Rome and Florence Ports
Apr 26th, 2003, 01:06 PM
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Rome and Florence Ports
My wife, one year old, and I are taking a Mediterranean cruise this Summer on Royal Caribbean. I have read that you should take the train to Florence/Pisa and Rome instead of taking the $70pp bus. If you have taken the train from these ports how far is the train station from each port? How often do the trains leave? Is it correct to assume that the Florence train goes through Pisa and can you get off and get back on to Florence? Any other information you have about transportation from the ports to these cities would be appreciated. Thank You
Apr 26th, 2003, 02:04 PM
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For both Florence and Rome the train stations from the ship require a taxi in my opinion - especially with a one year old. You can find the train schedules on the internet. They run about every 45 minutes or so. You can get off at Pisa and back on with no extra charge to Florence. Just make sure you punch your ticket at one of those yellow boxes on the platforms. Most of what you'll want to see in Florence will be within 10 blocks of the train station. In Rome, I would do either ancient Rome (Coleseum, Forum, etc.) or the Vatican area but not both. If you do ancient, you'll get off at the end of the train route at Termini. If you do the Vatican, you'll get off at St. Pietro and be only several blocks away.
Peter
Peter
Apr 28th, 2003, 04:27 AM
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I saw that guy snorkelman answer a question similar to this once and I am cutting and pasting his reply:
If you were curious as to how long it takes to travel between Rome and Florence, it depends on what type of train you take. The Eurostar takes 1:35 hours, the Intercity 2:30, and the slow train 3:37. Expect to pay 30 Euro on the Eurostar for 2nd class per person, 22 Euro on the Intercity for 2nd class, and 14 Euro for the "Slow" train. (One Euro equals approximately one US dollar). Eurostar requires a seat reservation. Intercity trains charge 3 Euro supplement for each seat you reserve (but you are not required to reserve ?but it is suggested that you do during peak summer). The main downside to the slow (interregionale or regionale or diretto trains) is not their speed, but rather the fact that they do NOT have air conditioning.
If you were curious as to how long it takes to travel between Rome and Florence, it depends on what type of train you take. The Eurostar takes 1:35 hours, the Intercity 2:30, and the slow train 3:37. Expect to pay 30 Euro on the Eurostar for 2nd class per person, 22 Euro on the Intercity for 2nd class, and 14 Euro for the "Slow" train. (One Euro equals approximately one US dollar). Eurostar requires a seat reservation. Intercity trains charge 3 Euro supplement for each seat you reserve (but you are not required to reserve ?but it is suggested that you do during peak summer). The main downside to the slow (interregionale or regionale or diretto trains) is not their speed, but rather the fact that they do NOT have air conditioning.
Apr 29th, 2003, 10:56 AM
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My wife & I did the same cruise last year. I'd definately take a taxi to both train stations...they are fairly close, but not close enough to walk. We didn't get off in Pisa..I know it's possible, but it depends on how much you want to do in Florence. We did both the Accademia & Uffizi...but your baby certainly plays a factor. In Rome, we ended up doing both the Vatican and the Colliseum (took a taxi between the two), but again, that's probably too ambitious with a baby. We also took the train at Villefranche to both Eze & Nice...took a bus too in Nice.
Be watchful re: your surroundings. We saw some suspicious people near some of train stations in Italy and France. But overall, we enjoyed taking the trains & bus. It's a great way to get away from the other tourists & mix it up with natives.
Be watchful re: your surroundings. We saw some suspicious people near some of train stations in Italy and France. But overall, we enjoyed taking the trains & bus. It's a great way to get away from the other tourists & mix it up with natives.
Apr 29th, 2003, 12:45 PM
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PaulTravel...we are doing a Med cruise on Celebrity in a couple of weeks and are planning to do the train in both Rome and Florence. It was a relief to hear that somebody else managed both the Vatican and Ancient Rome in one day. What kind of time frame did you spend at each and what time did you take the trains in and out? Thanks in advance.
Apr 30th, 2003, 07:32 AM
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Penguin, here's my best recollection..
The train to Rome left somewhere around 8:30am..it takes about an hour. You should check schedules ahead of time. We got off at the St. Pietro station and walked to the Vatican..maybe 1/4 to 1/3 mile..very easy. Coincidentally, it was Wednesday, so we got there just as the Pope was getting ready to do his weekly outside service. We watched that for about an hour..then walked around to the Vatican museum entrance, where the line wasn't long because everyone was still at the service. We walked through to get to the Sistine...and probably spent an hour there..(longer than the planned cruise tours allowed)...very amazing.
We had lunch at a place across from the Vatican, then went into St. Peters for about an hour. Not enough time to go to the top, although I hear the views are wonderful.
We then took a taxi..probably about 2pm to the Colliseum. Only a 5-10 minute ride. Stayed there for an hour or hour and a half. Again, amazing. Unfortunately, no time for the Forum. We took the subway from the Colliseum to the Termini train station and caught a train at about 4:30 (I think)...even had time for a beer before the train left. Ship left port at 7pm and we were back in plenty of time.
We didn't really plan it this way...but it was great the way it turned out. Obviously superficial visits for the most part, but that's what you have to do during cruise stops. We'll spend more time during future land vacations. Have fun...it's great!
The train to Rome left somewhere around 8:30am..it takes about an hour. You should check schedules ahead of time. We got off at the St. Pietro station and walked to the Vatican..maybe 1/4 to 1/3 mile..very easy. Coincidentally, it was Wednesday, so we got there just as the Pope was getting ready to do his weekly outside service. We watched that for about an hour..then walked around to the Vatican museum entrance, where the line wasn't long because everyone was still at the service. We walked through to get to the Sistine...and probably spent an hour there..(longer than the planned cruise tours allowed)...very amazing.
We had lunch at a place across from the Vatican, then went into St. Peters for about an hour. Not enough time to go to the top, although I hear the views are wonderful.
We then took a taxi..probably about 2pm to the Colliseum. Only a 5-10 minute ride. Stayed there for an hour or hour and a half. Again, amazing. Unfortunately, no time for the Forum. We took the subway from the Colliseum to the Termini train station and caught a train at about 4:30 (I think)...even had time for a beer before the train left. Ship left port at 7pm and we were back in plenty of time.
We didn't really plan it this way...but it was great the way it turned out. Obviously superficial visits for the most part, but that's what you have to do during cruise stops. We'll spend more time during future land vacations. Have fun...it's great!
Apr 30th, 2003, 11:16 AM
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Again, just my thoughts, but you really can't do both the Vatican area and ancient Rome in one day. Paultravel only saw the Coleseum and missed the Forum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Piazza Navonna (sp??).
In my opinion, the only reason he was able to get to the coleseum was he flew thru the Sistene Chapel in an hour which could take up to two to three hours on a bad day and including some of the museum. I told my wife that when we go back to Rome for a land vacation, I will spend probably a full day in the Forum alone. There's three or four centuries worth of experiences uncovered there. We spent one hour!!
Peter
In my opinion, the only reason he was able to get to the coleseum was he flew thru the Sistene Chapel in an hour which could take up to two to three hours on a bad day and including some of the museum. I told my wife that when we go back to Rome for a land vacation, I will spend probably a full day in the Forum alone. There's three or four centuries worth of experiences uncovered there. We spent one hour!!
Peter
May 1st, 2003, 07:08 AM
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I completely agree with you PumpkinEater. Last time we were in Rome we spent a full day at the Vatican Museum and St. Peters. However, we are going with my mother who has never been and, to be honest, probably will not have an opportunity to go back. As she is not only a devout Catholic but also a retired history teacher I fear we will be forced to do the whirlwind tour for her to see everything. I guess we will have to eat our Wheaties before we head off the ship that day.
May 1st, 2003, 10:30 AM
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Penguin - this may be a ridiculous suggestion, but we thought of doing this but decided not to. Since Rome and Florence are back to back stops on the cruise, go directly to Rome from Livorno (if thats the first of the two) and spend the night in Rome and take the train back to Civitaveechia the next afternoon. This gives you twice the time in Rome to see both the Vatican area and ancient Rome. You might have to alert the ship to this plan if you decide to try it.
Peter
Peter
May 5th, 2003, 06:49 AM
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Certainly agree with most of Peter's comments...we kind of lucked out in how things fell in place. Certainly, if lines had been longer anywhere we went, it might not have worked. And we did miss a lot of sites (all but one) in Ancient Rome. But I wouldn't trade our one hour in the Colliseum for anything. Looking back, we're very happy with how it turned out.
No matter how it works out for you Penguin, good luck & have fun!
No matter how it works out for you Penguin, good luck & have fun!
