Port Day in Rome - Experienced Help Needed

[CruiseDoggy14]

I was just in Rome - skip the Trevi fountain... It is under construction and after making the trek there was very disappointed to see that. The fountain in front of the Spanish steps is also under construction and so it took away from the appeal of seeing the Spanish steps. We were fortunate to be in St. Peter's square minutes before the Pope began his service. An awesome experience to say the least! We did the train on our own and did fine. You won't have enough time however to do both Vatican City and Colosseum with travel time to/from port to Rome. I would pick one or the other. If you do Vatican museum get the skip the entry pass! A must for saving time!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[conandrob240]

Why is everyone saying there isn't enough time? We did the Vatican (museums, Sistine chapel and St. Peter's), trevi fountain, the pantheon and the forum/ Colloseum. We had time to stop in a few shops, have gelato (twice!) and a yummy lunch of pizza (sitting down for 15-20 minutes). And we did all that using the train, public transport and a ton of walking. We were even back on the ship a good 60-90 minutes before we had to be. Yes, you won't have tons of time to linger in each spot and yes, with small children it is a little less doable. But it is a nice day, a full day but a nice day.

[Steeler Nation At Sea]

Well, you probably should have done some homework. Of course, there was a huge, pressing crowd in the confined space of the Vatican museums and, as is reported everywhere, it is a long slow walk to the Sistine chapel. Every single time.

 

I am sure they will be fine like the 1000s of other families that travel the world everybday

 

Homework was done and thanks for your sage advice. I think you MUST be the only one that is correct on this thread. Good for you.

[herdingdogmom]

I think I'm the one that's likely to get "hangry" - either way, we know the watch outs and will play it by ear based on crowds, kids and energy level. Our must stop was the Vatican and we've got it covered and we'll go from there.

 

Have a terrific cruise. We had a wonderful time in Rome in March this year. Sounds like you will be fine with the train and taxis. You may have already booked the Vatican tour - I got lost on this thread. But if you can, I'd highly recommend a private/small group tour of the Vatican, etc. We had a group of 8 and a knowledgeable tour guide who navigated around the crowds. It was reasonably priced and at a set time. Well worth it. The Spanish Steps fountain was under construction when we were there and really took the charm out of the spot. The pictures of the drained Trevi fountain speak volumes - not worth seeing. But, I would suggest Piazza Navona and the Pantheon over the Coliseum and forum for any extra time.

[trfccruiser]

We've done Rome from Civitavvechia a few times and found the train to be good and cheap.For getting around Rome I would recommend the Metro system rather than taxis.It's very cheap (under 10's are free) and there are stations right near most of the main tourist stops.It's also a blessed relief if it's a hot day and there is a station adjacent to the main railway station too.

There is a really good guide to which stops are good for which tourist spot here:

http://www.stuardtclarkesrome.com/metromap.htm

[cod]

To the OP. you've probably gotten more advice than you ever expected! I could probably add 'want' or 'needed'...including mine!lol

 

Back to the train. If you take the express train into Rome, yes, of course it would be faster. But then you've got to get to St Peters/Vatican somehow. So you have the choice of taxi, subway (there is a subway station downstairs in Termini station or a bus(?). All time consuming in getting to your initial destination. I'd opt for the local train from Civitavecchia which - overall - should save you time AND money. If you have time/energy left after your Vatican tour, perhaps you could find a 'kind' cab driver (who wouldn't charge you a kings ransom!) who would run you over into Rome, by a few must sees, and then to Termini station for an express train ride back to Civitavecchia. Otherwise, you could do a lot of running around in circles and waste much needed time.

 

The last time we were in Rome was several years ago. We went to Genoa for a week, took the train to Rome and stayed there two full days before going back to Civitavecchia to board a cruise back home. (So we didn't have any of the time constraints you face). We stayed at a hotel near Termini station. On day one, we had arranged a tour to Pompeii. We got picked up at the hotel early and returned late and it was a perfect day! The bus was 'first class', the tour guide was great and very informative, lunch was very good and we even got to see some of Naples...another place I'd never been. Day two was a different story. We walked over the subway station (with an Italian husband, no problem, right? wrong). The subway was a crowded maze and we were thoroughly confused! We finally made it to the colosseum and after walking around the area for a while, decided to find a place to eat. We did some shopping in a little store and asked the owner to recommend a place. He did and it was the worst pasta I've ever eaten!!! I asked for butter and our rude waiter immediate took out his 'order pad' and wrote it down. I told DH that evidently they charge for butter...they did. Yikes. So much for traveling with a 'native'.lol

 

I have very mixed emotions about Rome (we've enjoyed stays in Lisbon and Paris much, much more) yet it is a must-see place and so I hope you have a wonderful, safe day there on your trip!

[Host Star]

hi there,

enjoy your epic cruise and visit to Rome... check out our ports of call board for the european ports.. lots of information there on Rome, etc..

[JMHAM1]

I second that! Rome in Limo is awesome. We did all those things that were on your list and totally by-passed all the lines. Our guide took us to a local Mom & Pop place of the beaten path for lunch that was amazeballs!

 

We did not feel rushed and it was much less than the ship excursion. We ended up splitting costs with 4 couples on our roll call and just got a van.

 

We heard when we got back to the ship that the ship excursion bus broke down and those pax missed a big chunk of the day.

 

I would think that if you did one with just your family that you could tell them what all you wanted to do and if you felt like at some point the kids were getting tired or you needed to make adjustments, you could do so with your guide.

 

I would use them again anytime!!

[conandrob240]

This thread cracks me up. Let's see, I have a budget of x to buy a new car and therefore I am deciding between a base model Nissan or Toyota. Please advise. Then, 20 posts on why a Bentley is such a great car. LOL. She already said a private limo/car tour is not in her budget.

Edited October 6, 2014 by conandrob240

[Kelownacruiser]

This is the link to the Crusie Ship passenger only train that runs directly to St Peters station in Rome. From there it's about a 5 minute walk to the Vatican. We used it last year and it's not crowded and easy to use. Only down side is it only runs one time to and from Rome so if the times are not what you're looking for there is no other choices.

 

http://www.smartcruisetours.com/index.php/faqs

[luvtheships]

This thread cracks me up. Let's see, I have a budget of x to buy a new car and therefore I am deciding between a base model Nissan or Toyota. Please advise. Then, 20 posts on why a Bentley is such a great car. LOL. She already said a private limo/car tour is not in her budget.

 

That is a shame because a private tour would make their day much more enjoyable

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[conandrob240]

Well, of course and a private plane would make the flight over even better. ;)

[luvtheships]

Well, of course and a private plane would make the flight over even better. ;)

 

Well I for one wouldn't take a private plane...but....

 

I do take a one stop ...and save loads of $$

 

I do book insides...because the cabin doesn't matter to me and I save loads of $$$$

 

I do book private tours when that is the wisest choice....because I save elsewhere and I accept that certain circumstances require them

 

This sounds like one of them but of course I no longer need a private tour of Rome.....but the time we did need one I was glad we had one.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[grovesteve]

We're sailing on the Epic with our two kids (5 year old boy and 7 month old girl) and are planning on taking the train to S.Pietro on our own on our Rome day.

 

My husband would like to visit the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's. Knowing how large Rome is and that we are traveling with kids, I likely think this is all we can handle.

 

He would also like to try to get to the Colosseum and I would like to see Trevi and the Spanish Steps. We know there is a hop on hop off sightseeing bus, but I'm not sure if we are biting off more than we can chew. Factoring in traffic and the bus route, is this a good idea?

 

Anyone have advice for us? From your experience, when do we need to be back on board the ship? I just don't want to be stuck on the other side of Rome with two kids and not enough time to get back to the boat.

 

We are sailing next weekend so any help is greatly appreciated!!!

 

Was on the Epic this summer in the Med. Skip the Trevi Fountain it is under renovation and not much to see.

Steve R

[NCruiser2012]

This thread cracks me up. Let's see, I have a budget of x to buy a new car and therefore I am deciding between a base model Nissan or Toyota. Please advise. Then, 20 posts on why a Bentley is such a great car. LOL. She already said a private limo/car tour is not in her budget.

 

I have done Rome twice and it is exhausting. I can't imagine traveling there with a baby and small child. I think people are just trying to share their experiences with someone who asked for help. The nice thing about a private car is that you can leave baby stuff in the car while you are touring. A limo service can get you in and out quickly. If you don't think you can afford a private car, maybe there is some other expense that can be eliminated.

 

To the original poster: good for you traveling while you are young. Life is too short!

[SuiteTraveler]

I have a totally different suggestion. I was thinking that perhaps it would be helpful to a young couple and their 2 kids to have that extra adult who would meet them at their train and be their tour guide who could help them to prioritize what they want to see and help get them through the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's and the Colloseum making the most of their time in Rome, then helping them get back to their train to get back to Civitavecchia at the end of the day so they don't have to worry how much time they have in the museum or at the colosseum or worry about where to find a restroom (not easy in the Vatican museums) or how to get to the train station or which train to take. We used a tour company called Through Eternity and it was just absolutely great. Our tour guide really made the most of our day in Rome. She had everything completely planned out in advance and best of all, we didn't worry about anything including missing our train. She was incredibly informative about what we were seeing, selected an excellent and not very expensive restaurant for lunch and made sure we saw EVERYTHING we wanted to see. The price was right, too! (56 euros per adult)

 

 

I also just want to mention that restrooms are very few and far between in the Vatican Museum and some have excessively long lines. They are before the entrance to the museums, the next restrooms are in the Pinecone courtyard and then the next ones at the end of the Raffaello rooms and before going down to the Borgia rooms, there are restrooms, but these are closed most of the time. The next restrooms are just before the Sistine Chapel - that's a long, long, long, long distance between restrooms. The next restrooms are as you are exiting and before St. Peter's Basilica they typically have long, long, long lines - like out the door and about a block long at times. So long, we asked our limo driver to take us to someplace that had public restrooms - which turned out to be a large gas station/truck stop/tourist stop on the highway heading back to Civitavecchia. This restroom problem is the #1 thing I think needs to be improved about the Vatican museums. They are great museums, no doubt, but they are huge and the lack of enough convenient restrooms is pretty unacceptable.

 

The other issue is that the Sistine Chapel can be incredibly crowded at times and things can get out of control unexpectedly. When I was there, it was packed and noisy - everyone ignores the signs and verbal warnings to be silent. We had a terrible experience as we began to leave when two large tour groups were attempting to exit the chapel at the same time. The people in these groups began pushing and shoving trying to squeeze out the one small door, completely ignoring the safety of others as they aggressively fought to keep up with their tour guides. I saw a frail elderly woman who had been walking holding onto her adult daughter, torn screaming from her daughter and she was roughly pushed into the wall and fell to the floor and was in serious jeopardy of being trampled by the crowd. Members of my tour group were literally having to fight off these people who were trying to push them out of their way as they went for the door. I was holding onto another lady in my tour group and we were both screaming at people to quit shoving. When I saw the elderly woman fall, I screamed at a couple of 20-something men near her to help the elderly lady since we were so grid locked I couldn't get to her to help her and I was being forced forward along with the crowd. Luckily one of the young men got ahold of the elderly lady and brought her to her feet and held onto her until she was able to exit the chapel. Otherwise, I don't know what would have happened to her, but death and/or serious injury from being trampled were well within the realm of possibilities. Her adult daughter had already been forced from the chapel by the crowd. The young man helped the elderly lady get out the door and back to her daughter. This was honestly, the first time in my life I have ever been truly afraid that I might be killed by a crowd of people trampling me. The experience was so bad and so completely dangerous and inappropriate that my husband and I agreed that IF we ever go back, it will ONLY be on off hours (such as at night) where there are not that many people there. Outside the chapel, there were several women on the ground who apparently had fainted or somehow been knocked unconscious from this experience. It was a complete and utter disgrace that something like this would happen in the Sistine Chapel. At any rate, should something like this happen on the OP's tour, I would think having that 3rd adult - a tour guide who is used to dealing with this stuff there to help, would be important.

[diane.in.ny]

We will be in Rome for two days after our cruise. My husband doesn't have a lot of stamina yet wants to see the inside of the Colosseum. Can someone help me navigate the site for buying tickets ahead of time so we don't have to stand in a long line?

 

The 12Euro plus 2Euro fee is pretty clear. But also want to book the underground and three ring tour. I assume that is an extra 9 Euros?

 

An I reading it correctly that the extra fee includes a guided tour of the colosseum also?

 

We'll just be doing this the day we disembark and will tour Rome more fully the next day ... going to use one of the companies that offer golf cart tours. They sound really neat and should give us a nice overview.

 

(Note: I've been in Rome before. First time for my husband.)

[rochelle_s]

We will be in Rome for two days after our cruise. My husband doesn't have a lot of stamina yet wants to see the inside of the Colosseum. Can someone help me navigate the site for buying tickets ahead of time so we don't have to stand in a long line?

 

The 12Euro plus 2Euro fee is pretty clear. But also want to book the underground and three ring tour. I assume that is an extra 9 Euros?

 

An I reading it correctly that the extra fee includes a guided tour of the colosseum also?

 

We'll just be doing this the day we disembark and will tour Rome more fully the next day ... going to use one of the companies that offer golf cart tours. They sound really neat and should give us a nice overview.

 

(Note: I've been in Rome before. First time for my husband.)

 

 

I had a look at the Colosseum website. I think you have it all correctly. There is the;

• 12 € admission fee
  
• 2 € ticket and admission pre-sale fee
  
• 9 € event ( Colosseum, Underground and Third Ring) fee
  

 

The Colosseum, Underground and Third ring is the name of the special event and yes it has a guided tour in English.

 

You mentioned about your husbands stamina, will he be able make the climb up to the third ring? If you will not be able to participate in that portion there is a reduced ticket you can purchase for 7€.

 

I noticed on the website you could call to book so perhaps they could answer your questions or you could try posting your question in a new thread on the Italy port of call forums here on CC. It is very likely that you will find someone local who can better help you. Here is a link to those boards;

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595

 

Hope this helps a little. Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy your time in Italy.

 

 

Rochelle

[luvtheships]

Just an FYI the underground and third tier tour is rather strenuous

 

There is an elevator to the underground but it doesn't look like it gets much use and the walk back up is a challenge and your dh may be uncomfortable with it.

 

It's your call of course and others here will say its a piece of cake but I assure you it is somewhat challenging.

 

I waited on the 2 nd tier while my family went up to the 3 rd because it was too hot and strenuous for me and I'm in great health

 

Being all alone though in a 2000 year old museum in a deserted corridor on the 2 nd tier had some merit to it as well. Lol

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[diane.in.ny]

 

You mentioned about your husbands stamina, will he be able make the climb up to the third ring? If you will not be able to participate in that portion there is a reduced ticket you can purchase for 7€.

 

 

Thank you for the information. Much appreciated.

[diane.in.ny]

Just an FYI the underground and third tier tour is rather strenuous

 

There is an elevator to the underground but it doesn't look like it gets much use and the walk back up is a challenge and your dh may be uncomfortable with it.

 

It's your call of course and others here will say its a piece of cake but I assure you it is somewhat challenging.

 

I waited on the 2 nd tier while my family went up to the 3 rd because it was too hot and strenuous for me and I'm in great health

 

Being all alone though in a 2000 year old museum in a deserted corridor on the 2 nd tier had some merit to it as well. Lol

 

 

Thanks for the information. We will be there end of October so presumably heat won't be a problem.

 

This is something he really wants to do so I think we'll give it a try. If he can't make it, so be it but at least he'll have given it his best shot.