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

[BubbaBoat]

Hi.  We arrive in Civitavecchia on August 18th via RL's Wonder of the Seas.  We arrive in port at 7am.  We'd like to hop a train into Rome as I hear it's much quicker than hopping on a tour bus.  I hope someone out there can help answer a few questions:

 

1.  How long of a walk is it from the port for Wonder to the train station?  If it's too long, what type of traffic jam are we looking at for grabbing a taxi or bus?

 

2.  Are the trains packed like cattle cars?  Is there a way to guarantee a seat?

 

3.  What station do the trains arrive at in Rome and is it easy to snag a taxi once we arrive.

 

4.  What is the Zoo like on the way back to Civitavecchia at the Rome station?  If the cruise ship heads out at 8PM, what's the latest we should be leaving Rome?

 

Thanks in advance for your tips and advice.

[euro cruiser]

Wonder is one of the biggest ships so it will likely be at pier 25.  You cannot walk from there, you'll have to take the free port shuttle to the exit at Largo della Pace.  From there to the train station is a one mile, flat walk in pretty much a straight line.  There is also a local bus, but unless it happens to be loading when you arrive at the stop you'll probably get there faster on foot.

[euro cruiser]

There are several different types of trains.  The most frequent are the regionals, which do not have assigned seats and do get packed like cattle cars.

 

For more money you can get seat assigned trains like the ICs or the Frecces.  There is also the Civitavecchia Express.  This tourist train does not have assigned seats but you are guaranteed a seat as they only sell as many tickets as there are seats.

[pikwe012]

If you search Civitavecchia on this site you will get answers from previous cruisers.

We disembarked Odyssey of the Seas in June. 

If you have a ship tour booked you get off first.

Otherwise you are given a time. 

There is a free shuttle to the train station just close by where the ship docks.  The cruise line don't tell you as they want $25 US to take you on the ten minute drive to the station. No traffic jams. 

Which train you get depends on where in Rome you are going. We prebooked seats on the 9.16 Frecce train to Rome Termini. Handy for the colosseum.  It goes direct. No stops.

Earlier trains stop at other stations.  

Trenitalia is the name of the booking platform.

However we got on in the wrong carriage and with suitcases couldn't get past people standing.  We did just sit where we were as we did pay for first class seats.

Lots of people from the ships were buying tickets at the train station. 

There is a taxi stand outside Rome Termini station and no problem getting one. They do drive fast and it was a scary ride.

No doubt you will get more replies and there will be cruisers on your ship who have done it before and can help.

 

 

 

 

[pikwe012]

It's too long a walk from ship to station especially if hot.  We had luggage as our cruise finished in Civitavecchia. It's a bit of a zoo when so many want to reach the station at the same time but everyone got on a train that wanted to while we were waiting for our train which was about an hour. Figure out which two or three places you would like to see in Rome and which station is closest then pick your train.

[euro cruiser]

On August 18th, a weekday, there are seven regional trains between 7 - 9 AM.

 

Given the size of the ship and the disembarkation procedures I would not count on getting anything earlier than 8 AM. 

 

As noted above, the regional trains stop at several different stations in Rome. Unless your first stop in the city is right near Termini station it's a waste of time to stay on the train to that stop, get off at one of the earlier stations instead.

 

For timing perspective, the 7:58 regional train arrives to Termini at 9:18.

 

The first train with assigned seats is the 9:16 Frecciabianca that arrives to Termini at 10:03 (non stop).

 

The first train with assigned seats that stops before Termini is the 9:24 IC train that arrives to Roma Ostiense at 10:15 (non stop).  From Ostiense you can get the metro for two stops and be at the Colosseum.

 

You can see the train schedules here:  EN - Trenitalia

 

Note that even on the English language pages you must use the Italian names for the cities.

[euro cruiser]

On the way back you won't have the same issues with other cruisers as your ship stays in port quite a bit later than most.  You are, however, heading back to Civitavecchia along with many local residents who use the train to commute to the city for work.

 

The all-aboard time for smaller ships is generally thirty minutes prior but with a large ship it may be more like an hour, so you'd need to plan to be back by 7 PM.

 

Allowing a half hour to get from the train station to the ship, whether on foot or by bus, that means a train that arrives by 6:30.

 

The wisest way to approach this is to take the train before the one that gets you back in time, just in case.

 

In this case, that would mean the 17:12 (5:12 PM) regionale arriving at 18:17 (6:17 PM) is that last one that would get you back in time.  The regional train before this departs at 16:42 and arrives at 18:05.  This would be the safe one.

 

There is another option for the return, a Frecciabiana that departs Rome Termini at 16:57 and arrives to Civitavecchia at 17:44 (non stop).  This train has assigned seating.

Edited August 8, 2022 by euro cruiser

[euro cruiser]

23 minutes ago, pikwe012 said:

There is a free shuttle to the train station just close by where the ship docks. 

 

That may have been available because the ship was disembarking at the end of a cruise, I have not heard of this being available for a port day stop.

[pepcab]

I've been searching for awhile and maybe it's because I'm at the end of our planning stages, but I am hoping to get an answer here as my searches are just causing me grief! I am trying to figure out how to get to the airport at the end of our cruise using the trains. Our flight leaves at 2:15 so we have no play time unfortunately. Can someone guide me to the correct sites to book the correct trains to get us there? Thanks in advance. 

[pikwe012]

www.trenitalia.com

[euro cruiser]

Only Trenitalia services the route between Civitavecchia and the airport.

 

This trip requires a change, usually at Roma Trastevere.  

 

Assuming you are on a transatlantic flight, you'll need to be at the airport no later than 11:15 AM.

 

The last connection that would accomplish this departs Civitavecchia at 9:43 and arrives to the airport at 11:16, after a change at Trastevere.

 

To be safe, I would take an earlier train, the 9:07 arriving to the airport at 10:48 leaves you plenty of room for error.  

 

If you're up and out earlier there's also a train at 8:42 arriving to the airport at 10:18.

 

All of these trains are regionales, so there are no seat assignments and the train cannot sell out.  They will be crowded.

 

When using the Trenitalia web site, even on the English language pages you must enter the station names in Italian.  In this case your stations are Civitavecchia and Fiumicino Aeroporto.

[nursinadream]

@euro cruiserI have read your posts about train travel to and from Civi/Rome.  Thanks for sharing your knowledge.  I studied the webpage for Civi Express:

https://www.trenitalia.com/en/services/civitavecchia-express.html.

I plan to use this route on Sept 23, Friday.  There are 5 ships in port that day.  Is that a busy day?  We are from O Nautica.  The return back to port arrives at 1720. I intend to take Portlink bus from station to port then shuttle back to dock. Is that enough time to get back for 1900 departure?

Deb

[euro cruiser]

Yes, five ships in port is one of the busier days.  I've seen as many as six (August schedule here:  Crociere in Partenza al Porto di Civitavecchia: Agosto 2022 | Port Mobility Civitavecchia)

 

Arriving to the Civitavecchia train station at 17:20 for a 19:00 departure (presumably all aboard at 18:30) is plenty of time.  The Port Link bus ride is only five to ten minutes (it's a one mile trip with no stops).

[nursinadream]

Thank you kindly. Interesting calendar. Lots of cruisers enjoying Rome.🇮🇹!

 

 

[pepcab]

On 8/8/2022 at 10:02 PM, euro cruiser said:

Only Trenitalia services the route between Civitavecchia and the airport.

 

This trip requires a change, usually at Roma Trastevere.  

 

Assuming you are on a transatlantic flight, you'll need to be at the airport no later than 11:15 AM.

 

The last connection that would accomplish this departs Civitavecchia at 9:43 and arrives to the airport at 11:16, after a change at Trastevere.

 

To be safe, I would take an earlier train, the 9:07 arriving to the airport at 10:48 leaves you plenty of room for error.  

 

If you're up and out earlier there's also a train at 8:42 arriving to the airport at 10:18.

 

All of these trains are regionales, so there are no seat assignments and the train cannot sell out.  They will be crowded.

 

When using the Trenitalia web site, even on the English language pages you must enter the station names in Italian.  In this case your stations are Civitavecchia and Fiumicino Aeroporto.

Thank you very much for this info, I was getting overwhelmed with all the different trains. I feel better knowing I was on the right track 😉

 

[ltcTN]

Hello, We will be in port for a stop on October 3, 2022 and we have a ship excursion at 10:45 in the Civitavecchia area and we should be back to the port by 3:15. The ship departs at 8:00PM and we were wondering if we could get a train into Rome and get back in time. No real desire to see any sites other than to say we have been there. Any advice?

[euro cruiser]

It's not worth it.  Best case you could make the 16:16 (4:16 PM) fast train to Rome (there is an earlier slow train but it arrives later), arriving at 17:03 (5:03 PM).

 

You'd need to be back in Civitavecchia by 7 PM (19:00) which would mean a train leaving Rome at 17:42 (7:42 PM).

 

So you could have about a half hour in Rome, assuming that every train runs true to schedule.

[biggytaz]

My wife and i are staying at a hotel smeraldo in rome prior to our Princess cruise. How difficult is it to get luggage and us from our hotel to the cruise terminal via the train? is it a huge walk to the train station from the hotel? Is there any other options that are affordable?

Looking at the comments i am confused as to which train i would want to get, it sounds like the regional trains are teh crowded ones adn leave at a further away station, is that correct? Thanks for all the help.

Mat

 

[biggytaz]

Just now, biggytaz said:

My wife and i are staying at a hotel smeraldo in rome prior to our Princess cruise. How difficult is it to get luggage and us from our hotel to the cruise terminal via the train? is it a huge walk to the train station from the hotel? Is there any other options that are affordable?

Looking at the comments i am confused as to which train i would want to get, it sounds like the regional trains are teh crowded ones adn leave at a further away station, is that correct? Thanks for all the help.

Mat

 

if it makes a diference, we will be leaving our hotel on 10/1/22 to go to the cruise terminal.

[euro cruiser]

Your hotel is just steps from the #8 tram line, which you can take to the Trastevere station to get the train to Civitavecchia.

 

The regional train isn't horribly crowded going toward Civitavecchia in mid-day, so if you're aiming to be at the cruise port between noon - 2 PM you should be fine.

 

The train from Civitavecchia is direct, but it makes a lot of stops along the way.  The fare is 4,60 euro.  For example, there's a train at 12:27 that arrives to Civitavecchia at 13:13 (1:13 PM), it makes only four stops between Trastevere and Civitavecchia.  Other trains take 15 minutes longer and make more stops.

 

Once at Civitavecchia it's one mile from the train station to the stop for the free port shuttle bus.  There is a public bus every half hour if you don't want to walk.

[Choozin Croozin]

On 8/25/2022 at 8:22 AM, biggytaz said:

My wife and i are staying at a hotel smeraldo in rome prior to our Princess cruise. How difficult is it to get luggage and us from our hotel to the cruise terminal via the train? is it a huge walk to the train station from the hotel? Is there any other options that are affordable?

Looking at the comments i am confused as to which train i would want to get, it sounds like the regional trains are teh crowded ones adn leave at a further away station, is that correct? Thanks for all the help.

Mat

 

 I am so appreciative of you posting this question as I also have a reservation at Hotel Smeraldo and also an Arbnb near by. I had given up on taking the train to the cruise dock because, while I love this location for sightseeing and restaurants etc, it's not a great location for public transportation.  

 

On 8/25/2022 at 4:38 PM, euro cruiser said:

Your hotel is just steps from the #8 tram line, which you can take to the Trastevere station to get the train to Civitavecchia.

 

The regional train isn't horribly crowded going toward Civitavecchia in mid-day, so if you're aiming to be at the cruise port between noon - 2 PM you should be fine.

 

The train from Civitavecchia is direct, but it makes a lot of stops along the way.  The fare is 4,60 euro.  For example, there's a train at 12:27 that arrives to Civitavecchia at 13:13 (1:13 PM), it makes only four stops between Trastevere and Civitavecchia.  Other trains take 15 minutes longer and make more stops.

 

Once at Civitavecchia it's one mile from the train station to the stop for the free port shuttle bus.  There is a public bus every half hour if you don't want to walk.

 

@euro cruiser This is so helpful and now I know I can save some money for other things and take the train to the port. I have searched and searched though and cannot find the address of to the #8 tram station at Largo di Torre Argentina. Just to clarify, take the tram to the Trastevere station. THen by a separate ticket from Trastevere to Civitavecchia? Thank you so much. 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Choozin Croozin

[euro cruiser]

The stop closest to the Hotel Smeraldo is Arenula/Cairoli, in front of Piazza Benedetto Cairoli.

 

Yes, it's two different tickets.  A Rome transit ticket for the tram followed by a Trenitalia ticket for the train.

 

I don't think Tap&Go is available yet on the trams but you can check that out while you're in town.  tap&go (atac.roma.it)

 

The ATAC web site used to have good maps of each line.  The latest incarnation of the site, however, has downgraded the mapping function.  I think it's easier to see on the moovit app:  Line Route 8BUS - ATAC - Bus Schedules | Moovit (moovitapp.com)

[Northern wanderlust]

We are planning to take the train from FCO into Rome when we arrive.

 

Is it worth booking train tickets in advance for that trip?

 

I do worry about a flight delay or delay getting through customs and missing our train.

[euro cruiser]

There is no point in prebooking the trains into Rome from the airport.  They cannot sell out and the price never changes, so just wait and get it at the airport train station.

[trident]

The last time we were in Civitavecchia the walk to the train station was much longer than 1 mile as they had closed one of the gate to make you walk through more of the city. Is this still the case?