Civitavecchia (port) // Rome by Train 2024: Your questions answered here!

[euro cruiser]

Last week Trenitalia posted an update on the Civitavecchia service for 2022.

 

The timing doesn't work for most cruise passengers unless their cruise ends in Rome but here it is.

 

There is one morning CE train departing Civitavecchia at 9:07, arriving to Roma S. Pietro at 10:00 and Roma Ostiense at 10:10.

 

There is one afternoon run departing Roma Ostiense at 16:30 (4:30 PM), stopping at Roma S. Pietro at 16:43 (4:43 PM) and arriving to Civitavecchia at 17:20 (5:20 PM).

 

The fare is 10 euro each way, or 15 euro if you purchase both tickets together.  Children up to 12 years of age ride free with an adult.  This press release doesn't specify it but usually that means one child per adult.  There is no fee for baggage.

 

You are guaranteed a seat on this train, they only sell as many tickets as they have seats, but seats are not assigned.  Note that this means if the train is sold out, any children under 12 will not get a seat.

 

Trenitalia hasn't gotten around to updating the English language page on this topic but you can read the information here using google translate, if necessary:  Ferrovie dello Stato (trenitalia.com)

[trotzoll]

Thanks @euro cruiser. We really appreciate your help!

[Host Bonjour]

Thanks so much for the update @euro cruiser Much appreciated 🙂 

[Albert_Park]

Thanks @Eurcruiser.718 seats each way doesn’t sound much. I guess I’ll have to keep checking the website for when the July tickets are released.

 

for anyone interested this is the translation

 

Rome, April 19, 2022
The Civitavecchia express, the fast connection between the port of Civitavecchia and the center of Rome, starts again.
Until November 1, 2022, 1,436 more seats will be available on the FL5 Rome-Civitavecchia line for cruise passengers who wish to visit the Eternal City from the port.
The connection will be made with two daily trains: the first with departure from Civitavecchia at 09.07 and arriving in Rome Ostiense at 10.10, the second in the afternoon with departure from Rome Ostiense at 16.30 and arrival in the port city at 17.20.
In both cases the train makes only one intermediate stop at the Roma San Pietro station.
Another peculiarity of the service is the guaranteed seat. Upon reaching the 718 seats available for each connection, the sale of tickets will be interrupted.
The ticket for a single journey costs 10 euros; the price of the round trip is instead of 15 euros. Children from 0 to 4 travel for free, while children up to 12 do not pay if accompanied by an adult. There are no additional costs for large bags.
 Tickets can be purchased from all Trenitalia sales channels.

[mapleleaves]

5 hours ago, Albert_Park said:

718 seats each way doesn’t sound much. I guess I’ll have to keep checking the website for when the July tickets are released.

 

 

 

We were on the Civi Express in Sept 2019.  IIRC there were 2 departures in each direction at that time.  

We expected it to be crowded but there were hardly any passengers ! 

I specifically remember on the return trip to Civi, there was just the 4 of us, plus 2 other couples in our train car.  We all commented that the Civi Express would probably be cancelled after such a dismal performance.  

I'll be curious to see if it gets more use this season.

 

 

[pikwe012]

With so many people disembarking in Civitavecchia I wonder why the train is not full.

Do you think many book private transfers or taxis into Rome city?

Plenty of seats available so far this May.

[Albert_Park]

8 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

 

We were on the Civi Express in Sept 2019.  IIRC there were 2 departures in each direction at that time.  

We expected it to be crowded but there were hardly any passengers ! 

I specifically remember on the return trip to Civi, there was just the 4 of us, plus 2 other couples in our train car.  We all commented that the Civi Express would probably be cancelled after such a dismal performance.  

I'll be curious to see if it gets more use this season.

 

 

That's good to know as we hopefully want to use it in July. It's a lot cheaper booking it individually than through the cruise line as they want to charge £67 per person 🤥

[mapleleaves]

There was a line at the ticket machines in Civii station, so we bought our tickets at the little shop next door.  They only sold RT tickets so we bought R/T Ostiense, then hopped off early at S Pietro.  We ended our day near the Circus Max, so caught a cab to Ostiense.   Easy.

 

Interesting to hear that the Civi Express traffic is light so far this year.   My guess is that most people disembark the ship asap and catch early trains to Rome in order to maximize their time in port.  Our train left Civi at 9:30 and left Ostiense around 4, which definitely limits your time in Rome.

 

[Carlos A.]

Once at the Civitavecchia station, how do you get to the Terminal and vice versa? 

[mapleleaves]

3 hours ago, carlosalonsor said:

Once at the Civitavecchia station, how do you get to the Terminal and vice versa? 

 

We were on NCL Epic in Sept 2019. Based on what I see in the Civi Port guide, the process is the same.    

There was a free shuttle between the pier and port entrance (Largo della Pace), then a city bus to the train staion for 2E.   ( Or you can walk from the port entrance to the station in 15-20 minutes )

 

The Civi Port Guide:    How to get to the Port of Civitavecchia | Port Mobility Civitavecchia

[trotzoll]

So I could use a little advice.

We finish our cruise in Rome and will be going to a hotel near Vatican City. I was going to book the Civi express which is at 9:07. Or I can book the regular train at 10:44. 

Here's my question. If we choose to walk off with our luggage, what time do you think would work best? I'm just not sure when they'll "kick us off" the ship to disembark. 

Also, how do I find out what dock we'll use on Wonder of the Seas?

Thanks for your help.

Edited May 1, 2022 by trotzoll

[euro cruiser]

There are no set docking locations at Civitavecchia, the port master assigns them based on which ships are in port that day.

 

"Vatican area" covers a lot of territory, you might be facing quite a walk with luggage or else a bus trip after the train.

 

As for timing, what time is your ship supposed to arrive at Civitavecchia?

 

Edited to add:

 

I just realized that Wonder of the Seas is one of the monster ships (in size), so it will likely be at #25.  I'm not sure the other berths are big enough.

Edited May 1, 2022 by euro cruiser

[trotzoll]

10 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

There are no set docking locations at Civitavecchia, the port master assigns them based on which ships are in port that day.

 

"Vatican area" covers a lot of territory, you might be facing quite a walk with luggage or else a bus trip after the train.

 

As for timing, what time is your ship supposed to arrive at Civitavecchia?

 

Edited to add:

 

I just realized that Wonder of the Seas is one of the monster ships (in size), so it will likely be at #25.  I'm not sure the other berths are big enough.

Okay. So we dock at 7A that morning. I checked the distance from S Pietro to our hotel and it's about a 15 minute walk, so we should be good with our rolling suitcases. If not, we'll grab a bus or taxi from there. 

[trotzoll]

Thank you, @euro cruiser.  You've given me so much help, and I truly appreciate it!

[euro cruiser]

The good news is that pretty much every direction from the S. Pietro station is downhill (unless you're heading under the tracks to the other side, you'd have some uphill climbing in that direction).

Edited May 1, 2022 by euro cruiser

[trotzoll]

@euro cruiserthat is good news! I'm sure we'll be beat by the end of our trip! 🤣

[sbaxt72]

I could use some help booking the Civitaveccia Express for July 2022. 

 

I am using trenitalia website and app.

 

There is nothing that pops up when you use Civitaveccia Porto as the start and Rome Termini or Ostiense station for a July date when my cruise will be in port.  Is it a specific train number and I am just missing it the long list of trains if I just use Civitaveccia as the starting point and not Porto?

 

With the limited seats and such a large ship docking (Wonder of the Seas) I am trying to book ahead to ensure a seat.

 

Any advice?  Do they not release seats until closer to the date?

[Albert_Park]

5 hours ago, sbaxt72 said:

I could use some help booking the Civitaveccia Express for July 2022. 

 

I am using trenitalia website and app.

 

There is nothing that pops up when you use Civitaveccia Porto as the start and Rome Termini or Ostiense station for a July date when my cruise will be in port.  Is it a specific train number and I am just missing it the long list of trains if I just use Civitaveccia as the starting point and not Porto?

 

With the limited seats and such a large ship docking (Wonder of the Seas) I am trying to book ahead to ensure a seat.

 

Any advice?  Do they not release seats until closer to the date?

Hi, put Civitavecchia as the start and then Roma Ostiense as the destination. If you then select the 9.07am from Civitavecchia it will give you the option to select the express train. Coming back select the 4.30pm one. It should work out at €15 per ticket. Unfortunately you can’t purchase them yet. Our sailing will be in Rome on the 14th July and I can’t book yet. Doing a mock booking it only goes up to the 9th June. Even that still shows 711 seats left.

[TheHawk1]

On 4/26/2022 at 5:56 PM, euro cruiser said:

There is one morning CE train departing Civitavecchia at 9:07, arriving to Roma S. Pietro at 10:00 and Roma Ostiense at 10:10.

 

I'm confused why they call this train Express?  It takes 53 minutes from the Port to Roma S. Pietro.  Yet there is a Regional train, departing from the Civitavecchia train station at 07:44 and arriving at Roma S. Pietro at 08:25... not only does this appear to be faster at 41 minutes travel time, but it gets you into Rome 90 minutes earlier than the express.  If you only have one day in port to tour Rome, wouldn't that be the better option?

[euro cruiser]

As I said in the beginning of this thread, "The timing doesn't work for most cruise passengers unless their cruise ends in Rome but here it is."

 

It's "express" because it doesn't make any stops, not because of speed.  it was developed to address the overcrowding complaints of residents, not to attract cruise passengers.

[TheHawk1]

Thanks for the clarification.  If the express is less crowded, (presumably because it's more expensive) do you know if the regional train I referenced above is more crowded or difficult to get seats on?

[MeHeartCruising]

1 hour ago, TheHawk1 said:

Thanks for the clarification.  If the express is less crowded, (presumably because it's more expensive) do you know if the regional train I referenced above is more crowded or difficult to get seats on?

 

I can tell you that in 2009 when I last rode the regional train into Rome from Civitavecchia, I stood in the aisle about 1/2 of the way into Rome before a seat opened up in the car I was in.  I was with my parents who were in their mid-70s in age.  We scrambled quickly, and found Mom a seat right from the start.  But my Dad stood for quite a while before a gentleman in his 20s finally stood up and gave my Dad his seat.  It was indeed a crowded trip into Rome.  Maybe things have changed in the years since, but maybe not.

Edited May 5, 2022 by MeHeartCruising

[euro cruiser]

The regional trains in the morning are always crowded with commuters heading to work in the city.  It's a tradeoff, you can wait and take a post-rush hour train or the Civitavecchia Express with fewer people but then you give up a precious hour (or more) in Rome.  You find the same situation returning to the port in the late afternoon.

 

The current train schedule doesn't offer any alternatives, perhaps when the new one is posted in June a morning Frecce will be added, offering a choice.

[bonsai3s]

On 5/4/2022 at 11:47 PM, euro cruiser said:

As I said in the beginning of this thread, "The timing doesn't work for most cruise passengers unless their cruise ends in Rome but here it is."

 

It's "express" because it doesn't make any stops, not because of speed.  it was developed to address the overcrowding complaints of residents, not to attract cruise passengers.

Euro cruiser...thanks for the info!

 

* We are arriving in Civitavecchia tomorrow, May 7, 2022, Odyssey of the Seas. Regrettably, our plan to use the express train was "crushed" by guest services onboard.....they informed us that all consecutive passengers must be onboard by 3pm....yes, 3pm.

 

* We plan to purchase BIRG tickets...spend a few hours in Rome...then make sure we are back before 3pm.

[MeHeartCruising]

1 hour ago, bonsai3s said:

Euro cruiser...thanks for the info!

 

* We are arriving in Civitavecchia tomorrow, May 7, 2022, Odyssey of the Seas. Regrettably, our plan to use the express train was "crushed" by guest services onboard.....they informed us that all consecutive passengers must be onboard by 3pm....yes, 3pm.

 

* We plan to purchase BIRG tickets...spend a few hours in Rome...then make sure we are back before 3pm.

Good luck with your trip.  I was on a Royal Caribbean B2B with a turnaround in Civitavecchia like you.  I seem to recall we also had to be back onboard around 3pm.  I also planned to use the BIRG and still go into Rome.  However, there were delays in “the process” for B2Bers that morning.  We weren’t finished with the process until close to 10:30, at which time we could get off the ship if we wanted.  We spent about 90 minutes in a room by the gangway while they worked to get the disembarking passengers off so they could zero out the passenger count.  After that was done, we were free to return to the ship public areas or get off and explore.  
 

With that late start, I decided to spend the day walking around Civitavecchia.  I had some lunch and got back on the ship some time around 1pm. 
 

I hope you have better results. 

Edited May 6, 2022 by MeHeartCruising