2 days between cruises, maybe stay at Civitavecchia, maybe not??

[NoWhiners]

Hi all

 

We just added a TA for after our Italy-Med cruise in November. We get off 1 ship on Nov 14 and board the TA to Ft Lauderdale on Nov 17. We will have already spent a week in Rome and could go back there but we are thinking it might be OK to stay at Civi. What do you experienced folks think? Any hotel recommendations for Civi? I have read there isn't much to do there and I'm not sure about the quality of hotels. 

 

We are thinking of taking a private tour of areas outside Rome after we get off the first ship (Island Princess), then just spending 3 nights in Civi. That might be a little long so I am looking for other options. There is a train station there--could we use that for a couple of fun day trips? We have no problem going back to Rome if that is the best choice.

 

Thanks for any help,

Mary Lynn

[euro cruiser]

Um, yuck.

 

Seriously, there is no good reason to stay in Civitavecchia.  If you don't want to go back to Rome there are dozens of other great choices not too far away.

 

Are you thinking of having a rental car or using public transit during these days?

[NoWhiners]

I have no actual plan at this time 😉 We are flexible so I thought I would post here and see what people have to say. I'd rather not rent a car, and we plan on a car service to get to and from the port. No objection to public transport, but we can't drag our luggage up and down stairs anymore, balance isn't what it used to be.

 

Love to hear what the other great choices are???

 

Thanks.

[euro cruiser]

First, to make your life easier, pack only what you need for the days between cruises in a carry on bag and check everything else at the left luggage facility at the port.  There's no reason to drag everything around with you.  

 

Not having a lot of luggage will make your options wider as well.

[euro cruiser]

November is past the season for waterfront locations so I'd leave them off the short list.

 

Lucca is a lovely walled city in Tuscany that's one of the few not at the top of a hill, so it's easy to get around.  You can reach it by train from Civitavecchia in three hours with only one change of trains.  From Lucca you can do an easy day trip to Pisa, or a slightly longer one (about 90 minutes) to Florence.

[NoWhiners]

54 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

First, to make your life easier, pack only what you need for the days between cruises in a carry on bag and check everything else at the left luggage facility at the port.  There's no reason to drag everything around with you.  

 

Not having a lot of luggage will make your options wider as well.

 

That is a great idea, never even occurred to me. Thanks. Will the people at left luggage speak enough English so I have half a chance of doing this right? My Italian isn't very good...

 

51 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

November is past the season for waterfront locations so I'd leave them off the short list.

 

Lucca is a lovely walled city in Tuscany that's one of the few not at the top of a hill, so it's easy to get around.  You can reach it by train from Civitavecchia in three hours with only one change of trains.  From Lucca you can do an easy day trip to Pisa, or a slightly longer one (about 90 minutes) to Florence.

 

Thanks for this, I will check it out. We are going to Florence and Pisa on the TA, so may hold off on doing that but maybe Lucca would be a good choice. How hard would it be to get a car service back to the port? Or even from the port? I'll guess that getting from the port to anywhere will be easier than getting back, if we pick too small or out-of-the-way spot.

Edited March 5, 2022 by NoWhiners

[euro cruiser]

Lucca is a bit far for a car service but it's easily accessed by train.

 

If you'd prefer not to use the trains I'd look for closer options, like Orvieto.

[euro cruiser]

They will speak enough English at the left luggage office to get by.  This is a major port with folks coming in by ferry from several places in Europe, English is often a common language.

[euro cruiser]

Left luggage:  Civitavecchia deposito bagagli - Self Storage Facility in civitavecchia

[NoWhiners]

We are fine with trains, have used them in Germany, Portugal, Greece, and China; somehow we always found our way 😃

 

I will make a note of the proper Italian sign for the luggage, thanks for that. As long as their English is better than my Italian, we should be OK!

 

Thanks for the help.

[kptbylorraine]

We have stayed in Civitavecchia several times pre-cruise. We find it very relaxing compared to Rome. When we stayed for 2 days we rented a car and drove into the countryside. We enjoy walking along the waterfront where there are lots of restaurants. 
Hotels are mostly 3 stars but clean and comfortable. They will also arrange for a transfer to the pier. 
 

Lorraine

[cluso]

Check out Siena.  We are staying there for 3 nights in October before a TA.  We will be using a car transfer service instead of renting a car this time.

[NoWhiners]

5 hours ago, kptbylorraine said:

We have stayed in Civitavecchia several times pre-cruise. We find it very relaxing compared to Rome. When we stayed for 2 days we rented a car and drove into the countryside. We enjoy walking along the waterfront where there are lots of restaurants. 
Hotels are mostly 3 stars but clean and comfortable. They will also arrange for a transfer to the pier. 
 

Lorraine

 

Very helpful. Do you remember which hotel(s) you used? What time of year did you stay? Still unsure what we will do but this is an option.

 

Thanks.

 

PS: I was born in the Bronx, lived there until I was 11 🙂 

[NoWhiners]

3 hours ago, cluso said:

Check out Siena.  We are staying there for 3 nights in October before a TA.  We will be using a car transfer service instead of renting a car this time.

 

This looks like a nice area too. Did you already find a hotel and, if so, do you mind sharing the name?

 

Thanks,

[cruisemom42]

I would not choose Civitavecchia. Just my 2 cents...

 

Orvieto is lovely and logistically works well -- and is not as far as Tuscany. Tuscany in November can be gray and blustery, or it can be nice. I've had both.

 

Tivoli is another nice option (east of Rome but still in Lazio) -- if you haven't been there, there is enough to pass a couple of pleasant days sightseeing, including Hadrian's Villa (Roman) and Villa d'Este with beautiful gardens.

 

 

 

[bennybear]

A car would give much more freedom, for three days exploring Tuscany would be great and easy driving.  We would suggest staying near Pienza or Montalcino.   We’ve done this several times, and if you don’t want to go far Pitigliano is an interesting town with lots to see in the area.  There’s been some good threads on this recently.  We also like Orvieto, which is easily accessible by  train, but I think you’d have to go into Rome and switch there.  

Edited March 5, 2022 by bennybear

[NoWhiners]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I would not choose Civitavecchia. Just my 2 cents...

 

Orvieto is lovely and logistically works well -- and is not as far as Tuscany. Tuscany in November can be gray and blustery, or it can be nice. I've had both.

 

Tivoli is another nice option (east of Rome but still in Lazio) -- if you haven't been there, there is enough to pass a couple of pleasant days sightseeing, including Hadrian's Villa (Roman) and Villa d'Este with beautiful gardens.

 

 

 

 Hi CM

 

I was hoping you would see this. You were so helpful to us when we did our Black Sea cruise several years ago. Tivoli does look nice. Do you have any ideas on a hotel? And, would we take a train from Rome to get there? One of the car services has a VIP tour option, where they pick you up at the port, tour outside of Rome, then drop you at your hotel. I don't remember which one now (maybe Bobs Limos??). We were thinking of doing that. How difficult would it be to get a car back to the port from Tivoli (I would definitely ask whichever service we use if they could fetch us on 11/17!) ? I don't think we can manage moving bags around on trains. DH has a bad hip and I don't want to stress him out. I can probably handle the bags but not dragging them up and down stairs, so we need to be careful in our planning.

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

ML

[cluso]

2 hours ago, NoWhiners said:

 

This looks like a nice area too. Did you already find a hotel and, if so, do you mind sharing the name?

 

Thanks,

We are staying at the Palazzo Ravizza.  Originally, we were going to rent a car, and there is free parking there.  However, since we have driven around a bit before, we decided to spend this time in the same place, living like a local for 3 days (LOL), and exploring the city.  More of a "chill out" experience than having to deal with a rental car and driving around.  We spent a couple days outside Orvieto last time.  However, we did have a rental car then.  Orvieto is closer to the port. 

[NoWhiners]

2 hours ago, bennybear said:

A car would give much more freedom, for three days exploring Tuscany would be great and easy driving.  We would suggest staying near Pienza or Montalcino.   We’ve done this several times, and if you don’t want to go far Pitigliano is an interesting town with lots to see in the area.  There’s been some good threads on this recently.  We also like Orvieto, which is easily accessible by  train, but I think you’d have to go into Rome and switch there.  

 

Yes, I quite agree about a car but I'm reluctant. Aside from the cost, it just seems like too much bother, if we can use trains, cabs, or maybe even tour guides. I did look at Tuscany but I think that is further than we want to go.

 

I thought I read on another thread that November isn't a good time for Orvieto, but I might have that wrong. Can you recommend a hotel in any of these places?

 

Thanks

ML

[NoWhiners]

2 minutes ago, cluso said:

We are staying at the Palazzo Ravizza.  Originally, we were going to rent a car, and there is free parking there.  However, since we have driven around a bit before, we decided to spend this time in the same place, living like a local for 3 days (LOL), and exploring the city.  More of a "chill out" experience than having to deal with a rental car and driving around.  We spent a couple days outside Orvieto last time.  However, we did have a rental car then.  Orvieto is closer to the port. 

 

Thank you for this, it is very helpful. I like the sound of a "chill out' experience between our 2 cruises 🙂 That is more what we are thinking, after 5 days in Rome and a port intensive cruise, including 2 long days in Israel.

 

Will you take a train to get there?

[bennybear]

30 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

 

Yes, I quite agree about a car but I'm reluctant. Aside from the cost, it just seems like too much bother, if we can use trains, cabs, or maybe even tour guides. I did look at Tuscany but I think that is further than we want to go.

 

I thought I read on another thread that November isn't a good time for Orvieto, but I might have that wrong. Can you recommend a hotel in any of these places?

 

Thanks

ML

I’ve only been there  in  summer and October when  it was cool.   We stayed outside the city as we had a car, so no suggestions in town.  We just like the freedom of a car. 

 

Rome cabs does pickup and drop off and transfer tours and does Tivoli. 

 

 

[cluso]

27 minutes ago, NoWhiners said:

Will you take a train to get there?

 

Since we are flying into Rome, we decided to get a car transfer to Siena, and then 3 days later to the port.  Arrival day, just the transport, no tour, we will be beat.  We haven't set any of that up yet, too soon I think.  Expensive yes, but we are not into humping our bags around now on different transportation.  Did the trains in the old days and when we lived in Europe.  Lots of recommended transfer companies out there.  One I had not heard of is "My Day Trip" and is a little bit cheaper and less formal than some.  Good reviews on TA.

[NoWhiners]

3 hours ago, bennybear said:

I’ve only been there  in  summer and October when  it was cool.   We stayed outside the city as we had a car, so no suggestions in town.  We just like the freedom of a car. 

 

Rome cabs does pickup and drop off and transfer tours and does Tivoli. 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, cluso said:

 

Since we are flying into Rome, we decided to get a car transfer to Siena, and then 3 days later to the port.  Arrival day, just the transport, no tour, we will be beat.  We haven't set any of that up yet, too soon I think.  Expensive yes, but we are not into humping our bags around now on different transportation.  Did the trains in the old days and when we lived in Europe.  Lots of recommended transfer companies out there.  One I had not heard of is "My Day Trip" and is a little bit cheaper and less formal than some.  Good reviews on TA.

 

Thanks both of you for this info, I just needed to know it could be done..

 

happy cruising!

[cruisemom42]

5 hours ago, NoWhiners said:

 Hi CM

 

I was hoping you would see this. You were so helpful to us when we did our Black Sea cruise several years ago. Tivoli does look nice. Do you have any ideas on a hotel? And, would we take a train from Rome to get there? One of the car services has a VIP tour option, where they pick you up at the port, tour outside of Rome, then drop you at your hotel. I don't remember which one now (maybe Bobs Limos??). We were thinking of doing that. How difficult would it be to get a car back to the port from Tivoli (I would definitely ask whichever service we use if they could fetch us on 11/17!) ? I don't think we can manage moving bags around on trains. DH has a bad hip and I don't want to stress him out. I can probably handle the bags but not dragging them up and down stairs, so we need to be careful in our planning.

 

Thanks for all your help.

 

ML

 

It will not be inexpensive, but yes you can make arrangements with any of the recommended transportation companies to take you from the port to either Orvieto or Tivoli, and I'm sure they would also do the reverse. If you want the easiest solution, this is it and you could even ask them to recommend a stop or two along the way if you are interested. Orvieto is closer than Tivoli and thus I would think it is less expensive. I think it would be fine in November although one can get rainy weather anywhere in central or northern Italy at that time of year. Still, more of the things to do in Orvieto are inside than at Tivoli...

 

 

[NoWhiners]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

It will not be inexpensive, but yes you can make arrangements with any of the recommended transportation companies to take you from the port to either Orvieto or Tivoli, and I'm sure they would also do the reverse. If you want the easiest solution, this is it and you could even ask them to recommend a stop or two along the way if you are interested. Orvieto is closer than Tivoli and thus I would think it is less expensive. I think it would be fine in November although one can get rainy weather anywhere in central or northern Italy at that time of year. Still, more of the things to do in Orvieto are inside than at Tivoli...

 

 

 

Great, thanks. If I could impose on your good nature a little more--if we took a train, how would we do that? From the port or from Rome? I am leaning Orvieto but Tivoli also sounds nice. We would like to see more of Italy now that we are taking the TA and it doesn't have to be incredibly easy just not incredibly difficult.

 

We love rain (we live in the desert), so that wouldn't be an issue at all.

 

Thank you.

Edited March 6, 2022 by NoWhiners
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