Cruise to Italy, then what?

I don't think you have time for all of that. From where you boat docks to Florence will be an almost 5 hour train ride, so that would eat up day 1. You'd have day 2 in Florence and then you'd have to head down to Rome for days 3 and 4. Florence to Rome by train is pretty fast. So you could do these two cities. No way for Venice, even though I love it there.

You also might want to consider spending your whole time in Rome. The one thing about a cruise is that you only get little tastes of different ports. You could contrast that with a nice long stay in Rome to really get a feel for the city, especially if you've never been there before.

I get the desire to squeeze in as much as possible, but Venice, Florence and Rome is just too rushed. Florence/Rome or just Rome are okay options. There's lots of other possibilities, depending on your interests.

I would spend a minimum of 2 full days in Rome, then take a 1 hr early morn flight to Venice for the remaining two days and fly home from there. Spending the entire time in Rome is optimal!

Italy is just chock-full of "must-go" places. With 4 days, I'd either stay in Rome or split time between Florence and Rome. While it's only about 1.5 hours on the train from Florence to Rome, you'll use time to pack, check out, get to the train station and find your train. When you get to Rome, you have to get to your hotel, check in and drop your luggage.

If you stay in Rome, you can day trip to Florence (expensive, but convenient) and/or Orvieto (also a lovely place and much cheaper by train). If you want Florence, buy tickets 2-3 months in advance (non-refundable) and save about 50%.

Thank you all for the suggestions. A few extra details: 1) We must fly back home from Rome. 2) I've never been to Europe, and although I know I am trying to see so much, you all may be right... Too much in such little time. 3) Visiting Venice would be a dream come true. Or, is it just not that important to travel so far north to see on this short trip. Thnx!

OK, the additional information is helpful. I get your desire to see Venice...it's my favorite city anywhere. Rome has more historic sites, just keep that in mind. But it's your trip and, as long as you're willing to pay for the more complicated itinerary, you can see Venice.

I don't have all the details as I've not done these transfers. Maybe someone else will chime in with more ideas.

But, disembark the cruise. Train to Rome. (about 1 hour) Train to Venice (3 hr 45 min). Sleep all 4 nights in Venice and fly down to Rome on day 5 if your flight doesn't leave early in the day. If it does, you'll want to fly down on day 4. Be prepared for expensive train tickets, as you won't really be able to buy them in advance since I imagine it will be hard to know EXACTLY how long disembarking will take, then getting to Rome etc.

With those many days in Venice, you will have time for a day trip by train...to Padua, Vincenza or Verona.

And did I mention that it's our 25th year Anniversary. Lol. Hence the romantic Gondola ride. Lol. What kills a day is the disembarking of the ship. We do arrive at port at 5:30am but I've been told the Port Authority wont give clearance until 7:30-8:30am. Plus add whatever deck clearance time the ship let's out passengers, etc. So we are missing out on all those early train rides. The next available train out is at 10 or 11am. The train ride is 5 1/2 hours to Venice. It just kills that entire day. So I don't know. Maybe skip Venice all together. Book Rome for the 4 nights, (which was a great suggestion from one of the readers who saw my dilemma). Day of arrival Coliseum and Pantheon. Day 2 early 6am ride to Florence, Pisa, San Gimignano and Siena. Back to Rome for late night dinner. And day 3 and 4 the rest of Rome. Or option 2... strait off the ship to Florence. Stay the night. Day 2 early 6am Venice. Day 3 early 6am Rome for the last two days. Believe me, logistics is half the fun! But I want to make this first trip to Italy a memorable one.

Don't forget the Vatican! Walks of Italy does fantastic tours!

Yes. Of course. Vatican is in our plans. We are staying at an AirBnb right in front of the Varican. I guess my question is... Is Venice worth going so far north to only stay for a day or leave for a future trip?

It's unclear whether your flight home is booked by the cruise company and inflexible. Most cruise company air departments will make a customized reservation for (use to be ... ) $50 per person, but I don't know - it's called "a deviation." Buying on the internet today, who knows? When you say "must fly home from Rome", does that mean the ticket is already bought? And maybe you can't get any more time off from work.

Do you know what time your flight home will be? While I would never fly into a city the same day as a cruise departure, I would consider flying from Venice to Rome in the morning if my flight home left mid-afternoon. Just an idea to consider, if you dare. You have to watch out for bargain-airline reliability and use of secondary airports, BTW.

I also "get" the Venice thing. But Rome is also a magical, romantic place. Because you mentioned Florence (which is closer), I would say that if you like art, Florence is also magical and romantic, with adjacent auxiliary sites like Fiesole.

Whatever you choose, you can't realistically do Florence - Pisa - Siena - San Gimignano in a day. Assuming you could somehow make all those train connections work out, you'd see nothing at all of any city.

I see your dilemma, but it's a great dilemma to be in....you're going to see part of Italy and if you love it, you'll come back another time. Pick one city...two cities MAX and have a fantastic time there.

Hi Tim. Flight is leaving 10am. It's a 19 day vacation. 13 at on ship. Departing Ft. Lauderdale. 9 days at sea then Portugal, Gebraltar, Spain and then Rome. We added a few extra days to the trip to visit some key spots in Italy. Flight back purchased through cruise. Alitalia for only $360 one way back to Ft. Lauderdale. Non stop flight. Could not refuse that price. Every time I look at the Italy map I want to do more places and go further. But obviously I need to be realistic. Florence is closer to Rome. Is Venice worth that 5.5 hour there and back? Will it fit a relatively complete first take of what Italy is? Thank you all for your wonderful help. Love this forum.

First, lets back up a bit ----- Where are you getting the idea that Venice is a 5.5 hour trip? It is 3.45 hours, plus nearly one hour from Termini (Rome train station). And, of course, 3.45 hours back to Rome. It is faster than flying. You only would consider flying if you were already at the airport.

Second, you be off the ship by 10am and probably earlier. Which cruise line? And if you have only carry on luggage you can walk off anytime. You can also request early departure. The train station in Civit... is only a 15 min walk for the port entrance where the cruise ship's shuttle will drop you. (See roninrome.com for a very detail description of get to the port from Rome - read it backwards). The slowest train will take an hour 15 and the fastest 45 minutes. Basically a commuter run roughly three times an hour. So you could easily book a 12.50 or 13.50 train from Rome to Venice. That would get you there late afternoon. Still in time for an evening gondola. Trains run every hour at .50. Spend three nights if that is your high priority and catch a train back to Rome. In Rome stay at Hotel Sonya or Aberdeen near Termini - convenient walking to most sites. Catch a shared shuttle or taxi to the airport in the AM. You don't have enough time for Florence. My preference would be to stay in Rome but Venice is doable and spend more time in Rome the next time.

Since you "...want to make this first trip to Italy a memorable one" my suggestion is to confine it to Rome. If you try to do too much in your limited amount of time your trip might be memorable for all the wrong reasons. Getting from one place to another will almost always eat up more time than anticipated. And it you change about every day or so it will flat wear you out. I understand wanting to see Venice -- it's my favorite place in Italy. But number two is Rome and there is more than enough to keep you busy the whole time. Another advantage to staying only in Rome is that there is only one transfer from the port to the city, only one hotel to reserve, only one arrangement to make to get to the airport, and etc.. We've spent a good bit of time in Rome (some of it before and after cruises using Civitavecchia) so let us know if you need specific info.

Just wanted to add a general response to the question "Is XXX worth it". It is not really possible for anyone to judge the worth of something to someone else. For me personally, a trip to Venice with your short time frame would not be worth it. Others who enjoy Venice more than I do might feel differently. But looking at it from another angle, It looks like the cruise across the ocean is worth it to you whereas it would not be for me!

I vote for spending your 3.5 days in Rome. There is so much to see!

md, while Pam is perfectly right, I myself think that Venice is a special case. But her thoughts bring up the difference between cruising and independent travel. Have you been to Europe before? Now, the entire Rick Steves premise is that it's easy, but requires ... er... education. There's big difference between obeying the Host's orders to file onto the bus by the gangway, and finding out what you want to see in Venice and how to get there each day from your hotel. Just want to be sure you are ready to go to the library and read a two-year old book about 300-year old attractions in Venice. You can't do this planning on your cell phone while you ride the bus to work.

The other point is that a long cruise is a very different social experience than what amounts to a Honeymoon-alone couple in Venice. We aren't even that social on a cruise, so the difference wouldn't shock us. But you are less likely to talk to other couples in Venice - unless you go to the restaurants in Fodors or Frommers!

As others have noted, you need to think a lot more about check-out, check-in, and travel time than about Day 1,2,3. I'm tempted to say that you should go to Venice, and spend the last night in the best located Rome hotel you can afford, so you can walk to a few high points and have a nice (pre-reserved) dinner before you fly home. Make sure you buy the Unlimited Laundry option on teh boat, so you have no laundry on the mainland days.

I don't want to make you worry, please. I've been to Europe at least 30 times, and you are going to have a wonderful anniversary trip. Venice is completely ready-for English-speaking tourists, to say the least! But I would never pay the price for a gondola ride, especially with the potential for arguments over the fare. I've been to Venice twice, and it's everything you believe it to be.