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Italy after a 11 day cruise

Posted by on

Hi all, new here.

We will be in Italy on June 5,2026 after a cruise and want to spend time in Italy.

The cruise starts and debarks in Rome. We will be put up in a hotel prior to the cruise which starts on 5 25,2026.

Since we are going to be in Italy anyway, should we arrive early to spend some time in Rome before the cruise or wait until we disembark and then spend time in Rome . We want go to Florence and Venice during the trip.

We are in our 70's in good health but most likely won't get back to Europe.

We are retired so time is not a problem.

I have just ordered the guide books and will start reading them when they arrive

My main question is how much time in each location would everyone recommend?

Posted by
6173 posts

Ideally, you could fly into Venice a week before your cruise, and fly out of Rome a few days after the cruise. Venice is much easier to fly into, than out of if you are flying transatlantic, since many of the westbound flights depart very early in the morning. And getting to the Venice airport in the early hours is not straight forward. Booking a multicity ticket like this saves the time and money needed to return to the starting point.

Spend 3 nights in Venice, then train to Florence for another 3 or 4 nights, then train to Civitavecchia for the cruise. Spend another few nights in Rome before flying home.

Posted by
2 posts

The airline I am planning on using (Norse Atlantic) only fly's to Rome so that is where I will have to start or end the land portion of the trip. The our cruise sponsor (Park West Gallery) puts us up in a nice hotel the night prior to the cruise and gets us to the boat. We do not have any stops in Italy.

We were thinking of spending at least 3 nights in Rome prior to the cruise and when we get back in the morning go directly to Florence by train and then on to Venice. Probably 3 nights in each location, then back to the airport for the trip home.

Thanks for the reply's so far.

Randy

Posted by
7938 posts

If Rome RT is your only flight option your plan works

Do you need help with train info?

Posted by
9240 posts

A few ideas. Go ahead and use the same hotel that the art gallery is putting you up at for your extra nights unless it is really expensive. That will save you the hassle of changing hotels. It is is pricey, find one within a few blocks so the transfer will be easy.

You will never have enough time in any of those locations, so pick the amount of time that fits your budget and prioritize what are the highlights you want to see or experience. Many key sights have time-entry tickets so once you know the days and times you will be headed to certain sights, get right on those.

Posted by
8838 posts

I just returned from another trip to Italy and have been there several times.

Venice, Florence and Rome are what I call the big three in Italy.
You should plan on at least 5 days in Rome, 4 in Florence and 3 in Venice.

Consider flying in to Venice then taking the train to Florence and then Rome.
You will need to get transport to the port from Rome. There are trains.

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