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

[euro cruiser]

The one mile walk is from the station to the Largo della Pace shuttle bus station.  From the station to the Fort Michelangelo entrance (Varco Fortezza) is 600 meters/four-tenths of a mile.  

 

There has been work going on in the area of Varco Fortezza resulting in temporary closures (see one such announcement here:  Varco Fortezza, chiusura temporanea per i lavori di riqualificazione | Port Mobility Civitavecchia) but the entrance is generally open.

[dritan]

I wonder if I can get some advice.  We are disembarking at Civitavecchia on Sat 28th Oct and I have pre purchased Frecciabianca tickets  to Pisa.  The train is at 7.46.  The ship is due to dock at 6am.

 

I think these are the options:

1) Get a taxi from the ship to the station - are there likely to be taxis there?

2) Get the port shuttle which leaves from 7am but is only likely to take us to that Largo Pace area which would then require another local bus to take us to the station ( this would be too tight for time)

3) Use the Portlink but as it only seems to start at 8 - that won't work

4) Check to see if Celebrity offer a paid service to get to the station

 

OPtion 1 seems best but what do you think?

[steamboats]

There should be taxis available although 7:46 am is pretty tough to make. A 6 am arrival doesn´t mean that you are really able to leave the ship at 6 am.

 

steamboats

[euro cruiser]

The other issue is whether you can get a taxi to take the short trip to the station.  They wait at the port looking for fares into the city and they'll be reluctant to give up their place in line to travel one mile.  Expect an exorbitant fare, but you may have to swallow it because you purchased such early train tickets.

[dritan]

Thanks for the responses -we'll see how it goes on the morning.  In the recent past we've paid 20 euros to go from the station to ship.  Unfortunately there aren't many "fast" trains to Pisa from Civitavecchia but at least our flight home is the next day so no stress if we miss that particular train. 

[SWACK]

On 7/20/2022 at 10:50 AM, cruisemom42 said:

@yoolykeme  Not sure where you're getting your schedule from but it's best to go to the Trenitalia website. I put in tomorrow's date and got the following:

 

 

What's important to know is what euro cruiser was saying. Only the train marked as Frecciabianca is a train with ASSIGNED seats that departs from the regular tracks at the front of the station at Termini.  All of the later trains shown have the fancy "R" at the top left, indicating that they are "Regionale" trains. These trains do NOT have assigned seats and can get very crowded (standing room only) as the afternoon progresses and people are trying to get back to the ships at Civitavecchia.  

 

The other key point is that the Regionale trains do not leave from the front tracks/platforms. They depart from a set of auxiliary platforms at the rear of Termini station which is a GOOD walk of at least two city blocks from the front of the station.

 

 

[SWACK]

Keep in mind the regional trains are a LONG walk to from any incoming trains in Termini.. think of being at the beginning of a terminal and your train being at the end of another terminal- we just barley made our trina and we had 1/2 hour overlap..

This is the path you must walk

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by SWACK

[romi]

Hi everyone... long-time member.... been gone for about <checks> more than a decade.

I've spent the last couple of days carefully reading through this thread. My family (3 adults, 2 kids) are on a Symphony of the Seas cruise that stops in Civi on June 29 (2023). 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

I want to take the 9:07 express train. (Royal is selling tickets for this, so I presume I can, too—but don't want to spend how much Royal is charging. But I'm having issues with the Trenitalia site, like a few other people reported over the last few months. I can't book for June yet because it's more than 6 months out. But when I try to book for March or April, I keep getting error messages. I can't seem to find a contact email for customer service. I try chat but the online reps tell me they don't help in English.

Can I get some advice about how to go about prebooking these express tickets?

And while I'm at it....

* Do you suggest we do express train in but another train back so we have an extra hour or so in Rome?
* If we have proof of the reservation for the train, will that sway the ship people to let us off early?

* If we have from 10:10 to 4:30 in Rome, what are our realistic chances of seeing the *inside* of anything (Coliseum, Forum, etc) -- and do you suggest I prebook skip the line passes for anything?
* Is there chance of seeing some of central Rome and any part of the Vatican?

I'm sure I'll have more questions later.... but the Royal excursions seem so darn restrictive about what you see. Even the ultra-expensive ones have lots of notes about how a tour guide can decide anything is too busy and just give a talk from the outside. I don't like that and want to have mroe control over we can see in our little time.

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, romi said:

Hi everyone... long-time member.... been gone for about <checks> more than a decade.

I've spent the last couple of days carefully reading through this thread. My family (3 adults, 2 kids) are on a Symphony of the Seas cruise that stops in Civi on June 29 (2023). 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

I want to take the 9:07 express train. (Royal is selling tickets for this, so I presume I can, too—but don't want to spend how much Royal is charging. But I'm having issues with the Trenitalia site, like a few other people reported over the last few months. I can't book for June yet because it's more than 6 months out. But when I try to book for March or April, I keep getting error messages. I can't seem to find a contact email for customer service. I try chat but the online reps tell me they don't help in English.

Can I get some advice about how to go about prebooking these express tickets?

 

And while I'm at it....

* Do you suggest we do express train in but another train back so we have an extra hour or so in Rome?
* If we have proof of the reservation for the train, will that sway the ship people to let us off early?

* If we have from 10:10 to 4:30 in Rome, what are our realistic chances of seeing the *inside* of anything (Coliseum, Forum, etc) -- and do you suggest I prebook skip the line passes for anything?
* Is there chance of seeing some of central Rome and any part of the Vatican?

I'm sure I'll have more questions later.... but the Royal excursions seem so darn restrictive about what you see. Even the ultra-expensive ones have lots of notes about how a tour guide can decide anything is too busy and just give a talk from the outside. I don't like that and want to have mroe control over we can see in our little time.

 

If memory serves the Express train didn't start up until around mid-April of 2022, so it's possible that the timings you're attempting to book for March and April aren't working because there is simply no train...

 

I don't believe you can pre-book as an individual before the dates are available on Trenitalia.

 

Some other thoughts based on your questions:

 

-- The common best practice is to determine which scheduled train would get you back at the latest possible time and still be sure of getting to your ship on time. THEN PLAN ON TAKING THE ONE BEFORE THAT ONE so that you have a fall-back option if everything goes sideways...  However do take into account that later trains will not be reservation only and can get packed.

 

-- I really doubt that having proof of a reservation would get you off the ship any sooner. That said, disembarkation at Civitavecchia has usually been rapid.

 

-- If you want to have any hope of seeing inside the Colosseum or the Vatican museum, you MUST pre-book your tickets. Vatican requires you to give a time. With your schedule doing both would be practically impossible.

 

 

[romi]

On 11/28/2022 at 9:59 AM, cruisemom42 said:

 

If memory serves the Express train didn't start up until around mid-April of 2022, so it's possible that the timings you're attempting to book for March and April aren't working because there is simply no train...

 

I don't believe you can pre-book as an individual before the dates are available on Trenitalia.

 

Some other thoughts based on your questions:

 

-- The common best practice is to determine which scheduled train would get you back at the latest possible time and still be sure of getting to your ship on time. THEN PLAN ON TAKING THE ONE BEFORE THAT ONE so that you have a fall-back option if everything goes sideways...  However do take into account that later trains will not be reservation only and can get packed.

 

-- I really doubt that having proof of a reservation would get you off the ship any sooner. That said, disembarkation at Civitavecchia has usually been rapid.

 

-- If you want to have any hope of seeing inside the Colosseum or the Vatican museum, you MUST pre-book your tickets. Vatican requires you to give a time. With your schedule doing both would be practically impossible.

 

Thanks!

 

[Gwendy]

I see that the train from Cittavechio to Rome stops at St Piettro and there are 50 steps to entrance.  Has anyone done this recently and can confirm there is no elevator.  Think I will struggle with steps and might have to look at bus instead.  Thanks in advance for any replies.

[euro cruiser]

What entrance?

 

There is now an elevator at the Civitavecchia station, eliminating the steps to get under the tracks and up the other side.

[loveysbydesign]

Following along.  Cruising the Mediterranean for the first time but we have 2 days back to back in Rome in October with NCL and we are docked there over night. So I think from what I have researched we could book this to and from the first day we are there, but on the 2nd would have to find another way back to the ship as it may arrive too late.  I looked on the ncl website to see if we could just book transfers through them but I am not seeing anything. It will just be me and my adult daughter and with it being out first time visiting I am wanting to be safe but not too expensive for us.

[euro cruiser]

The regular train is perfectly safe and allows you more time in Rome.   However, if the times for the Civitavecchia Express feel okay to you, use it on the first day to gain experience and comfort with the trains then use the regular ones on day two.

[scanr]

Returning to 

Civitavecchia

 on NCL Breakaway October 13th.  My daughter must return to USA on the 13th.  Docking at 6 am and in a Haven Suite (hopefully with priority disembarking) is it reasonable to expect to make a 1 pm flight out of FCO?  My last return flight (September 2 years ago) from FCO took more than 3 hours to process the boarding process!  Worst in my history.  Comments/Suggestions?

Thank you

[euro cruiser]

She'll need to be at the airport by 10 AM, which shouldn't be a problem with a 6 AM arrival.  Even if they don't start letting folks off until 7 or so you'll be fine if you use a car service directly from the ship to the airport.

[Boatdrill]

On 1/2/2023 at 10:59 AM, euro cruiser said:

She'll need to be at the airport by 10 AM, which shouldn't be a problem with a 6 AM arrival.  Even if they don't start letting folks off until 7 or so you'll be fine if you use a car service directly from the ship to the airport.

Assuming the ship docks on on time.... 

[Mparker12]

Hello,

 

We are considering doing a Eurail pass for this trip as we will be going to 2 countries following our cruise. Has anyone used a Eurail pass on the fast rain? I can’t get a definitive answer from searching! Thanks! 

[euro cruiser]

The Eurail pass is not particularly useful in Italy, you'll still need to make reservations and pay a reservation fee on top of the pass.  It's generally more cost efficient in Italy to pay for point-to-point tickets.

 

Also keep in mind that there are two long distance train operators in Italy, the state run Trenitalia and the private competitor Italotreno.  Their services are nearly identical but it pays to check both to get the best combination of price and timing for your needs.

[Mparker12]

Thank you for the info! That is what I’m beginning to conclude that the pass isn’t particularly cost saving in Italy.  The pass is only slightly higher than what the fast train from Barcelona to Pais is though so I thought that it maybe beneficial to buy and use in Italy.  Another question has anyone had any experience making advanced reservations on the Italy trains with a pass? Thanks! 

[romi]

Trenitalia finally released schedules through June, but this express train is not among those. Would anyone know why, and how long I should anticipate having to wait further?

[mapleleaves]

1 hour ago, romi said:

Trenitalia finally released schedules through June, but this express train is not among those. Would anyone know why, and how long I should anticipate having to wait further?

I just checked a Wed in June, and I see the Civi Express.  Same schedule as last yr; just one departure in each direction.  Leaves Civi at 9:07am, arrives Roma SP at 10am. 

Are you using the trenitalia site ?

[romi]

26 minutes ago, mapleleaves said:

I just checked a Wed in June, and I see the Civi Express.  Same schedule as last yr; just one departure in each direction.  Leaves Civi at 9:07am, arrives Roma SP at 10am. 

Are you using the trenitalia site ?

I am. I've actually been checking every other day since December. I don't speak Italian but I can navigate that website by muscle memory at this point. June 11th and on are the new dates. I've been waiting for June 29, when we'll be there, and the Civi Express is not listed June 11 or onward (at least not yet).

Edited March 2, 2023 by romi

[mapleleaves]

you said the schedule had been released THROUGH June, so I checked a date midJune.  So no, the schedule isn't available for the end of June.. 

[romi]

11 minutes ago, mapleleaves said:

you said the schedule had been released THROUGH June, so I checked a date midJune.  So no, the schedule isn't available for the end of June.. 

The schedule IS released through June. The Civi Express is not on the schedule, though.

So my question is how long I should expect to wait for them to add it. (Or if they won't have it after June 10).