From the cruise terminal you’ll first need the short shuttle or a 15-minute walk to the town station. If you’d rather not change, private transfers and shared shuttle buses run door-to-door to central Rome in around 75–90 minutes, traffic permitting.
Train vs transfer
Take the train for cost and to skip road traffic; take a private transfer if you have limited hours in port and want to be dropped at a specific sight like the Vatican or Colosseum.
Three ways we’d do it
Fly-cruise · 10–16 days
Barcelona + Mediterranean Cruise
Fly to Barcelona, settle in for two nights, then sail the western Med.
Barcelona → Naples → Civitavecchia → Rome
Rail journey · 12–16 days
Italy Without Flying
Milan → Florence → Rome → Naples, all by fast train.
Milan → Florence → Rome → Naples