Why Civitavecchia embarkation is totally awesome

[KSull58]

 

 

Yeah, the phone reps are really bad...I called to ask about the Stay Awhile option. He had no idea what I was talking about and then was confused about the interporting, so he just said it wasn’t being offered (it was...).

 

I’m sorry, I can’t help with the dining package because we weren’t interested so I wasn’t paying attention. I know they had guys set up on the first day (in Civi) selling drink packages, so I assume they were selling dining packages as well. But you can post a thread to ask, I’m sure others will be more helpful [emoji4].

 

 

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Thank you!! I'd never heard of the Stay Awhile option until I saw it mentioned a few time here. I was planning to call to ask about it but probably won't waste my time. Hopefully, you're right that if they're offering the drink pkg they'll be offering the dining as well!! Thanks for posting...your tips are great!!

[dani negreanu]

Hi Barb!

We are on this same cruise. Our roll call has been so quiet.Can you tell me who you are using to get to Civi from Rome? We are hoping to go early as well. Thanks! And thanks to the original poster about your experience.

 

We used Civitavecchia Cab Service. They were absolutely fantastic! We chose the shared shuttle option. It was a total of 65 Euros for both of us (DH and I). We ended up having our own private shuttle to the port and then a shared shuttle with two women going to the same hotel as us on the way back. Both drivers arrived early, were very friendly and spoke English.

 

Another vote for Civitavecchia Cab Service :D

http://www.civitavecchiacabservice.com/

[DrD]

 

 

Yeah, the phone reps are really bad...I called to ask about the Stay Awhile option. He had no idea what I was talking about and then was confused about the interporting, so he just said it wasn’t being offered (it was...).

 

I’m sorry, I can’t help with the dining package because we weren’t interested so I wasn’t paying attention. I know they had guys set up on the first day (in Civi) selling drink packages, so I assume they were selling dining packages as well. But you can post a thread to ask, I’m sure others will be more helpful [emoji4].

 

 

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We did the stay awhile. Details:

 

Leave cabin by 9am

You get a different luggage tag, or you can still keep your luggage and carry off yourself (we did this, too depressing to pack the last night. Much better to pack in am)

You can store carry-ons and luggage (if you didn't put out the night before) in card room on 14

You get a bracelet to wear so they know you are legit

You can use all services except drink package (and voom cut off at noon)

You can stay until 3pm, we left at 2 and walked right off. No customs or anything in port, we just walked right to parking lot and our ride.

[barb in ga]

stanze5--

We are renting an apartment in Rome for 3 nights pre cruise. The apt. management service has arranged a driver for us from airport to the apt. in Rome.

 

They will also be picking us up at the apartment on the morning of the cruise, driving us to the port, then will pick us up at the Civitavecchia port after the cruise and take us to FCO.

 

There are 4 of us, so we will not be able to share, but hope to meet you on the cruise.

We plan to arrive around 10:30, ready to start enjoying the ship!

 

Barb

[mamoore]

When I enquired about the "stay awhile" program in Civitavecchia I was told that you had to leave the ship 90 mins before she sailed. As sail away is 8pm that means you could stay till 6.30 pm. Can anyone clarify this for me please as I have arranged pick up to the airport and might have to change my plans.

[aquafit]

Hi..thanks for your post...Could you give me a little info about the terminal building in Civitavecchia? I heard that there is a new one,rather than the tent...Does it have a shop that sells wine,please?

[DrD]

When I enquired about the "stay awhile" program in Civitavecchia I was told that you had to leave the ship 90 mins before she sailed. As sail away is 8pm that means you could stay till 6.30 pm. Can anyone clarify this for me please as I have arranged pick up to the airport and might have to change my plans.

 

We got a paper detailing the plan and it specifically said we had to be off by 3pm.

[alaskawdw12]

thanks for a different perspective. Most reviews about this I have seen have been negative but I think Rome is a place you need way more time in than Barcelona so it would be great to start there. I am planning my Med cruise so this is very helpful!

 

 

I’m so happy I could help! [emoji16] Have fun planing your cruise!

 

Thanks so much for posting this! We are on the 9/27 sailing from Civitavecchia. We are spending 3 nights previous in Rome and we're really looking forward to it.

 

 

 

We decided to embark in Rome with a pre-cruise stay since there is so much to see! It's a second Italy trip for us, and the first for our traveling companions. We spent 5 days in Barcelona a few years ago, and while it's a lovely city, we felt we could hit some major highlights in the one day stop.

 

 

 

We have a driver picking us up on embarkation day, with plans to arrive at the port around10:30AM. Glad to know it will be so easy, and that we may be able to take carry-ons to the cabin.

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to your review, thanks again.

 

Barb

 

 

You’re very welcome [emoji4] I’m so excited for you! You’ll have an amazing time!!

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, as what you shared will have us consider a Civitavecchia departure for a future Med cruise that also departs from Barcelona.

 

 

Yay! That’s great [emoji16] I’m happy I could help!

 

I also boarded that day and agree 100%. We spent 3 nights in Rome before cruise and 2 nights after. Lots to do!

 

 

 

I also enjoyed staying at pool with drink on Sunday when everyone else went to muster.

 

 

 

We did the stay awhile option and that also was great. We stayed on until 2. I finally got to win a prize in a game show as my boys and I were the only ones playing on last day. We were able to store luggage in card room. When we left we were off in 2 minutes.

 

 

We must have run in to each other onboard! DH and I were at every trivia and we too won many prizes by going to games where we were the only ones playing [emoji23].

 

 

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[alaskawdw12]

When I enquired about the "stay awhile" program in Civitavecchia I was told that you had to leave the ship 90 mins before she sailed. As sail away is 8pm that means you could stay till 6.30 pm. Can anyone clarify this for me please as I have arranged pick up to the airport and might have to change my plans.

 

 

As DrD said, the Stay Awhile is only until 3 PM. I had read the same info as you, but then I found out it was actually until 3 PM and our flight was at 10 PM, so we decided to spend the day in Rome instead so as not to be stuck in the airport for a long time. It is definitely annoying that RCL doesn’t provide accurate information.

 

Hi..thanks for your post...Could you give me a little info about the terminal building in Civitavecchia? I heard that there is a new one,rather than the tent...Does it have a shop that sells wine,please?

 

 

I didn’t see any shop, just a bar where you can buy coffee and snacks while you wait, but maybe they also sell wine? I don’t know because check in was so quick that I barely had time to go to the bathroom [emoji23].

 

 

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[mamoore]

Thank you for that information. I will have to change plans so. What did you do with your luggage on your time in Rome before going to the airport?

[alaskawdw12]

Thank you for that information. I will have to change plans so. What did you do with your luggage on your time in Rome before going to the airport?

 

 

We booked a day room through dayuse.com at hotel Baberini for 59 Euros. It’s a great website! We’ve used it twice now. Booking is free, you don’t have to give them your credit card information and you can cancel right up to the hour of your check in.

Since Rome was unbearably hot, it was nice to have an air conditioned room to go back to to rest and take a shower before heading out to the airport.

 

 

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Edited August 8, 2018 by alaskawdw12

[stanze5]

We used Civitavecchia Cab Service. They were absolutely fantastic! We chose the shared shuttle option. It was a total of 65 Euros for both of us (DH and I). We ended up having our own private shuttle to the port and then a shared shuttle with two women going to the same hotel as us on the way back. Both drivers arrived early, were very friendly and spoke English.

 

 

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Thank you!

[KiwiGal117]

Completely agree with the OP. We found it a fabulous choice.

 

 

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[alaska_planner]

 

We did the stay awhile. Details:

 

Leave cabin by 9am

You get a different luggage tag, or you can still keep your luggage and carry off yourself (we did this, too depressing to pack the last night. Much better to pack in am)

You can store carry-ons and luggage (if you didn't put out the night before) in card room on 14

You get a bracelet to wear so they know you are legit

You can use all services except drink package (and voom cut off at noon)

You can stay until 3pm, we left at 2 and walked right off. No customs or anything in port, we just walked right to parking lot and our ride.

 

is there anyone watching the card room? or is the luggage there unsupervised?

 

.

[BobNoxious]

I had no idea cruises did this... cool! Just looked at the site for Symphony, and there it was... Barcelona departures AND Civi departures. I would much rather cruise from CIVI so I have days to spend there!

[DrD]

 

is there anyone watching the card room? or is the luggage there unsupervised?

 

.

 

There were staff there.

[TeamTrom]

Can anyone verify what time the mister drill is from Civi? Trying to plan the day out?

[alaskawdw12]

Can anyone verify what time the mister drill is from Civi? Trying to plan the day out?

 

 

It’s at 4:45 PM in the theater. They want you to start heading over there at 4:30 (we were in our room and our room attendant knocked on the door and told us we needed to go). After it’s over in the theater, they walk you over to your muster station so that you’ll know where it is and then you’re done. Very easy and fast.

 

 

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[TeamTrom]

It’s at 4:45 PM in the theater. They want you to start heading over there at 4:30 (we were in our room and our room attendant knocked on the door and told us we needed to go). After it’s over in the theater, they walk you over to your muster station so that you’ll know where it is and then you’re done. Very easy and fast.

 

 

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Thanks a bunch

[catlady66]

We just finished our amazing vacation on the Symphony on Thursday. I plan on writing a review, but I wanted to first post separately about boarding in Civitavecchia because I searched for as much info on the subject as I could before we went on this cruise.

 

Anyone who noticed my previous threads on the subject knows I was pretty anxious and worried. I would like to take this opportunity to calm anyone else’s nerves - boarding in Civitavecchia is totally awesome and (IMOHP) the way to go.

 

There were 1,200 passengers who boarded in Civitavecchia out of a total of 6,700 passengers onboard. So we were very much in the minority. Here is what makes this so awesome:

 

1. Boarding is the easiest thing ever! We arrived at the port at 10:35. There were about 15 people there. Boarding began at 10:45 for top tiers. At 10:50 everyone was invited to check in. We were onboard, drink (juice [emoji56]) in hand, at 11:00. Thanks to recommendations I had read here we went up to our room to ask if we could leave our carry ons on the balcony. Our amazing stateroom attendant Keisha said we were welcomed to go into the room since it was already ready. So already at 11:10 we were off to enjoy the ship, luggage free.

 

2. Since so few people are boarding with you you never have that hectic boarding day ambiance. Your first day onboard is super chill and relaxed, especially since most people are off exploring Rome.

 

3. Your sea day is in the beginning-middle of your cruise instead of at the end. So you get a down day in the middle of your vacation that rejuvenates you for the rest of it. Also, on sea days for some reason there are fewer activities onboard. If you’re like us and you enjoy all of the trivias and dance classes, ending your cruise with an activity-lacking slow day like that kind of ends the cruise on a sour note (this happened to us on the Allure). But if it happened in the middle of your cruise - it’s just a day to relax a little before you get back to running from activity to activity.

 

4. Barcelona embarkation day is nuts! So many people boarding at once...us Civi people definitely felt good about not being part of that craziness. It’s also pretty cool to get to walk around freely while everyone has to be at the Muster Drill.

 

5. The exciting night celebrations happen later in your cruise so they help bring hype and excitement in after you’ve already grown accustomed to the ship. The first few nights onboard you don’t need much to get excited - you’re on the biggest cruise ship in the world with shows like Hiro and Skate 2.0 going on. Then come the excitement of the balloon drop, the captain’s speech and 80’s night to give more shots of excitement as your cruise moves on.

 

6. Your last day onboard is just a regular day full of activities. There’s no “pending doom” feeling, no sadness all around, no long lines at guest services or hallways full of luggage.

 

7. Disembarkation day is so relaxed it’s crazy!! We had a lovely regular breakfast at the Slorium Bistro and then straight off the ship. No line, no nothing.

 

We never felt like second class passengers. We actually felt special! As far as we’re concerned this is the way to go. We absolutely loved it!!!!

 

A few minuses to take into account:

 

1. The website and app and other technical aspects really only recognize the Barcelona cruises. As far as the app is concerned, the Civi embarkations do not exist, so you cannot use the app at all. Also, for instance, we only received the page that listed the BW balcony perks when we were in Barcelona. I’ve also read that this affects specialty restaurant reservations. This is quite irritating considering how easy it should be to fix this.

 

2. Barcelona day is embarkation day for the vast majority of the ship. This means that, unlike Civi day, there are much fewer activities throughout the day and this comes right after a sea day with few activities, so it’s a slow day that the Barcelona people don’t experience.

 

3. Since the vast majority of the ship embarks in Barcelona most of the people you meet are going to be leaving in three days and replaced by new people. This is something to take into account especially if your kids like making friends at the kids clubs.

 

That’s all I can think of. If you have any questions I’m happy to help!

 

 

 

 

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Thank you for the great insight ! We leave from Civi next Thursday and i did not know till last night that this was a multi-port boarding ship. I'm actually glad we leave from Rome as well...those last at sea days are very depressing and you make a good point that having it in the middle of the cruise rejuvenates you!

[etrantham]

Can anyone comment on how the day in Barcelona works when everyone else is disembarking and then new cruisers coming on.  When it is just a port day for those that boarded in Rome what time are you allowed off the ship and what time to do you have to be back?

[Clarea]

11 minutes ago, etrantham said:

Can anyone comment on how the day in Barcelona works when everyone else is disembarking and then new cruisers coming on.  When it is just a port day for those that boarded in Rome what time are you allowed off the ship and what time to do you have to be back?

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

If will be like any other port day.  You will be normally be allowed off around 30 minutes after arrival.  All aboard is 30 minutes before scheduled departure.

[mousefan73]

On 8/4/2018 at 5:12 PM, alaskawdw12 said:

We just finished our amazing vacation on the Symphony on Thursday. I plan on writing a review, but I wanted to first post separately about boarding in Civitavecchia because I searched for as much info on the subject as I could before we went on this cruise.

 

Anyone who noticed my previous threads on the subject knows I was pretty anxious and worried. I would like to take this opportunity to calm anyone else’s nerves - boarding in Civitavecchia is totally awesome and (IMOHP) the way to go.

 

There were 1,200 passengers who boarded in Civitavecchia out of a total of 6,700 passengers onboard. So we were very much in the minority. Here is what makes this so awesome:

 

1. Boarding is the easiest thing ever! We arrived at the port at 10:35. There were about 15 people there. Boarding began at 10:45 for top tiers. At 10:50 everyone was invited to check in. We were onboard, drink (juice ) in hand, at 11:00. Thanks to recommendations I had read here we went up to our room to ask if we could leave our carry ons on the balcony. Our amazing stateroom attendant Keisha said we were welcomed to go into the room since it was already ready. So already at 11:10 we were off to enjoy the ship, luggage free.

 

2. Since so few people are boarding with you you never have that hectic boarding day ambiance. Your first day onboard is super chill and relaxed, especially since most people are off exploring Rome.

 

3. Your sea day is in the beginning-middle of your cruise instead of at the end. So you get a down day in the middle of your vacation that rejuvenates you for the rest of it. Also, on sea days for some reason there are fewer activities onboard. If you’re like us and you enjoy all of the trivias and dance classes, ending your cruise with an activity-lacking slow day like that kind of ends the cruise on a sour note (this happened to us on the Allure). But if it happened in the middle of your cruise - it’s just a day to relax a little before you get back to running from activity to activity.

 

4. Barcelona embarkation day is nuts! So many people boarding at once...us Civi people definitely felt good about not being part of that craziness. It’s also pretty cool to get to walk around freely while everyone has to be at the Muster Drill.

 

5. The exciting night celebrations happen later in your cruise so they help bring hype and excitement in after you’ve already grown accustomed to the ship. The first few nights onboard you don’t need much to get excited - you’re on the biggest cruise ship in the world with shows like Hiro and Skate 2.0 going on. Then come the excitement of the balloon drop, the captain’s speech and 80’s night to give more shots of excitement as your cruise moves on.

 

6. Your last day onboard is just a regular day full of activities. There’s no “pending doom” feeling, no sadness all around, no long lines at guest services or hallways full of luggage.

 

7. Disembarkation day is so relaxed it’s crazy!! We had a lovely regular breakfast at the Slorium Bistro and then straight off the ship. No line, no nothing.

 

We never felt like second class passengers. We actually felt special! As far as we’re concerned this is the way to go. We absolutely loved it!!!!

 

A few minuses to take into account:

 

1. The website and app and other technical aspects really only recognize the Barcelona cruises. As far as the app is concerned, the Civi embarkations do not exist, so you cannot use the app at all. Also, for instance, we only received the page that listed the BW balcony perks when we were in Barcelona. I’ve also read that this affects specialty restaurant reservations. This is quite irritating considering how easy it should be to fix this.

 

2. Barcelona day is embarkation day for the vast majority of the ship. This means that, unlike Civi day, there are much fewer activities throughout the day and this comes right after a sea day with few activities, so it’s a slow day that the Barcelona people don’t experience.

 

3. Since the vast majority of the ship embarks in Barcelona most of the people you meet are going to be leaving in three days and replaced by new people. This is something to take into account especially if your kids like making friends at the kids clubs.

 

That’s all I can think of. If you have any questions I’m happy to help!

 

 

Hi Not sure if you are still active, but I am doing the same this year on the Oasis. June 13th from Rome... I am curious when we disembark when we have to leave our statemroom and leave the ship. We want to stay on until about 11ish. If the ship is not totally clearing out,I am wondering what the disembarkation times are.. We have a late flight so have all day and would prefer to extend our cruise...

 

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[dani negreanu]

Mousefan,

 

You should post your question OUTSIDE the quote 😎

[LilyPotter]

We did the Symphony Rome to Rome 7 Day Med cruise last July.   Symphony docked in each port.  Cruise was awesome, but  VERY hot!   Any sailing before July would be great because you won't be sweltering during your long shore excursions.   In fact, a cool and cloudy day would have been very welcome - sitting by the pool is not meant to be the highlight of this type of cruise.    Everyone is correct that embarkation was easiest one we ever had - arrived at 3:00 pm and on board at 3:10 pm.  We used private car services that we found on this site and another popular planning site and thought it was the best way to go  Always on time, new,  comfortable cars and professional drivers.   

 

As a planning option, we had never been to Venice so we first flew into Venice for several days, and then took a fast train from the big Venice terminal to Main Terminal in Rome.  A 3 hour train ride, in first class (totally worth it), and you are in Rome to enjoy for how ever long you want precruise.   Flew out of Rome the  day after the cruise because despite what anyone tells you the Rome airport has long security lines and you have to arrive very, very early for flights home.    We wouldn't have made our flight if we tried to disembark and catch a flight the same morning.