azzy73

Cruising NCL Epic May 23-May30 and will be in Barcelona on May 27th. I have booked the Hop on Hop off bus and we are wanting to see Sagrada Familia first thing before it gets too busy. I was looking at Sagrada Familia site to buy tickets and it wants you to choose times for that date and earliest time is 10:30 am. Would this match up well with bus schedule and if we get to area earlier than that what other sites is there to see in that area. Second, I am unsure which ticket to book, tour, audio tour or basic, towers or no towers? Thanks for your input!

Have you looked into a shared shuttle service instead of the train. I have previously used Civitavecchia Shuttle Express. They charge 85 Euro for 3. I've done both and after a long flight, I would much rather take the car service.

 

http://www.civitavecchiashuttleexpress.com/services/cruise-port-transfers.html

I actually ended up booking with them. Good price and worth it to avoid any hassle with train. Thanks!

I am taking the Western Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian epic. I was wondering how long it takes to debark The ship at the end of the cruise so I know when to book the shuttle. Do they allow you to have breakfast and stay on the ship for a little bit? TIA.

We are cruising out of Rome this fall and were faced with this question. We also cruised out of Rome a few years ago and spent a few days pre cruise in Rome. We took the train to civitavechhia and it was fairly easy but it was a Wednesday morning and the train was pretty crowded and added to the difficulty—and we just had carry on bags.

I think it would be hard with full size suitcases and being tired.

We are returning this fall and initially were planning on spending the night before by the port but after pricing transfer for our group of four, we decided to take a private transfer to Rome and spend the night there —about 50 euros—and stay the night in trastavere. Found a hotel for less than 100 euros that looks good with great reviews

Then we plan to take the train the next morning to civitavecchia. Figure we will be more rested and it will also be a Sunday morning so less chaotic.

Good luck!

 

 

 

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After reading all these replies I opted to get a shared shuttle transfer to our hotel in Civitavecchia. It was 85 euros for the 3 of us. Definitely not as cheap as train but after traveling for 18 hours I don’t want the hassle of trying to do the trains with our luggage. I may opt to do train at the end of our cruise into Rome. I figured no transfers to get to main station in Rome and we will be rested. I think we will then take a taxi from station to our hotel in Rome.

We are taking western Mediterranean cruise on NCL Epic leaving from Civitavecchia. I have excursions booked for a couple of our ports but I’m kinda stumped on whether we should do an excursion in Barcelona or do it ourselves wth the hop on hop off bus I’ve heard about. What are your suggestions/experiences? I don’t really know much about the city so don’t really have any must sees so not sure of what to do. TIA!

Here's a pretty detailed breakdown of what you'll need to do:

 

After you claim your luggage at FCO airport, you will need to get to the train station. It's not far but you will need to follow the signs. I generally go outside the terminal, cross the access street, then take the escalator up one level where the train station is. There are elevators at the same place as the escalators.

 

Purchasing tickets is easy. I would go the route of FCO to Trastevere station to Civitavecchia and since you are not in a rush, I'd go to the ticket window and tell them you want to take the regional train, not the express train (which is called the Leonardo Express).

 

Getting on and off the trains requires going up about 3-4 narrow steps to get on the train carriage. There are NO porters and you do not want to accept help from anyone, trust me. (They are after a hefty tip or your bags....) If you have full-size bags it may be easiest to have one person board first, then stand at the top and take the bags of the others. Also note -- regional trains do not have assigned seats, so you can just board any carriage.

 

Full-size bags such as you describe will likely not fit in the overhead rack, which is not as roomy as airline overheads. There are luggage racks at one end of the car, sometimes at both ends, and sometimes also there are small storage areas between seats.

 

Typical luggage storage at the end of train car:

 

 

And behind seats (less common on regional trains):

 

 

 

At Trastevere you'll have to unload everything and then transfer to another train to take you to Civitavecchia. Trastevere is a smaller station so it's better to transfer here. If you went to the main station in Rome, Termini, you'd have to walk perhaps a couple of city blocks in distance to get your next train (although it is flat).

 

Once at Civitavecchia, you will get off the train. More than likely, you will have to cross underneath the tracks to get to the station exit. This means down a full flight of stairs, through a passage, and then up the stairs on the other side.

 

From here, purchase a bus ticket in the shop in the station; this will get you on the bus to the port entrance. It's a local bus but it runs pretty much only to take passengers from the train station to the port entrance. There is room for luggage.

 

Finally, you'll get off at Largo della Pace (port entrance), and then board a free port shuttle to your ship.

 

Yes, it is complicated with luggage. Most of us who do the train travel pretty light. (I'm just fine with a small suitcase for 2-3 weeks. One just does some laundry along the way...) It may be more hassle than you're willing to negotiate.

 

There are shared transfer services for as little as 85 euro for three persons.

Thank you so much! That was exactly the specific details I was looking for. If we could find a good shuttle for 85 euros for the three of us it might be worth it to spend the extra money. Can you recommend any?

We used the train to get from Rome to civitavecchia and then again to the airport post cruise. If you are reasonably fit and traveled and able to handle lifting your luggage above your head and carrying it up and down stairs (which to me, all of these things are routine for European travel); the train is perfectly fine.

 

 

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We will have 3 full size roller suitcases probably weighing at least 35-45 lbs each with the 3 of us, I’m 44 yr old woman and in very good shape, daughter is 22 and in good shape and mother is 69 and in fair shape. Does this seem doable? We will be tired after long flight from Vancouver Canada.

I believe that you are correct. Down and up as I recall.:(

How many stairs? I mean we are fine to get suitcases up 8-12 steps....

The more I read about the train the more I’m worried about how much hassle it is with luggage. Even if we pack light we will still need large suitcases. We are gong for 11 nights and a carry on is not going to cut it. We will also be getting off a flight in the AM after traveling for 18 hours. We will be exhausted. I can see it being easy with no luggage but with three large bags, and my mom is 69. She can definitely do the walking but may have trouble lifting bag up many stairs and I don’t think any of us can lift 50 lb bags over our head (and not sure why would need to). I’m getting many conflicting answers. I wish I could see inside train so I could understand what people are talking about.

Take a car service

 

 

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Do you have one to recommend that doesn’t cost a fortune? So far I’ve seen nothing under 150 euros for 3 people one way. That’s $186 usd. That seems outrageous.

"Easiest" is in the eye of the beholder. So lets first talk about the trains. You have two options from FCO. One is the Leonardo Express...which is a modern train with plenty of room for luggage and can take you directly from the airport to the main Rome Termini Station. From there you can walk to the distant track from which the various regional trains depart with a stop at Civitavecchia. The problem with this plan is that the Leonardo Express costs about double the regular trains. Also, the Termini Station is actually the most distant from both FCO and Civitavecchia.

 

So, here is the other more challenging plan. Take the regular regional train from FCO (the airport) towards Rome and get off at the Rome Trastevere Station where you can then transfer to the next regional train heading towards Civitavecchia (which are actually the same regional trains tat start at Rome Termini). This saves you some time (although you can wait a long time for connections) and money. You also avoid having to deal with the huge Termini Station. You can purchase the train tickets right in the airport at its train station. The regional trains have an overhead luggage rack...but your luggage might be too large (and heavy) to use the rack. If that is the case you will generally need to stash your luggage near the end of the car (where there is some space). But, a basic rule of travel in Italy is that you never leave luggage unattended unless its very secure. So we always carry a small luggage cable lock (you can buy them online from many places including Amazon) which we use to secure our luggage together (by running the cable through their handles) and also securing it to something on the train. You can then sit anywhere in the car...but its still smart to watch your luggage when you pull into stations.

 

Once you arrive at Civitavecchia you can purchase shuttle bus tickets (in the station) that will take you to the transfer point where you can then transfer over to the free port shuttle buses that will take you to your ship. I think that the shuttle bus from the Civitavecchia Station to the trainsfer point costs about 2€. You get these buses right across the street from the main entrance of the Civitavecchia Station.

 

So you are doing all this to save some money :). But it does work.

 

Hank

Thank you. The cable lock is a great idea. I would rather avoid Termini station so we will probably opt to go to Trastevere station then switch trains.

I’ve been looking into options to get from FCO to Civitavvechia. I’m very tempted for us to take the train as shuttles and taxis are quite expensive for the three of us. I’m just a little worried about navigating around with luggage. Our bags will be full size rolling suitcases and weigh less than 50 lb each. We are all capable of carrying up some stairs if needed. We are in no rush as our flight arrives day before cruise leaves and we have hotel booked in Civitavecchia the night before. Is this doable? How easy is it to buy tickets, navigate around station, find spots on train where we can keep luggage with us etc. Also what is easiest route considering we are in no time crunch. TIA!

Thank you everyone. I have booked two excursions so far. Both are with ItalyTours.EU. One is out of Livorno port to Florence and Pisa and other is out of Naples Port to Pompeii and Amalfi Coast. I have read good reviews on this company and it as fairly affordable. My thought is to do Cannes on our own. Still trying to decide on plan in Barcelona, Palma Majorca and our 3 days in Rome afte cruise.

You need to do some research to narrow down your options. Once you know what you want to do, Pompei via train or in a tour, come back and people can give you specific options. Otherwise you are just going to get recommendations for what people did. But what I did with two kids may not be the best fit for you...

 

Also the level of fitness will make a big difference. Can your mom walk long distancs? Maybe break up long 8 hour days with local shopping Stops near the ship. In order to see what works for you check out some guidebooks ( often you can get some free from the library- even a few years out of date gives the basics,just check prices and opening times).

Good thinking. My mom gets around well. We don’t want to walk miles and miles but sightseeing isn’t a problem.

I agree that Naples is easy to visit. Lots to see such as the Archaeological Museum. And easy to take a boat to Capri.

 

I wondered though whether the OP would be interested in visiting the Amalfi Coast. Perhaps a neophyte might prefer a tour to one of the main archaeological complexes rather than taking the Circumvesuviana train and doing it on her own. That trip is easy to do, of course, as you point out. But having a guide - whether an in-person guide or book or app - helps to understand what you are seeing.

 

So Naples is “perhaps a guide”, if they were interested in going outside Naples.

 

On my last trip in the fall 2017 we took the train to Oplontis. Very interesting. This next trip a couple of us are taking the train to Sorrento. Some years ago we spent six days in Naples and were energized by it. Love the sights in the city and general area. Visited Pompeii, Herculaneum and Capri, all by local transport.

 

So I guess it depends on what the OP wants to see. My brother-in-law who hasn’t visited the area is planning on a van tour to a couple of places on the Amalfi Coast plus Herculaneum.

Yes I am looking into a tour out of Naples that takes us to Pompeii and them up Amalfi Coast to Sorrento and Positano. I would love to see Naples as well but unfortunately no time to do everything and those other places are more of what we want to see.

We did this cruise twice. Went to Pompeii both tines. I thought it was amazing. The one place I thought was not worth the time was Pisa.

I have heard that about Pisa but I don’t think I’d forgive myself to not see tower at least once in my life if I’m all the way over there lol.

1

Civitavecchia (Rom), Italien

2

Livorno (Florenz), Italien

3

Cannes, Frankreich

4

Palma de Mallorca, Spanien

5

Barcelona, Spanien

6

At Sea

7

Neapel, Italien

8

Civitavecchia (Rom), Italien

Hi again,

 

tell me if I am wrong – but it seems this is your itinerary (you were not very specific about your cruise and there are many ports at the Mediterrean….

 

So I am glad to help:

 

Have you decided how to reach the port? There is a bus from/to airport, the company is reliable, they offer tours too. They also offer private transfers.

 

http://www.civitatours.com/en/tours/airport-transfer/

 

You can also take a train from airport to port – but you have to change trains at Rome – maybe you prefer the more comfortable solution.

 

Livorno: You are not allowed to walk through the port – so you must take a transfer (for a fee) from gangway to the port exit. Then you have to decide: train to Florence, train to Pisa? Livorno itself is not so interesting – compared to Florence or Pisa.

Again – it is not difficult to use the trains in Italy.

Their website is in English too – so check the available connections and prices:

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

 

I have never been at Cannes with a cruiseship – but I recommend to explore the city on your own – there is a lot to see and no need to book an excursion.

 

Palma: it is beautiful – we decided to walk through Palma, visit the cathedral and just enjoyed the city. If you leave the more touristy sites you find nice cafes where the locals drink their cup, stroll through a local market, eat some icecream… Enough to see to fill a day. Depending where your ship is docking it could be easier to use the ships transfer for a fee than to look for the (for sure cheaper) public transport. If you want to walk from port be prepared to walk for a while (depending of the berth it is between 4 and 5 miles one way). There is a bus (Number 1) between port and Palma, something around 1,50 Euro single

 

More information:

http://www.portsdebalears.com/en

 

Barcelona: Public transport is easy and reliable (beware of pickpockets at the metro). Port entrance is not far from famous Ramblas (their main shopping area).

If you want to visit the famous Sagrada Familia, make sure to make a reservations – your time slot is guaranteed and you can skip the lines. Just use their official website – so you don´t waste money with agencies. I highly recommend to visit one of the towers – your timeslot is for the elevator to the tower. You are allowed to stay at the cathedral itself as long as you wish.

 

http://www.sagradafamilia.org/en/

 

Same system works for different other sites:

https://www.casabatllo.es/en/online-tickets/

http://www.parkguell.cat/en/buy-tickets/

 

I hope, my informations are useful – if you have any questions I am happy to help.

 

Wendy

Yes that is my Itinieary. Thank you so much for all the useful information. We arrive at FCO a day before the cruise. I wanted a day to recover from jet lag and so as not to feel so rushed. I got a room in Civitavecchia at Hotel San Giorgio. My thought was to get there by train from the airport since we have lots of time and it’s the Much cheaper way to go. I checked into shuttle bus which is a good option but timing won’t work with when we arrive (11:10 am) and it looks like shuttle bus leaves at 12:30 from FCO. I don’t think that will be enough time to get through customs and get bags. What do you think? Private transfer is too expensive considering we are in no rush.

As for tours I am still researching but I appreciate all your info!

Thank you everyone. These are all great suggestions. The more research I do the more comfortable I am feeling. I love all these ideas. Keep them coming!

Rick has an overview of "do it on your own" and "perhaps need a tour". Start with that in your guidebook.

If you need a tour OR want a tour, likely you will want to book it ahead of time.

Have you looked at your roll call yet?

And here's the link for the Ports of Call board on Cruise Critic: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=603

There are only 8 people on roll call so not much help there so far.

Go immediately and get a copy of Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise Ports. You must do your homework for a trip to Europe. The time you put in before will be paid back tenfold! Your group will have to decide what sites are the most important in each port. You will NOT be able to see and do it all in one day. Less is more! Pick one or two main sites and then immerse yourself. Driving by a bunch of places with a quick photo stop is counterproductive to what it's all about. Don't be afraid to go off the beaten path and pick someplace or something that really speaks to you.

I do have this book and also have been viewing you tube videos. Still very overwhelming trying to decide what to do and what tour company to use, do I book ahead or day of? So many questions lol.

I am traveling to Rome in May and taking NCL 7 night Western Mediterranean cruise leaving from Civvitavecchia. It will be myself (44 y/o female) my 69 y/o mom and my 22 year old daughter traveling. It is our first cruise and first trip to Europe. I am completely overwhelmed by options for excursions at each port. I just know we want to see the highlights of each area but don’t want to spend a fortune. The cruise excursions are way too expensive. I want to keep it mid price range and skip anything not worth the money. Please help!

I booked a 7 day Western Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian Epic out of Rome, really want to see Italy and a lot of the ports are in Italy. Also we can spend a few days in Rome before and after. I booked the Mini suite with balcony. I really hope I made a good choice.

I am wanting to take my 22 year old daughter on a Mediterranean cruise next May 2018 for a graduation trip. I have no idea where to begin. I have never taken a cruise and never traveled to Europe. I am OK with either Western or Eastern Mediterranean, however initial embarking city will come down to price and ease of flying in and out of Europe from US. We want to do a mix of sight seeing and relaxation. I have no idea what cruise line to choose, how long of a cruise to take and what ports to see. Please help!