Transportation Strike in Italy???

[dutchessofdennis]

Does anyone have any experience in dealing with this? We are scheduled to be on Western Med Gem cruise August 3-10. My cruise agent sent me the following:

 

Not good news in Italy today:

Citing a lack of government response for more than seven months, transport workers in Italy began a nationwide strike today to demand the renewal of their expired labor contracts. Reuters reports. With the exception of evening's rush hour, transportation services have been suspended in the majority of cities bringing the country's trains, buses and subways to a standstill.

Francesco Lucirino, secretary general of the Cosnil union, expects the strike to cost the nations transport system at least 350,000 euros. Striking began with train workers late Sunday night, and it will continue for weeks as airport workers have scheduled to strike later this month.

[truckerj1]

They only strike for 1 day at a time. They do this before their contract expires to put pressure on the government. They schedule these in advance. Don't worry!!!

[genni]

Strikes are generally only part of the day, or 24 hours. They are scheduled in advance, but it may only be a fews days notice. The dreaded word in Italian is "sciopero." Until the new contract is signed, there is always a possibility of one (or local strikes for local reasons). August 15th is a major holiday in Italy, often the peak of their summer vacation - I would hope that they would not strike at such a crucial moment!

[lannie62]

Hi Dutchessof Dennis,

We are also on that cruise and this is worrying - we should follow this up closer to the sailing.

thanks for the update

Lannie62

[ab0si]

http://www.commissionegaranziasciopero.it/ is the official Italian government website which lists all announced strikes -- they are usually announced months in advance.

 

Search this forum and the Italy forum on the sister site, tgripadvisor.com.. I have posted several messages givng details on how to use and translate the above.

 

 

Several website take partial information from this site and post it in Enlgish (Google "italy strikes").

 

Paul

[njguy_south]

Several years ago I was leading a high school trip to Italy. During one day, I chose to take 35 students out of Rome to Handrian's Villa by public bus. We had a wonderful day. We headed to the bus stop for our return to Rome around 3 pm, giving us plenty of time to meet the rest of our school group for 6 pm dinner.

 

Well, we waited and waited at the bus stop (out in practically the middle of no-where), until around 5 pm a woman walked by, amazed at the large group. She indicated to us that there was a bus strike. In a panic I told her our problem. At the time the bus appeared, and was FULL. She got on, spoke to the driver and passengers in Italian, and enough people got off to let my school group get on. I was so thankful.

 

Needless to say, we arrived back in Rome after 7 pm and missed dinner with the rest of our group. THANK GOD we were not on a cruises or we would have missed the ship.

[Strawberry]

I wonder if this strike would also have an impact on the buses that the cruise companies use for transfers to and from airports and for tours? We also had problems years ago with train strikes in Italy -- at that time they did NOT announce in advance when a strike was planned.

[Hambagahle]

Sadly there are lots of strikes in Italy. More often to do wtih transport than anything else. As someone said, they are generally for 24 hours and I would add that they are hardly ever 100% effective. So usually, even on a strike day you can find some transport that is working.

You have to stay informed. Use the International Herald Tribune (www.iht.com) This is "our" daily newspaper in Europe and they print news of any strikes a day or so before they occur.

But as someone else also said, strikes usually do NOT happen on public holidays. So if you are travelling in mid August you should be OK. Just remember that if the train is on strike, try the busses. If the planes are on strike, try the trains. Your "alternative" transportation will be crowded but you will most likely get there. If all else fails, rent a car (I did this once when I got stuck in Genoa by a train strike and needed to get to Cannes for a meeting...) These strikes are not like the "openended" ones in the US and the UK. They are announced in advance, and last just as long as they say they will...

[cruiseryyc]

Another reason why I chose to use the ship's tours while there in June. The tour buses will always be running.

[KT32]

Strikes are a national sport in Italy! EVERYONE goes on strike, literally. I did an exchange in high school and once a year the students would go on strike. They'd come to school, sit in the corridors and strike for the day. No one seemed to think anything out of the ordinary.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about it as they are usually scheduled in advance and well publicized and only last a day.

[ktpc2005]

The NCL Gem was in the middle of the public transportation strike in Malta, which is now in its FOURTH day.'

 

Anyone on future Gem cruises, should watch out....

 

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=72360

[genni]

Today at at Rome FCO the baggage handlers were on strike from noon to 4:00pm...Many flights for North America leave during that time - The plane may leave, but will the bags be on board? (ours weren't once on a flight out of France during one of their strikes).

[sacway]

We were cruising in Italy last week. I walked from Portofino to Santa Margherita thinking I would take the bus back until I remembered hearing that the busses were on strike (that, and not seeing one pass me the whole way...) So I caught the water taxi back, which I'd seen running earlier, and as an alternate plan could have walked back as well. Two days earlier, in France, there was a threatened (or actual) dock workers one-day strike in Marseilles and so our ship docked in Toulon instead. A sense of humor, flexible plans, and some idea on how else you will get things done comes in handy when visiting Europe.

 

One can't develop a culture allowing for 8-10 weeks of holiday time a year by being slavish about work.

[taxatty]

We got hit with a wildcat train strike (not pre-announced) a year ago in Florence and we were very worried about not being able to get to Venice to catch a cruise leaving that evening. We were lucky enough to grab the first train that day to Venice that finally arrived several hours after the one we were supposed to take and made it to Venice in time, but only through sitting on the doorway steps (no seats or even aisle space left) of the train car for most of the three-hour trip.

As we had been told on this CC board (THANK YOU!), in the event of a strike, get on whatever transportation you can to get to were you need to go and figure out the details later.

Les

[njguy_south]

I agree with you Taxatty. Wildcat strikes happen and they are NOT always announced. Furthermore, the DO happen at holiday times, as the stike I mentioned above (which was over Easter, and thousands were trying to get home, etc., after the long weekend).

 

That cheap ticket may wind up costing you. MAY, or it may not.

[TATOMMY]

The NCL Gem was in the middle of the public transportation strike in Malta, which is now in its FOURTH day.'

 

Anyone on future Gem cruises, should watch out....

 

http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=72360

 

 

No need to worry. Transportation back to normal. Strikes in Malta are hardly ever heard of, especially transportation. On the other hand, Italy are very well known for their strikes especially in summer. The one in Malta was a one off.

[Hlitner]

As somebody said, strikes in Italy are just a part of life. I recall flying into Venice a few years ago (for the Grand Princess) and all was fine. But an hour after our plane landed, the baggage handlers in Venice when on strike and the later flights were diverted to other airports. Only in Italy!

 

Hank