euro cruiser

Orvieto is a good choice, but it's a pain to get to from Civitavecchia. Train connections require you to travel south to Rome, then turn around and go north to Orvieto. You could travel by bus but that requires a change in Viterbo and difficult connection times (either too tight, or lots of time between). A car service is the best, but most expensive, option. What is drawing you to Orvieto? Are there things in particular that you like to do or see? Periods of history of particular interest? There are other options that wouldn't require you to change hotels but would require an early morning car service or taxi ride, places like Tivoli (would require a car service from Tivoli to Rome for the flight), or Castel Gandolfo (would also require a taxi or car service into Rome to get the airport train as the local train won't run early enough).

As I've said on other threads, I think it's deceptive marketing for cruise lines to sell La Spezia as a port for Florence. Obviously, given Florence's location in the middle of the country, any port will be a trek. Livorno is bad enough (90 km/50+ miles) but at least there are major highways the entire route and fairly straightforward train connections. To call La Spezia (150 km/90 miles) a port for Florence is ridiculous. Fortunately, there are so many wonderful options much closer to La Spezia. No, they are not Florence, but some places are better seen on a land trip.

What time of year? How early is your flight home/how long of a trip to the airport will be acceptable?

The six euro bus goes directly to either your ship or the cruise terminal your ship is using, whichever is relevant.

Also, be sure to check both high speed train operators to find the best combination of timing and pricing for your trip. You can save quite a lot on the price of the tickets if you purchase in advance but note that discounted tickets are difficult or impossible to exchange or get a refund on if you change your mind later. Consider, for example, if if was pouring down rain on the day you planned to go to the coast. Would you still go? If so, saving the money with the advance purchase ticket may make sense for you. If not, you might want to wait and pay the higher price but preserve your flexibility. It is extremely unlikely that these trains would sell out, the worst thing that is likely to happen is that you can't get the class you want, or you can't get seats together. If you do purchase in advance, buy directly from the train operators (links below), not from third party sales sites. Also note that there is no financial benefit to purchasing both tickets from one operator, so find the two best train times for you, regardless of who runs them. EN - Trenitalia Italo, italian high-speed train | Book no service fee | italotreno.it For the longest possible day on the coast, you would take the 6:00 Italotreno from Rome Termini to Salerno. This allows you to catch the first ferry from Salerno to Positano at 8:40, arriving just before 10 AM. At the other end of the day, assuming you've moved on from Positano to some of the other villages, the last ferry from Amalfi to Salerno departs at 19:10 and arrives at 19:45, which would allow you to get the 21:28 Italotreno back to Rome. Of course there are earlier return options, but those are the two that give you the longest day on the coast, about twelve hours.

Here is the link for the ferry service between Salerno and the coast. Check again shortly before your trip to be sure you have the latest timetable. Travelmar ferry timetables - Fast ferries on the Amalfi Coast

When is your TA? It's an easy day trip, after all you can nap on the way down and back if you need to. I don't know if I would bother if your TA is deep into November, much along the coast will be closed down by then. However, if it's an earlier crossing that would allow you to make this day trip in late October, go for it.

Hank, are you sure about purchasing the BIRG from the Trenitalia ticket windows? I do know you can get it from the newsstand inside the station, as well as some shops nearby but I'm not sure about the ticket windows, as this is an ATAC ticket, not one issued by Trenitalia.

The on-line check in process is just for tickets purchased through the app. Paper tickets purchased in the station still require validation on the platform. The BIRG still exists and is still just 12 euro. BIRG (atac.roma.it)

I've stayed a couple of times at the Machiavelli Palace hotel, reasonably priced and just five minutes on foot from the train station (about two-tenths of a mile). 3 Star Hotel in the Historic Center of Florence - Hotel Machiavelli Palace

Yes, it's quite doable and, in fact, with an overnight is the only way I'd see Florence from La Spezia. The cruise lines are getting far too lenient in their definitions of ports.

Are you looking at a ship's excursion or DIY touring? Also, what kinds of things are you each interested in? It's possible to do a little of both, by jumping on the first ferry after arrival, then returning in the early afternoon for a few hours in Naples before reboarding. What are your hours in port?

Yes, the train between the cities but you are right that a car is really necessary to get around the small towns and vineyards of Tuscany. Passes are almost never a good deal for trains in Italy, just buy point-to-point tickets. Check both Trenitalia and Italotreno to get the best combination of timing and price for your travel. EN - Trenitalia Italo, italian high-speed train | Book no service fee | italotreno.it

You can pay for a private transfer to Venice Piazzale Roma, the end of the road, and get a vaporetto or a private water taxi from there. Easier, perhaps, is the Arriva Veneto water bus, line #80: Orari e percorsi - Arriva Veneto

There is a Frecce train from Venice Mestre at 10:11 that arrives to Trieste at 12:05. With this train you get assigned seating and more room for luggage. There is a second one in the late afternoon, departing Mestre at 17:40 and arriving to Trieste at 19:27. EN - Trenitalia

It all depends on how crowded the train is, and there's no way to predict that. You might be more comfortable with a bus that has secure luggage storage underneath the carriage. Flixbus offers direct runs from either Venice Tronchetto or the Venice Mestre train station throughout the day. https://www.flixbus.com/

Yes. We spent well over an hour in the museum and could have used more time.

Yes, and the article was written to be sensational, otherwise who would read it? The strike was known, alternate transportation could have been arranged well in advance. For any publisher to allow an undefined term like "frequent" is just shoddy journalism. How often is "frequent"? Is it 10% of the time, 50%, 90%? The phrase communicates nothing.

This just isn't true. Maybe it was when your wife lived there, but laws have changed and now strikes must be announced weeks in advance. Wildcat strikes are almost unheard of, the last one I can remember was Alitalia employees when the airline was going out of business.

Many of the runs right now are substituting buses for the first leg, from Chioggia, but there are still some trains departing. You might consider getting a taxi to Padua, from there you can get a direct train to Milan and won't have to worry about making a change.

Yes, there are. I only listed the early ones because most ships are in port well before 10. There is a slightly more expensive and slightly faster (1 hour) train at 11:45, that's the first one after 10 AM. This train is an IC, which means you get assigned seats, and it only makes two stops between Naples and Paestum. The price of this train does go up a bit, the advance purchase price is 9,90 euro while the last minute price is 12,50. For the return there is a regional train at 15:21 (3:21 PM) that arrives to Napoli Centrale at 16:38 (4:38 PM). It's unfortunate that your arrival is so late, it means that you'd only have two and a half hours at the ruins and the museum. Perhaps you can find others from your sailing who'd be willing to split the cost of a car service in the morning, then you can use the train to get back.

It takes about an hour and a quarter, by direct train from Napoli Centrale to Paestum. There are trains departing at 7:35, 7:50, and 8:50 (seven days a week). The fare is 7,60 euro. These are regional trains, which means they cannot sell out and there are no seat assignments, so there's no point in purchasing the tickets in advance. EN - Trenitalia From the Paestum train station to the ruins and the museum (which is excellent, don't miss it) is an easy, flat walk of 1 km/six-tenths of a mile. museopaestum.cultura.gov.it The simplest way to get to Napoli Centrale from the cruise port is the metro. The new entrance to the Municipio/Porto station is directly in front of the cruise port.

Magari potrei monetizzare questo talento! 🙄

The city of Genova has a pretty good tourism web site: Home | Visitgenoa

What was the cost of the tour?