euro cruiser

The distance from the port to the airport is about 68 km/42 miles. The very best case in terms of driving time would be just under an hour. Professional drivers working in Italy know the roads and the traffic, rely on their knowledge and experience. Your job as the customer is to tell them what time you want to be at your destination (the airport) and let them tell you what time to leave the port in order to achieve your objective.

Thanks!

Direct service from Fiumicino to Florence is not new, that route has been on the schedule for years. There has been a slight adjustment in the timing but it still doesn't work for most arrivals from North America, the only direct Frecce from the airport to Florence is at 13:53 (1:53 PM). Further, I was really excited when I read about this for Naples ... except that the Naples addition is just seasonal and disappears after mid-September. We can hope that traffic will justify extending it but that's unknown at this point. This was the PR group trying to make a big deal out of, really, not much at all.

We'll be spending a several days in southern California prior to embarking on a cruise in November. Although the current regulations for our cruise are only through September, assuming that they extend them into the fall I'm trying to figure out where to get tested in either Orange County (Mission Viejo area) or in San Diego. Holland America requires a test taken no more than three days prior to embarkation so we can't do it at home before leaving, that will be too early. Has anyone else from out of town solved for this?

Yes. I'd bet big money you found this advice in English. If the company even has an Italian language page, it won't be there.

Whenever I encounter these topics my first thought is always a quote from David Sedaris, from his book "Me Talk Pretty One Day": “Comfort has its place, but it seems rude to visit another country dressed as if you've come to mow its lawns.” Italians put emphasis on "la bella figura", which is more than just dress, it's about how you think about yourself and how you present yourself to others. Sometimes the difference is in the details, in subtlety. For example, I have seen middle aged (and older) men at the opera in jeans, but they are nice, pressed jeans with a dress shirt and blazer.

You will pay the same amount as a round trip, because for the driver it is a round trip. They are unable to pick up a fare in Pompei so you will pay to get them back to Naples. The fixed fare for a round trip Naples-Pompei with a two hour wait at the ruins is 100 euro. You won't be paying for the waiting time but I'd still expect to pay between 60 - 70 euro for the one way trip.

Their church, their rules. I wouldn't be surprised if right now, during one of the worst heat waves in European history, guards are being more lenient with the rules but the fact is that knees and shoulders must be covered. If getting into the basilica isn't critical for you, take the risk and wear what you want. Maybe you'll get lucky and be allowed in, maybe you won't. I do find it curious how many people evaluate their own behavior based on others, strangers, vs. alignment with the stated rules. The calculation seems to be "I would feel worse about myself if others got away with something and I didn't" vs. "I would feel better about myself by respecting the wishes of my hosts", the very people who make this amazing basilica available for your enjoyment.

Unless you have an unusually long port day, it's difficult to DIY from Livorno to Cinque Terre unless you rent a car and drive, or use a car service.

Naples itself is a great option, if you like city visits. You walk off the ship right into the historic center of town, it could not be easier. Three popular sites are less than half a mile from the cruise port, Teatro San Carlo (opera house), the Galleria, and the Royal Palace. The famous Gran Caffè Gambrinus is right there as well.

Taking the ferry from the port is very easy, the pier is adjacent to the cruise port. Once at Sorrento there is a public elevator to bring you up from the port to the main part of town. If you enjoy what Sorrento has to offer it would be an easy, relaxing day. There is a ferry at 9:00 that arrives to Sorrento at 9:45, and a return that departs Sorrento at 14:00 (2 PM) and arrives to Naples at 14:45. That's early for your departure but the next ferry at 16:25 would be too late.

It's fun to try new things, new ways of getting around. The high speed trains in Italy are fast and efficient. If you fly into Rome there is a non-stop train right from the airport to the main station in Rome, Termini. There you would change for a high speed train to Salerno (if going to the Amalfi Coast). There is a left luggage office in the train station, very secure, so you can safely leave everything you don't need for your side trip there. Kpoint is the company that provides the luggage storage service at Termini (they also have the service at Naples Centrale). Their home page is in English here: Deposito bagagli all'interno delle stazioni | KiBag The specific page with rates for Termini is only in Italian, but google translate will make it clear: Deposito bagagli all'interno delle stazioni | KiBag They offer other luggage services as well, you could use their chat function to find out about them. They might offer forwarding service so your bags would meet you at the port.

Three different criteria, two different answers. The fastest, assuming no unusual traffic jams, would be a car service door-to-door, about 75 minutes. A fast train is about 50 minutes, but then you have to add time to get to the train station in Rome and from the train station in Civitavecchia. The car service is also the easiest. The cheapest is the local train (4,60 euro) or the local bus (3,90 euro).

Sure, it's possible. One thing to consider is packing what you'd need for your trip to Naples/Amalfi in a carry on bag and checking the rest of your luggage at the train station in Rome when you change trains to head to Naples. That will make your trip much easier. As for where to stay, it depends on your interests. If the coast is what you're going for, do stay there. It's easy to reach by train from Rome (to Salerno) followed by a ferry. Edited to add: I just noticed that you're thinking of flying into Naples. The same idea works there, check your big bags at the Naples train station left luggage office. For what it's worth, from Naples or Rome you'll have a two step process to get to the coast, I think it's easier to fly into Rome and leave your things there and may be less expensive as well. Flying into Naples also means a stop somewhere else in Europe on the way, there are very few transatlantic flights direct to Naples.

It's not perfect, but google translate is easy: Google Translate You'll understand the gist of the article, if not all of the nuance.

Okay, just so we're clear for other readers. There is a Sit bus from Rome to Civitavecchia, it's just too late in the day for you (departs the Termini area at 15:30 (3:30 PM), stops in the Vatican area, then arrives to the port at 16:45 (4:45 PM). As for the station, what do you require for confirmation? Civitavecchia, finalmente in funzione gli ascensori della stazione • Terzo Binario News Civitavecchia (rfi.it) (click on Accessibilita binari for details) Comitato Pendolari : "Attivati ascensori della stazione di Civitavecchia" (baraondanews.it)

The Sit bus does go from Rome to Civitavecchia. It starts near Termini (Piazza Indipendenza), makes a stop in the Vatican area (Via Crescenzio 2), then continues on to the port. Official Bus Civitavecchia Harbour - Rome City Centre (sitbusshuttle.com)

There's one bit of good news, they now have elevators at the Civitavecchia station.

Tickets with seat assignments do not need to be validated, only those for regional trains without a seat assignment require validation.

I came across an article recently which claims that the port shuttle bus stop was to move back to Largo della Pace by the beginning of June, and I'm wondering if recent cruise passengers found this to be the case. The Largo della Pace area was used for Covid testing for the past couple of years, the article said that control of the space had returned to the port management and they intended to have shuttle buses going back there by the end of May. Article here: Civitavecchia Porto - Crociere, finalmente riapre Largo della Pace - EtruriaNews Just wondering if anyone has been there recently (in the last six weeks or so) and can confirm that the move happened.

There is also the "Little Venice" part of Livorno: Livorno | Visit Tuscany My aunt went to see this once when she didn't have the energy to go to Lucca with the rest of us, she said it was interesting but didn't rave about it.

You'd need a car to get to Etna, it's about a 90 minute drive. Maybe you can find some others on your roll call interested in splitting the cost? I found it fascinating. You can take a chair lift part way up and stomp around, and there are lava rock piles all around Rifugio Sapienza (the end of the driving road and location of the chair lift) that you can climb on.

Or return to Pisa. We spent a couple of hours in the museum, which most visitors walk right by. Opera della Primaziale Pisana: sito ufficiale – Opera del Duomo Museum (opapisa.it) Or forget the tower area entirely and walk around the center of town, it has a huge, old university which means a diverse population and lots of interesting architecture: Art and culture | Comune di Pisa - Turismo

I've got one in the travel bag, one in my backpack, one in my toiletries case ... A friend who traveled with me once asked if I had a problem she wasn't aware of. I told her I just like to be prepared. 🍷

Volterra is beyond challenging by public transit, unfortunately. Tuscany in general is tough. One of my favorite places in Tuscany is Siena and you can get there by train with one change in Empoli. If you can make the 8:12 departure from Livorno you can make the trip in two hours, it's usually about two and a half. That's a lot of time on the train, but it's a possibility.