euro cruiser

No, you aren't doing anything wrong. There is a system-wide update in the second week of June, so many trains are not yet loaded into the system. You don't need to buy tickets in advance for a regionale train anyway, they cannot sell out.

The Italiarail tickets work fine if everything goes according to plan, the problems happen if you need to make a change, get a refund or have some other issue. Purchasing the ticket directly from the train operator works in your favor if there is a problem.

Just to be clear, it is about a 15 minute walk from the Roma S. Pietro station to the piazza in front of the basilica of St. Peter (900 meters/six-tenths of a mile), but it's much further (1.9 km/one and a quarter miles) to the entrance of the Vatican museums. It sounds like all HAL is doing is bussing you to the Civitavecchia train station and back. You can make the train ride on your own for less than 10 euro round trip.

There is a system-wide update in the second week of June, most regional trains past that date are not loaded into the system. Look at the same trip one day in the next week or two, the update won't change dramatically from that. There is absolutely no point in purchasing regional train tickets in advance. There is no seat assignment and trains cannot sell out, and the price doesn't change as it does with seat-assigned trains. Just wait and purchase on site, or on the app just before you board the train.

It's probably best to pay for a car service for the day and tell them what you want to do, then let them design the day.

From southeast PA you've probably seen the Bolt Buses or Megabuses that travel between NYC and DC, Flix is the same type of operation. Newer buses, exclusively extraurban routes.

Yes, the commuter trains are busy in the morning. Maybe it's my bias, I'd put up with almost anything to get an extra hour or two in Rome. There is a 7:44 from Civitavecchia that gets to Roma S. Pietro at 8:25, or one at 7:58, arrives 8:54, or 8:42 arrives 9:25, or 8:57 arrives 9:54. All of these get you there ahead of the CE, and each costs less than half of the CE fare. I wait until I'm at the station and buy the BIRG ticket from the newsstand in the station. This 12 euro ticket gives me round trip train fare (on the regional trains only), which is worth 9,20 euro, plus all day buses, metros and trams in Rome. One ticket for the metro, bus or tram in Rome costs 1,50 euro, so after two rides you're ahead economically. I do it for the ease of having just the one ticket to worry about, whether or not it pays out.

I know nothing about a free shuttle to the train station for Civitavecchia Express ticket holders. Here is the announcement of this year's service, which began last week and continues until November: Trenitalia: da domani torna il Civitavecchia Express - Trenitalia There is a free shuttle from your ship to the Largo della Pace shuttle stop just outside the port. From this drop off/pick up point it is 1.4 km/nine-tenths of a mile on foot to the Civitavecchia train station. It's a flat walk and easy to do if you don't have luggage. Unless there is a bus there waiting to pick up you can probably walk to the station faster than standing at Largo della Pace waiting for a bus. Unless you have a late arrival to Civitavecchia, if this is a port day I would seriously reconsider using the CE. Most ships pull in and start disembarking passengers for a port day between 7 - 7:30 AM. Why waste time waiting around for a 9:00 train? You could already be in Rome by the time that train leaves Civitavecchia.

Maybe watch Il Postino with your kids and let them see if they can find the locations in the film once on the island. The Postman (Il Postino) movie review (1995) | Roger Ebert

Unfortunately, per CC rules, share requests can only be posted on roll calls.

It's easy to take the tram down Viale Trastevere from your hotel but it's equally easy to take any of several buses from Largo Argentina (a block from your hotel) to Termini and leave from there. The benefit of Termini is that it allows you to choose a fast train (Frecce or IC) with seat assignments, because only regionale trains stop at Trastevere. Even if you decide to take a regionale, it's better to get on at Termini where you stand a decent chance of actually finding a seat. By the time that same train gets to Trastevere the odds are much, much lower.

Procida is lovely and very easy to reach from the cruise port. If you haven't yet seen Il Postino, do see that before you go. It is set on the island and much of it was filmed there.

Water taxis operate 24 hours a day.

There are three different types of trains that travel between Rome Termini and Civitavecchia. The Frecce trains are seat assigned and capacity controlled and make no stops between Termini and Civitavecchia, and these trains leave from the main track head at Termini. They are the fastest at about 50 minutes. There are only four Frecce trains each day on the current schedule. Once or twice a day there is an IC (Intercity) train. These trains are seat assigned and capacity controlled and they make one stop along the way. They take about the same amount of time as the Frecce. These trains also leave from the main track head at Termini. The other type of train are the regionales, which make up the bulk of the trains each day. These are not seat assigned or capacity controlled, so it's possible that you may stand for all or part of the trip. These train make between five to ten stops along the way and 70 - 85 minutes to make the trip. These trains leave from the southern regional tracks at Termini, which are located on the Via Giolitti side of the station. It's about one third of a mile from the main track head to these tracks. The easiest way to see the train schedule is to go to the source, Trenitalia. Don't look at your actual travel date unless it's very soon, just pick the same day of the week in the next week or two, that will show you what will be. They don't load all of the regional trains into the system very far in advance, which is why you just look at a close-in date. EN - Trenitalia

I think at this point your tradeoff is between an expensive car service with door-to-door service vs. changing the flight for the next day and paying for a hotel in Venice. I can't imagine a scenario in which the latter is a better economic deal, but it would be the less stressful experience. If you decide to keep your existing flight, I would start leaning hard on RCI to let you off ASAP. Another option, what is your penultimate port? Perhaps it would be less stressful to get off there and make your way to Venice.

Much depends on whether this is a non-stop international flight or if there is a stop somewhere within the Schengen area first. If the former, you need to be at the airport by about 8:30, if the later by 9:30. This is not an overly conservative measure, Venice Marco Polo is one of the most disorganized and busy airports in Italy (maybe in the world). It's about two and a half hours by car from Ravenna to Marco Polo, assuming no traffic tie-ups. My first question to RCI would be how possible will it be to disembark by 6:00 AM (if a non-stop, international flight, or 7 AM for a connection).

You're not going to get five people and luggage into one taxi anyway.

IF you can get a taxi to take you it will be at least 25 euro to travel a little more than a mile. Be sure they will take you all the way to the terminal or ship and not just drop you at the shuttle bus stop. For that price they ought to provide a song and dance as well, but they won't. The bus is expensive, it's more than the cost of the train from Rome to Civitavecchia. The price is the same 6 euro whether you buy the ticket on board the bus or from Trenitalia. However, they have a captive audience and very few cabs willing to make the trip, so ...

I suspect that you are looking at a date too far in the future. I just did a pass using tomorrow's date and had no problem getting solutions that include the train and the bus. Are you on the web site or the app? I don't bother with the app and so can't answer any questions about that.

The train is fairly easy, and there will be a couple of hundred other cruise passengers doing the same thing so you'll have company. Many of them will have done it before. Some lines offer a transfer to the train station, if Celebrity does, that's the easiest way to get there. It will be ridiculously expensive, but worth it to avoid the hassle. If they don't they will have a shuttle bus to get out of the port, it's a large industrial port that you cannot walk around. The drop off point for the shuttle buses is at Piazza del Municipio in Livorno. Livorno Centrale train station is one and a half miles from the drop off point. You can walk, take a taxi, or a public bus to get there. The morning trains to Florence (the station is Firenze S.M. Novella) are all direct (they make stops, but you don't need to change). There are trains at 8:12, 8:49, and 9:12 and the fare is only 10,40 euro. You can buy the tickets from English language machines at the station or download the app and buy them in advance. The Trenitalia web site is here: EN - Trenitalia Even though those are the English language pages you still must use the Italian names for the stations, in this case Livorno Centrale and Firenze S.M. Novella.

With this opportunity I would do the overnight in Florence, a bigger city with more offerings in terms of both restaurants and hotels. After all, you'll be on the sea every day on the ship but you only have a day in Florence. You could take the train to Florence on your own on day one, see as much of the city as possible and overnight there, then have a driver pick you up in the morning for a Tuscany and winery tour, with a stop in Pisa on the way back to the port.

And the same newsstand that sells the RT tickets also sells the BIRG, which gives you the round trip regional train fare as well as unlimited buses, metros and trams in Rome, all for just 12 euro.

I think it depends on what you're looking to see/learn. Herculeneum is fascinating but not as a substitute for Pompei; the only thing it has in common with Pompei is that it was destroyed on the same day, by the same explosion. Everything else is different, starting with the type of town it was (a small, seaside resort type town vs. a large, fully functioning city), the way it was destroyed (ash and volcanic mud, vs. gas and lava), and how it was discovered and preserved. They're both worth your time and attention, it's a tough choice to make but port days force that. I agree that a licensed tour guide is essential for bringing the sites to life. Guides in Italy must study for years and pass comprehensive tests in order to get their license, they know what they are talking about. At Pompei it's easy to join a small group tour, or arrange a private one, at the entrance: Guided tours - Pompeii Sites It's a little more difficult at Herculeneum as they don't guarantee that guides will be available, as they do at Pompei.

Here are the primary transportation options on your own: SITA bus from Piazza Immacolatella (four-tenths of a mile from the cruise port) to Pompei, the stop is two-tenths of a mile from the Porta Marina entrance to the ruins. This is the closest public transit option from the port and it's the fastest way to get there. The downside is that there are only a few runs each morning. Bus schedule here. Circumvesuviana local train from Porta Nolana (1.3 miles from the cruise port) to Pompei Scavi. You can use the tram in the street in front of the cruise port to get to the station. The stop in Pompei is just around the corner from the Porta Marina entrance to the ruins. The only upsides to this option, in my opinion, are the frequent schedule (two each hour) and the closeness of the stop to the entrance/exit. Otherwise it is wildly overcrowded, hot, few seats available and a pickpocket's dream. Circumvesuviana schedule here. Trenitalia train plus bus from Napoli Centrale (1.7 miles from the cruise port) to Pompei, followed by the Trenitalia bus to the Pompei Scavi stop on Viale G. Mazzini (the same place the SITA bus drops off), two-tenths of a mile from the Porta Marina entrance to the ruins. Trenitalia information here. City Sightseeing Pompei Shuttle bus from Piazza Municipio/Largo Castello (six-tenths of a mile from the cruise port). The stop in Pompei is right at the Porta Marina entrance. This is much more expensive than the public transportation options (prices start at 20 euro per person) and there are set times that cannot be changed (if you leave at time A you must return at time B), but it's more comfortable for some folks. City Sightseeing web site here. It's probably obvious from the way I've written this, but in my opinion the SITA bus is the best alternative. It's close to the cruise port, there's a ticket office at the bus depot (buy two tickets in the morning, so you have the return ticket in hand), the bus starts from this point so it generally leaves right on time, you are almost guaranteed a seat, the AC works (at least in my experience) and it's fast.

I have not done this excursion (nor any other to Pompei, for that matter) but I can affirm that it is very, very easy to do this on your own. There are bus and train options to get there and back as well as a slightly more expensive shuttle bus that avoids public transportation, if that's an issue.