train from Rome to Civi - can take luggage?

[CCJack]

Trying to figure out how to get from our central Rome hotel to the ship port. Train is much cheaper than car. Will luggage be a problem for us, in terms of storage or theft on the train... Anyone done this? thanks.

[cruisemom42]

Many people do it (including myself.)

 

On the regional trains, there isn't a lot of room for bags. Only very small bags will fit in the racks overhead. There are some places where you can pile luggage at the ends of some (but not all) cars. Sometimes people will just pile it in and between seats.

 

The most demanding parts when making this trip are 1) getting the luggage on and off the train, as there are steps to negotiate and limited time; 2) in Civitavecchia, depending on what track you arrive on, you may have to manhandle your luggage down and up a flight of stairs.

 

Once outside the Civitavecchia train station, it's a level, easy walk of about 5 blocks to the port entrance, where free shuttles will pick you up and take you to your ship.

[Clay Clayton]

Cruisemom42 (that doesnt imply you have 42 kids does it?:eek:)

We have booked ourselves on the Intercity (faster) train in 2nd class leaving Termini at 10:30 on the day of our cruise. We did that because we understood there was more room for luggage and hopefully since seat reservations were required, less people crowding to find a place. Are our understandings correct?

 

jwith2 boys(i presume that implies you only have 2 kids..not an overachiever like CruiseMom I see:D)

If Cruisemom tells me that we done good, you might want to look into the Intercity trains. We paid 9euros each so one or two more than the slower and non-reserved trains but still less than half of what it would have cost the four of us to get a private car) I got lots of what I hope was good info about trains from the website Man in Seat 61.

[suec12]

We have taken the regional trains that terminate at Civt. - if the train you have chosen does not terminate there (and being the IC, I'm thinking not) be aware you need to be ready to GET OFF the train quickly. It will not stop long and it will not stop again for quite a few miles. Maybe you are aware of these facts but I mention them for you and others taking the train because we have met others that did not know this and ended up not getting off and not being able to disembark for another 45 minutes or so, resulting in a mad dash to make it to the boat before it sailed.

[cruisemom42]

Cruisemom42 (that doesnt imply you have 42 kids does it?:eek:)

We have booked ourselves on the Intercity (faster) train in 2nd class leaving Termini at 10:30 on the day of our cruise. We did that because we understood there was more room for luggage and hopefully since seat reservations were required, less people crowding to find a place. Are our understandings correct?

 

jwith2 boys(i presume that implies you only have 2 kids..not an overachiever like CruiseMom I see:D)

If Cruisemom tells me that we done good, you might want to look into the Intercity trains. We paid 9euros each so one or two more than the slower and non-reserved trains but still less than half of what it would have cost the four of us to get a private car) I got lots of what I hope was good info about trains from the website Man in Seat 61.

 

 

Getting the IC train is certainly a reasonable choice. I'm not sure there is much more room for luggage, but you do at least have an assigned seat.

 

I've found that trains tend not to be extremely crowded when you are heading to Civitavecchia at the "off-peak" hours that are typical for embarkation. The more crowded trains are the mid- to late-afternoon ones when all the daytrippers are trying to get back to their ship before sailing.

 

As long as you travel from Rome to Civitavecchia in the neighborhood of 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, you probably won't have crowding issues.

 

(I say this with the caveat that most of my travel has been in the off-season. I have no direct experience with doing this route in the summer months when there are likely to be more ships in port.)

 

P.S. Definitely NOT a mom to 42! :eek: More of an inside joke related to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- 42 being the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.

[Girr]

I've taken the train both times I've sailed out of Civit, and came away with two different experiences. Going out has been a breeze as for the most part not everyone is traveling at the same time toward Civit. Thus there are plenty of seats and I could just leave my luggage in the seat next to me. (The closer to noon though the train will be fuller.) Coming back the train was just horrible. The train was at full capacity -- and by this I mean standing room only -- packed in like sardines standing room:eek:. It was stressful to say the least in trying to keep an eye on two young family members (yes we were separated, but thankfully in the same car) and our luggage which had to be left in the versibule (actually by this time we got into town I could have cared less if someone had stolen them!).

 

Things to keep in mind: 1) if you take the local train out of termini it will be on a platform about a 10 minutes from the front of the station. However, you can minimize the walk by either entering from the side entrance or using the people mover on the lower level. 2) Keep you luggage to a minimum and something you can easily handle. I don't know if your boys are going and/or their ages, but if they are young and you're having to carry all their stuff it won't be fun. 3) As already mentioned a lot of the trains are not just one step on/off (although they new cars are-just not enough of them) so for the most part you have to be able to hoist your bags up a steep two to three stairs. If I'm traveling with someone one of us normally gets on first and then the other lefts while the other pulls it on.

[Clay Clayton]

We have taken the regional trains that terminate at Civt. - if the train you have chosen does not terminate there (and being the IC, I'm thinking not) be aware you need to be ready to GET OFF the train quickly. It will not stop long and it will not stop again for quite a few miles. Maybe you are aware of these facts but I mention them for you and others taking the train because we have met others that did not know this and ended up not getting off and not being able to disembark for another 45 minutes or so, resulting in a mad dash to make it to the boat before it sailed.

 

Thanks for the reminder. I had forgotten but we will be ready to jump!

[scottbee]

Getting the IC train is certainly a reasonable choice. I'm not sure there is much more room for luggage, but you do at least have an assigned seat.

 

I've found that trains tend not to be extremely crowded when you are heading to Civitavecchia at the "off-peak" hours that are typical for embarkation. The more crowded trains are the mid- to late-afternoon ones when all the daytrippers are trying to get back to their ship before sailing.

 

As long as you travel from Rome to Civitavecchia in the neighborhood of 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, you probably won't have crowding issues.

 

(I say this with the caveat that most of my travel has been in the off-season. I have no direct experience with doing this route in the summer months when there are likely to be more ships in port.)

 

P.S. Definitely NOT a mom to 42! :eek: More of an inside joke related to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- 42 being the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.

 

Our train was pretty much nothing but cruisers when we went last November, not difficult at all, we took a 10:30ish regional train out of Termini (which did indeed leave from Platform 27, which is on the south side of the station, about 3 blocks east of the main entrance).

 

There will be plenty of people that will say you're crazy (and may even demonize in your roll call if you try to defend it), but it's an easy way to save a heap of money, in exchange for an easy 4 block walk from Civitavecchia to the port entrance.

 

and dont forget that: 6 x 9 = 42 (in base 13)

[euro cruiser]

If you are staying in Rome the night before, and therefore have more control over your timing, you can safely purchase a ticket in advance; doing so you can get a Frecciabianca train for only 9 Euro (even first class). This eliminates the long walk at Termini to the auxiliary tracks where the regional trains leave from. You'd have a guaranteed seat as well.

[vivian02]

We had this situation happen to us back in May of 2007. We arrived at FCO and took the train to Rome. No big deal since I booked a hotel four blocks from the train station. The next morning I went over to the train station a purchased two first class tickets on the IC for the next day. I knew this would making the wife feel very safe with assigned seats. Every thing was fine until we arrived at the station only to find out that our train was six hours late!?# We boarded the intercity train and got to the port without any issues other than we spent money on the IC for nothing. So much for the assigned seats. Since then we have used the intercity train with no problems. Tim