Transport options Genoa to Milan Airport?

[crikeys]

MSC Spendida arrives at 9am but our flight doesn't leave to 9pm. So looking to fill in time in Genoa and then head for the Airport.

Are there any options for leaving luggage with MSC while we explore Genoa?

Any ideas on transport for a family of five to get to airport?

Thanks:)

[Thecat123]

crickeys check out MSCs Shore excursions. There is a day tour around Genoe then onto the airport. We were told by our TA you have to book on the ship only

[crikeys]

Hi 'the cat'

I believe these halfday tours of Genoa are cancelled at short notice.

With the tour being 60 Euro, there has to be a better solution!

[Thecat123]

Our TA said it was cheaper than the train I think and we thought it would be easier than lugging bags etc to catch a train. He said to book on ship when we first get there and it would give you some sights of Genoa and fill the day in. We do not drive in any country overseas. To much of a hassle

Edited August 22, 2009 by Thecat123

[AmoMondo]

The train is definitely cheaper than 60 euros each for a half day tour and airport transfer.

 

I've done this a few times, once with an MSC coach transfer takes 2and a half hours Genoa port to Malpensa and twice by train.

 

There are 3 main airports in Milan, malpensa, Linate and Orly/Bergamot. There isn't a direct train to the airport and you have to change stations.

 

If you are flying out of Malpensa - train to Mialano Stazione centrale (about 2 hours). Then you can either - get the airport bus from round the back of the station or get taxi or metro to Cadorna station and get the Malpensa train. It is an airport express but still takes about an hour. It only stops at Terminal one so if you are flying out of 2 then the bus will be a better option.

 

bergamot is probabl;y easiest by the bus transfer from central station (again it takes about an hour).

 

Not sure about Linate but do know it is very much closer (only about 8km versus appx 50km for the other 2)

 

Check out the trenitalia website for proces and timetables.

 

Other options would be a private transfer or hiring a car.You'd probably get a wider range of opinion and info on this in the Italy Ports section on Europe Ports of call on these boards.

 

Personally, having stayed in both Milan and genoa, I'd head straight to Milan and spend my free time there. far mor to do and see. particularli recommend the area around about the Duomo (Cathedral) as a great area to explore on foot. You are also far closer to the airport and will be better able to judge when you need to leave than you will be able to from Genoa.

[AmoMondo]

Crikeys, forgot to say that you are correct in saying that the disembarking tour/airport transfers can get cancelled at short notice. this happened when I was on the Fantasia. there were a few Australian and New Zealand passengers left high and dry. basically not enough passengers had booked to meet the mininum required to run the excursion. This is a particular risk for English speaking assengers on Med cruises as they tend to be in the minority. This does not affect airport transfers thaough that are provided as part of Fly?cruise deals with MSC as it doesn't matter what language you speak for that. Anyone who is intending using the excursion/transfer option, should have a contingency plan researched and prepared.

[Thecat123]

Thanks for that AmoMondo. I will run it past our TA again but I am sure he said he is going to give me the backup instructions

[crikeys]

Thanks for "the heads up", AmoMondo.

Do you think there would be a place to store luggage at Milan's railway station, whilst we roam around?

[Thecat123]

AmoMondo how did you find doing this type of thing the first time, like catching trains and things with only speaking English? Was it easy to find the right train and knowing where to get off etc?

[crikeys]

<P>Hi AmoMondo</P>

<P>Just done some ''Leg work" ...Genova-Milano 15.50 Euros</P>

<P>                                        Left Luggage Milano 4 Euros</P>

<P>                                        Bus Milano - Malpensa 7.50 Euros...</P>

<P> Missing the part on how to get from cruise terminal to Genova Railway Station, can you help?</P>

[Thecat123]

As we are going on Musica Venice to Venice then MSC are meant to be transferring us "Free" to Genoa for a 7 day cruise on Fantasia do you think we are going to run into the same troubles as above? ie should we have a backup plan? Do you know how far it is and what transportation there would be available?

[AmoMondo]

As we are going on Musica Venice to Venice then MSC are meant to be transferring us "Free" to Genoa for a 7 day cruise on Fantasia do you think we are going to run into the same troubles as above? ie should we have a backup plan? Do you know how far it is and what transportation there would be available?

 

No I don't. I've never had any issues with transafers. They know in advance how many people they need to transport and they don't have to put on different arrangements for each group of passengers speaking a different language, like they do with some of the excursions.

[AmoMondo]

Crikeys, your last post has come out a bit weird, so I'm not sure if you found out about the left luggage facility or not? If you didn't, then yes there is one on the first floor in the departure gallery.

[AmoMondo]

AmoMondo how did you find doing this type of thing the first time, like catching trains and things with only speaking English? Was it easy to find the right train and knowing where to get off etc?

 

I've used trains several times in Italy and have always found it fairly easy but then I don't just speak English., but many European languages ranging from a little to a lot. My Italian falls in to the little category. To be honest although I speak to the ticket offices etc in Italian out of politeness, they often answer me in English anyway. I think if you do your research online first and know the Italian name for the station you are going to, the italian name for the town that is the last stop on the line and roughly what time you are due to arrive, you will have to problems. They have arrival and departure boards in the station, just like anywhere else showing the departure times and platform numbers. A lot of the trains have both announcements and visual displays showing the ststion the train will be stopping at, so you know when it is going to be time to get off.

 

If you definitely know that you are going to need a train and what time, then book in advance through trenitalia. That will not only save time on the day but may save maney and will guarantee you a seat on the busier journeys on some types of train

[crikeys]

Hi AmoMondo

Last message looked weird!

Just wondering if you found a Left luggage area at the cruise terminal and how you got from this terminal to the Genova railway station?

hope this message works...........

Thanks again

[Thecat123]

I have sent your earlier comments to our TA about not getting onto a tour. We think the tour, even though it could be more expensive, whats a few more dollars on what we have spent over the total trip, could give us a bit of sightseeing and get us to Malpensa Airport but we will not know until we get to the ship as one can't prebook from here through MSC. It has to be done on the ship. We will use the train as a backup. Our flight leaves at 10.20pm. I checked out a train site and it was mentioned that there could be trouble with foreign bankcards to buy train tickets. Did you have any trouble. I tell my bank card that I am traverling overseas before we go

[jdvmd]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I am looking for updated information as to how to leave the Sinfonia at 10 a.m. in Genoa and get on our flight from Milan Malpensa departing at 5 p.m. same day.

 

Any help would greatly be appreciated!

[AmoMondo]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I am looking for updated information as to how to leave the Sinfonia at 10 a.m. in Genoa and get on our flight from Milan Malpensa departing at 5 p.m. same day.

 

Any help would greatly be appreciated!

 

Options are pretty much the same. Train to Milano Centrale then either train or airport bus to Malpensa. Trenitalia's will provide timetables for trains between genoa and Milan. Watch the journey time as some are a faster service. Also don't forget to validate your ticket in one of the yellow machines. The platform we used didn't have one and we nearly missed our train when one of us had to scurry back up the stairs to find a machine to punch it in.

 

You'll find info on the Malpensa Airport site about the bus and train. They take about the same time.

[jdvmd]

Options are pretty much the same. Train to Milano Centrale then either train or airport bus to Malpensa. Trenitalia's will provide timetables for trains between genoa and Milan. Watch the journey time as some are a faster service. Also don't forget to validate your ticket in one of the yellow machines. The platform we used didn't have one and we nearly missed our train when one of us had to scurry back up the stairs to find a machine to punch it in.

 

You'll find info on the Malpensa Airport site about the bus and train. They take about the same time.

Thanks for replying, AmoMondo. Appreciate it. Think there will be a transfer available on the ship to Milan and I can stop worrying???

[Norwegian Cruiser 73]

When we disembarked the MSC Preziosa in Genova last September we booked a private transfer from the cruise terminal direct to Milan Linate Airport for EUR 200. The driver waited outside the terminal with a sign with our name on. Very convenient and great service from the transfer company. We used this company : http://www.transfermilan.com

[jdvmd]

When we disembarked the MSC Preziosa in Genova last September we booked a private transfer from the cruise terminal direct to Milan Linate Airport for EUR 200. The driver waited outside the terminal with a sign with our name on. Very convenient and great service from the transfer company. We used this company : http://www.transfermilan.com

 

Thank you for sharing this link. I will check them out.

[AmoMondo]

Depending how many of you there are, you may well find the private transfer more convenient and not hat much more expensive. Than train and airport bus. If there are just 2 of you it will be considerable cheaper using public transport. You need to decide what matters most to you convenience/ease versus saving money. Private transfer may be abit quicker.

 

I can't say whether you will be able to buy an MDC transfer or not. I've only ever had them available to me when I've booked a fly cruise deal. Now I always book my own flight direct to Genoa with BA for cruise de partings from there rather than have the hassle of transferring from somewhere else..

Edited July 12, 2014 by AmoMondo

[jdvmd]

Depending how many of you there are, you may well find the private transfer more convenient and not hat much more expensive. Than train and airport bus. If there are just 2 of you it will be considerable cheaper using public transport. You need to decide what matters most to you convenience/ease versus saving money. Private transfer may be abit quicker.

 

I can't say whether you will be able to buy an MDC transfer or not. I've only ever had them available to me when I've booked a fly cruise deal. Now I always book my own flight direct to Genoa with BA for cruise de partings from there rather than have the hassle of transferring from somewhere else..

We will be three people, each with bags.

[AmoMondo]

We will be three people, each with bags.

 

I don't know your dates but picked a Saturday morning and the intercity service which takes about 90 minutes starts from €57 for 3. Malpensa shuttle from the station is €30 for 3, so €87 in total.

 

The ticket office for the airport bus is at a newsagents/kiosk place in the station near the exit to the back of the station. The buses leave from the back of the station. Watch out for the destination as coaches leave from there for 3 airports.

[jdvmd]

I don't know your dates but picked a Saturday morning and the intercity service which takes about 90 minutes starts from €57 for 3. Malpensa shuttle from the station is €30 for 3, so €87 in total.

 

The ticket office for the airport bus is at a newsagents/kiosk place in the station near the exit to the back of the station. The buses leave from the back of the station. Watch out for the destination as coaches leave from there for 3 airports.

Thanks for checking. We are needing transport to Malpensa on July 28. Our flight to Vienna leaves at 5 p.m. so I thought that might be cutting it too close if we did the bus as it leaves at 12:30 p.m. every day and then transferring to Malpensa would be another hour. Doesn't leave much room for error.

Any idea if we can walk from the port to the old train station with luggage? If not, how much would a taxi run? I assume we want to go to the old train station to get to Milan Centrale and then transfer over to a train that goes to Malpensa.

Thanks, Linda.

P.S. If you have any tips for the Sinfonia or this itinerary, would love to hear them!