euro cruiser

Yes, even with the best of intentions, keeping a site up to date is incredibly difficult. I think people understand that with a personal blog, but too often assume that a "professional" site is kept up to date, when so many are not. Or the web site's intent is simply too broad, like Rome2Rio. If you stop and think about it, how realistic is it that any site could maintain correctly all of the transportation schedules for every city in the world?

Besides being outdated, too much of this self-published "information" on the internet isn't complete or is biased in a particular direction, because they are selling something without being obvious about it, trying to disguise a sales message as informative. Absent the editing process of traditional media, you can't know if what you are reading or watching is no longer true, or was only true for a short while, or is simply the opinion of the author, etc. It's unfortunate, but we all have to become very cynical and double or triple check most things you read on line. I've found this to be true even with major media sites, they are in such a hurry to get things posted that fact checking seems to fall by the wayside. Those "3 days in ..." articles in the New York Times are particularly full of dated or incomplete information. I know I should be more careful with my own posts, to reflect that something was true on the day I was there, but that doesn't mean it's true all the time, or anymore. It's so easy to assume that what I found to be true must be the way it usually is.

Rome2Rio is only ever a good starting point, it leaves out some options and/or specific needed information, and some of the results are just plain wrong, so always double check what you find with the actual service providers. I would consider driving, and weigh it against the train (the available bus options get you to Ravenna too late for embarkation) in terms of time, cost, ease, and comfort. What among those variables are most important to you for this decision? Keep in mind that the train also requires a shuttle or taxi from Ravenna to the port (nearly eight miles). Check with rental car companies to see if they will bring you to the port or if that will also require a taxi or shutle.

No, that's not too late. The trip takes just under an hour.

Thanks for posting the details of your train trip, it does help people to hear how it works before they try it. I have the same situation with Italian, mostly, as you point out, in transactional situations. In Rome this fall two different people asked if I was French, which left me wondering if I wasn't hitting my "r's" hard enough in Italian. In Rome I ran into a store clerk who spoke no English (unusual, but this was a specialty store not tourist focused); I was excited that I could follow her directions to another store. Often I can speak just fine but have a hard time understanding the responses.

Molo Beverello is the port for the fast ferries, it's adjacenet to the cruise port (across the parking lot). Calata Porta di Massa is the port for the slower ferries (car carriers), it's about sixth-tenths of a mile on foot from the cruise port, so either one works. Beverello is just more convenient and the boats are faster. The booking fee is 12 euro (on a 25 euro ticket) or 14 euro (on a 50 euro round trip ticket). That's outrageous, usury level in my book. That's nearly half again the cost of a ticket one way! If you can't relax and enjoy your trip unless you have the tickets in hand before you leave home, buy directly from the ferry operators. It's easy to do, we can walk you through the process if you have questions. If you're okay with waiting, I'd do that. The tickets are non-refundable, so ask yourself if you would still go if it was pouring down rain on the day you are there.

There are two companies that do the Naples-Capri route year-round (NLG and Snav), and possibly a third in the summer. Each has their own ticket office at Molo Beverello, just steps away from each other. You can see the winter schedules here: 2024 Capri ferry schedules: from Napoli to Capri - Book online Do not book from the above source, they are excellent for information but add a significant fee for booking. Just buy when you get there.

That depends on what is important to you. The least expensive option is the train, which you can get from the Rome Trastevere station (the #8 tram to the station is just 300 meters from your hotel). Once at Civitavecchia you could walk to the port and use the free port shuttle, or pay 6 euro for a bus right to your ship or terminal, whichever applies. On the other hand, you could go for a shared shuttle or a private car service, the easiest alternative.

You can purchase your outbound tickets on the day of, especially if you go for the 7 AM ferry, but be sure to get your return tickets either in the morning, or as soon as you arrive on the island. You don't have to purchase the return from the same ferry company, pick a time that works and get it. I know it would be nice to have flexibility about the return but cruise crowds all heading back at the same time due cause sell outs on the late afternoon returns. If you go early, maybe consider returning early and just chilling on the ship for a few hours (or napping) to make up for the early departure.

I get that you're looking for leisure, but it's a shame to wait and leave when masses of tourists are heading to Capri if you have the opportunity to get ahead of them. If you take a 7 AM ferry you'll be ahead of the crowd but you won't need to race off the ship to make it, as the ferry port is adjacent to the cruise port.

The Arlecchino is well located and is showing rooms under 300 euros per night in the summer. https://www.hotelarlecchino.com/

I am in inveterate user of public transportation, at home and when I travel. Even so, when luggage is involved, I do think twice about it. It's so easy to be distracted by your stuff, and distraction is what pickpockets feed on. I don't avoid trains, but for short distances I will take a cab as opposed to the metro or buses. Of course there are pickpockets on trains but it's not as much of an issue as it is on metros and buses because it's harder to get away after the act, which is a key part of how they get away with it. Sometimes the decision is purely practical, like after an overnight flight. I often think about a flight years ago when my best friend and I went to Paris to visit her daughter/my goddaughter who was studying in France that year. The child gave us directions to her place from the airport which we followed without thinking about it. The trip required a train, two metros, then a half mile walk uphill on cobblestones. At some point along the way I looked at my friend and asked "do you have any idea how much money I make?". When she looked blankly at me I explained that we could have easily afforded a cab from the airport, why were we taking directions from an impoverished student?

The BIRG ticket is only good on Regional trains, not on Frecces and not on the Civitavecchia Express.

You'd have to check with each individual cruise line. You can travel by train (2 hours, 15.5 euros on a regional train, or one hour, 55 minutes and more expensive for a seat assigned Frecce train) or by bus, but the train offers the most options.

The BIRG is still 12 euro, quite a deal. It is not good on the Civitavecchia Express train, however.

I've always seen lots of cabs at the cruise port and/or right next door at Molo Beverello, the ferry port. Naples has a robust fixed-fare system. You can download the fare chart from the city's web site here: Comune di Napoli - Servizio Taxi You'll see that the fixed fare between Molo Beverello and the historic center is 9 euro. You'll also note that this fare chart has not been changed since 2017, while the cost of vehicles and gas has significantly increased, so you can understand why drivers are sometimes "reluctant" to take the fixed fare. It is against the law for them to refuse it, but sometimes ... Another alternative is the metro, which has a station (Municipio/Porto) across the street from the cruise port. By the time you are there a new entrance from the port area might be open, but even if it isn't the walk to the existing entrance isn't far. The metro uses "Tap & Go" technology so you don't even need to get tickets anymore.

I've used HOHO buses in several cities and they vary widely, by my observation the key variables are the age of the city/street layout and local management. The second is a crapshot, you never know ahead of time how well they are or are not being managed. The former, however, does have a significant impact. I've found HOHOs to be excellent in "newer" cities, with long and relatively straight avenues as opposed to the narrow, winding streets of historic old towns in much of Europe. The Paris one worked well, Barcelona should have, based on geography, but was so poorly managed that we gave up at midday. New York was excellent.

Only for special masses that require tickets, later in the week (from Holy Thursday on).

True, if these are your only two choices, but DIY is also a possibility for a lot less money. You do trade off some of the priority access, however. That said, with a little up-front research it's possible to avoid lines in many places.

The Vatican museums are busy all of the time, as is St. Peter's. If you want to see them, there's no particular reason to avoid them during Holy Week.

There are two main problems with the various HOHO buses in Rome. First is that they can't get close to many of the major sites, as they are located in very old roads too narrow for a bus. Second, they are wildly oversubscribed, so if you get off you may wait quite a while for a bus to come by with room to accept passengers.

If you've already been to Sorrento and Positano and you're not feeling compelled to go back ... doesn't that answer your question? I personally find the crowding and the hours in the car getting there and back not worth the pleasures of being there, but that's me. Caserta is beautiful and but whether or not it's worth the time is entirely personal. There's also a tremendous amount to see and do in Naples that a lot of cruisers breeze right past in their rush to get to other places. One of the unexpected pleasures at Caserta (for me) is the collection of presepe on display toward the end of the rooms open to the public. The Reggia's web site isn't working at the moment but benicultural sites tend to operate better during Italian working hours, so try it during the week and maybe it will be up and running: reggiadicaserta.cultura.gov.it

I've been to Caserta from Naples by train several times, it's very easy to do since the train station in Caserta is facing the palace. I would take the metro to Napoli Centrale from the Municipio station. By the time you are there the new entrance to the metro station (at the cruise port) may be open, if not, the original entrance at the corner of Piazza Municipio and Via Medina is a short walk (about 500 meters/one third of a mile). The visit to the open rooms of the palace takes about an hour, or 90 minutes if you are a very detailed visitor. After that you want to enjoy the magnificent gardens, which may take two to three hours, again depending on your interest level.

Yes, there is: Shuttle bus - Ravenna / Porto Corsini Cruise Terminal - Ravenna Turismo But note that for two people, a taxi might be about the same amount of money. The issue is finding a taxi when so many other people want to go at the same time. You can have your hotel arrange one for you.

I have not been to Risiera San Sabba but I have visited concentration and extermination camps in other countries. Whether to go or not is an extremely personal decision, I have found these visits very moving, but also depressing, anger inducing, and sometimes just full of despair. As for the taxi, I would either ask the driver who takes you there for his card so you can call him for the return, or I would ask an employee at the museum to call a cab for you when you are ready to leave.