We are planning to catch the 8AM out of Rome to St. Lucia, Venice, which puts us in at 1PM. We have to be on board our cruise ship by 3PM. Do we need to be concerned about delays on the trains? We could take the earler 6AM train, but after 2 days of booking it through Rome, I thoughtmy travel partners would appreciate 2 more hoursof sleep. So.. trains usually on time?
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
Sally - I think you might have to get up early! If you arrive, as you say in Termini at 1 PM, there are only three trains - on a weekday - that will get you to Civitavecchia before 3 PM... and one is not scheduled to arrive until 14:57, no good for you!
The train station is about 3/4 mile from the harbor entrance and probably about 2 miles from your boat; shuttles and taxis are available but you have to factor that time in also! Here are the trains from Termini to Civitavecchia after 1 PM:
Regional Train "3258" Departs 13:09 Arrives 14:15
IC Plus Train "526 Carignano" Departs 13:46 Arrives 14:32
Regional Train "12240" Departs 13:39 Arrives 14:57
Larry or Frank can perhaps give you better options but having taken the train from Termini to Civitavecchia a few times, this seems to be cutting it a little close if YOU MUST be on the boat by 3 PM.
Good luck,
Ron
Posted by
Norfolk, USA
255 posts
Sally.....I think that Ron may have mis-read your post.....or maybe I am misreading it. If I have it correctly, you are leaving from Rome and going to Venice to meet your cruise. Is that correct? I personally think that you should take as early a train as possible even if that means 2 hours earlier. Even if trains run on time, 2 hours may be cutting it close on the Venice end to ensure that you meet your ship on time.
Posted by
OP
vero beach, fl, US
42 posts
Thanks for that info... St. Lucia train station is with 2km of the port and the ship doesnt actually pull out until 5PM...but even 4 hours may not be enough if the trains have a habit of being late (like airlines)!
We have 1.5 days in Rome so I suspect we'll be a tired bunch by the time we're on that train... oh well, we'll sleep on board! Thanks for your help!
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
Oops I did have it backwards... I read the other direction. Two hours is cutting it close but it's probably easier going north to Venice than south to Rome! Sorry!
Ciao,
Ron
Posted by
Meteghan, N.S., Canada
152 posts
Sally, the eurostar's have a pretty good track record re being on, or close to, on time. Four hours sounds like a reasonable buffer but obviously if there was a major delay your stress level would increase considerably.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Sally, I would suggest that your target time to be in Venice is 2:00pm. This gives you an hour after arrival to get from the train station to the ship.
CLICK HERE to see what the morning train schedule looks like.
Next, there are two ways to do this. 1) the train arrives at Santa Lucia. The vaporetto stop in front of the train station is one stop away from the Piazzale Roma stop which is where you want to go. As you come out of the train station, you want a vaporetto that's going from your left and proceeding to your right. Once off the vaporetto, you're still just over a kilometer from the ship. Later this year, a new bridge over the Grand Canal will permit walking from the train station to the ship but for now, you have to take the vaporetto for one stop. A single-ticket fare is 6.50Euro. They don't check for tickets as you get on the vaporetto so many will try for the quick one-stop trip. However, they do spot check now and then and you won't like the fine.
The second method is to get off the train at Venezia Mestre which is one stop earlier than Venezia Santa Lucia. Go to the station entrance and take a taxi into the Piazzale Roma. A bit more money and sometimes the traffic can back up but some say it's easier and faster. Again, the best advice is to be very close by 2:00pm.