millenium barcelona to venice

[dhawley]

I just finished reading Tom Ogg's detailed port guide for the Millenium Venice-Barcelona cruise. I was just blown away with the amount of detail. Since we travel with 2 teens, taking the shore excursions gets pretty pricey, so we are of necessity do-it-yourselfers, and this was just the type of information I needed.

A couple of questions Mr. Ogg or someone else may be able to answer.

Livorno - on the Italian trains website, there seems to be two stations. Which station do I want to take the train to Florence?

Is it necessary to purchase tickets ahead of time, or are there lots of seats available both there and Civitavecchia?

When we arrive in Venice at the end. we will not fly out until later that evening. Is there anywhere we can leave our luggage so we won't have to cart it all around Venice with us for the day?
Thanks for any help.

[Oggy Boy]

Hmmm, I am not aware of the second train station in Livorno. The train to Florence originates in Livorno at the main station and I would wait to purchase the ticket when you arrive at the station. It is a nice ride into Florence. Use caution though. Right by the track there is a ticket validation machine that will stamp your train ticket. If you board the train without validating it, the ticket guy on the train will fine you heavily for each ticket. There is no one on the track to tell you to validate it, so be sure to remember to do it.

Ditto for the train Civitavecchia with the excption of having to validate your ticket.

Luggage is a problem in Venice. If you can store it at the cruise terminal, you can walk to the vaparetto station at the top of the Grand Canal and take the vaparetto to visit more of Venice. I would strongly suggest making your way to the airport via taxi from the cruise terminal, rather than using the water taxi service to the public water taxi to the airport. It is much less costly and more efficient.

Hope that helps. And thanks for the kind words about my review. You will love this cruise.

Tom