Civitavecchia to Rome by train

[dalliowner]

Hi,

We will be on the Spirit calling at Civitavecchia in June and had thought of going to Rome by train for the day and have a couple of questions.

 

How far is the train station in Civitavecchia from the port ??

 

Has anybody done this trip and what are the advantages or disadvantages against going on the Seabourn coach ?

 

Where does the train arrive in Rome, is it central ??

 

Is it worth pre-ordering the train tickets?

 

 

Many thanks:rolleyes:

[cands]

Hi,

We will be on the Spirit calling at Civitavecchia in June and had thought of going to Rome by train for the day and have a couple of questions.

 

How far is the train station in Civitavecchia from the port ??

 

Has anybody done this trip and what are the advantages or disadvantages against going on the Seabourn coach ?

 

Where does the train arrive in Rome, is it central ??

 

Is it worth pre-ordering the train tickets?

 

 

Many thanks:rolleyes:

 

Hi,

The station is about 10 minutes walk from the entrance to the port.

 

We have taken the train from Rome to join the ship. It was very cheap and effective. Its not for everybody though due to having to lift luggage onto the train, etc.

 

The Termini Station in Rome is very central.

 

You should be fine buying tickets at the station. They have multilingual vending machines (at least in Termini, not sure about Civitavecchia.)

 

The western europe forum below has lots of threads on this topic:

 

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=234

 

Also for timetables etc, the Trenitalia Website:

(Remember to click 'English' on the first page;) .

 

http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/

 

 

Cheers,

Steve.

[cands]

I'd like to add a related question, if I may?

 

I believe the port of Civitavecchia is quite large and pedestrian access is not allowed. Will there be a shuttle of some sort from the port gates to the ship?

 

Thanks,

Steve.

[ralf]

Hi,

 

In 2006 we were one day in Civitavecchia with the Insignia ( oceania cruises ) from Barcelona to Lisbon.

 

We got off the ship and there was a bus from the port authorities. We entered (with some other passengers ) and had to wait for +- 10' till the bus was somewhat filled. Then the bus drove us to the port gate ( took only 2 à 3 ' ).

From there we walked to the train station +- 5 à 10' , where we bought our train tickets ( ! be sure to validate them before entering the train ) .

Our train ( I found the hours at trenitalia.com ) stoppped several times and we got off at the small train station near the Vatican ( the walk was +- 10' to the Vatican ).

In the late afternoon we took the train back from the grand train station Termini ( be aware that this train station is quite large and we had to walk +- 10' from the entrance to the quai ). And yes, there were several delays, so that our train only departed 30' later than the schedule said ( but we counted that in and took as a precaution 2 trains earlier for an event like this ).

We got off in Civitavecchia , had an ice cream on the way back ;-) to the port gate, where we waited 15' untill the bus came to get us back to the ship.

 

I hope this answers your question :-)

 

kind regards,

 

ralf,

BELGIUM

[Iamboatman]

I would urge you NOT to take the train. The trains are notorious for snap strikes, delays, etc. There are too many horror stories of people missing the ship, even mid-cruise, because of train problems.

 

As Ralf mentioned, it is not exactly as seamless process either, so by the time you wait, walk, wait, travel, etc., there is not much time that is saved (if any) and, if it is hot, you will not be very happy.

 

If you do decide to take the train despite the above, be sure you take your passports (lacking one has been a BIG issue for those that miss the ship) and have a Plan B (i.e. hotel and way to get to the next port) in case you miss the ship. Remember, getting to Livorno or Napoli is not that difficult, but other "next ports" can be a challenge.

[JaneBP]

This is from the Seabourn website:

 

>"ROME TRANSFER

 

This is the ideal option for those who would like to explore the rich city of Rome entirely on their own. A convenient motorcoach transfer has been arranged with an English speaking escort to provide you with valuable information and to answer your questions en route. The motorcoach departs shortly after the ship's arrival, and arrives in Rome after approximately 1½ hours. The drop off and pickup point in Rome is on Viale Washington, near the Piazza del Popolo. Please return to the pickup point 15 minutes prior to departure, as the coach is not permitted to wait. Reflect on your wonderful day exploring Rome as you relax on the scenic return drive to the ship. Notes: For those guests intending to visit St. Peter’s Basilica on their own, please note women must cover shoulders and knees and men must wear slacks. This is strictly a transfer with no sightseeing or other services included."

[ralf]

Hi,

 

the 2 have each their advantages and disadvantages : either going on your own or taking the cruise shop excursion

 

we prefer doing tours on our own in which case we take some precautions. ( in this case we took 2 trains earlier as a precaution ).

Sometimes you don't have a choice or is it too tricky regarding the time, we decided that we'll take the seabourn spirit excursion on 19 june when we'll be in Itea to visit Delphi as the ship is docked from 08:00 till 13:00 and it's a 30' drive to the Delphi site ( and we don't have any intention to miss the Corinth

canal passage in the afternoon :-) )

 

luckily until now it was always without problems. Our most "exotic" self-organised tour was when we were in 2006 with the seabourn spirit in aqaba. We contacted a local travel agent and we went with them to Petra. And we were very glad we did as we saw a lot more of petra than the people who took the organized tour ( they spent a lot of time having lunch in the Mövenpick hotel )

 

It's only a suggestion, but you could also take the train to Tarquinia ( a +- 20' train ride ) and visit the Etruscan tombs ( and museum ).

 

kind regards,

ralf

BELGIUM

[lord of the seas]

I have a driver guide that I always use when in Rome.

He is Nick Solpaca the web site is top tours in italy dot com

This man knows every stone in Rome.The train is to be avoided as Boatman says.

[marazul]

There is a wesite in Italy that lists all scheduled strikes (yes, practically all strikes are scheduled) and the status of the negotiations.

 

http://www.commissionegaranziasciopero.it/

 

sciopero=strike

 

It is in Italian, but you can scroll down and see the dates and the regions affected. (Don't forget, the dates are dd-mm-yyyy.) For example on May 9, (09-05-2008) there will be a four-hour national strike of all trains.

 

You can also press the "ricerca avanzata scioperi" button and enter the dates ("dal"="from" - "al"="to") you are interested in and it will give you all scheduled strikes on those dates.

 

Those of us who love to travel in Italy bookmark this website!

[Iamboatman]

Even with that knowledge...and that is pretty good stuff you shared...you only need one of the infamous snap strikes to create the problem.

 

I try to encourage my clients to "disaster-proof" their travels as much as possible: fly in the day before, board early and use the time to settle in, etc. Everyone has their own level of risk-aversion. I would just suggest balancing the perceived pleasure (and/or savings) of taking the train versus the perceived downsides of ship or private transfers.

 

If the pleasure won't be that great, why do it?

[clarky]

We also like to be independent travelers but in this case I must agree with Iamboatman. The risk factor is just too high. We have arrived in this port twice and both times used the transport/coach option offered by Seabourn and then done our own sightseeing. The best of both worlds really.

 

I also agree about the excursion to Petra, we did the Seabourn tour and I was a bit miffed that we spent all that time having lunch at an hotel when we could have spent more time sightseeing. My rule of thumb is that if your place of interest is more than an hour from the ship and you are not familiar with the country and you are only in port for one day it is probably best to use the Seabourn option.

 

When things go bad in Italy they can go really bad. So relax and enjoy this wonderful city with the knowledge that you will get back to the ship on time.

[marazul]

I agree with the recommendation of taking the SB transport in for the day. The strike website is best when you are going to be in Italy for a few days and do your own thing. By the way, there is some general agreement between the unions and the government and snap strikes are now rare. Still, for just one day, go SB.

 

We ended our SB cruise in Civitavecchia and there were taxis as well as the port shuttle waiting by the boat. If you don't want to do the 10 minute walk to the train after the shuttle, take a taxi to the train station. Also, anyone staying in Italy and renting a car at the port would do well to take a taxi to the car rental places. They used to be right by the exit to the port (where the shuttle leaves you), but now they are a good 15 minute walk away from there.

[dalliowner]

Thanks for everybodies advice. We did not want to go sightseeing in Rome as have been a few times before but my wife wanted to go shopping.( more shoes ) I think we will decide nearer the time.:D

[PittsburghJack]

"but my wife wanted to go shopping (more shoes)."

 

 

Boy.........................does THAT sound familiar. Jack:rolleyes: