Known as the cruise port of Rome, Civitavecchia Port welcomes most of the major cruise lines, with capacity for several ships to dock at the same time.

The port is located to the west of Civitavecchia and along the Western Mediterranean coast. As far as shore excursions are concerned, there’s not much to see in Civitavecchia itself so Rome is the obvious choice of place to visit.

Of course, cruise lines offer their own excursions. For example, Norwegian Cruise Lines has a Rome and the Vatican tour as part of its seven-night Western Mediterranean cruise on-board Norwegian Epic, and Saga will offer various Rome tours during its A Mediterranean Trio cruise aboard Saga Pearl II next year. Excursions available with Saga include On Foot Through Ancient Rome, Rome and the Vatican, and Panoramic Tour of Rome.

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean International’s Vision of the Seas will call at Civitavecchia on its 11-night Italy, Malta & Spain Cruise. Ben Bouldin, sales director UK & Ireland for Royal Caribbean International said: “Once in Rome, guests can enjoy excursions such as olive oil tasting and a tour of the surrounding countryside, as well as the chance to delve into the city’s renowned historical sights and vibrant culture at their own pace.”

However, clients may want to go on a tour independently from the cruise line and here’s an opportunity for travel agents to earn commission by booking customers 011 tours with shore excursion companies such as Viator, Tripashore and cruisingexcursions.com.

Cruisingexcursions.com’s chief operating officer Simonne Fairbanks said: “Rome’s port of Civitavecchia is a main port of call on European cruises and on average 85% of passengers take a tour. Our best selling shore excursion is Rome the Complete Tour; it’s a perfect tour for a first-time visitor and gives a Rome ‘taster’, allowing the customer to see the main sights.

Selling excursions is a valuable revenue channel for travel agents. An average cruisingexcursions.com travel agent sale of £300pp gives around £48pp in commission.”

The added benefit of these ships is that they can offer skip the line entrance to the main sights such as the Colosseum.

If clients want to head to the city independently, they should be aware that the journey is around 70km from the port. Therefore, if it’s a mid cruise port call and they only have one day to see the city, timings will need to be carefully planned.

There are different ways of getting to Rome. A train goes from Civitavecchia main station (a 15-minute walk from the port) to Roma Termini, line FL5. The journey takes around 70 minutes, trains run every 30 minutes, and it costs €5 euros. It can be booked at trenitalia.it.

The most convenient way to go to the city, however, is by private transfer. A shared round trip from Civitavecchia Port to Rome city centre costs from €65 per person with pick up from just outside the cruise terminal. More details can be found at shuttlecruiseline.com/en/ or civi.tavecchiaport.org/transfer/

Fairbanks continued: “When porting in Civitavecchia for the first time, a lot of OUT customers choose to take a private option with a small vehicle. The smaller vehicles can get closer to the sites, which means less walking than on the group tours and more time to experience the many sites.”

Trips are also available for customers who disembark in Civitavecchia to see the main sights before they get dropped off at the airport. So with all these options your clients can choose what suits them best for a trip to Rome.