Port to Rome

Morning everyone,

It's not too long until our first cruise so the planning is getting under day in earnest. We are on the Med cruise aboard the Q.V. in July.

At the moment I am looking at going to Rome from the port of Civitavecchia. We like to do our own thing and so not too keen on the organised excursions. I believe that you can get a high speed train from a station not too far from the ports cruise terminals.

I would appreciate any further information from anyone who has done their own thing in this way please.

thanks

Graham

Take the free bus to the port drop off point and as you leave, walk down the sea front keeping the sea on your right hand side. The train station is approx 20 minutes walk. When you get there ask for a "BIRG" ticket which covers your return train travel on local trains to Rome and unlimited underground (metro) use in Rome for the day. If you are doing this do not forget to authorise your ticket at one of the machines on the platform before boarding. You can either get off the train at the stop for st Peter's which is close to the Vatican and st Peter's basilica, or carry on to Rome terminali. If you dont want to use the underground there are tour busses available at the terminali station. If you enjoy walking and the weather is not too hot, you can walk to most of the sights. The train journey is just over an hour each way so we would recommend this if you have a long time in port.

Take the free bus to the port drop off point and as you leave, walk down the sea front keeping the sea on your right hand side. The train station is approx 20 minutes walk. When you get there ask for a "BIRG" ticket which covers your return train travel on local trains to Rome and unlimited underground (metro) use in Rome for the day. If you are doing this do not forget to authorise your ticket at one of the machines on the platform before boarding. You can either get off the train at the stop for st Peter's which is close to the Vatican and st Peter's basilica, or carry on to Rome terminali. If you dont want to use the underground there are tour busses available at the terminali station. If you enjoy walking and the weather is not too hot, you can walk to most of the sights. The train journey is just over an hour each way so we would recommend this if you have a long time in port.

Great, thanks for the information Happy Cruisers 67. I understand we are in port for the day, leaving early evening. So provided we are able to get off the ship in a reasonable time, should get the chance for a good "taster" visit of Rome.

Please allow plenty of time to return to port as the trains can often miss.

Civitavecchia is the port where more people miss the return to port time.

Also, when looking for your train track in Rome, don't forget that they don't list individual stops, rather they use the last stop for the listing, such as Roma-XX. The usual track for the train that stops in Civitaveccia is the last one on the right hand side of the station, I think #27. But do check as this was a couple of years ago.

Thanks for the advice guys.

😀😀👍👍

Please allow plenty of time to return to port as the trains can often miss.

Civitavecchia is the port where more people miss the return to port time.

Couldn't agree more, would not be the first time that trains have been running in the morning but on strike in the afternoon! I wouldn't trust Italian trains to get me back to catch a cruise ship.

We did Civitaveccia to Rome last year from P&O Oceana, we caught the shuttle bus and then walked to the station, but on our return we walked back to the ship and the distance is not much more than from the shuttle bus.

We caught the train with a return ticket which didn't include the metro, as we knew we wouldn't use it, we got of at the St Peter's basilica stop, walked to the Vatican and spent a while looking around, we then walked from one site to another making our way to the Coliseiam, then made our way to Roma termini station for our return train.

We did a lot of walking but it was worthwhile but as someone else has said the platform is I think 27 and it's a good walk within the station.

We caught the first shuttle in the morning and got back to the ship around 7-8 ish and we were totally worn out.

Our advice would be plan what you want to see and plan a route on Google maps it will give you an idea of distance, most of all have a good time.

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Is there anything worthwhile to see or do in Civitavecchia?

walksonwater..... on the QM2 in april '18, we visited a local winery not too far from Civitavecchia. It was a ship sponsored tour, and quite pleasant. I would N E V E R do a trip to Rome when the ship was leaving the same day ( evening). That's just TOOOOO risky, with crazy Rome-traffic and unpredictable trains.

2 yrs ago, on QE we had an overnight at the port of Civit. + we went into Rome, on our own, and stayed the night in Rome at a hotel, therefore had almost 2 days in the city.

Whatever you do---- ENJOY!

One wonderful alternative can be done if you have Civitavecchia/Rome and Livorno/Florence on adjacent days (especially if you don't board there). Inform the ship that you'll be spending the evening off-ship and pack a small overnight bag. In the morning, go to the first city (either by your own means or a ship's bus), enjoy the city, and wave goodbye to your shipmates as you continue to enjoy Rome, have a nice dinner, and spend the night in a hotel in Rome. The next morning, you can take a quick train to Florence, have a nice breakfast, and rejoin your shipmates later in the morning. You may choose to take a ship shuttle back to the ship. (and, if it works out, you may be able to stash your bags in the bus for the day). We've not done it, but I know people who have and swear by it. Of course, there are many variations on when to take the train and where to stay, but the fact remains that for ship passengers, almost ten hours can be wasted on hot boring busses back and forth to Rome and Florence on two consecutive days, but with some planning and expense, you can cut that time in half and extend your experiences in two spectacular cities.

Also, I recommend taking a personal walking tour of Rome if you need to pack as much as possible into limited time. I can HGHLY recommend Through Eternity Tours. With a skilled guide and a customized itinerary, you can see three times more (and much more personally) than on a larger tour. We used them and have recommended them to friends - one of whom reported that their guide met them on his day off to show them an attraction that he knew they'd enjoy, but which was closed, gratis.

- Mark

hihilo: Thanks for your response. Went to Rome years ago (over Thanksgiving, when I filled my suitcases with all the fixins that defrosted on the red eye), saw the sites with our daughter who was studying there. I have no need to go back. A winery tour sounds good. I also saw a tour that goes to a town 20 minutes north of Civitavecchia and visits catacombs and such. Sounds interesting.

QM2 April 18. One day visit.

Took organised trip Highlights of Rome. About 8 hours.

Saw all the old stuff then coach to Vatican. Left there to explore. Sounded great. BUT there were 5 ships in including a huge RCI job. Rome was packed mainly with cruise pax doing excursions. It was a 2 hour queue to get into St Peters basilica. Much longer to get into Sistine Chapel. And this was considered pretty much normal.

The day before there had been 11 ships in AND 10000 Liverpool fans in for the footie. The guide said it had been a ‘challenging ‘ day.

Maybe time they need to put a limit on number of ships in per day.

Not a pleasant experience.

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Do not be put off by the huge queues for St Peter's we were there 2 weeks ago on a glorious day and the queue was massive but very quickly moved and we didnt have to wait any longer than 30 minutes to get inside. Definitely worth the wait though once inside.