If you want, you could get a private transfer from FCO airport to the cruise port. It will probably cost you around $100 per person. On the other hand you can a take the train and it will cost you around just 11 euros per person. You don’t have to guess what we chose lol.
What follows is a step-by-step travel guide that will help you take the train from Rome airport to the cruise port and potentially save a ton of money! 🙂
-> This travel day guide is part of our Sun Princess back-to-back Mediterranean Anniversary Cruise series.
How to Get to the Train Station from FCO Fiumicino Airport
After disembarking our RyanAir Flight, we followed the exit signs “Uscita” as you can see below on the right.
Once you round the bend, look for the bright yellow sign featuring various modes of ground transportation including the Train.
In our case, we were directed to exit the airport and walk outside to the train station. Periodically you would see the yellow square sign with the train icon on it.
The train station had lovely, large planters with tropical foliage which provided seating for passengers waiting, as well as a cafe and ticketing offices on either side.
In the picture below, the train platform is behind us and in front of us is an entrance to Fiumicino Airport. It’s really convenient that you can take the train directly to the airport in Rome for your flight or hop on a train to your destination, like the Civitavecchia Cruise Port for a Mediterranean Cruise right after your flight!
Entering the Rome Airport Train Platform
The train platform at FCO stazione is not exceptionally big. Therefore you can only pass through when your train is one of the next to arrive. For mobile tickets, we had to see a live staff member to go through. Paper tickets could be scanned automatically. A bit counterintuitive, but whatever! 🙂
Upon entering the platform is a sign showing the next train and the stops it will make, as seen below.
Rome Airport Train Station — Buying Tickets
When it comes to buying train tickets you have a few options.
- You can buy them in advance from trenitalia
- You can buy them at a ticketing machine in the airport or train station
- You can buy them at a ticketing counter – which is helpful if you need assistance from a human. 🙂
We bought our tickets in advance. Once you get to the train station you can validate your ticket on the app. Once validated, ticket times cannot be adjusted.
For instance if you want to board an earlier train, but you have already validated your ticket, you will have to wait until the scheduled train time.
This happened to us. We wanted to have tickets booked in advance so we wouldn’t be stressed at the airport/train station, knowing we would be tired. We also weren’t sure how timely our RyanAir Flight would be, so we added a little buffer time of around 1 hour after our flight was scheduled to land for our train ticket. In the end we could have taken an earlier train if we adjusted the ticket time once we arrived to the station and then validated the ticket. At least that’s my understanding from what the attendant told me. 🙂
Really it was not too long or a big deal to wait and it gave us time to observe the flow of the airport station. Just sharing the details in case it helps you on your next trip to Rome!
Pro Tip: If you’re having difficulty purchasing tickets for a train from the airport through trenitalia, try entering your search and clicking through rome2rio. 😉
Changing Trains at Roma Ostiense Station
To get to Civitavecchia Cruise Port from Rome Airport you will need to take 2 trains. We took the train from the airport to Roma Ostiense station. We followed the signs to the platform where we would board our connecting train, which you can see below.
Lost in Translation
One amusing thing when traveling is finding humor in how signs are translated to English. Apparently, if you do not speak Italian the elevator is only operational from 5am until noon. lol in actuality it runs from 5am to midnight. :p
Getting to the Cruise Terminal from Civitavecchia Train Station
After exiting the train station at Civitavecchia station, there were quite a few drivers offering to take passengers to the ship for a fee. There is also a paid shuttle bus that costs 6 euros per person. We had read conflicting things about how far that bus gets you and the area was so congested we decided to just keep walking toward the ship on our own.
I have to be honest, it was not a super easy walk. It was extremely hot out, we had left our house at 3am and it was now like 1:30pm and we were running on fumes, at least I was for sure. Also, the sidewalks are in no way designed for seamlessly pulling luggage. We each had just one carry-on with a personal bag on top, but if you also had checked luggage – forget it! lol
Michelangelo Fortress Civitavecchia
As you are walking toward the cruise port, you will see Michelangelo Fortress on your left. It is not necessary to take this path to get to the cruise ships. You actually want to stay on the other side of the street.
Free Shuttle to Civitavecchia Cruise Port
After crossing the street, to our happy surprise, we found a free shuttle to the cruise ship! It all happened so quickly, I snapped this picture of what was outside the window of the shuttle once we were on.
Here is a snip of a map from the Port of Civitavecchia. I circled in red where the train station is located on the bottom right and where the free shuttle pick up is.
The shuttle was quite full and it was hot onboard as well. About 20 minutes from when we boarded we were close enough to see the ship – so exciting!
There she is – the brand new Sun Princess!
Boarding Sun Princess Cruise Ship in Rome (Civitavecchia Port)
Boarding Sun Princess was an absolute breeze. If you’re used to sailing the Caribbean you will be more accustomed to longer wait times to board your ship. Because many European/Mediterranean cruises are multiple voyages combined, you don’t have a day where 100% of the passengers are disembarking and all the new cruisers are embarking.
Some people stay on the ship for 2 or 3 itineraries back to back. This makes it really nice, I think, as it cuts down on congestion and speeds up your embarkation time. And hey, if you can swing it financially you might as well. You’re probably traveling quite far to embark and if you can stay for 2 segments you will see a ton of Europe or the Mediterranean in one go!
As you can see there are very few people in line to board and the chairs are totally empty. 🙂
It took just a few moments at the counter for us to pick up our “Medallions”. Some cruise lines use plastic cards as your room key and to scan you in and out of the ship at various ports. Others have move into various wearables like the Medallion Princess has. It comes on a lanyard, but there are tons of accessories you can buy for it if you’re into that sort of thing. From wrist bands, to keychains, and Apple Watch adapters to necklaces and bracelets.
With our medallions in hand it was time to let the adventure begin on this Anniversary Mediterranean cruise “onboard the Marvelous Sun Princess! Ciao…. for now” iykyk :p
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