euro cruiser

It sounds like Rome and Athens are the two places that most interest you, so I'd look for cruises that start in one and end in the other, so you can extend you time in each place. Like this, for example: Journey to Antiquities - 2024 Itinerary - Rome (Civitavecchia) to Athens (Piraeus) | Viking® (vikingcruises.com) One thing that would pull me toward Viking is the absence of children, especially for an anniversary trip.

Unless all eight people are equally comfortable with the train and handling their luggage on and off two crowded trains, I would look for the shared transfer.

Lew, while we wait for the OP to come back with the site they are quoting from, there are some official news sites with general information, like the Catholic News Agency: Here’s how the city of Rome is preparing for the 2025 Jubilee Year | Catholic News Agency This is the official list of projects from the city of Rome's website: Roma si trasforma - Interventions, projects and active construction sites in the city There is a seemingly comprehensive article on one website, which may be the OP's source, but I hesitate to quote from it as it was written by folks promoting their own tour services. Even acknowledged news sources on the web have loose editing these days, in their rush to be first out with something, but an entrepreneur has no editing or oversight at all, so while everything they say may be correct, I look for more official sources.

It only lasted a day: A Capri tornano l'acqua e i turisti, 'ma che danno di immagine' - Notizie - Ansa.it

There are direct trains from Fiumicino to Florence (stops, but no change of train) but you arrive too late to take one of them. There are plenty of trains, however, they require a change in Rome. It's pretty easy to do, especially if you don't have a ton of luggage. With a 7 PM departure the latest you can check in is probably around 5 PM. I would take the risk and travel from Florence to Civitavecchia the day of the cruise departure because you'll have fallback options. You can take the train (the fastest require one change in Rome) or rent a car and drive yourself. The fastest train options take 3 - 2 1/4 hours. Driving takes 3.5 - 4 hours but offers you the flexibility of stopping along the way.

The machines are on the platform, before boarding the train. If you can't find one, or they don't work, you can hand validate the ticket in pen, on the reverse side. The date, time and your name must be written in ink. And you must be carrying a passport with the same name you have written on the ticket.

It depends. If you are at the northern berths you're not allowed to walk, and it would be too far anyway. From the southern berths it's an easy, flat walk but it can be as long as 1.1 miles, or as far as one and three quarter miles.

There isn't an easy, one step public transit solution, unfortunately. The easiest route is to take the regional train from Genova Piazza Principe (an easy, short walk from the cruise port) to Genova Sturla (about 15 minutes) and walk from there. Depending on where in Boccadasse you are headed, the walk could be as short as a half mile, or as long as eight-tenths of a mile (to the beach). There are bus options but you'd need to change along the way, and the two buses don't stop in the same place so you'd need to find the stop for the second bus. I think it's a tad too ambitious for a port day. I have walked to the train station and taken the train from the port at Genova, but I've not done the walk from Sturla to Boccadasse. I like walking, and it's not a long distance, so I'd try it. I "walked" the route on google maps in street view and there are sidewalks most of the way. There is one section that is somewhat uphill, but it doesn't look too bad or go on for very long. EN - Trenitalia

If you're staying in the city, a ten hour tour is kind of excessive. From a ship that ten hours includes about 3 - 4 hours of travel time, which gets you back to a full six or seven hour tour. September is still pretty hot, in terms of weather, and crowded, in terms of visitors. One of the great benefits of a hotel in the city (vs. a port day visit) is the ability to take a rest in the middle of the day and not race around to make a specific return time. I suggest that you look for a few more limited tours to check off your boxes, vs. one long, exhausting day when you don't need to do that.

What does the excursion offer that you want? If you list the sites we can probably help you find a much less expensive Rome-based excursion or show you how to do it on your own.

Yes, that's one of the trains I meant, a Frecce (in this case, a Frecciabianca). Almost every train from Rome Termini to Civitavecchia is direct (meaning no change en route), the only one that is not is the Civitavecchia Express as it starts at Rome Ostiense, so you'd need to take a regional or a metro to get to Ostiense. Only the Frecce trains are non-stop, the IC trains stop once en route at Rome Ostiense.

I would strongly consider paying a little extra to take the seat-assigned Frecce train from Termini to Civitavecchia. It's much more comfortable, especially when traveling with luggage, and still a bargain vs. shared shuttles or private transfer. There is no need, and no point, in purchasing a regional train ticket in advance. The price never changes and they can not sell out. Keep in mind that the regional tracks for the Lazio line (the regional to Civitavecchia) departs three blocks from the main track head at Termini.

Just one among many reasons to return to Italy.

Storage at Termini isn't in lockers, it's a manned baggage office. Deposito Bagagli KiPoint Roma Termini (kibag.it)

Regarding the law, here it is in the original and translated: 3. Lo straniero che, a richiesta degli ufficiali e agenti di pubblica sicurezza, non ottempera, senza giustificato motivo, all'ordine di esibizione del passaporto o di altro documento di identificazione e del permesso di soggiorno o di altro documento attestante la regolare presenza nel territorio dello Stato è punito con l'arresto fino ad un ann o e con l'ammenda fino ad euro 2.000. 3. Any foreigner who, at the request of public security officials and agents, fails, without justifiable reason, to comply with the order to produce a passport or other identification document and a residence permit or other document certifying regular presence in the territory of the State shall be punished with imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of up to 2,000 euros. The law itself is here, Article 6, paragraph 3: DECRETO LEGISLATIVO 25 luglio 1998, n. 286 - Normattiva

First, it is the law in Italy that you have your passport on your person. Ignore it if you want to, but that's the law. As for ID at a site, your drivers license will be fine. This is the official web site for the Colosseum: Parco Archeologico del Colosseo – Online Tickets

Do not follow google maps to get to Castel Sant'Elmo, they've got it all wrong. It's an easy walk (eight-tenths of a mile) from your hotel to the funicolare centrale at Piazzetta Duca d'Aosta (the Augusta stop). You take it to the top station, Fuga. It's at this point that google maps screws you all up and has you climbing when you don't have to. As you exit the funicolare station you go to your right, then turn right onto Via Domenico Cimarosa. Walk to the first corner and turn left onto Via Raffaele Morghen. Walk past the big Carrefour supermarket and you'll see on the right an escalator. Take this and at the top cross the street and take the next escalator. You'll be facing another funicolare station, to the left of this station you'll see a brown sign with white lettering pointing you toward the castle. The walk at the top is one-half mile. Once you're up there, consider checking out the certosa di San Martino. They have an eclectic collection of items including some amazing presepe, the nativity scenes that Naples is famous for.

I don't know, but I'd guess it has something to do with a very small pool and a large hotel, needing to control usage. From your hotel to Castel Nuovo, the one at the port, is just under one mile on foot. The other large castle is Sant'Elmo, up on the hill. For that one you'd take the funicolare up the hill.

Forget the beach; while there are some places to get wet that are technically in Naples, no one who lives on the east coast of the US would call them a beach. There are castles, the royal apartments, some amazing museums and churches, all within walking distance of your hotel. Have you considered checking out the Veiled Christ at Sansevero? Sansevero Chapel Museum (museosansevero.it)

Contact your hotel in Venice and ask them about the process.

The bookstore in front of the Comune stop is one of the ticket outlets, Libreria Paoline, Via Veneto 33. A few doors down the street at #15 the bar also sells tickets. It's really not that hard to find them, and there's no conspiracy to hide them from you.

There is no need, nor really any purpose, in buying regional tickets in advance. They cannot sell out. If you want a seat on a regional, the best best is to get on at the start of the line at Rome Termini. As above, the Port Mobility shuttle between the ship and the train station is a tourist bus so you can buy the tickets from the driver; the advice above is important, do have exact change. For a 7 PM (19:00) departure your all-aboad time will be 18:30. You must allow at least 30 minutes to get from the train station to the ship, just in case you have to hoof it, so you'd look for trains that arrive no later than 18:00 (6 pm). The best advice is to take the next-to-the-last train that will get you back on time, so you have a fallback option. If you wait and take the last one and something goes wrong... (but of course you should always know how you'd get to your next port when you DIY anyway). Backing into the timing, the last train possible would be one arriving to Civitavecchia at 18:00, which is the 16:57 Frecce (arrives 17:44). However, there is a regional backup that arrives at 18:05, close enough to 18:00 for me to consider it a back up, but then I'm pretty comfortable with risk and I know how to get myself to the next stop if my plan fails. If the 16:57 were a regional train I would not take the risk, but as it is a Frecce and the on-time performance of the Frecce trains is more important to the authorities, I would risk it.

If you're headed north (as you would going from Messina to Naples) it will be on the port side. Late at night you won't see anything at all, you won't be close enough.

If you're going to travel by car you'd do better with a car service rather than a taxi. Taxis are the better option for local trips, for a longer trip like Civitavecchia to Rome a car service is the better option.

The ship pulls into the port at 5 AM, that does not mean they start disembarking passengers. I think the earliest you could possibly make, keeping in mind that you also have to get yourself and your luggage from the ship to the train station, would be the 7:02 regional from Civitavecchia, connecting to the 8:35 Frecce from Termini, arriving to Venice at 12:34, but even this is a risk. The safer option is the 7:58 regional from Civitavecchia, which after connecting at Termini puts you in Venice at 13:34 (1:34 PM). The comfortable option, especially with luggage, is to wait for the first Frecce of the day from Civitavecchia at 9:16, which puts you in Venice at 15:34. Yes, you give up two or three hours in Venice, but that first hour (from Civitavecchia to Termini) on a regionale is pretty much guaranteed to be miserable on a crowded train, likely with no seats available and no place to put your bags except at your feet.