Civitavecchia into Central Rome

There are several regional trains every hour to Rome. The ones at 43 past the hour are the fastest. 5 euro, you can get off at Roma San Pietro if the Vatican is first on your list. Takes 40 to 45 minutes. Other trains take about an hour. Validate your ticket before boarding.

Thanks Sam - appreciate that. Actually I will be in Rome on a Sunday and I believe the Vatican is not open on Sundays. I have been to Rome twice and loved it. Also thought about taking the train to the Learning Tower of Pisa. Would you recommend that trip?

Another port on our cruise is Naples. Would you recommend the train / bus / subway to Pompeii & Amalfi Drive?

The port city for the Leaning Tower is Florence (not Rome).

Are you getting off the boat there ending the cruise or just taking a day trip? If a day trip, I'd skip Pisa and head to Rome. Pisa is too far away and its a one trick pony. The basilica is certainly open, and the Pope usually gives a speech at his window on the square at noon. http://www.papalaudience.org/schedule

Your ship will have shuttle bus to the port entrance. From there it is a 10 min, half mile, walk along the beach to the train station. Just follow the flow. If you can try to buy your RT ticket at another train station anywhere in Italy. The line to buy tickets to Rome can be very long and may take longer to buy the ticket than the train ride. OR go to the Tobacco store at the other end of the station and buy a 9 zone, one day transit pass - generally not a line. On the back of the station will be little yellow or green validation boxes. Validate (time stamp) WITHOUT FAIL your pass or previously purchased ticket and get on the first regional train going to Rome. The board inside the station will indicate the train and track number. Only our last cruise, we got off at San Pietro and spent most of the day in Trastevere, using the pass caught a bus to Termini, and back to the ship. Bus is easy since many goes to Termini. Any bus that says Termini on the front will get you there. Or you could go back to San Pietro. See RoninRome.com for a very detail explanation of taking the train to Civit....

For Naples, from the port take tram 1 to train station, walk downstairs and take the Circumvesuvlana train to Pompeii. From the Pompeii stop, it is 15 yard walk to the entrance. Return same way. From the train walk across the plaza to the bus area and should see a sign for bus ?? (forgot the number) to the port. Get on, it will be full of your shipmates.

Generally you go to Pisa from Livorno. It is an easy train ride and you can couple that with a stop in Lucca. Florence is not a port city by at least a hundred miles.

PS Just re-read your question and noticed Sunday. If you are going to be there on a Sunday take advantage of the restricted traffic on the Appian Way and see a catacomb, or ride a bike. That is the only safe time to be on the Appian Way. Also, on Sunday, the train schedule is reduced by at least one train and the afternoon schedule is light. So check your times carefully. Allow at least two hours both ways.

Hi Sam in Green Bay,
We wanted to visit Pisa while in the port of Florence (not the last stop on the cruise). We have already been to Florence and enjoyed it very much. But we have not been to Pisa. Do you think the train trip from Florence to Pisa is worthwhile? Thank you so much for your help.

Susan - We are trying to say there is no Port of Florence. Florence is about half way across Italy. Which cruise line are you on?

Hi George,
The port name is actually Livorno for Florence / Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Susan, I addressed that for you in my previous posting - next to last paragraph.

WOW - my geography is really bad - I am embarrassed. The port city is Livorno and there are excursions to Florence and Pisa. Princess is the cruise line.

Please get a copy of Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports, as soon as you can. This book has the answers to all your questions, including very detailed directions for getting from your ports to various destinations. And yes, Rome is about 90 minutes from the port of Civitavecchia, and Florence is about 90 minutes from the port of Livorno, so you can't just "wing it" on arrival.

For more information, you can look at Cruise Critic. Here's their Port summary for "Rome": http://tinyurl.com/7g3jrb7

And for "Florence": http://tinyurl.com/lmnkwoz

It is easy to do. I don't remember how we got to the train station in Livorno. Probably walked. We took the train to Pisa. About a mile walk or so from the station - lots of taxis. There is really nothing there. We spent an hour or so around the Tower/plaza area taking some pictures. The line was long to go up the Tower so we walked back to the Pisa station and caught the train to Lucca. Had a great late lunch, walked the wall with a leisurely afternoon in Lucca and train ride back to Livorno. Livorno is a small port and easy to get around in.

Everyone has been so helpful and I really appreciate it. I plan to purchase the book Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports. We leave the middle of September so we have a bit of time to plan. We have 4 ports in Italy: Llivorno, Rome, Naples and Venice.
Another port city is Toulon. Any suggestions of what to do on our own?

You're in luck: Toulon, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Naples, and Venice are ALL covered in the Rick Steves book (despite the name, there are plenty of Mediterranean ports not covered). So, before asking more questions, look at the book, which is more comprehensive than any post of 4000 characters can be. Then, if you have a further question not covered by the book, start another thread with it.