Genoa Cruise Port: Getting Ashore, Getting Into Town and What to Do in a Day

Cruise ships in Genoa berth at the Stazioni Marittime, just west of the Porto Antico (Old Harbour), so you step off the ship and can walk to town. The passenger port is an easy walk from the mainline railway station. Those arriving by train can reach it on foot, or by taxi if they have heavy luggage. The two cruise piers can handle up to 10,000 and 8,000 passengers a day, so a busy day means company on the quay.

At a glance

• Pier or anchorage: Ponte dei Mille and Ponte Andrea Doria cruise terminals
• Landing port: Stazioni Marittime, west of the Porto Antico
• Cost of getting into town: ordinary 110-minute ticket, €2.00

Where do cruise ships dock in Genoa?

Stazioni Marittime runs five passenger terminals, and two of them, Ponte dei Mille and Ponte Andrea Doria, are mainly for cruise ships. Ponte dei Mille has a quay of about 1,115 feet (340 meters) plus a further berth of about 950 feet (290 meters). Ponte Andrea Doria has two berths of about 985 feet (300 meters) each. Each terminal can berth two large ships at once.

Ponte dei Mille spreads over three levels linked by escalators and lifts, and Ponte Andrea Doria has two floors. If you’re going ashore on your own, the Porto Antico is on foot from the Maritime Station, and so is the railway station for arrivals by train. With heavy luggage, a taxi is the fallback.

Genoa is also a home port, where cruises start and end. The typical departure is a one-week Western Mediterranean loop with stops in Italy, France, Spain and Malta. Longer cruises leave for the Middle East, North Africa, Northern Europe and the Americas, and repositioning cruises run to and from the Americas and Northern Europe.

How do you get from the cruise port up to Genoa?

For longer hops the local AMT network covers buses, the Navebus, the Ferrovia Genova-Casella and line 782 to Portofino. The Met Daily ticket is valid for 24 hours on the whole network. The metro stop at Darsena or Dinegro is roughly 2,800 feet (850 meters) from the Maritime Station.

• On foot: the Porto Antico, with the Aquarium, and the railway station, for anyone able to walk a few hundred meters
• Taxi: for passengers with heavy luggage arriving by train
• Local transit: ordinary 110-minute ticket, valid across the whole Città Metropolitana network
• Day ticket: the Met Daily, valid 24 hours on the whole AMT network
• Ordinary 110-minute ticket: €2.00
• Integrated AMT-Trenitalia 110-minute ticket: €2.20
• 5-hour ordinary ticket: €5.00
• Carnet of 11 110-minute tickets: €20.00

A direct rail link between the Piazza Principe station and the cruise terminal is being built, but for now the walk is the way. For the return, the 5-hour ticket covers a full morning or afternoon ashore, and leaving town well before all-aboard keeps the walk back relaxed.

What can you do in Genoa on a cruise stop?

Porto Antico and the Aquarium

The Aquarium sits at Ponte Spinola 16 and is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with last admission at 6 p.m. It’s reachable on foot from the Maritime Station. Arriving early in the call leaves room for the rest of town.

Galata Museo del Mare

The maritime museum is open every day from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from March to October, with last admission at 6:30 p.m. From November to February it closes on Mondays and shuts at 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday. A winter call on a Monday rules it out.

Strada Nuova museums and the Palazzi dei Rolli

Palazzo Rosso, Palazzo Bianco and Palazzo Tursi are the Strada Nuova museums, and the Palazzi dei Rolli are a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city museums are open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed Monday, so check the day of your call.

Lanterna

The Lanterna has a museum and a park. Opening hours aren’t listed here, so check them before building the day around it.

When is Genoa busiest with cruise ships?

Ponte dei Mille can accommodate two large ships and up to 10,000 passengers a day, and Ponte Andrea Doria up to 8,000.

• Ponte dei Mille: up to 10,000 passengers a day
• Ponte Andrea Doria: up to 8,000 passengers a day