Itin-transfer

[Nom2023]

Hi there!! Long time lurker here.  Im lookong for long timers who can give me their opnion based on their experience.   My sit is I'm looking at booking a cruise that ends in Rome where disembark starts at 600 am( celebrity constellation).  And then I need to race to Venice to catch msc ammonia that departs at 1600.  It's about 4-5hrs by train.  Doable or crazy?  Awesome deal but if I can't or shouldn't do it, wouldn't be the end of the world.  TIA

[GeezerCouple]

6 minutes ago, Nom2023 said:

Hi there!! Long time lurker here.  Im lookong for long timers who can give me their opnion based on their experience.   My sit is I'm looking at booking a cruise that ends in Rome where disembark starts at 600 am( celebrity constellation).  And then I need to race to Venice to catch msc ammonia that departs at 1600.  It's about 4-5hrs by train.  Doable or crazy?  Awesome deal but if I can't or shouldn't do it, wouldn't be the end of the world.  TIA

Welcome to CC!

I suspect your enthusiasm is a bit ... not based in reality, although it sure would be fun.

 

First, what time would you need to be onboard?  That is usually at least an hour (or two!) before sailing time.

 

Your ship doesn't dock IN Rome (look at a map 😉 ).  So you'd have to get off the ship, get a taxi to Rome to the train station, although there may be a closer train stop.  But the fast trains aren't likely to stop at the smaller intermediate stops.

(And what if the ship's arrival is delayed?  This is always a concern when time is tight to "the next event/place" needed.)

 

And what is the fast train schedule like?  Times?

Then, when you "arrive in Venice"... I doubt the ship will actually sail from Venice these days.  What port is actually used?  Some ships/cruiselines use Trieste.  Others may have something a bit closer.

 

Have you actually looked at schedules and maps and towns used to see whether this even *might* make sense?

GC

[LHT28]

First  you have to get to Rome  to get  the high speed train 

 

Does MSC dock near  Venice  or  some other port ?

 

If the stars all align   it could be possible   one little blip you could miss the cruise

 

 

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Civitavecchia/Venice

[Essiesmom]

Are you looking at Constellation arriving Civitavecchia on Oct 21, and Armonia leaving ‘Venice’ the same day?  I think MSC uses both Trieste and Marghera for Venice.  But if those are the dates, and you really want the second cruise, why not leave Connie the day before in La Spezia and take the train to Venice from there?  And board Armonia the next day…EM

[Nom2023]

Lol u guys are awesome!!  And I hate autocorrect.  But maybe the name is accurate...rofl.  anyways.  I thought it was kinda bonkers but I wanted to see if anybody else has done this craziness.   The 2 cruise itinerary will hit my bucket list for Greece, Italy and croatia!!!  Oh well guess I'll have make plans for another vacay.  Woe is my life 😆

[Nom2023]

Essiesmom U r brilliant!

Edited July 5, 2023 by Nom2023

[Essiesmom]

Armonia sails from Marghera for Venice.  EM

[navybankerteacher]

7 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

Are you looking at Constellation arriving Civitavecchia on Oct 21, and Armonia leaving ‘Venice’ the same day?  I think MSC uses both Trieste and Marghera for Venice.  But if those are the dates, and you really want the second cruise, why not leave Connie the day before in La Spezia and take the train to Venice from there?  And board Armonia the next day…EM

This makes sense; while trying to get expedited debarkation at Civita Vecchia , speedy transfer to Rome, followed by no-delay train service to Venice, so you can get transfer to Marghera is a kind of looney toon concept.

[Essiesmom]

By racing to Rome Termini to get the express to Venice, he wouldn’t see much of Rome anyway.  EM

[cruiserking]

That would be my vote as Essiesmom pointed out. You could debark in La Spezia and have a full day to get to the MSC's departure port. 

 

Jonathan

[SelectSys]

10 hours ago, Nom2023 said:

Essiesmom U r brilliant!

I agree, that is a great idea and the only practical way to pull this off with a high probability to making it on time. 

 

if you feel like you are up for a challenge, the other alternatives as I see it are:

1) to depend on perfect train travel and connections

2) take a morning flight from FCO to Venice.  FCO is reasonably close to the cruise flights and a morning flight to Venice exists.

 

If you miss, remember that you can always catch up to the ship in its next port although that would require last minute travel expenses.  Maybe you can get insurance for that eventuality.  I don't really know.

[Szt]

Doing anything that depends on trains running on time in Italy is always dicy. There are frequent train strikes that could through a monkey wrench in everything. 
mad other posts mentioned- the port of call is often hours away from the city listed. You can hire a car to drive you. It's more dependable than Italian trains. But then you have to take time of day and traffic in mind as well. I think the idea of disembarking early is the best. Good luck!