Boarding Process in Civitavecchia

[San10s]

Greetings! :D

 

Heading off to Rome in 10 days....and then boarding the Noordam on October 31st.

 

I would appreciate some details about how the check-in and boarding process takes place in Civitavecchia from folks who ...."have been there...done that"...please. :)

 

Is there a large (or small) terminal / building to go to first?

Do you take your luggage to the pier or drop it off somewhere else?

If there is a terminal....is there a store in the terminal?

Do you take a shuttle to the ship from a terminal?

What else should I know?

 

 

I have been on a cruise that stopped in Civitavecchia before but never started a cruise there. I would like to know what to expect.

 

Thanks for your replies! :D

[jtl513]

We boarded in Civ. seven years ago, and I really don't remember clearly, but I believe there must have been some sort of a terminal where we checked in and had our photos taken for the key-card.

 

In our case we had a pre-cruise night in Rome and a HAL shuttle to the pier, and I remember our bags being tagged and taken as they came off the bus. Every cruise we've been on our bags have been taken either just outside or inside a terminal, I think.

 

When you stopped at Civ, wasn't there some type of building where you had to go through a checkpoint getting off and back on?

 

I don't think you'll need to "know" anything - you'll be told just what to do at the time. Relax! :):)

[taxmantoo]

Greetings! :D

Is there a large (or small) terminal / building to go to first? Terminal building just like Fort Lauderdale

Do you take your luggage to the pier or drop it off somewhere else? Drop it off just before entering terminal building, just like Fort Lauderdale

If there is a terminal....is there a store in the terminal? No store, just like Fort Lauderdale

Do you take a shuttle to the ship from a terminal? No, just go from the terminal building to the ship, just like Fort Lauderdale

What else should I know? Shuttle from the port entrance to the terminal building ... NOT like Fort Lauderdale

 

 

I have been on a cruise that stopped in Civitavecchia before but never started a cruise there. I would like to know what to expect.

 

Thanks for your replies! :D

Close your eyes and you will think you are in Fort Lauderdale ;)

[pris993]

Greetings! :D

 

Heading off to Rome in 10 days....and then boarding the Noordam on October 31st.

 

I would appreciate some details about how the check-in and boarding process takes place in Civitavecchia from folks who ...."have been there...done that"...please. :)

 

Is there a large (or small) terminal / building to go to first?

Do you take your luggage to the pier or drop it off somewhere else?

If there is a terminal....is there a store in the terminal?

Do you take a shuttle to the ship from a terminal?

What else should I know?

 

 

I have been on a cruise that stopped in Civitavecchia before but never started a cruise there. I would like to know what to expect.

 

Thanks for your replies! :D

 

We have gotten on and off on various cruises lines in Civitavecchia.

 

Assume you are using the ships transfer since you did not mention anything. Would guess they will direct you and it will be very easy.

 

We always use a private transfer to the ship, Romecabs.com We book this ourselves. We simply direct our driver to take us to the ship, can't miss it in port. Port workers will tell the driver how to get there.

 

The port area is large, there is no specific terminal building, usually there is a tented area for drop off of luggage and check in near the ship. It is very simple and well organized.

 

No stores at the port.

 

We last got off the NCL last April, so our experience is current. Will be going again on HAL, in October 2014 boarding the Nieuw Amsterdam.

[Sopwith]

We boarded the Noordam there in June. There is a terminal building similar to other ports, which is close by the ship. Our taxi (Romecabs, as someone else mentioned) pulled up outside, we dropped the bags and checked in fairly normally. The only glitch was that they were doing a disinfection for norovirus, so the boarding was delayed for a couple of hours. We were notified in advance, so we arrived a little later than planned. Because of this the terminal was a little crowded, but the check in took less than 30 minutes, after which we waited about 45 minutes before boarding. Considering the circumstances I think they handled it fairly well.

 

There is no store at the terminal, or anywhere inside the port gates that I could see.

[ScriptOhio]

Here are the numbered cruise docks:

 

 

The black areas are (temporary, wood and canvas) cruise terminals:

 

and

 

They are not as large or as specious as Ft Lauderdale; however, they do have a luggage drop off, check in, and waiting areas. There is no shopping and/or stores at the terminal.

 

If you come bus bus/taxi, they will drop you off at the terminal.

 

If you come by train and/or want to be dropped off in Civitavecchia (for shopping) there is a free shuttle at the port entrance to the terminal. The sport shuttle buses have a sign in the window to designate which cruise ship they go to and they do take luggage.

 

 

The pick up spot is right in front of Ft. Michelangelo at the port entrance.

 

and

 

continued

[ScriptOhio]

continued

 

There is a pedestrian gate there. And there are some shops just outside the gate. The town has a nice promenade and is pedestrian friendly.

 

 

If you arrive at the terminal early you can drop off your luggage, take the free port shuttle back to the entrance, and walk into the town Civitavecchia. Then when ready, take the free shuttle back to the terminal, etc.

[HALrunner]

We boarded the Noordam there last October. It was by far the easiest boarding process we have experienced. We showed up just after noon and there were absolutely no lines. The super friendly porters met our driver and they handled our bags. We walked about 10 meters into the terminal, went through security, were handed our key cards (skipped the HAL photos) and walked right onto the ship. The whole process took about 10 minutes. I wish I was joining you!

[AZNative2000]

Thank you ScriptOhio!

 

I have copied your map to take with us to board the Noordam in 13 days.:D

 

And HALrunner, thank you for relating your first-hand experience.:D

 

Cheers!

[San10s]

Thank you ALL for your posts and information. :)

 

I knew we would figure it all out and after 28 cruises, I wasn't concerned..... rather interested to know what the process would be like.

 

Thank you for the photos and maps ScriptOhio!! :D Your details are wonderful and have now put a 'face' on everything! I know many of the folks from my Roll Call will be glad to have them too.

 

2 weeks from today we will be boarding the Noordam! :D

[gigianne]

As the others have already posted - I too add my thanks for the information - takes away some of the uncertainty.