Swampduck Posted January 15 #1 Share Posted January 15 Hi we are arriving into Venice to meet the Celebrity Constellation for the cruise starting in Ravenna in Aug, ideally we would like to travel that same day to Ravenna and spend at least 3 days there before our cruise. I have no idea where to start with the planning of this. What I do know is that Celebrity do not run transfers unless it is on the day the ship departs and if we were to do a private transfer by taxi it would be approx £350. So that in mind we are thinking of travelling by train! Is there anyone on here who could give me advice as to what trains to get and where and if we need to change? Someone mentioned 1st class trains only because your luggage will be with you, is this a thing? Any advice is welcomed.. if you have done this trip can you please help thanks Debbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapleleaves Posted January 15 #2 Share Posted January 15 Are you flying into Venice first in order to sightsee? There are frequent trains from Venice to Ravenna but I believe a connection is required, usually in Bologna. So if you aren't sightseeing in Venice, perhaps you can fly to Bologna instead. I think the trains are almost hourly between Bologna and Ravenna. And if you look further down the page there's a post on transportation between Bologna and Ravenna. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted January 15 #3 Share Posted January 15 I would start by looking at trenitalia.com. Takes a little getting used to. Best rates will be about 4 months prior to actually traveling. First class is not a bad idea, I would recommend it, but not required. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampduck Posted January 16 Author #4 Share Posted January 16 Thank you for the replies. The only flights to Bologna are with RyanAir, whiich out travel agent doesnt recommend.. so we will be with AirLingus to Venice. We are only flying into Venice and then hopefully heading to Ravenna.. 20 hours ago, mapleleaves said: Are you flying into Venice first in order to sightsee? There are frequent trains from Venice to Ravenna but I believe a connection is required, usually in Bologna. So if you aren't sightseeing in Venice, perhaps you can fly to Bologna instead. I think the trains are almost hourly between Bologna and Ravenna. And if you look further down the page there's a post on transportation between Bologna and Ravenna. and the travel agent doesnt book RyanAir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampduck Posted January 16 Author #5 Share Posted January 16 20 hours ago, CruiserBruce said: I would start by looking at trenitalia.com. Takes a little getting used to. Best rates will be about 4 months prior to actually traveling. First class is not a bad idea, I would recommend it, but not required. Hi thank you for replying. So do you know is the train station near the airport in Venice. I will certainly look at trenitalia. and hopefully get used to it before i try and book. thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper30 Posted January 16 #6 Share Posted January 16 We just did this back in October for a Royal Caribbean cruise. We flew into Venice - Marco Polo International Airport, spent a couple nights in Venice, then took the train from Venice to Ravenna, and spent a night there before our cruise. The only thing we would have done differently is spent more time in Ravenna. It is an amazing city. There are two train stations in Venice... Mestre, which is on the mainland, and Santa Lucia which is on the main island, right near Piazzale Roma, which is where the road ends. Since we stayed in Venice proper, we caught the train at the Santa Lucia station. We took a high speed train (Italo) from there to Ferrara, then took a regional train (Trenitalia) from Ferrara to Ravenna. The train change at Ferrara was very easy as there are only six tracks there. Seats are assigned on the high speed train but not on the regional. We had no problems with luggage. There were overhead compartments on the high speed and plenty of space on the regional. As a matter of fact, we met another cruising couple at the Ferrara Station who had twice as much luggage as we had, and they had no issues with their bags. We purchased our Italo high speed rail tickets (Venice --> Ferrara) at the self service machine in the Venice station. For the Trenitalia regional train (Ferrara --> Ravenna), we purchased tickets via the Trenitalia app that we downloaded to our phones. Here's what I would do if I was going straight from the airport to Ravenna. From the airport to Venezia Mestre Station either bus or taxi. Taxi would be the easiest. From Venezia Mestre, take the train to Ferrara (either Italo or Trenitalia). Change trains in Ferrara for the regional train to Ravenna (Trenitalia) To get from Ravenna station to your accomodations, you could see what is recommended by the host/proprietor. We walked to our B&B (15-16 minutes). We could have taken a city bus, but we wanted to walk through the city. We didn't see many taxis around the train station, and our B&B host told us there weren't many around in general. To get from Ravenna to Porto Corsini (to board the ship), we arranged a ride through our B&B host. The cost was 40 €. There was a shuttle from the train station to the port on the day of the cruise offered by Royal Caribbean. While I cannot remember the exact amount, it was cheaper than we paid, but it was nice to have a private car take us there. It was an easy ride. Some thoughts on navigating that area of Italy....English is everywhere. Even the signs in the train stations had English on them. I spent over a year learning enough basic Italian to be understood and understand people. In Venice, no one wanted to speak Italian to me when they found out we were American. It was pretty much all English, all the time. I suspect they just wanted to get the transaction (with yet another tourist) finished as quickly as possible. Once we got away from Venice, people were more inclined to speak to me in Italian. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euro cruiser Posted January 16 #7 Share Posted January 16 Thanks for posting the details of your train trip, it does help people to hear how it works before they try it. I have the same situation with Italian, mostly, as you point out, in transactional situations. In Rome this fall two different people asked if I was French, which left me wondering if I wasn't hitting my "r's" hard enough in Italian. In Rome I ran into a store clerk who spoke no English (unusual, but this was a specialty store not tourist focused); I was excited that I could follow her directions to another store. Often I can speak just fine but have a hard time understanding the responses. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mapleleaves Posted January 16 #8 Share Posted January 16 Yep, RyanAir sure doesn't have a good reputation, but sometimes their prices can't be beat. My cousin in the UK uses them frequently to visit her vacation home in Portugal. Her theory is she can put up anything for 2 hrs when the flight only costs 15E. If you fly into VCE, Mestre train station is a good option. Only 15-20 minutes by taxi or ATVO express bus. A taxi will cost about 40E and ATVO is 10E pp. ATVO will drop you off at the far end of the block where the train station is located. It usually has 3 departures per hr to Mestre. Comfortable ride. linea035b_29.10.23-30.04.24_(3)6412.pdf (atvo.it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampduck Posted January 22 Author #9 Share Posted January 22 On 1/16/2024 at 9:01 PM, Cooper30 said: We just did this back in October for a Royal Caribbean cruise. We flew into Venice - Marco Polo International Airport, spent a couple nights in Venice, then took the train from Venice to Ravenna, and spent a night there before our cruise. The only thing we would have done differently is spent more time in Ravenna. It is an amazing city. There are two train stations in Venice... Mestre, which is on the mainland, and Santa Lucia which is on the main island, right near Piazzale Roma, which is where the road ends. Since we stayed in Venice proper, we caught the train at the Santa Lucia station. We took a high speed train (Italo) from there to Ferrara, then took a regional train (Trenitalia) from Ferrara to Ravenna. The train change at Ferrara was very easy as there are only six tracks there. Seats are assigned on the high speed train but not on the regional. We had no problems with luggage. There were overhead compartments on the high speed and plenty of space on the regional. As a matter of fact, we met another cruising couple at the Ferrara Station who had twice as much luggage as we had, and they had no issues with their bags. We purchased our Italo high speed rail tickets (Venice --> Ferrara) at the self service machine in the Venice station. For the Trenitalia regional train (Ferrara --> Ravenna), we purchased tickets via the Trenitalia app that we downloaded to our phones. Here's what I would do if I was going straight from the airport to Ravenna. From the airport to Venezia Mestre Station either bus or taxi. Taxi would be the easiest. From Venezia Mestre, take the train to Ferrara (either Italo or Trenitalia). Change trains in Ferrara for the regional train to Ravenna (Trenitalia) To get from Ravenna station to your accomodations, you could see what is recommended by the host/proprietor. We walked to our B&B (15-16 minutes). We could have taken a city bus, but we wanted to walk through the city. We didn't see many taxis around the train station, and our B&B host told us there weren't many around in general. To get from Ravenna to Porto Corsini (to board the ship), we arranged a ride through our B&B host. The cost was 40 €. There was a shuttle from the train station to the port on the day of the cruise offered by Royal Caribbean. While I cannot remember the exact amount, it was cheaper than we paid, but it was nice to have a private car take us there. It was an easy ride. Some thoughts on navigating that area of Italy....English is everywhere. Even the signs in the train stations had English on them. I spent over a year learning enough basic Italian to be understood and understand people. In Venice, no one wanted to speak Italian to me when they found out we were American. It was pretty much all English, all the time. I suspect they just wanted to get the transaction (with yet another tourist) finished as quickly as possible. Once we got away from Venice, people were more inclined to speak to me in Italian. Thank you so much for such a detailed answer.. that is exactly what i've been looking for. I booked my flights and hotel today, and since then have been in a panic again about getting from Venice to Ravenna. I will print this out and then research it.. thank you once again, Debbie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser20242024 Posted August 26 #10 Share Posted August 26 On 1/16/2024 at 9:01 PM, Cooper30 said: We just did this back in October for a Royal Caribbean cruise. We flew into Venice - Marco Polo International Airport, spent a couple nights in Venice, then took the train from Venice to Ravenna, and spent a night there before our cruise. The only thing we would have done differently is spent more time in Ravenna. It is an amazing city. There are two train stations in Venice... Mestre, which is on the mainland, and Santa Lucia which is on the main island, right near Piazzale Roma, which is where the road ends. Since we stayed in Venice proper, we caught the train at the Santa Lucia station. We took a high speed train (Italo) from there to Ferrara, then took a regional train (Trenitalia) from Ferrara to Ravenna. The train change at Ferrara was very easy as there are only six tracks there. Seats are assigned on the high speed train but not on the regional. We had no problems with luggage. There were overhead compartments on the high speed and plenty of space on the regional. As a matter of fact, we met another cruising couple at the Ferrara Station who had twice as much luggage as we had, and they had no issues with their bags. We purchased our Italo high speed rail tickets (Venice --> Ferrara) at the self service machine in the Venice station. For the Trenitalia regional train (Ferrara --> Ravenna), we purchased tickets via the Trenitalia app that we downloaded to our phones. Here's what I would do if I was going straight from the airport to Ravenna. From the airport to Venezia Mestre Station either bus or taxi. Taxi would be the easiest. From Venezia Mestre, take the train to Ferrara (either Italo or Trenitalia). Change trains in Ferrara for the regional train to Ravenna (Trenitalia) To get from Ravenna station to your accomodations, you could see what is recommended by the host/proprietor. We walked to our B&B (15-16 minutes). We could have taken a city bus, but we wanted to walk through the city. We didn't see many taxis around the train station, and our B&B host told us there weren't many around in general. To get from Ravenna to Porto Corsini (to board the ship), we arranged a ride through our B&B host. The cost was 40 €. There was a shuttle from the train station to the port on the day of the cruise offered by Royal Caribbean. While I cannot remember the exact amount, it was cheaper than we paid, but it was nice to have a private car take us there. It was an easy ride. Some thoughts on navigating that area of Italy....English is everywhere. Even the signs in the train stations had English on them. I spent over a year learning enough basic Italian to be understood and understand people. In Venice, no one wanted to speak Italian to me when they found out we were American. It was pretty much all English, all the time. I suspect they just wanted to get the transaction (with yet another tourist) finished as quickly as possible. Once we got away from Venice, people were more inclined to speak to me in Italian. How do you know what platform to go to for the change? Is it easy to work out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser20242024 Posted August 26 #11 Share Posted August 26 How do you know what platform you need to change trains ? Is it easy to work out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euro cruiser Posted August 26 #12 Share Posted August 26 Look for the departures board in the station and check for your train number, not your destination. The destination listed on the board is the end of the line, which works for you if the train happens to end in Ravenna (like the second one in my example) but not always. If you know your train number and the planned departure time (orario), you'll find it easily. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artvlay Posted August 26 #13 Share Posted August 26 Thinking of staying a day after cruise in Ravenna. Is there a RC or Celebrity shuttle from Porto Corsini to the center of Ravenna as we disembark ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted August 26 #14 Share Posted August 26 (edited) 8 hours ago, artvlay said: Thinking of staying a day after cruise in Ravenna. Is there a RC or Celebrity shuttle from Porto Corsini to the center of Ravenna as we disembark ship? In June I disembarked from Celebrity Constellation in Ravenna and there were Celebrity transfers to the Ravenna train station. You had to pre book a transfer and there were a number of time slots. We took the 9.15am transfer which was the last one. The trip takes about 20 minutes and you are dropped off at the bus station behind the train station. We walked through the train station to get to the other side of the main centre of Ravenna. Ravenna is a lovely town, the mosaics are spectacular and is well worth visiting. When we got off the ship there was a line of about 100 passengers waiting for a taxi. There are very few taxis in Ravenna so it pays to pre plan your travel arrangements from Ravenna. This was the timings of the Celebrity transfers to Ravenna train station for my cruise. Edited August 26 by PurpleTraveller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artvlay Posted August 26 #15 Share Posted August 26 1 hour ago, PurpleTraveller said: In June I disembarked from Celebrity Constellation in Ravenna and there were Celebrity transfers to the Ravenna train station. You had to pre book a transfer and there were a number of time slots. We took the 9.15am transfer which was the last one. The trip takes about 20 minutes and you are dropped off at the bus station behind the train station. We walked through the train station to get to the other side of the main centre of Ravenna. Ravenna is a lovely town, the mosaics are spectacular and is well worth visiting. When we got off the ship there was a line of about 100 passengers waiting for a taxi. There are very few taxis in Ravenna so it pays to pre plan your travel arrangements from Ravenna. This was the timings of the Celebrity transfers to Ravenna train station for my cruise. Thank you for the great information. Did you book the shuttle on the ship or prior to the cruise? We also are thinking about the Constellation, Civitavechia to Ravenna. Did you like the ship? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooper30 Posted August 26 #16 Share Posted August 26 16 hours ago, Cruiser20242024 said: How do you know what platform to go to for the change? Is it easy to work out? Euro Cruiser beat me to it, but as they showed, the stations have excellent signage. I was amazed to see English on all the signs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTraveller Posted August 27 #17 Share Posted August 27 (edited) 5 hours ago, artvlay said: Thank you for the great information. Did you book the shuttle on the ship or prior to the cruise? We also are thinking about the Constellation, Civitavechia to Ravenna. Did you like the ship? I booked the transfer before the cruise and paid USD16.99 each using my OBC. You were able to book a transfer when on board but the cost was USD19.95 each. Information regarding the Celebrity transfers was given in the Celebrity Today on day 3 (June 27) and the deadline to book the transfer was July 2 (the cruise ended on July 5). We really liked Constellation and would happily sail on her again. It may be an older ship without all the bells and whistles of a new ship but we liked her small size, the public areas had been refreshed earlier in the year so were all looking good, our cabin was comfortable, the crew was fantastic and the itinerary was great. We had a wonderful cruise! Edited August 27 by PurpleTraveller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser20242024 Posted August 27 #18 Share Posted August 27 22 hours ago, euro cruiser said: Look for the departures board in the station and check for your train number, not your destination. The destination listed on the board is the end of the line, which works for you if the train happens to end in Ravenna (like the second one in my example) but not always. If you know your train number and the planned departure time (orario), you'll find it easily. Thank you thats really helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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