Civitavecchia to Venice: What time to book Rome Termini to Venezia Santa Lucia?

[sydfella]

Hi All

 

We are disembarking from the Norwegian Epic on May 22, 2013 and I am wondering what time I should book my Rome to Venice train ticket. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Ship docks at 6am and I assume we can get off sometime after 8am? We will opt for the self-disembarkation option to cut down on time. This cruise has multiple embarkation and disembarkation ports with Barcelona apparently the primary. We will therefore be doing our final disembarkation while others are disembarking for shore excursions etc.

 

We of course have to get the shuttle from the port to the train station. Not sure how long the disembarkation/shuttle to train station process will take?

 

We will take a regional commuter train from Civitavecchia to Rome Termini and then Rome Termini to Venezia Santa Lucia. Current plan is to prebook tickets for 9:44 arriving into Rome at 10:53 (as I have heard often the lines are long at the station and people miss early trains). If necessary we will re-purchase the relatively cheap tickets at the station should we miss the booked train. Is this too late? Can we make an earlier train? I have seen someone aim for the 9:19 but not sure how successful. This train requires a change so probably not worth it.

 

Any idea what time to leave Rome? We do not have anything planned in Venice on this day until 7:30pm (a recital) but would prefer to get there as early as possible to just walk about and enjoy the afternoon.

 

There are Rome Termini to Venezia Santa Lucia trains according to Trenitalia at:

 

9:55

10:55

11:55

12:55

 

I was hoping for the 11:55 (for safety) getting in to Venice at 15:35

 

Thanks

Chris

[sydfella]

Actually I have seen a few say they were able to take taxis from the port to airports as early as 6:30am. Am I being too conservative? Can I try and make it into Venice a lot earlier?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1739748

[euro cruiser]

Do you know what time they will force you off the ship? That may bound your decision more than anything else.

 

If they don't force you off early, I would consider a later departure to avoid both the cruise day trippers and regular working commuters. You'll be traveling at a busy time of year in the middle of the week, getting on the train during commuting hours with luggage will not be easy.

 

Pre-purchasing train tickets comes with tradeoffs. Really the only reason to buy them in advance is to take advantage of deals that won't be available at the last minute, because trains almost never sell out. Even if the exact train you want did happen to sell out, there's another one less than an hour later, so it's no big deal.

 

Trenitalia offers good discounts for early purchase. However, these tickets are highly (or entirely) inflexible so if you miss your train, you're out the money. Only you can assess the risk/reward ratio that you are comfortable with.

 

With all that as a preamble, I'd shoot for a departure around 10 AM. That would get you to Venice mid-afternoon (3:35), which appears to be the train you are considering. The connection allows a half hour between trains, which is a sufficient buffer for lateness (on the part of the train) and for you to walk from the regional tracks to the main tracks (about three city blocks, believe it or not).

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I'd shoot for the 10:55 train. I don't think ending a cruise with worry over missing the train is a great way to top off a relaxing trip.

[sydfella]

Do you know what time they will force you off the ship? That may bound your decision more than anything else.

 

If they don't force you off early, I would consider a later departure to avoid both the cruise day trippers and regular working commuters. You'll be traveling at a busy time of year in the middle of the week, getting on the train during commuting hours with luggage will not be easy.

 

Good point. Not sure what time we have to get off. This is my first cruise altogether. I will look into it. Very true re commuters.

 

Pre-purchasing train tickets comes with tradeoffs. Really the only reason to buy them in advance is to take advantage of deals that won't be available at the last minute, because trains almost never sell out. Even if the exact train you want did happen to sell out, there's another one less than an hour later, so it's no big deal.

 

Trenitalia offers good discounts for early purchase. However, these tickets are highly (or entirely) inflexible so if you miss your train, you're out the money. Only you can assess the risk/reward ratio that you are comfortable with.

 

We have rail passes because we will be doing a lot of rail travel. This was just the only one with a cruise **** complicating matters. Will just have to purchase the seat assignments in 1st class. The cost is not a big deal as it is not an expensive leg. I just want to ensure my mother had a seat. She is only mid 50s so mobility isn't a major concern but it is just nicer to ensure comfort for over an hour.

 

With all that as a preamble, I'd shoot for a departure around 10 AM. That would get you to Venice mid-afternoon (3:35), which appears to be the train you are considering. The connection allows a half hour between trains, which is a sufficient buffer for lateness (on the part of the train) and for you to walk from the regional tracks to the main tracks (about three city blocks, believe it or not).

 

Thanks for the tip on the distance between platforms. Very handy info. I think you are right on the timing. Best to keep things somewhat sane on a long trip and take out the stress.

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Much appreciated.

[ell52]

I have a similar question to OP.

 

Our ship gets into Civitavecchia at 4 a.m. on a Sunday. We plan to self-disembark, so will be among the first off the ship. Does anyone know when this might be? Also when the shuttles from ship to port entrance start? My first thought was to pre-book our the entire trip/tickets from Civit-Rome; Rome-Venice all at the same time.

 

However, if we're off the ship by 7am, I don't really want to wait at the Civitavecchia station for over 2 hours for a 9:30 train. So on second thought, I was wondering if it might be better to purchase tickets for the Civit-Rome portion at the train station (same day purchase) and just pre-purchase tickets for the Rome-Venice portion. This way, we could get on the first convenient train into Rome. If we have extra time, I'd rather it be on the Rome Termini end to give us more time to find the correct platform, etc.

 

For the Rome-Venice leg, I was looking at the 10:40 or 10:55 a.m. departure. Would 9:55 be pushing it?

 

Is this a good idea? Or is it better to book and purchase the entire trip at once?

[euro cruiser]

However, if we're off the ship by 7am, I don't really want to wait at the Civitavecchia station for over 2 hours for a 9:30 train. So on second thought, I was wondering if it might be better to purchase tickets for the Civit-Rome portion at the train station (same day purchase) and just pre-purchase tickets for the Rome-Venice portion. This way, we could get on the first convenient train into Rome. If we have extra time, I'd rather it be on the Rome Termini end to give us more time to find the correct platform, etc.

 

For the Rome-Venice leg, I was looking at the 10:40 or 10:55 a.m. departure. Would 9:55 be pushing it?

 

Is this a good idea? Or is it better to book and purchase the entire trip at once?

There's no benefit to purchasing the Civitavecchia - Rome portion ahead of time, so I'd just deal with that on the spot.

 

I don't think 9:55 is pushing it, there are several trains on Sunday morning that would get you there in time:

7:02, arriving 8:23

7:34, arriving 8:53

8:02, arriving 9:23

8:41, arriving 9:45

and, if you really want to break the bank (at 10 - 13 Euro), there's the 7:50 IC that arrives at 8:45.

[ell52]

There's no benefit to purchasing the Civitavecchia - Rome portion ahead of time, so I'd just deal with that on the spot.

 

I don't think 9:55 is pushing it, there are several trains on Sunday morning that would get you there in time:

7:02, arriving 8:23

7:34, arriving 8:53

8:02, arriving 9:23

8:41, arriving 9:45

and, if you really want to break the bank (at 10 - 13 Euro), there's the 7:50 IC that arrives at 8:45.

 

Thanks, euro cruiser. Much appreciated.

 

Does anyone know when the first shuttle from ship to port gates start? Or do they start as soon as the first ship is ready to disembark passengers?