We will be ending our Princess cruise at Rome in
mid-October and would like to find out if anybody knows how long the process will take to get off the ship. Perhaps someone has suggestions as to how to speed up the exit. We will be spending three nights in Rome and would like to be able to plan a tour for the afternoon if we can get off the ship fast and get into the city.
Posted by
Marlborough, MA, USA
144 posts
Though i have never cruised in Europe I have gone on a few cruises. Your time in Rome dreally depends on what time your ship docks. If your ship is docking early and you really want to use the whole day I would suggest ask the hospitality crew on the ship and they will let you know. The process for disembarking really depends on the ship. Is the crew fast and thurough or slow. How full is the ship. More people longer it takes. Also once you know the docking information and really want to be one of the first off the ship have everything you need and be the first in line. Customs will be customs though so no answer for that.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
However long it takes, you can count on a crowd heading for the train station, a long line at the ticket window and a crowded train into Rome. A couple of thoughts. First, most of the train runs from Civitavecchia to Rome are Regionale (R) train runs. No seat reservations permitted on the R trains. There are R train runs about every 30 minutes. If your ship docks at another Italian port prior to Civitavecchia, you can casually visit the local train station and buy a R train ticket from Civitavecchia to Rome. There is no train number or departure time on this ticket. With this ticket, you can immediately board the train without going through the ticket line. Second, if you originally boarded in Civitavecchia and came from Rome on the train, buy a roundtrip ticket. Third, at the Civitavecchia train station, a few Eurostars will stop there. Be careful NOT to jump on these trains. Your ticket is not good on this train and you can't upgrade onboard. You just need to know that you are jumping on a R train.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23273 posts
Most of Conor info is marginal and doesn't apply to docking in Civit.... He should have stopped with, "Though i have never cruised in Europe." There is no customs or clearing to do. We have made it back into Rome as early as 10 AM. You should be able to do it in about two hours from the time you leave the ship.
Follow Larry's info for tickets BUT be sure to VALIDATE the ticket prior to getting on the train. Look for the yellow time box. Could be standing room only and you may have to sit on your luggage but having the ticket before hand is CRITICAL for saving time. Could be more than one ship in port and that will add to the crush for the train.
Most cruise ships assign a priority for departure depending on travel plans and will disembark passengers headed to the airport first. Try for the earliest departure you can get. Since we travel only with carry on luggage we do not put luggage out at night. When we have been unable to get an early departure we have simply walked off the ship. They complain some but what can they do -- you are leaving. A shuttle bus will take you to the port entrance. For there it is about a mile walk to the train station. You will see it straight ahead along the beach. There will be a mob of taxis, shuttles, and drivers looking for their people, at the entrance. Taxis will not take you to the station -- too short a distance.
Train ride will be about hour or a little more. Unfortunately the train from Civi... uses tracks 23 and 24 which are in the FAR corner of Termini. Keep walking you will make it to the front of the station but it is a long walk. Under the worse of circumstances you should make it by noon easily.