would have loved it if I would have traveled there at a different time of year. We came in via bus from the mainland.
Lisa @ LTTL
I don’t remember it smelling, but to me that’s just part of travel.
I’ve been to Italy once before but unfortunately didn’t have the opportunity to check out Venice. Hopefully one day 🙂 We were only able to do Rome and Florence, although Florence has been one of my all-time favorite cities.
Rome and Florence are both amazing cities. I wouldn’t say “only” as those are great adventures. It seems the more places we go, the more that gets added to our bucket list.