Venice bans large Cruise ships

We were aware of the proposals for the ban of cruise ships calling into Venice and yesterday saw the Italian Government make the decision that from January 2014 there will be a reduction in the number of cruise ships over 40,000 tons passing through the Venice Lagoon by 20%, and then from November 2014 no ship over 90,000 tons will be able to pass through.

So which cruise lines will this affect? The answer is majority of them which have the bigger ships such P&O, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, NCL, Costa. MSC, Princess and Cunard to name a few. The cruise lines with smaller ships such as Azamara, Fred Olsen, Oceania, Holland America, Crystal. Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas.  P&O, Costa and MSC do have smaller ships so can get round this by sailing their smaller ships into Venice.

So this has all come about as the Italian Ministers have had to implement the ruling that bans large cruise ships passing near Italian shores. This ruling came into force after the tragic Costa Concordia accident in 2012 but had been suspended in Venice whilst they worked out what to do.

This will have a big impact on the economy as 650 ships pass through Venice Lagoon with many ships having an overnight stop which allowed passengers to wander on and off the ship freely and get to experience the culture, cuisine and ambience Venice has to offer. The ban will now see ships rerouted through the Cantorta Sant’Angelo Canal which is further away from the city centre

I have always wanted to call into Venice on a cruise and have an overnight stop with viiews over St Marks Square so looks like I will be doing this as my summer cruise next year

Have you called into Venice on a cruise? What do you think of this ban now in place – would love to hear your thoughts