Our DIY Rome Report – Pre-Cruise

[KCcruisin07]

Virtual Rain,

What a gift! Once again your report and photography are exceptional. You would be a great travel journalist!

[VirtualRain]

Virtual Rain,

What a gift! Once again your report and photography are exceptional. You would be a great travel journalist!

 

Thank you! Wouldn't it be great to be paid (or at least compensated) to travel? Rick Steves... watch out! :p :D

Edited December 28, 2012 by VirtualRain

[Lady Anna & Sir Troy]

Can you recommend a camera that is a little less than $3000? :-)

 

I would highly consider a micro 4/3 camera. I find the Olympus EPL2, EPL3, and EP3 to be reasonably priced along which I prefer for the inbody stabilization. Panasonic makes great models too, but you will need lens with stabilization if you buy Panasonic. Pair that with a few great lenses and filters and you will have a camera under $3000 and less bulky to carry around. I was neither impressed nor unimpressed with mine until I bought some good lenses. My Olympus 45mm 1.8 just blows me away with the quality. There are plenty of great articles out there on "best micro 4/3 lenses" but I find find these to be the most helpful:

 

http://www.jaegraphy.com/blog/micro-four-thirds-lens-suggestions

 

http://sharpologist.com/2012/08/better-photos-with-micro-four-thirds.html

 

L.A.S.T.

Edited January 7, 2013 by Lady Anna & Sir Troy

[VirtualRain]

I was neither impressed nor unimpressed with mine until I bought some good lenses.

 

L.A.S.T.

 

So true... Regardless of what camera brand or system you use, choose the best lenses you can justify as it can make a big difference. As the say, it's better to put a good lens on a low end camera than a crappy lens on a high-end one. :)

[Lady Anna & Sir Troy]

Hey there VirtualRain -

 

Do you remember how much it cost for a train ticket from Termini Station Rome to the Port? I have seen large variations in pricing.

 

L.A.S.T.

[euro cruiser]

The variations you are seeing are due to different types of trains. The faster Frecciabianca trains are 15 Euro but make the trip in about 45 minutes (non-stop).

 

The IC takes about 50 minutes (one stop at Roma Ostiense along the way) and costs 10 Euro.

 

The regional trains take between an hour to an hour and twenty minutes and cost 5 Euro.

 

With the Frecciabiana and the IC trains you get a seat reservation, with the regional trains there is no assigned seating.

Edited February 11, 2013 by euro cruiser

[Lady Anna & Sir Troy]

The variations you are seeing are due to different types of trains. The faster Frecciabianca trains are 15 Euro but make the trip in about 45 minutes (non-stop).

 

The IC takes about 50 minutes (one stop at Roma Ostiense along the way) and costs 10 Euro.

 

The regional trains take between an hour to an hour and twenty minutes and cost 5 Euro.

 

With the Frecciabiana and the IC trains you get a seat reservation, with the regional trains there is no assigned seating.

 

Thanks. I finally figured out what I was looking at - Super Economy versus Economy, etc. So for the 45 minute train you can pay 9 Euro - 15 Euro.

 

L.A.S.T.

[euro cruiser]

If you are staying in town the night before and, therefore have some control over your schedule (vs. arriving via plane), it makes sense to purchase your ticket in advance if you can get a discounted rate.

[GoVikes]

Great info! Love the pictures, too! Thanks for sharing. :)

[VirtualRain]

Great info! Love the pictures, too! Thanks for sharing. :)

 

Thanks for viewing. :)

[kikki21]

Thanks again for your trip report and pics - I have read near enough your whole series!

I am going to look up Panzirone when we are in Rome v. soon!

 

I have already made a reservation at Ad Hoc and I am really looking forward to eating there! :)

[VirtualRain]

Thanks again for your trip report and pics - I have read near enough your whole series!

I am going to look up Panzirone when we are in Rome v. soon!

 

I have already made a reservation at Ad Hoc and I am really looking forward to eating there! :)

 

Great... Please share your experience.

[laluna215]

Piazza Navona

 

 

I would feel a bit of pressure to maintain these flowers if I owned this office/apt…

 

 

Temple of Hadrian… (I like how there are three types of façade and crown molding)…

 

 

The column of Marcus Aurelius with a spiral relief depicting various wars…

 

 

Just thought you might be interested to know the flowers in the Piazza Navona photo are alive and well and look even lusher than before ... If I could only figure out how to upload a photo, you could see for yourself LOL

 

Thank you for sharing your amazing photography and insights.

[VirtualRain]

Just thought you might be interested to know the flowers in the Piazza Navona photo are alive and well and look even lusher than before ... If I could only figure out how to upload a photo, you could see for yourself LOL

 

Thank you for sharing your amazing photography and insights.

 

Haha... thanks! I wonder if those flowers are tended by a private individual, a company, or the city. :o

[edtorious]

Some of you may have seen my recent DIY reports in the Greek Ports thread, where I shared our DIY experience in Santorini, Athens, Corfu, and Katakolon/Olympia.

 

We started our cruise in Rome, so I thought I would share our DIY experience there and I may also post DIY reports on our stops in Livorno and Naples.

 

Some of you that frequent this forum, may recall I posted a rather lengthy review of our port day in Rome last year… Rome Review – How we covered all of Rome in a day on our own. Well as some smart-asses (wise folks) pointed out, we didn’t really cover all of Rome in a day. And after this recent trip, I couldn’t agree more! However, I still stand by that previous report as a fantastic well-thought-out way to see a lot of the key sights in Rome if you’re only there for a day on a cruise. If you are in Rome for just a day, and haven’t been to many of the key sights before, I think that itinerary is still the best approach.

 

So what did we do this year?

 

While we actually had about 48 hours in Rome this time between landing at the airport around noon 2-days prior to boarding our ship in Civitavecchia, we really only spent the one full day in Rome doing any sight-seeing worth reviewing here. We spent the first afternoon doing some shopping and revisiting St. Peter’s and the last morning in Rome doing some additional shopping and getting ready to go to the port.

 

So this DIY report is what I would call a great way to spend a 2nd day in Rome. As mentioned above, if this is your first visit to Rome, you’ll most certainly want to visit the sites in my thread from last year before most of these, but you can certainly mix and match or ignore my thoughts entirely!

 

Map

 

I have a Google Map of Rome that includes sights from last years “highlights” as well as this year’s 2nd day walking tour. Last year’s sights are marked with blue pins and this year’s sights are marked with red pins. The pins are listed in the left column in the order we visited them. In addition, I’ve included a few restaurant recommendations I’ve collected from here and elsewhere… a couple of which we visited and a couple we didn’t get to.

 

Also noted on the map are the key metro stations, train stations, bus station, and our hotel.

 

DIY Sight-seeing Walking Tour

 

For our full day in Rome, I had researched a DIY sight-seeing walking tour that would take us on a wide arc around central Rome.

 

The places of interest are, in this order (all labeled in the same order on my Google Map). Note I won’t provide more than a summary here, you can easily look each up on Wikipedia for a ton of additional info.

 

1. Basillica di Santa Maria Maggiore: Amazing artwork dating back to 5th Century BC

2. San Giovanni in Laterano: Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome - central bronze doors from the Roman Senate and amazing statues of the 12 disciples

3. Colisseum: We visited this last year so just walked past and took photos

4. Circo Massimo: Ancient chariot track now just a field with construction going on :(

5. Santa Maria in Cosmedin: Mouth of truth and chapel

6. Theatre of Marcellus, Ruins of Temple of Apollo: Remains of ancient Rome

7. Santa Maria in Campitelli: Church dedicated to Virgin Mary

8. Piazza Campo Dè Fior: Market and Monument to astronomer Bruno who burned alive at the stake for heresy

9. Sant’Agnese in Agone: Boroque church in Piazza Navona

10. Pantheon: We visited this last year so just walked past and took photos

11. Temple of Hadrian: Ancient ruins integrated into a later building (or two)

12. Piazza di Montecitorio: Parliament building

13. Palazzo Wedekind: Column of Marcus Aurelius (spiral relief similar to Trajan’s Column)

14. Santa Maria della Concezione: Wall of skulls (never got to this)

 

As noted above, we didn’t’ get to see the wall of skulls at Santa Maria della Concezione as we ran out of time and although I have marked Trajan’s column and market on the map (near the Victor Monument) those were a little out of our way on this tour.

 

If I recall, we got started at 10AM or so and this filled our day, stopping for cappuccino, gelato, and the odd shop here and there along the way.

 

We stopped for lunch in Piazza Campo De Fior which had several patio dining options to choose from.

 

That's it. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to try and answer. I should acknowledge that a lot of this very helpful information was gleemed from these boards, and in particular, some of the regulars that post here, so my sincere gratitude to them and everyone that makes this forum such a valueable resource! :)

 

This info is great! It's our first time in Rome and we will try and do this. I've been trying to figure out what we will do before we board our ship. I have a question. On the map you created for the other thread DIY one day in Rome here DIY Rome in 1 day Map I would like to duplicate it in this pre-cruise walking tour version of yours, I know you provided the Google Map but I'm hoping to duplicate the map for the one you did for the one day Rome walking tour, with all those lines connecting the dots? I'm not really a tech savvy person and so could somebody tell me how or I'm ashamed to ask if someone could make one for me? :o

 

And so all of these are done walking right? Is this a leisurely walk too or more like a brisk walk in between? No buses or subways? Is it ok if we start this walking tour early let's say 8 am instead of 10 am, will most of the sites you visited will be open early?

 

We are taking a private transfer from our hotel to Civi port and my question is will we make it on time on our ship if we leave Rome at let's say at 1:45 pm? How is the drive to Civi port on a Saturday afternoon? Please advise. Any help or suggestions will be grealty appreciated. Thanks! Ed

[bonsai3s]

VirtualRain...thank you!

 

Outstanding reviews and photographs. Like you, we have learned so much from many of the experienced members here on CC. We do most of our shore excursions DIY....and we can't wait to read more of your extremely informative and detailed reviews............thanks again! :)

[euro cruiser]

We are taking a private transfer from our hotel to Civi port and my question is will we make it on time on our ship if we leave Rome at let's say at 1:45 pm? How is the drive to Civi port on a Saturday afternoon? Please advise. Any help or suggestions will be grealty appreciated. Thanks! Ed

Generally, you should assume about an hour to make the trip. However, you are paying a fair amount of money to have a professional drive you - simply tell them what time you want to arrive at the port and let them tell you what time you need to leave Rome in order to get there. They know the traffic and road situation far better than any of us.

[edtorious]

Generally, you should assume about an hour to make the trip. However, you are paying a fair amount of money to have a professional drive you - simply tell them what time you want to arrive at the port and let them tell you what time you need to leave Rome in order to get there. They know the traffic and road situation far better than any of us.

Hey that's a good idea. Thanks!