In travel news for July 5, 2022 we have news from Venice - Italy, SpaceX, and Holland America.
Venice, Italy & the Visitor Fee
The City of Venice has been working on a booking system and visitor fee for years to better manage the over-tourism problems they city has faced. The system was originally supposed to go live in June, but was pushed back till January 2023. The City of Venice has released more information about what to expect from this new system. The cost for day-trippers into Venice will be between 3 euro and 10 euro. The price will be set based on demand, busier days will have a higher entrance fee. Children under 6, residents, People with Disabilities, those traveling for medical reasons, visiting a relative, attending a cultural or sport event, and overnight guests will be exempt from having to pay a fee to enter.
SpaceX StarLink on Airplanes and Cruise Ships
After a successful trial run the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that SpaceX Star Link is authorized for use from airplanes, ships, and vehicles. The StarLink system is a constellation of satellites that connects a terminal to the internet from anywhere on the planet with better speeds, lower costs, and better reliability than traditional satellite internet. Hawaiian Airlines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line have both announced they plan on partnering with SpaceX to bring their passengers fast, reliable internet during all parts of their journey. We are expecting more announcements from airlines and curise lines in the coming months.
Holland America & Pre-Departure Testing
The Holland America Line is eliminating the pre-departure covid testing requirement for passengers boarding select sailings in Europe. At the moment it looks like this will apply to those booked on Rotterdams July 10th, July 17th, and July 24th sailing out of Amsterdam. Currently all passengers 12 or older sailing with Holland America need to be fully vaccinated. This means that the final dose or booster was administered within the previous 9 months. This follows Viking doing the same for select sailings, and Carnival Cruise Line relaxing protocols for unvaccinated passengers on Caribbean sailings.