Rome with a young family

[Bennie Boy]

We are doing the Voyager of the seas Med cruise on 24th October with our two young sons (2 1/2 and 7 months). We would like to visit the main tourist attractions in Rome but dont have the budget for a private tour. We would like to see inside the Colosseum, the Vatican, the roman forum, Trevvi fountain etc. We like the look of CV02 with Royal Caribbean but am not sure about the "Lunch served at 1st class restaurant or hotel" so are thinking of just doing "Rome on your own". That way we can do forum etc and then go to vatican in the afternoon if all is well. Also has anyone any experience of the "Must walk approx 2 miles over even & cobblestone surfaces, extended periods of standing & approx 50 steps"? We will be taking a double stroller for tired legs!

Any help/advice would be great.

[Kerry's Girls]

My strong advice with young children is to stay away from the Vatican. I have taken my twins many, many places all over world that people told me would be difficult with children (pyramids, Acropolis, Ephesus in Turkey, etc.) but the Vatican was truly the only place I've ever been completely miserable with my girls. It involves long walks up and down lots of stairs through narrow corridors that go only in one direction, so once you're in, it's almost impossible to get out.

 

I suggest getting together with a group on your roll call and putting together a private tour. If you don't have the funds for that, then the absolute best solution is to walk to the train station (very easy walk), take the train into town and do the Hop On/Hop Off bus tour.

 

Best,

Mia

[giselleacttwo]

We are doing the Voyager of the seas Med cruise on 24th October with our two young sons (2 1/2 and 7 months). We would like to visit the main tourist attractions in Rome but dont have the budget for a private tour. We would like to see inside the Colosseum, the Vatican, the roman forum, Trevvi fountain etc. We like the look of CV02 with Royal Caribbean but am not sure about the "Lunch served at 1st class restaurant or hotel" so are thinking of just doing "Rome on your own". That way we can do forum etc and then go to vatican in the afternoon if all is well. Also has anyone any experience of the "Must walk approx 2 miles over even & cobblestone surfaces, extended periods of standing & approx 50 steps"? We will be taking a double stroller for tired legs!

Any help/advice would be great.

 

We took my son to Rome when he was 1 1/2 and Dad toted him around in a backpack. Memory is fuzzy (this was 6 years ago) but taking a double stroller might be difficult around the Forum and Colosseum. It seems like there was a lot of bumpy and uneven terrain and a double-wide might be difficult to navigate. I know it's not me, but if it were I'd be taking a Snugli and a backpack along instead of a stroller.

[giselleacttwo]

My strong advice with young children is to stay away from the Vatican.

 

I totally agree.... Dad stayed at the hotel with son while I went to Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's it didn't interest him and I'm glad. It cannot be overstated just how much walking and how crowded the Vatican Museum gets. I was 5 months pregnant and nearly got knocked over in the Sistine Chapel when someone dove past me to get one of the few seats available along the side of the room. I would still enjoy a visit to St. Peter's though.

[onthelake]

I must agree about the Vatican. My son was about three at the time of our visit and you would have thought he was invisible! People would try to walk right over him - I had to do a lot of body blocking.

 

It is difficult to see a lot of Rome in one day, especially with young children. Choose your 'must see' sites and go from there. Last time we just did the Colosseum and Forum. That way we could take the time to enjoy what we did visit instead of being 'drive-by' tourists.

[cclarke12]

Agree with others posters. The Sistine Chapel is a complete nightmare with a buggy and you would really struggle with a double one. We took my son when he was two and after an hour of struggling up and down steps with the buggy my husband was worn out! From memory I think we were also made to check in the buggy before they let us in St Peter's. Don't be too ambitious.

 

We did another cruise this year which took in Rome, and we had a 8 month old with us this time and just couldn't face the idea of Rome with two little ones. However, we are in the UK so not such a big thing for us to miss a port as we can easily go back in the future if we want to visit again.

[graceinmelbourne]

Perhaps don't go to the Vatican museum but don't let it stop you going into St. Peters Basilica which is incredible. We were just there and it shouldn't be a problem getting in with strollers. We were there at about 3.00pm and it was busy but not too crowded. Make sure you visit The Pantheon too. There wasn't any (or few) steps to get in and it is an amazing building. You can walk around the outside of the Colloseum without having to go in. It is very crowded inside. The Trevi fountain is doable but it is always busy there except maybe early in the morning.

[kitty9]

You will have to plan your time wisely. It's more than a 90 minute ride from the port to the center of Rome. If you take the train, you must be aware of schedules and the time you get back to the port. You don't want to miss the ship. Do you think your kids will be able to handle 10 hours away from the ship? That's about how long this trip will be. With regards to the stroller, I use a mobility scooter, and Rome is difficult at best. High curbs, few cut out curbs, very bumpy sidewalks and terrible traffic. Walking two miles will be tough.

 

The reason why the ships tour is so long is twofold. One, because of the long ride to and from the city. And two, because the attractions are far apart and the really bad traffic within Rome proper.

 

Have you thought of leaving the kids on board the ship? Not to be rude, but they are too young to get anything out of it. If you go on your own, you'll see much more in a shorter time. Just a thought for you.

[Kerry's Girls]

Re: the stroller - as long as it's heavy duty, it should be fine. My tandem Graco DuoGlider handled cobblestones in other countries with no problem. And we saw tons of strollers in Rome - the residents use them. While we were there, I had my MacLaren side-by-side. Worked great, though of course a tandem is better.

 

Best,

Mia

[graceinmelbourne]

You will have to plan your time wisely. It's more than a 90 minute ride from the port to the center of Rome. If you take the train, you must be aware of schedules and the time you get back to the port. You don't want to miss the ship. Do you think your kids will be able to handle 10 hours away from the ship? That's about how long this trip will be. With regards to the stroller, I use a mobility scooter, and Rome is difficult at best. High curbs, few cut out curbs, very bumpy sidewalks and terrible traffic. Walking two miles will be tough.

 

The reason why the ships tour is so long is twofold. One, because of the long ride to and from the city. And two, because the attractions are far apart and the really bad traffic within Rome proper.

 

Have you thought of leaving the kids on board the ship? Not to be rude, but they are too young to get anything out of it. If you go on your own, you'll see much more in a shorter time. Just a thought for you.

 

Probably a good idea to leave them on the ship if you can. They are too young to enjoy the day and if they go with you it will add to stress of the day for you. If they stay on the ship they will be well looked after. I was just remembering the traffic in Rome. It is absolutely chaotic and very difficult to cross the street. We had a private tour and the driver had to help us cross the road, holding our hands as traffic was coming from all directions. Be prepared to long lines and crowds also. Rome is probably harder work than the other ports we went to such as Venice and Florence. This is because the sights are more spread out and require walking to get to each one and perhaps trains or buses also. In Florence and Venice you can walk easily from one attraction to another but Rome is a much larger city. I don't know if you are visiting Venice but if you do make sure you have a lightweight stroller that you can lift as there are a lot of stairs to get over bridges etc.