euro cruiser

#9415 from Venezia arrives to Ferrara at 12:27, scheduled on track 3. #17619 starts at Ferrara and departs at 12:35 from track 1, which is adjacent to the station. This means you will need to transit under the tracks to get from track 3 to track 1, if everything runs to plan. Ferrara arrivals here: Orario dei treni in arrivo nella stazione di Ferrara - RFI Ferarra departures here: Orario dei treni in partenza dalla stazione di Ferrara - RFI

Maybe people feel more comfortable there because it's as close to a British resort as you'll find while still being an Italian town? Sorrento is also significantly larger than the three Amalfi Coast villages (Sorrento is not on the Amalfi Coast, it is part of the Sorrentine peninsula). All four of these locations are heavily touristed. If you're on a tour and Sorrento is the last stop, I would seriously consider leaving the tour in Sorrento and getting back to Naples on my own using the ferry. It's an easy and quick ferry ride (45 minutes), faster than a car or bus can make the trip on land and far, far more comfortable.

That may have been available because the ship was disembarking at the end of a cruise, I have not heard of this being available for a port day stop.

On the way back you won't have the same issues with other cruisers as your ship stays in port quite a bit later than most. You are, however, heading back to Civitavecchia along with many local residents who use the train to commute to the city for work. The all-aboard time for smaller ships is generally thirty minutes prior but with a large ship it may be more like an hour, so you'd need to plan to be back by 7 PM. Allowing a half hour to get from the train station to the ship, whether on foot or by bus, that means a train that arrives by 6:30. The wisest way to approach this is to take the train before the one that gets you back in time, just in case. In this case, that would mean the 17:12 (5:12 PM) regionale arriving at 18:17 (6:17 PM) is that last one that would get you back in time. The regional train before this departs at 16:42 and arrives at 18:05. This would be the safe one. There is another option for the return, a Frecciabiana that departs Rome Termini at 16:57 and arrives to Civitavecchia at 17:44 (non stop). This train has assigned seating.

On August 18th, a weekday, there are seven regional trains between 7 - 9 AM. Given the size of the ship and the disembarkation procedures I would not count on getting anything earlier than 8 AM. As noted above, the regional trains stop at several different stations in Rome. Unless your first stop in the city is right near Termini station it's a waste of time to stay on the train to that stop, get off at one of the earlier stations instead. For timing perspective, the 7:58 regional train arrives to Termini at 9:18. The first train with assigned seats is the 9:16 Frecciabianca that arrives to Termini at 10:03 (non stop). The first train with assigned seats that stops before Termini is the 9:24 IC train that arrives to Roma Ostiense at 10:15 (non stop). From Ostiense you can get the metro for two stops and be at the Colosseum. You can see the train schedules here: EN - Trenitalia Note that even on the English language pages you must use the Italian names for the cities.

There are several different types of trains. The most frequent are the regionals, which do not have assigned seats and do get packed like cattle cars. For more money you can get seat assigned trains like the ICs or the Frecces. There is also the Civitavecchia Express. This tourist train does not have assigned seats but you are guaranteed a seat as they only sell as many tickets as there are seats.

Wonder is one of the biggest ships so it will likely be at pier 25. You cannot walk from there, you'll have to take the free port shuttle to the exit at Largo della Pace. From there to the train station is a one mile, flat walk in pretty much a straight line. There is also a local bus, but unless it happens to be loading when you arrive at the stop you'll probably get there faster on foot.

I get it. I'm usually all about maximizing my time in the port but I'd have to think about whether a half hour is worth a very big difference in comfort.

Using the main track head does mean it's closer to the metro. Is the 9:16 Frecce the first train you can reasonably make?

I don't know where the cruise line buses drop off but the public bus, Interbus, leaves you an easy 1 km/six-tenths of a mile from the greek theatre. The bus depot is located at Terminal Interbus Taormina, Via Luigi Pirandello, 98039 Taormina ME, Italy. The start of the bus line is at Piazza della Repubblica in Messina, 750 meters/one half mile on foot from the cruise port. The direct bus takes 50 minutes and costs euro 4,30. Interbus - Viaggi in autobus in Sicilia

I would never miss the opportunity to have an afternoon and dinner in Rome, even more so if the alternatives were Civitavecchia or the airport. Some folks here like staying in the town of Fiumicino and having dinner at/near the sea, that's another option.

Why are cruise lines so incapable of getting their information straight? It seems to happen with all of them. On Celebrity's web site they state: The Santa Margherita cruise port is a tender port, and you’ll be tendered ashore via a smaller boat from your ship. The above was copied from this page: Santa Margherita Cruise: Best Cruises to Santa Margherita | Celebrity Cruises

We went on a Med cruise in July several years ago because the kids were all still in school and it was the only time we could do it. It's a double whammy, the heat, as everyone has mentioned, but also the pace of the trip, a major city almost every day, twelve hours on the ground running around trying to cram it all in. Livorno was our fifth day/fourth stop, after a full day in Malta, then Naples, then Rome. No one had the energy to go to Florence and I didn't have the heart to force the issue. Fortunately, of the four kids only one was turned off entirely to the idea of Europe.

Good idea. If you spend the night you can get a full day in Florence, then spend the second day touring Tuscany on the way back to the ship.

In Bermuda, where the port is fairly close to town, we returned to the ship each night. In Florence and Rome, however, it's not as easy to get back and forth. I'd be tempted to spend the night in the city in order to enjoy dinner in town and not have to rush back, as well as early morning before the day trippers arrive.

Please don't be insulted, but have you checked your e-mail spam folder? If the Vatican's system, like many others, sends out vouchers in batches rather than individually your spam filter may find it suspicious.

Yes, it does need to be stamped. The only difference in the tickets (they look the same) is that an Aziendale (Company) ticket is for use for one segment of a trip (and therefore with only one transit company), while the Integrato (Integrated) allows multiple segments with different transit suppliers. It's a complicated set up but intended to make things easier for the commuter. The system covers all mass transit within the region of Campania, a consortium of fourteen different transit companies that all agree to use the same ticketing system. Once you understand the system it all makes sense but for the one time or casual user it seems complicated. Il consorzio e le aziende | Unicocampania

One ticket will cover both the tram and the train, but at the cruise port you may not be able to get it, if you can't you'll need two tickets. You buy them at newsstands or tabacchi shops, there's one at the tram stop and there used to be a newsstand in the cruise terminal. If you can get the one ticket it's the NA2 Integrato and it costs euro 2,90. This ticket is good for multiple segments and is good for 120 minutes, far more than you need for this trip. If you can't get that, buy one local Naples ticket, UNA (UnicoNapoli) Aziendale for 1,20 euro. This is the ticket for the tram, and don't forget to stamp it in the machine when you get on the tram. Then, at the Porta Nolana station, you can buy the train ticket. For this you need the NA2 Aziendate, which costs euro 2,40. If you wind up buying a ticket at Porta Nolana, buy your return at the same time but get the Integrato ticket so you won't need a separate ticket for the tram on the return.

Taranto has one of the most important archeological museums in Italy, housing the largest collection of Greek terracotta figurines in the world. museotaranto.beniculturali.it There is also the San Cataldo cathedral: Basilica Cattedrale San Cataldo di Taranto – La cattedrale di San Cataldo è la più antica cattedrale pugliese, inizialmente dedicata a santa Maria Maddalena poi a san Cataldo vescovo. Fu costruita ad opera dei bizantini nella seconda metà del X secolo. (cattedraletaranto.com) There is also the Castello Aragonese: Castello Aragonese Taranto - Marina Militare Italiana We stopped in Taranto on a driving trip going from Ostuni to Calabria, it was okay but not a place I'd be dying to return to.

I understand the confusion. There is so much to see and do throughout Italy, especially in places like Rome, that I can't imagine giving up time for a food tour. However, years ago I spent a week at a cooking school in Tuscany and loved it. I went at first as a gift to my brother, who suggested it, but I wound up having a great time and learning a little bit. I "fed", so to speak, my needs by staying for a week after the cooking school to see and do the things I like, so I felt like we both got what we needed.

Did you see this one? Foody tour with nonna in Civitavecchia (port) - VisitRome.com It ends at lunchtime, allowing you to do your own thing.

I strongly suggest that you spend the few extra euros for one of the Frecce trains vs. the regional trains so you have more room for yourself and your luggage, an assigned seat, and you avoid the three block walk from the main part of the station in Rome to the regional tracks. There is one at 11:57, arriving at 12:44, another at 13:57 arriving at 14:44.

People who have lived for centuries in hot and/or desert climates generally cover their skin and wear loose, breathable clothing. They know that you feel cooler that way rather than by exposing the skin to the sun, but try convincing Americans used to arctic level air conditioning of that.

Would that humans did anything at all consistently. Given the context, consider the range of interpretations of the rules exhibited by priests of the Church regarding far more important issues of religious practice. The "princes of the church" and their minions have bigger fish to fry, I'm pretty sure this doesn't even make it onto their radar screens. I don't think there is anything you can do to help someone who feels personally diminished by what other people "get away with". I suspect that suggesting they question their own values won't gain you anything other than another argument.

I think I would pick one or two things of interest in Naples, then use either public transit or taxis to get there and back to save your energy. Naples has two "grand" museums, the Archaeology museum and Capodimonte art museum. There are a couple of dozen smaller museums as well, including the Cappella Sansevero, where you find the amazing Veiled Christ: Museo Cappella Sansevero - Museo Cappella Sansevero (museosansevero.it) My personal favorite museum in Naples is the Certosa di San Martino, up on the hill overlooking the port. It's relatively small so it can be seen in a couple of hours. Part of the reason I like it so much is the eclectic collection, everything from paintings to ships and carriages as well as an amazing group of presipi, the nativity scenes that Naples is famous for. Another favorite spot for me is the cloisters at Santa Chiara, an oasis of peace and quiet in the middle of the city. English - Chiostro di Santa Chiara (monasterodisantachiara.it)