advice re civitavecchia/termini/venice timing

[fancruise]

The Noordam gets in at 7:00am, Sept. 18 and we want to take transportation to termini station in Rome, then catch train to Venice. Should we get tickets from Rome to Venice ahead of time and if so, for what time? What do you think re. first or second class tickets? We are still debating how we want to get from the ship to Termini.

 

Thank you very much for any assistance!

 

Lori

[CathyCruises]

Well, if you are taking the train to Venice, may as well take it to Termini! 4.5 euros unless you take the express train. Then you are right there where you need to be!!

 

If you will be in Italy on prior stops, you can go into any travel agency and buy your tickets from Rome to Venice, without paying any surcharges, but you can get them at the station as well on the day you travel.

 

2nd class is fine! Even the conductors will tell you that there is no reason to pay for 1st class!

 

Cathy

[euro cruiser]

On that morning, there is an IC train from Civitavecchia to Termini at 9:17 AM that arrives at Termini at 10:14 AM. There you can connect to a Frecciargento train that departs Termini at 10:45 AM and arrives at Venice Santa Lucia at 2:33 PM.

 

The first train makes only one stop between Civitavecchia and Termini (at Roma Ostiense). The second train makes four stops between Rome and Venice (at Florence, Bologna, Padua, and Venice Mestre).

 

The total fare in second class is Euro 82,00, or Euro 110,50 in first class. I agree with Cathy that the incremental charge for first class isn't worth it.

[jwds]

Since you will be travelling with luggage I strongly recommend that you avoid the regional trains from Civitavecchia to Termini. Instead there is an IC train leving Civi. at 9:17 AM and an EScity leaving at 11:05. On either of these you can make seat reservations. The regional trains can become very crowded on days that cruise ships are in port. Last Sept. we opted to wait an extra 30 min. to take the 11:05 train. The regional train was standing room only but we had plenty of room.

 

Also, when travelling with luggage, I think that 1st class is worth the extra cost. Even if the train is full the first class car has 25% fewer passengers thus more space for luggage.

[fancruise]

Cathy, euro cruiser, and JWDS:

 

Thank you so much for your very helpful and detailed advice. I will meet today with the other couple we are traveling with and decide. This is our first trip to Europe and hopefully one of many. There is so much we want to see in Italy alone, so we will plan another trip soon.

 

One last question: do you recommend we buy train tickets ahead of time?

 

Again, thank you, thank you for all your help!

 

Lori

[euro cruiser]

One last question: do you recommend we buy train tickets ahead of time?

There's really no need to. If you have a port stop in Italy prior to Civitavecchia, you can buy the tickets at many train stations (small stations won't have the machines for national tickets) or at any travel agent with the Trenitalia logo in the window (which will be just about every one). You won't have a problem purchasing them at the station in Civitavecchia, however, if you wait.

[jwds]

I would buy them in advance only if convenient. If you are in Italy pre-cruise or if you happen on a travel agency or train station while in one of the Italian ports you certainly could buy them there. If not there should be no problem buying them at the station in Civitavecchia. I would not try to buy them before leaving for Europe.

 

I would probably plan on the 11:05 train which will connect at Termini to get to Venice by about 4:30 PM. This will allow you a very relaxed morning and still get to Venice at a reasonable hour.

[beckntom]

fancruise - Looks like you're on the September 8th sailing of the Noordam, so please come join in on the Roll Call. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1078556&page=20 You might find someone there who is interested in making similar plans post cruise, and you can combine forces.

 

Hope to see you there!