Venice Cruise Schedule May 2019 – Including passenger numbers

Cruise ship passengers and Venice are a notorious combination. With slightly over 1 million cruise passengers per year, the Italian city can get very crowded. In May, the Venetian cruise season is starting to pick up. In May about 123,000 cruise passengers are expected to set foot in Venice. On average, about 4,000 passengers will disembark and walk through the narrow streets of Venice. We already published an article about the best time to visit Venicebut now we zoom in on the month of May. 

Cruise ships in Venice a weekend problem

Cruise ships crowds are a well-documented problem in Venice. The city famously bannedcruise ships bigger than 96,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, Cruise Linesare arguing that they have a positive impact on the city as well. Although cruise ship passengers can make the city of Venice feel like a very crowded town, something strange is going on. It turns out that on weekdays, cruise passengers are not a problem. They simply stay away during the week. However, in the weekend Venice becomes a cruise ship magnet. 

In the month of May, the average number of cruise ship passengers in Venice on weekdays is only about 1,450. A number the city can easily handle. During the weekend something else is going on. The average number of cruise ship passenger rises to an average of 11,235. Avoiding cruise ship crowds in Venice is therefore easy: don’t visit the Italian beauty during the weekend.

Venice Cruise Schedule May