Suggestions for Arriving 1 Day Early in Rome

[suzski]

We'll be cruising in September 2011 from Rome, and are planning on flying in the day before so that we can do a bit of touring. Here are my questions:

 

- we'll be arriving (very jet lagged) in the morning and will be staying at the Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora using points. Since it is very centrally located to many of the sights, I figured that we would go to our hotel and get checked in, and then do a bit of touring before getting to bed fairly early. Then, I'm thinking that we might be best off doing a private tour the next day (our ship departs at 6:00 pm) with either RIT or AllAroundItaly, having them take us (and our luggage) around Rome and, ultimately, to the port.

 

Does this sound like the best use of our time? It's just my husband and I and we have never been in Rome so we definitely want to get the full 'tourist' experience in the short amount of time we have.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Suzan

[euro cruiser]

In general your plan makes sense, except that you are putting together two different things, a driver and a guide. What would you be expecting from your tour? A driver can take you from place to place, but cannot be a guide, other than to offer overview information then drop you off.

[Keith1010]

For the next day keep in mind that you need to check in at least 90 minutes before your cruise and tht the port is about 90 minutes from the downtown area. This could vary with traffic. And allow time for the check in process. What I am getting at is you will probably have the morning to tour Rome. I would get a private guied and also include them dropping you off at the port.

 

If you can do more the first day I would try to do that as well but I know that jet lag can be a challenge.

 

Enjoy!

 

Keith

[kuldalai]

Rome is the eternal city and you are not going to see much in a single day. You should be arriving in Rome a minimum of 3 days in advance of cruise departure to do Rome justice . It will take you half a day to get from Rome City to the Port .

 

Seriously consider flying in two days earlier allowing minimum 3 days, otherwise you may as well just arrive and go straight from the Airport to the ship .

[kadey]

Hi Suzski! Last year we left out of Venice and this year we leave out of Rome.Like last year,we are get in very early(from Phila.) the day before our cruise. I'd love to fly in 3 days before but DH just can't get all that time off!We run from the second we hit ground until we get on the ship and try to get in as much as possible!

 

Please look in this area of the boards for a googled walking map of the various sights in Rome. I think two posters were kind enough to do them and posted them here.Both are wonderful. -Kade

[suzski]

Thanks all for your advice.

 

As much as I realize that I need to give Rome more time, kuldalei, my husband will already be on unpaid leave for part of our vacation since he just doesn't have that much time on the books.

 

Keith, thanks for the input about the distance to the port. We sail at 6:00, so I will plan on being at the port no later than 3:00. Last time we sailed Princess we were able to be onboard in an hour from time we arrived at port.

 

Kade, thanks for the tip about the walking tours. I'm very much a 'do it yourself' kinda gal, so I wouldn't mind taking the first afternoon and second morning to see some of the 'must sees'. My biggest concern is what to do with our luggage, unless the hotel allows us a late check out.

 

eurocruiser, you are correct. I was confusing the two. I really just want a driver who can impart some local flavor.

 

Suzan

[kadey]

"My biggest concern is what to do with our luggage, unless the hotel allows us a late check out."

 

In the past, the hotels that we have stayed have always been kind enough to let us leave our luggage with them. I'll often email the hotel and ask before we get there because I like to take care of as many details as possible.We've never had a problem doing this.-Kade

[ariawoman]

If you are in a hotel of good caliber, they'll more than likely mind your bags. When you get there, your room probably won't be ready then either, so you'd need the stuff watched both ways. :-)

 

We stayed at the Starhotel Metropole last year and they allowed us to leave our bags both on check in and check out days. It was a great help.

 

You'll be running on fumes that first day, and you'll probably go to bed by like 9pm, but it'll be fun. We landed at 745am on NO sleep from newark and hit the ground running. It's amazing what you can push yourself to do if you have to LOL.

 

You have over a year to plan this, so I see you're a bit excited :-) Gosh I love Rome. I'd spend a week just there if I had the time, I just don't. :(

[rlse9]

If it's a sunny day when you're there, the Colosseum looks picturesque in the late afternoon/early evening light once the sun gets down a ways. I got some amazing pictures of it when I was there a couple weeks ago. It was so beautiful. So much of Rome is. Can't wait to go back there.

[cruise kitty]

Rome is the eternal city and you are not going to see much in a single day. You should be arriving in Rome a minimum of 3 days in advance of cruise departure to do Rome justice . It will take you half a day to get from Rome City to the Port .

 

Seriously consider flying in two days earlier allowing minimum 3 days, otherwise you may as well just arrive and go straight from the Airport to the ship .

 

People go to rome with less than 12 hours when it's just a port stop, I think the OP has a good plan for the time she has.