How early can I board Symphony in Italy

[NC Grateful Dead Dad]

Going on Symphony in August.  Leaving out of Civitavecchia, Italy that night at 8:00.  We are staying in Rome the night before and were going to arrange for a ride to Civitavecchia and would like to book it.  Or since it is an hour and a half away, do we need to book a room in Civitavecchia instead?  For an 8pm departure, what will be the earliest non-suite passangers will be able to start boarding?

[Jkaczano]

Here is a link to my blog on boarding Odyssey in Civi in May.  It includes timing on leaving Rome, arriving at the terminal, and boarding

 

 

[Marga]

We sailed from Civitavecchia 3 times. First check-in available was noon each time. We always went around 11am and usually were able to board a little before noon.

You can travel in the morning or the evening before. Cost-wise Civitavecchia is cheaper, but there is nothing to do there. So if you want to see the sights, stay in Rome.

You can also take a train from Rome to Civitavecchia. It's probably cheaper than a taxi. It's about an hour by train if you book a fast connection.Trains can be booked here: www.trenitalita.com  If you do take a train make sure to go to the train station early. They have a few 'weird'  train platforms there and it take about 15 minutes to walk there. The first time we were running like crazy to make the train   Most of the trains to Civitavecchia depart from these platforms.

From the station there is a shuttle to the ship. It used to be 2,50 euro (cash only) per person, but last year suddenly there was complimentary shuttle from Royal Caribbean. 

 

[RebN]

We just completed our Symphony of the Sea cruising the Mediterrean.  The earliest we could board was 12:30.  We also stayed in Rome, had a party of 5 so we had hired a van.  We had no problem with embarkation.