How the train ruined the Cruise for thousands of Civitavecchia Cruisers

Buon giorno and welcome to Stefano’s Rome Cabs, Rome’s leading company for private Transfers, Day Tours, and Shore Excursions from Civitavecchia, Livorno and Naples.

Italy has an extensive train system that can take travelers to many popular destinations in Italy from Rome. One of these destinations is Civitavecchia, the cruise port about 1.5 away from Rome.

The commuter train is the most common means to travel between Rome’s Termini Station and Civitavecchia Train Station (the 2 endpoints for this commuter train route).

Assuming it’s an easy and cheap train ride between Rome and Civitavecchia, many cruisers opt for what would seem to be a convenient, reliable and inexpensive mode of transportation between Rome and Civitavecchia.
It is true that it’s inexpensive at 5 Euros per person.

But easy, convenient AND reliable?

Thousands of cruisers left stranded did NOT find it reliable.

CIVI Train scehdule
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How the train ruined the Cruise for thousands of Civitavecchia Cruisers

Recently an unfortunate TRAIN STRIKE (trains and transportation strikes are common in Italy) left thousands of cruisers stranded either in Rome or in Civitavecchia unable to access the train they depended on for their transportation.

Being stranded like this in a foreign country without a plan B to count on can be a frightening experience and one that can ruin your much anticipated cruise!
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CRUISERS LEFT STRANDED IN ROME PRE CRUISE

Cruisers needing to travel to Civitavecchia Port to catch their ship were stranded in Rome scrambling for taxis or alternative options at costs they did not even imagine or prepare for!

For families and friends traveling together with more luggage that could fit into a taxi car (most taxis in Rome are small fuel efficient cars, not large minivans suitable for parties of 3 or more with a lot of luggage) would require more than 1 taxi.

Taking 2 taxis from Rome to the main gate of Civitavecchia Port (Rome taxis do not have access into the cruise port), it would easily cost 240 Euros or more!! And a ccording to many travelers, Rome city Taxi drivers are not known for honesty and fair competitive prices for the type of services they provide.

Hotels can arrange for last minute car service for their guests….but their prices are not economical or competitive and they can go up depending on demand (and availability for last minute car service is never guaranteed)

CRUISERS STRANDED IN CIVITAVECCHIA POST CRUISE

Cruisers who were left stranded in Civitavecchia and needed to go to their Rome hotel post cruise or to the airport to catch a flight were left at the mercy of Civitavecchia Taxis available at the port.

Civitavecchia Taxis are generally large minivans suitable for cruisers, but they do not have a set rate. Starting rate for a transfer from Civitavecchia to Rome or Airport usually starts at 200 Euros (or more, depending on demand according to some cruisers).

On train strike days, it’s hard to find a Civitavecchia taxi available since those who disembark the earliest grab the available taxis and since it can take up to 3 hours for a taxi to return to Civitavecchia after dropping off clients in Rome or the Airport, it would be a long and unguaranteed wait. There are not that many Civitavecchia Taxis available.
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CRUISERS STRANDED IN CIVITAVECCHIA ON SHORE EXCURSIONS

Cruisers who docked in Civitavecchia on a shore excursion and planned a DIY visit to Rome by train, found themselves stuck in port for the day.

For a large number of cruisers, a visit to Rome was their once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the Eternal City.

Arranging same day tours with tour companies in Rome is virtually impossible due to the complexity of arranging tours by car, and the distance from Rome (where most companies like us are basted) to Civitavecchia.

As such, a common train strike in Italy caused thousands of cruisers to miss out on their much anticipated visit to Rome.

A SIMPLE TRAIN STRIKE RUINED THE CRUISE FOR THOUSANDS OF CRUISERS!

A simple train strike which happens quite often in Italy (and most cruisers are not aware of this or do not know how to check in advance for scheduled strike days) has ruined the cruise for thousands of Cruisers who opted to take the cheapest alternative of transportation and ended up stranded.

As one of our clients who in their early cruising days got left stranded at the port due to a train strike told us:

“You get what you pay for, we tried to be penny wise but ended up Euro foolish when that 10 Euro train ride for 2 turned into 200 euro taxi misadventure”.

WHO WERE THE HAPPIEST CRUISERS ON TRAIN STRIKE DAY?

The happiest cruisers on the train strike day were those who booked private transfers and tours in advance and were not impacted by the train strike in the least.

Our shore excursion clients went on to enjoy their Rome shore excursions like nothing had happened.

Our cruising clients traveled to and from Civitavecchia on our private transfers in the comfort of their private deluxe vehicle just like any other day.

And we were delighted to hear from our happy clients following their Rome tour from Civitavecchia tell us:

“We’re so glad we booked our tour with you, we didn’t want to be like those people stuck at the port all day, they were miserable!”

For Transfers and Tours to and from Civitavecchia with Stefano’s RomeCabs, click on the following options, or you can visit our official website at http://www.RomeCabs.com