Rome or Naples to Athens?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

What’s the best and most economical way to get from either Rome or Naples to Athens?  
 

Also, would it be possible to get off a ship in Rome and get on a ship in Athens that departs at 10 PM the same day?  Even if it is, we’d completely miss seeing Athens. 

[MeHeartCruising]

2 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

What’s the best and most economical way to get from either Rome or Naples to Athens?  
 

Also, would it be possible to get off a ship in Rome and get on a ship in Athens that departs at 10 PM the same day?  Even if it is, we’d completely miss seeing Athens. 

 

I think the only feasible way to get from Rome or Naples to Athens is to fly or by boat (i.e. a cruise ship).  I suppose you could rent a car, but that's not usually considered for these distances.  

 

While it might be possible to do flights in time for the Athens cruise, I think it's probably too risky for my tastes.  I would stay at least one night before such a cruise.  YOu'd probably need to be on the ship by at least 8pm.  I'd probably suggest 6pm.

 

Have a look at airline flights.  Allow at least a couple hours on each side to get thru the airports.  

 

[Hlitner]

20 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

What’s the best and most economical way to get from either Rome or Naples to Athens?  
 

Also, would it be possible to get off a ship in Rome and get on a ship in Athens that departs at 10 PM the same day?  Even if it is, we’d completely miss seeing Athens. 

Fly!  Doing the cruise thing will depend on the air schedule on the day you debark.   Some of the no frills airlines (Ryanair, Sky Express, etc) have non-stops (about 2 hours).  But this is not an inexpensive transfer.

 

Hank

[NCteacherlovescruising]

17 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Fly!  Doing the cruise thing will depend on the air schedule on the day you debark.   Some of the no frills airlines (Ryanair, Sky Express, etc) have non-stops (about 2 hours).  But this is not an inexpensive transfer.

 

Hank

Any idea what flights normally cost?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

29 minutes ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

I think the only feasible way to get from Rome or Naples to Athens is to fly or by boat (i.e. a cruise ship).  I suppose you could rent a car, but that's not usually considered for these distances.  

 

While it might be possible to do flights in time for the Athens cruise, I think it's probably too risky for my tastes.  I would stay at least one night before such a cruise.  YOu'd probably need to be on the ship by at least 8pm.  I'd probably suggest 6pm.

 

Have a look at airline flights.  Allow at least a couple hours on each side to get thru the airports.  

 

So trains aren’t an option?  We’re looking at a couple options. Only one is the same day. 

[Hlitner]

No, trains are not an option.  You are talking about approximately 900 miles in terms of trains or driving.  The Internet shows us that trains are about 28 hours (when they run)  As to the price of flights, when you get into the low cost/no frills European airlines..who knows?  You can pay $400 or you might find some kind of bargain fare for $80 and than get charged $300 for your luggage and another $100 to use the bathroom (only kidding).  When pricing out airlines like Ryanair you must carefully look at all the extras such as for checked luggage, carry-on, etc.  

 

The problem (for you) is geography.  Just look at a map and you can see that there is no short land (or even sea) route between Rome and Athens.  Also keep in mind that flying also comes with some issues.  You must get yourself to FCO, which is about an hour from the port at Civitavecchia.  You also need to figure on being at FCO at least 2 hours before your flight (it is considered a domestic flight).  And once at ATH you are looking at a 45 min drive (longer if traffic is heavy) to the port at Pireaus.

 

What you want to do is possible (we do crazy things like this) but does take planning and a real spirit of adventure.   When I do things like this I always want to have a "Plan B" backup.  In this case, there really would be no good alternative other than flying.  If you are rushing to Pireaus to catch another cruise, than the question is how difficult would it be to catch-up to your ship?  (Plan B).  Many years ago we did something almost as crazy when we had a cruise that debarked us at Dover in the morning.  That same day we were taking the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to NYC so we hired a car/driver.  There was no "Plan B" because the Queen was off on a transatlantic so no way to catch-up.  Our plans worked well and we never missed a cruise ship meal.

 

Hank

[NCteacherlovescruising]

10 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

No, trains are not an option.  You are talking about approximately 900 miles in terms of trains or driving.  The Internet shows us that trains are about 28 hours (when they run)  As to the price of flights, when you get into the low cost/no frills European airlines..who knows?  You can pay $400 or you might find some kind of bargain fare for $80 and than get charged $300 for your luggage and another $100 to use the bathroom (only kidding).  When pricing out airlines like Ryanair you must carefully look at all the extras such as for checked luggage, carry-on, etc.  

 

The problem (for you) is geography.  Just look at a map and you can see that there is no short land (or even sea) route between Rome and Athens.  Also keep in mind that flying also comes with some issues.  You must get yourself to FCO, which is about an hour from the port at Civitavecchia.  You also need to figure on being at FCO at least 2 hours before your flight (it is considered a domestic flight).  And once at ATH you are looking at a 45 min drive (longer if traffic is heavy) to the port at Pireaus.

 

What you want to do is possible (we do crazy things like this) but does take planning and a real spirit of adventure.   When I do things like this I always want to have a "Plan B" backup.  In this case, there really would be no good alternative other than flying.  If you are rushing to Pireaus to catch another cruise, than the question is how difficult would it be to catch-up to your ship?  (Plan B).  Many years ago we did something almost as crazy when we had a cruise that debarked us at Dover in the morning.  That same day we were taking the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to NYC so we hired a car/driver.  There was no "Plan B" because the Queen was off on a transatlantic so no way to catch-up.  Our plans worked well and we never missed a cruise ship meal.

 

Hank

I need to find out how much hotter and busier Italy will be mid July verses late June. The easiest option seems to do the Athens to Venice cruise first, then the round trip Naples cruise so we don’t have to do extra flights. I was really wanting to do the first cruise in June. 

[Hlitner]

22 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I need to find out how much hotter and busier Italy will be mid July verses late June. The easiest option seems to do the Athens to Venice cruise first, then the round trip Naples cruise so we don’t have to do extra flights. I was really wanting to do the first cruise in June. 

I did notice your other thread and the mention of the NCL itinerary.  Before we retired we spent many summers in the Med (often Italy and Greece) and heat (and lots of tourists) are always an issue.  It can get very hot in Rome, but think late June vs mid July would be like rolling the dice.  Both times can be potentially hot (or not) and both times are in prime tourist season.   Also beware of cruises that involve Venice, since none of these ships actually port in Venice.  Folks are often upset to find out their ship is going to Trieste or Ravenna.  But if a cruise ends in Trieste, there will be some kind of transfer offered to VCE (not our favorite airport).  It looks like ITA ) has several non-stop flights between VCE and FCO (Rome).  It is possible to connect at FCO and fly direct to Naples. One could also take the train from Rome to Naples.

[princeton123211]

45 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

The easiest option seems to do the Athens to Venice cruise first, then the round trip Naples cruise so we don’t have to do extra flights. I was really wanting to do the first cruise in June.

Venice to Naples is a MUCH easier transfer than Rome/Naples to Athens. Trenitalia runs several nonstop Frecciarossa high speed trains from Venice Santa Lucia station. Trip time is about 5.5 hours but no flying. 

 

The weather is not going to be materially hotter in the couple weeks between the end of June and mid July-- I wouldn't base travel decisions on that. If you were comparing crowds/heat April to July as an example that would be a much bigger difference. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

22 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I did notice your other thread and the mention of the NCL itinerary.  Before we retired we spent many summers in the Med (often Italy and Greece) and heat (and lots of tourists) are always an issue.  It can get very hot in Rome, but think late June vs mid July would be like rolling the dice.  Both times can be potentially hot (or not) and both times are in prime tourist season.   Also beware of cruises that involve Venice, since none of these ships actually port in Venice.  Folks are often upset to find out their ship is going to Trieste or Ravenna.  But if a cruise ends in Trieste, there will be some kind of transfer offered to VCE (not our favorite airport).  It looks like ITA ) has several non-stop flights between VCE and FCO (Rome).  It is possible to connect at FCO and fly direct to Naples. One could also take the train from Rome to Naples.

Our itinerary specifically lists Trieste as the port. We are they from 6:30 AM-11 PM and then back for debarkation the next morning. 
 

We live in NC. It looks like their temps are very similar to our summer.  It may make more sense for us to do the MSC cruise after NCL to make the transfer by train instead of plane. 

11 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Venice to Naples is a MUCH easier transfer than Rome/Naples to Athens. Trenitalia runs several nonstop Frecciarossa high speed trains from Venice Santa Lucia station. Trip time is about 5.5 hours but no flying. 

 

The weather is not going to be materially hotter in the couple weeks between the end of June and mid July-- I wouldn't base travel decisions on that. If you were comparing crowds/heat April to July as an example that would be a much bigger difference. 

I’m more worried about the crowds than the weather. It looks like their weather is much like ours here in Charlotte over the summer. I read that June and September aren’t as crowded as July and August but I’m not certain. If we only do the MSC cruise, we will go earlier in June. That may be what happens because I haven’t convinced dh to do both yet. 

[princeton123211]

48 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I read that June and September aren’t as crowded as July and August but I’m not certain.

Maybe the very beginning of June and very late September you'll see a slight difference but when you're talking about late June or mid July there is not going to be any major difference in terms of crowds. It really ramps up in late May into June, coinciding with school and college letting out in the US, and starts tapering in September. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

8 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Maybe the very beginning of June and very late September you'll see a slight difference but when you're talking about late June or mid July there is not going to be any major difference in terms of crowds. It really ramps up in late May into June, coinciding with school and college letting out in the US, and starts tapering in September. 

Being a teacher, I’m not able to travel then.