Italy’s cruise ports stretch from the mainland coast to Sicily and Sardinia. You’ll most likely see Civitavecchia for Rome, Livorno for Florence and Pisa, Genoa, Savona, La Spezia, Naples, Sorrento, Salerno, Amalfi and Portofino in the west; Venice, Trieste, Ravenna and Bari in the north-east; and Palermo, Catania, Messina and Cagliari on the islands.
Italy cruise ports map
Italy’s 15 cruise ports run from Trieste and Venice in the far north to Palermo and Sorrento in the far south. Tap a pin to open that port’s guide.
Rome (Civitavecchia)
Rome’s cruise port is Civitavecchia, about 80 km north-west of the city centre. It is one of the Mediterranean’s busiest turnaround ports, and it is not a quay inside Rome, whatever the brochure map suggests. Ships berth rather than tender, and free port shuttles run from the cruise berths to the passenger hub at Largo della Pace, where transfers into the city pick up.
By train, Largo della Pace is about 1.5 km and 15 to 20 minutes on foot from Civitavecchia station, or 600 m and 10 minutes from the Forte Michelangelo port gate. Trains reach Roma Termini and Roma San Pietro in about 55 minutes to 1 hour 20, roughly every 30 to 60 minutes, and Roma Ostiense is the useful stop for the Colosseum.
Validate your ticket in the platform machine before boarding. An unvalidated ticket is how people end up having a very expensive conversation with an inspector.
A private car or van transfer takes 75 to 90 minutes each way depending on traffic. Either way, plan on 4 to 5 hours in Rome plus the trip. Pick one area rather than trying to cover the city, and know which earlier train you can catch if the one you planned is full.
Livorno
Livorno is the port for Florence and Pisa, and it is a working harbour where the berth decides your morning. Ships over 300 m use the terminal on Banchina Alto Fondale, and ships around 260 m use the Terminal Crociere Antonio Battistini at Calata Deposito Franco.
Neither is a walk into town: there is no pedestrian route from the main berths. The PortoLivorno2000 shuttle takes about 10 minutes to Piazza del Municipio, and some cruise lines include it.
Molo 75, Molo Capitaneria and Calata Sgarallino are the berths closest to the centre, at just over 1 km to 1.7 km, and those you can walk. Coach transfers to Florence take about 1 hour 30 each way and drop at Piazzale Montelungo beside Santa Maria Novella, giving roughly four to four and a half hours in the city.
Coaches for Pisa park at Pietrasantina, about 15 minutes on foot from the Leaning Tower, and typical itineraries allow around 75 minutes at Piazza dei Miracoli.
La Spezia
La Spezia is the port for the Cinque Terre, and it is the Italian port where the shuttle is not optional. Ships berth at Molo Garibaldi on the west side, and you cannot walk through the working port: a compulsory shuttle takes you to the passenger terminal at Largo Michele Fiorillo.
From there it is about 25 minutes on foot along the flat, pedestrianised Via del Prione to La Spezia Centrale, or a short taxi ride.
Regional trains from Centrale run to the five villages. Shuttle queues at peak times can add 10 to 20 minutes each way, so for a 17:00 all-aboard, be on the return train around 15:20. The queue back is the one that catches people.
Genoa
Genoa has two purpose-built cruise terminals, Ponte dei Mille and Ponte Andrea Doria, both run by Stazioni Marittime Genova and both on the old port waterfront beside the UNESCO-listed historic centre. This is the easiest of the big Italian ports to walk off into a city, and it suits anyone who would rather wander than sit on a coach. You step off and you are in it.
MSC homeports at Genoa and lists the terminal as Genova Cruise Terminal at Ponte dei Mille or Ponte Andrea Doria, with a valet service at either. Piazza Principe international station is within walking distance of the passenger port, though you cross busy roads to reach it.
Savona
Savona shares a port system with Genoa, and cruise port listings name the pair together. Ships calling here are working the Ligurian coast rather than heading for a major city, so it makes a quieter, shorter port day than Genoa or Livorno. That is not a bad thing if you have had enough coach time.
Portofino
Portofino is a small harbour on the Ligurian coast east of Genoa, and the call is about the village itself rather than a city day. There is no major sight to tick off, so shore time is a wander round the harbour rather than a schedule. Bring comfortable shoes and no list.
Naples
Naples is a walking port. Ships berth at Stazione Marittima on Molo Angioino, right beside Castel Nuovo, and Municipio metro station is about 300 m from the pier, with the centro storico and the seafront beyond it. The city starts the moment you step off.
Molo Beverello, next door, is the hydrofoil pier for Capri, Ischia, Procida and Sorrento, and it is a different quay from the cruise arrivals hall. The two names get used interchangeably, so check which one you are heading for.
Molo Beverello is the one you want for a boat, not the terminal building. Napoli Centrale is about 3 km away, 7 minutes by taxi, and Capodichino airport about 7 km, served by the Alibus from Piazza Garibaldi and Piazza Municipio.
Sorrento
Sorrento sits across the bay from Naples and is reached by hydrofoil from Molo Beverello in about 40 minutes, which makes it an easy day out on a Naples call. When a ship does use Sorrento itself, the town and the ferry quay are close to where you land, so the day is on foot rather than on a coach. The hydrofoil is the quick bit; the queue for it is the slow bit.
Salerno
Salerno is the Amalfi Coast port. Its cruise terminal is the Stazione Marittima at Molo Manfredi, the Zaha Hadid-designed shell building on the seafront, and ships berth alongside: you walk off and are about ten minutes from the centro storico, with the flat Lungomare Trieste in front of you. It is a rare thing on this coast: a port day that starts with a flat walk.
Ferries leave from Molo Manfredi or from Piazza della Concordia for Amalfi, Positano, Capri, Ischia, Procida, Vietri, Maiori and Cetara, and there is a ticket office and information point in the terminal. Book the return sailing before you set out and check which pier it leaves from, because Piazza della Concordia is a 25 to 30 minute walk from the cruise berth.
That walk is fine in the morning and less fine when you are chasing a departure.
Amalfi
Amalfi is on the coast south of Salerno and is usually reached by ferry from beside the ship at Molo Manfredi, which makes it the natural add-on to a Salerno call. Ships that call at Amalfi itself put you into a small town that is quick to cover on foot, with the coast road to Positano and Ravello as the bigger draw. The town is small; the coast road is the day.
Which Italian cruise ports use tenders?
Almost every Italian cruise port berths, including Civitavecchia, Livorno, Naples, Genoa and Trieste. The two where your ship may anchor are La Spezia and Salerno. That is the short list.
At La Spezia, the port captain’s ordinance names specific Royal Caribbean ships at anchorages I8 and I10 in the inner roads, tendering to Molo Italia and Garibaldi. At Salerno, some calls use the industrial harbour at Molo di Ponente and Molo Tre Gennaio instead of Molo Manfredi. That is a different day out, not a different pier.
That Salerno berth is about 3 km from the centre and cannot be walked, so tendering and a free port shuttle, wheelchair-accessible, both apply. Check the berth for your sailing before you plan the day.
Venice
Venice is the Italian port that has changed most. Ships over 25,000 gt and longer than 180 m are barred from the Giudecca Canal, so big ships use Marittima, Fusina, Marghera or Chioggia, and only ships up to 25,000 gt can use San Basilio. The days of sailing past St Mark’s from a big ship are over.
Check-in follows the berth. For Marghera you check in at Marittima, drop bags there and take the operator’s ferry across; MSC tells its passengers not to travel to Marghera independently.
At Fusina, Marittima, San Basilio and Chioggia you check in on site. Fusina takes ships up to 250 m at FU4 and 210 m at FU3, and can homeport two at once. Read the check-in address twice; it is the bit people get wrong.
Trieste
Trieste is the practical alternative to Venice, about a two-hour drive from the city, with ships berthing at Molo Bersaglieri at Trieste Terminal Passeggeri on 3 Molo dei Bersaglieri. Costa, MSC, Norwegian, Holland America, TUI Cruises, Marella and Royal Caribbean all use it, in both homeport and transit mode.
It is one of the Italian Adriatic cruise ports, along with Venice, Ravenna and Bari. It is a city break in its own right, not just a Venice overflow.
Ravenna
Ravenna’s cruise terminal is at Porto Corsini, about 8 km from the city centre, so it is a shuttle port rather than a walking one. The official Visit Ravenna shuttle links the terminal with the railway station in about 30 minutes and drops at Viale Luigi Carlo Farini beside Piazza Anita Garibaldi, 300 m from the station.
Public bus line 90 also runs between the station and Porto Corsini, but it stops about 500 m from the terminal with no direct drop-off, which is the difference between a stroll and a haul with luggage.
Bari
Bari’s new cruise terminal is under construction on Banchina 10, so the port works around a building site for now. Bari-Brindisi Cruise Terminal holds the concession for passenger services and car parks at both Bari and Brindisi, while the berths themselves stay public, which means the layout can shift. Do not get attached to one walking route.
Palermo
Palermo’s cruise terminal is on Molo Vittorio Veneto, run by West Sicily Gate, the MSC and Costa venture that also runs Trapani, Porto Empedocle and Termini Imerese. The Vittorio Veneto quay takes two large cruise ships at once, and the nearby Sammuzzo quay has been rebuilt for large ships and a hydrofoil terminal.
Palermo is not Sicily’s only call: Messina and Catania take ships on the island’s other coasts, and the cruise ports in Sicily guide covers them along with Trapani and Porto Empedocle.
Italian cruise port FAQs
Which terminal do Costa and MSC use at Civitavecchia?
Costa and MSC both use Roma Cruise Terminal’s Terminal Amerigo Vespucci at berth 12bis, an 11,000 sq m building on the quay. Royal Caribbean, which co-owns the terminal, usually uses it too but sometimes works from 12B North instead, so check your boarding documents.
How do you get to Capri from Naples cruise port?
To get to Capri from Naples cruise port, walk next door to Molo Beverello and take a hydrofoil, which takes about 40 minutes. The slower ferry leaves from Calata di Massa and takes around 80 minutes. Both are away from the cruise terminal itself, so allow time to find the right ticket office. The hydrofoil is the one you want if you are watching the clock.
What time are the first ferries from Salerno?
The first ferries from Salerno leave at 07:50, when Alicost departs for Ischia, Procida and Capri; NLG sails at 08:25 for Naples, Sorrento and Capri, and a separate Capri service leaves at 08:40 and returns at 16:25.
Can you see Florence and Pisa in one day from Livorno?
You can see Florence and Pisa in one day from Livorno on a combined coach day, but the time in Florence shrinks. A Florence-only transfer buys roughly four to four and a half hours in the city; adding Pisa usually means about 75 minutes at Piazza dei Miracoli.
How far is Genoa cruise port from the airport?
Genoa cruise port is 6 km from Cristoforo Colombo city airport, and the airport is also 6 km from the city centre, so it is a short taxi ride to the ship.
Are cruises stopping in Italy?
Yes, cruises are stopping in Italy. Ships sail from Civitavecchia, Genoa, Naples, Venice, Trieste, Ravenna and Bari, and call at smaller harbours along the coast and in Sicily. For routes that pair Italian ports with France or Greece, see Mediterranean cruises that include Italy.
Last Updated: 29 October 2026