Civitavecchia Questions

Hi Everyone:

My fiance and I are taking a Royal Caribbean Mediterranean cruise for our honeymoon which ports out of Civitavecchia in October 2015. We are trying to find the most convenient and cost effective way to see Rome while making sure we catch the boat. We will be flying into FCO the day before our cruise.

Is is more cost effective to stay in Civitavecchia and take the train to/from Rome or to stay in Rome and just take the train to Civitavecchia the day of the cruise? Our initial idea was to stay in Civitavecchia for fear of any strikes that may cause us not to be able to get out to Civitavecchia the day of the cruise.

Does anyone have suggestions on the best hotel in Civitavecchia...we want a hotel close to the port. Per TripAdvisor Hotel Traghetto is rated #1.

Is the train system relatively easy to understand? This will be our first time to Europe so I am not familiar with the transit system in Italy.

We will have one day before the cruise in Italy and one day after the cruise in Italy. We are interested in visiting the Vatican & Sistine chapel one day and possibly the Colosseum another day. The day before the cruise is a Thurs and the day after the cruise is a Sun. I have read that the Vatican is closed on Sun so this would have to be something we see on Thurs. If we are taking the train from Civitavecchia then what station do we exit off of.

It would waste a lot of time to stay in Civitavecchia and commute back and forth to Rome. Since the Vatican will be your goal on either the afternoon or your arrival or the morning before heading to the cruise port I'd look for a hotel near the Vatican for that first night.

On the back side I'd look for a hotel that's more central, an easy walk to the Colosseum.

Be sure to reserve your Vatican museums visit ahead of time to avoid standing in the ticket line.

I would personally prefer to see the Vatican museums first thing in the morning the day after you arrive, but that's me. Even if I sleep on the plane I don't arrive fully rested and something like the Vatican museums, which require a fair amount of concentration and awareness, would be a stretch for me.

Strikes in Italy are planned and announced well in advance, they don't do wildcat strikes that would leave you stranded. You'll have plenty of advance notice to work out a "plan B".

As for ease of understanding ... I don't think it's (the train system) the kind of thing you can walk up to with no knowledge or research and easily figure it out on the run, but it's not hard with a little planning. You do have to deal with your own luggage the entire way by train; if you're planning to travel with a lot of stuff you may want to consider a car service for transfers.

I would stay pre-cruise somewhere close to the Vatican and do it first thing in the morning that you head for the cruise. Prebook your tickets for the first slot and then head straight off to Civitavecchia. The train to Civitavecchia calls in San Pietro (which is the station close to the Vatican) and would mean you don't have to navigate the massive central station (Termini) A hotel somewhere between S Pietro and the Vatican itself would be ideal so you could do the Vatican and pick up your cases on the way to catch the train to Civitavecchia.

You won't be able to see the museums and the square will be thronged with people on Sunday so that's when I would do the Colosseum. Buy your tickets from the Forum (where there is rarely a queue). The tickets are valid for the Colosseum as well but the lines there will be very long - it's only a 10 minute walk between the two.

There are several trains around 1.00 pm from S Pietro which would get you to Civitavecchia within an hour. Search for the timetables on the Trenitalia website http://www.trenitalia.com

Do not take me as an expert as I've only been researching and making reservations myself for our first Med cruise. From what I have found, Civitavecchia hotels are a tiny bit more reasonable verses Rome, assuming you would stay very near the tourist sights in Rome. We'll be staying the night before our cruise at Civitavecchia because that makes my spouse happy. He wants to be certain we don't miss the boat.

We are planning to fly into FCO, grab the Leonardo Express to Roma Termini station, and utilize the left luggage there while we go do some sightseeing. I have not yet located what hours left luggage is open, but we are hoping until at least 7-8pm. I found some walking tours here and plan try to see the Colosseum during the day and the Trevi Fountain in the early evening. Then we'll be taking the train out to Civitavecchia to check into our hotel.

As far as a strike goes, we plan to keep an eye on that. If trains are unavailable, we've got links for several car hire companies saved on our tablet and also phone numbers on our phones so we can just book a car to pick us up and take us out to Civitavecchia. As much as I'd rather stay in Rome and breakfast there before the cruise, my spouse will just sleep much better knowing at worst we can just walk over to the cruise terminal. :rolleyes: :)

I have not yet located what hours left luggage is open, but we are hoping until at least 7-8pm.

Here you go, it's open until 11 PM: http://www.romatermini.com/en/service/detail/left-luggage

We stayed one night pre-cruise at Hotel Traghetto for a cruise. Hotel was good enough and one of the best options in Civitavecchia.

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However, in your case, I would agree with the other posters. If you want to see Rome, you should stay somewhere in Rome. Pointless to make the trip to Civitavecchia and back to Rome and back to Civitavecchia again. It is not that near.

We stayed one night pre-cruise at Hotel Traghetto for a cruise. Hotel was good enough and one of the best options in Civitavecchia.

[YOUTUBE]RkcMx6vbHb4[/YOUTUBE]

 

However, in your case, I would agree with the other posters. If you want to see Rome, you should stay somewhere in Rome. Pointless to make the trip to Civitavecchia and back to Rome and back to Civitavecchia again. It is not that near.

We, too, like to stay at the port, that is an hour away from Rome.

OP, if your fiancee really wants to stay in Civi, you may want to stow your luggage as suggested by TravelinGert and take the train to Civi. Check the schedule for evening departures! We've only used it in the daytime. Very convenient that the train station is connected to the airport and you simply take the long walk inside. Because we had visited Rome before, we took the regular train to Trastevere station, then got off and bought another ticket to Civi.

Check out rometoolkit dot com for lots of information and maps.

We'll also be staying at Hotel Traghetto in Civi in Sept so we can walk from the train station to the hotel and then to the shuttle. Last time we stayed at Hotel San Giorgio that we will walk past on the way to Traghetto. Both of these hotels are on the 'waterfront'. (Off topic: Iluvcruising2, What did you use to make the video?)

BTW, just before leaving home, we bought tickets for the Colusseum Underground Tour and the line was much shorter. You still get to see the whole place. However, you must be there at a specific time and have a printout of your tickets ready.

Congratulations on your wedding. We celebrated our 'honeymoon' on our 25th anniversary with our first cruise to the Caribbean, better late than never! We had married on a long weekend and went back to work on Tues, lol! You will have a wonderful time!