Martine1969

We have been cruising with our sons in another room. It is possible to link reservations - see below to add their cruise (you need reservation number and last name). Once this is done, you can book the people on the same cruise in a reservation (eg from drink packages, dinner, excursion, etc). You do get a mail for each reservation number. In the calendar in the cruise planner, you do see all of the linked reservations and for whom you booked it. A bit tedious at times, but we could manage

Civitavecchia is indeed a long drive from Rome, so take that into account. But as said by others, these private companies can't afford not to drop you off on time - it will ruin their business. As mentioned, request to get back to the ship early (like 2 hrs prior to the all aboard time) and stick to it. Chances are that if you are stuck in traffic - the cruise tour may be as well. Take a picture of the port authorities info - in case you would be late - at least you can call someone in the even that you would not make it, travelling to the next port is not the biggest issue, there are plenty of ways of transportation - but this will cost you money If you can, stay in Rome/Italy a few days prior/after the cruise, so much to see!

Venice is a nice city. Luggage : prepare a small suitcase/bag for what you need in Venice and store the rest of he luggage in storage near the station/bus terminal. There are several places to store the luggage there. Going around in venice is transportation over the water or walking . Not so handy to drag all your cruise luggage with you all the time. Wear good walking shoes. To go from town to the cruise port, there is a people mover next to the train station, we took it in october but it is not that userfull. The trip is only 5 min max, costs a small fee (about 2 USD pp) but only drops you off at the outskirts of the port. you still need to drag the luggage to the port gate and the ship. If feasible (mobility and amount of luggage, ...), it is as easy and as quick to walk the distance from the train station to the port. Walk around, soak in the city and enjoy it