2 days in Venice

Does your cruise really end in Venice, or outside town?
What are your interests? Your question is too broad . Perhaps get a guide book, read posts here under Italy, do a Search for Venice here, and review the trip reports to figure out what appeals. Do you have any mobility issues? What is the size of your group? Budget?
Stay in Venice, away from Rialto and St Marks Square, on the quiet back canals. We like the Cannaregio area.
Have a great visit!

Two days is not a lot of time, but you can hit the highlights. Do you have two full days, or are you counting the day you get off the cruise, and still have to get to a hotel in Venice? Where you stay will depend on where you are getting off the boat, but as the previous poster suggested, stay away from the Rialto Bridge and St Marks square area, they are very busy. Venice is very walkable, so staying further from the main sights won’t matter much if you don’t have any mobility issues. To make catching your flight home easier it may make sense to stay closer to where the buses come in so you can easily catch one to the airport. As for an itinerary for two days, I would suggest looking at the itinerary for the Venice/Florence/Rome tour and use that as a guide. One suggestion I would make is that on one of your days you purchase a day pass for the vaporetto and use it as much as you can to get around. Individual tickets are pricey, but some of the best views in Venice are from the water. Try to board at a location where you have a chance of getting an outside seat facing forward, and ride the whole length of the grand canal, and do this after dark as well.

I second, third, and fourth what Anita said so well!

And again, first find out from your cruise line where your ship actually docks.
There are at least four places for “Venice” now, that the cruise ships will dock in.
If it is at Ravenna, Chioggia , or Fusina; you will have to make a plan on how to actually get to Venice itself, as these ports are not in Venice itself.
They will all involve either a train or bus journey to Venice proper.

Here's what our host recommends about Venice. You'll definitely want to stay in Venice itself, preferably in one of the less-overrun parts like Cannaregio or Dorsoduro. A hotel close to Piazzale Roma, where buses come and go, will be easiest from the standpoint of access to the airport on the mainland. A vaporetto pass will give you easy and scenic access to a lot of places, and walking does the rest. There will be lots of bridges with steps up and down.

Padua is a good place to visit as a day trip from Venice if you have enough days, but you don't.

Thanks Pat, Anita, SJ & Dick for your advice on Venice. We debark on Saturday 8 am @ Fusima which is not right in Venice so I need to call cruise line to talk to cruise line for recommendation how to debark then drop off luggage at hotel (hopefully, transfer?) then go about the rest of the day Saturday then continue in Venice Sunday for a. full day. Monday we need to get to airport for 9 am so it’s 100% a travel day. I like the idea of using a Vaporetto Day Pass to get views of canal & city. Since no cars in Venice we will do alot of walking (no mobility issues). Liked the advice of areas to avoid & to “think like a local”. One of you mentioned staying near Piazzale Roma so easy access to bus to airport. I have a RS Venice travel guide so I’ll study hotels & some maps……
Cheers,
thanks Katie