Our pre cruise stay in Rome

[cruise kitty]

Hi everyone! Now that the holidays are over, I thought I'd get my act together an attempt to do a little review of our time in Rome.

 

We were booked on the Celebrity Equinox 11 night E. Med cruise, starting on the 20th of October. We flew out of LAX on Air France on the 15th, we were in Premium Economy, & quite pleased with the product, private cabin, bigger seats, separate W.C.'s, well worth the additional charge IMHO. We had use of the executive lounge at CDG which was nice.

While we were in the lounge we took a look at what I called "the newspapers of doom"

 

 

 

We arrived at FCO around 4:30 on the 16th, & decided to splurge for a cab. We've done the train into Rome before, but with two people, it doesn't save that much due to the location of our hotel, we stayed at the Waldorf Astoria, a gorgeous hotel, but not a great location. However, it was free as we were using points to stay there.

 

We each bought a Roma Pass at the airport, which we knew we'd put to good use.

 

We woke up early Monday morning to a gorgeous view outside our balcony:

 

 

One of the perks of the hotel is a fabulous breakfast buffet, so we ate a huge breakfast, & headed out for the day around 7:30 or so.

 

We walked down to the nearest bus stop, maybe a half mile or so, & hopped on the bus, using our passes, got off at the Metro & headed to the Colosseum, there is no bigger thrill than stepping out of the metro building & being confronted with the arena just right there in front of you! It just never gets old!

 

 

to be continued....

[tinaclose]

I'm looking forward to your review as we will be in Rome in July for 3 days pre-cruise. We intend to get a Roma Pass too. I'm interested about how you spent your time and if there's anything you regret not doing.

[cruise kitty]

continued...

 

We wandered around the outside of the colosseum for a bit, checked out the Arch of Constantine:

 

 

 

We headed into the Forum, no lines because we had our roma passes, we decided to skip the hill this time, & headed straight along the pathway in the Forum, we used the rich steves audio guide for this, & I really didn't take many photos, just enjoyed & experienced.

 

 

Caesar's Grave:

 

 

Interestingly, Caesar was not killed in the forum, he was actually killed across town, the ruins of which have been turned into a cat sanctuary:

 

 

We headed into the colosseum next, & it was nice to be able to bypass the line, by now it was around 11 am, & the crowds were starting to form. We used the R.S. audio guide again, & then just really took our time walking around, petting the stray kitties, until we started getting a bit hungry!

 

Snack time at our favorite sidewalk cafe, it's behind the hideous Victor Emmanule monument, so about a nice slow 15 minute stroll from the forum area:

 

[wantocruisemore]

Enjoying the review and photos. Can't wait for more! And can't wait to get back to Rome this coming summer. My favorite city in the world!

[cruisemom42]

I see you prominently displaying one of my favorite map guides. ;)

 

Lovely pics; I can never see too many of Rome!

[cruise kitty]

Enjoying the review and photos. Can't wait for more! And can't wait to get back to Rome this coming summer. My favorite city in the world!

thank you!

I see you prominently displaying one of my favorite map guides. ;)

 

Lovely pics; I can never see too many of Rome!

 

It is a great guide, except for the one day we walked the wrong direction along side the river... & had left the guide in the room... royally & completely lost!

I'm looking forward to your review as we will be in Rome in July for 3 days pre-cruise. We intend to get a Roma Pass too. I'm interested about how you spent your time and if there's anything you regret not doing.

 

Hi, it'll take me a few more days to finish this, but I can say I was very happy with the Roma Pass, I can't say we saw everything, I think you'd have to live there for years to do that, but basically we scheduled each morning till about noon, & then spent the rest of the day wandering wherever we wished. We were out the hotel door by 8 most days, & spent a good 12 hours walking each day!

[cruise kitty]

continued...

 

after our snack time we wandered towards the colosseum area again, we were headed to the Church of San Clemente, which I highly recommend; at street level, it's a 12th century church/basilica, which was built on top of an early 4th century church, which is on top of a 2nd century temple dedicated to the cult of Mithras, & that was built from the remains of an early Roman home & a freshwater spring. You're not allowed photographs, so I don't have any, but I really enjoyed this, it cost 5E each, & was well worth it, one caveat, if you're claustrophobic, you're going to have a rough time of it, especially in the lowest levels, it's very dark & humid down there, but you really feel transported to the past!

 

We got out into the sunshine, & headed toward the Scala Santa (Holy Stairs) & San Giovanni, but the stairs were closed (this time of year they are open only a few hours a day) It was very interesting to see the old city walls & aquaducts incorporated into modern buildings:

 

 

now we walked back towards the park like area where Nero's golden house stood, it's not open, & little more than a ruin, but it was on the way to our next destination St. Peter in Chains, on the way, we walked through the area where the riots had taken place two days prior:

 

 

 

 

 

Despite this, we honestly felt quite safe, & felt very welcomed by the Roman peoples, it was interesting to see this little bit of history taking place before us!

[lori450]

I hope there is more to come. I am enjoying your thread. The photos are remarkable. The angles/views you chose are wonderful. We were in Rome in May and my photos pale in comparison :). We are going to France this summer but I want to take the train from Paris to Rome and spend a few days there before we go home. Do you have any suggestions on well placed hotels and could you explain the Roma Pass? Thanks!

[DrmnOfMaui]

Enjoying your post!! My husband and I spent 4 days pre-cruise in Rome late last October and fell in love with the Eternal City. One of our favorite meals was after we visited the Colosseum/Forum (we used Angel Tours and were very happy in case anyone is interested), was Mario's in the Piazza del Grillo. The quintessential Italian lunch!

Looking forward to more of your review!

[cruise kitty]

I hope there is more to come. I am enjoying your thread. The photos are remarkable. The angles/views you chose are wonderful. We were in Rome in May and my photos pale in comparison :). We are going to France this summer but I want to take the train from Paris to Rome and spend a few days there before we go home. Do you have any suggestions on well placed hotels and could you explain the Roma Pass? Thanks!

 

Hi the roma pass really simplifies things if you're going to be in Rome at least 3 days, it was 25E pp when we went, unfortunately it looks like they're raising it to 30E. Your first two sites are free, plus you skip the ticket lines, (the forum & colosseum count as one) we also used ours to get admission into the Capitoline Museum on our third day. It includes free public transportation for 3 full days. It offers a discount on all other sites. So, we bought ours at the airport, but did not start using it till Monday morning, it was good until midnight on Wed. Our hotel was in a pretty bad location, so we used the buses & metro every day to get into central rome, if you're not using them it might not be such a bargain. You cannot use the pass for the train from the airport to Rome or for the train from Rome to the cruise port.

 

Hotels, I'd try & stay in the Pantheon area if possible.

[lori450]

Hi the roma pass really simplifies things if you're going to be in Rome at least 3 days, it was 25E pp when we went, unfortunately it looks like they're raising it to 30E. Your first two sites are free, plus you skip the ticket lines, (the forum & colosseum count as one) we also used ours to get admission into the Capitoline Museum on our third day. It includes free public transportation for 3 full days. It offers a discount on all other sites. So, we bought ours at the airport, but did not start using it till Monday morning, it was good until midnight on Wed. Our hotel was in a pretty bad location, so we used the buses & metro every day to get into central rome, if you're not using them it might not be such a bargain. You cannot use the pass for the train from the airport to Rome or for the train from Rome to the cruise port.

 

Hotels, I'd try & stay in the Pantheon area if possible.

 

thank you so much for the information. I agree, I did want to stay in the Pantheon area, but was wondering if anyone knows of a good hotel in that area?

[Woobstr112G]

Wow; great pictures. Thanks for sharring.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

thank you so much for the information. I agree, I did want to stay in the Pantheon area, but was wondering if anyone knows of a good hotel in that area?

 

Check out this website for different options.....:):):)

 

http://www.venere.com/hotels/rome/pantheon/?cur=USD&kwp=6103-50&ref=1297817

 

Bob

[PCWalton1]

Thank, really enjoying your visual tour and hoping to see more soon. :)

 

Bill

[CathyCruises]

I hope there is more to come. I am enjoying your thread. The photos are remarkable. The angles/views you chose are wonderful. We were in Rome in May and my photos pale in comparison :). We are going to France this summer but I want to take the train from Paris to Rome and spend a few days there before we go home. Do you have any suggestions on well placed hotels and could you explain the Roma Pass? Thanks!

 

As an aside, I think you should at least look into flying from Paris--the train sounds great but it can be much more expensive than a quick flight. We were going to train from Barcelona to Paris post-cruise, but it turned out to be much better to fly and we got there in 2 hours. Just a thought. . .

[letsgo39]

thank you so much for the information. I agree, I did want to stay in the Pantheon area, but was wondering if anyone knows of a good hotel in that area?

 

We have stayed at the Hotel Smeraldo which is near the Pantheon and just about in Campo Di Fiori.We like it a lot and the price is very reasonable for Rome.

[mrsfelco]

I'm looking forward to your review as we will be in Rome in July for 3 days pre-cruise. We intend to get a Roma Pass too. I'm interested about how you spent your time and if there's anything you regret not doing.

 

 

What is a Roma Pass and where do you get it? We will be in Rome end of July for 3 nights.

[H2Oregon]

What is a Roma Pass and where do you get it? We will be in Rome end of July for 3 nights.[/quote

 

Here is a link to the roma pass. http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=2 With the pass you get admissions to historical sites or museums and travel on the Rome bus/train system. We used our Roma pass on admission to the Coliseum/Forum a museum (can't remember which one) and for transportation. We used the Roma pass for the train to Ostia Anatica and busses and metro within Rome.

[fuzzywuzzy]

What is a Roma Pass and where do you get it? We will be in Rome end of July for 3 nights.[/quote

 

Here is a link to the roma pass. http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=2 With the pass you get admissions to historical sites or museums and travel on the Rome bus/train system. We used our Roma pass on admission to the Coliseum/Forum a museum (can't remember which one) and for transportation. We used the Roma pass for the train to Ostia Anatica and busses and metro within Rome.

 

 

I have a question about the RomaPass. My husband and I want to purchase this pass as I think it is the best deal. I understand that I can purchase online in advance but then I take some kind of confirmation to a TI in Rome to actually receive the Pass? Do you have to purchase one Pass per person? So the 30 EU would be for one person? Just to clarify. I don't want to purchase more than I should. Thanks.

[H2Oregon]

 

 

I have a question about the RomaPass. My husband and I want to purchase this pass as I think it is the best deal. I understand that I can purchase online in advance but then I take some kind of confirmation to a TI in Rome to actually receive the Pass? Do you have to purchase one Pass per person? So the 30 EU would be for one person? Just to clarify. I don't want to purchase more than I should. Thanks.

 

Yes, it is 30 E per person. There are several places around Rome where you can pick up your pass if you purchase on line.

[fuzzywuzzy]

 

Yes, it is 30 E per person. There are several places around Rome where you can pick up your pass if you purchase on line.

 

 

Thank you. So I can go ahead and purchase 2 RomaPasses this far in advance. I understand that it is validated when you enter your first museum/attraction and then it's good for two days? thanks.

[H2Oregon]

 

 

Thank you. So I can go ahead and purchase 2 RomaPasses this far in advance. I understand that it is validated when you enter your first museum/attraction and then it's good for two days? thanks.

 

I believe the pass is good for 3 days from the day you validate the pass. I think that Rick Steves book on Rome has a section about the pass and which attractions you might want to use the pass on to get the best value for your money.