New to Europe Cruising Questions

[Deedah56]

My husband and I are going on the Celerity Revolution Sept 30 - Oct 10.

We have never been overseas before and thought we would go to Rome for 2 days before our cruise.

 

My question is?

 

How do you book a car to take you to the port for the cruise from Rome?

How expensive is it?

 

The cruise wanted $585 per person per night for the hotel and a transfer to the port..........I thought that was pretty expensive.

I can book the same hotel through Booking.com for $235 CAD per night

[boulders]

Are you on Celebrity Reflection??

 

We used romeinlimo.com for our tours of Rome. They also do transfers. The cost from Rome to Civitavecchia is 170 euros for 2 people.

[SuiteTraveler]

You will find that transportation in (and out of) Rome is VERY expensive this year because the Vatican has made it a Jubilee year. When it is a Jubilee year, the city of Rome imposes an extra fee on all touristic vehicles entering Rome due to the extreme crowding in the city during a Jubilee.

 

You can get around this by taking the train to Civitavecchia and then from the Civitavecchia train station, take a shuttle to the port shuttle bus to board your ship. This is the absolute cheapest way to go. We have done this several times and it is really very easy IF you travel fairly light and can handle your own luggage. Here are the instructions on how to take the train in detail:

http://europeforvisitors.com/rome/civitavecchia/rome-to-civitavecchia-by-train.htm

 

Alternatively book a shared shuttle which will pick you up at your hotel:

http://www.civitavecchiatorome.eu/transfer-cruise/

 

BTW, if you are planning to visit the Vatican, definitely book your tickets well ahead of time and expect long lines and heightened security due to the Jubilee. From what I have read, the crowds have not been as extreme as in previous Jubilee years, but there are still many more tourists than normal. It is also a good idea to buy skip the line tickets for other Roman sites such as the Colosseum. If you are not sure what to do, I recommend you hire a walking tour guide from http://www.througheternity.com to meet you at your hotel and take you on a walking tour of Rome. You can pre-arrange to see the sights that YOU want to see and the tour guide will take care of getting tickets and plan the day to maximize what you get to see and do. Once you are acquainted with Rome, it is easy to get around by walking mostly and taking taxis to span longer distances (from the Trevi Fountain to the Colosseum and Forum, for example.)

 

Here is some information on the Jubilee that may be helpful to you in planning your trip:

http://italyexplained.com/jubilee-year-2016-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-holy-year-of-mercy/

 

http://adventureswithsarah.net/vatican-museum-2016/

 

Hope this helps!

 

PS: I think cruise ships overcharge for hotels and transfers so I always do this on my own. Hope you have a great cruise!

Edited June 9, 2016 by SuiteTraveler

[Keith1010]

There are several options for your driver in Rome.

 

I would post this on the Italy Ports Of Call Board where there are lots of recommendations.

 

Keith

[Flatbush Flyer]

My husband and I are going on the Celerity Revolution Sept 30 - Oct 10.

 

We have never been overseas before and thought we would go to Rome for 2 days before our cruise.

 

 

 

My question is?

 

 

 

How do you book a car to take you to the port for the cruise from Rome?

 

How expensive is it?

 

 

 

The cruise wanted $585 per person per night for the hotel and a transfer to the port..........I thought that was pretty expensive.

 

I can book the same hotel through Booking.com for $235 CAD per night

 

 

IMO, 3-4 nights pre/post cruise is the minimum number of nights stay to allow gaining an appreciation for the Eternal City. That said, picking a good hotel (with an outstanding manager or concierge), can make a tremendous difference in the cost and quality of your overall experience.

Though October can be at the leading edge of shoulder season, getting the best hotels (and deals) can be daunting if you are less than 6-9 months out when you book. I'd recommend the very small and ideally located Garibaldi Suites (Spanish Steps), except that they book solid almost a year in advance.

 

On our post-cruise Rome stay last summer, the hotel manager arranged everything for us including a driver (Mercedes 55 AMG sedan) who did our transfers and all tour driving as well as one of the most respected senior guides in Rome who spent 1.5 days with us (for the Vatican and many lesser known but outstanding locations.

 

The real value of working with a good concierge is that you can get very personal needs and preferences met, often at a price far less than decent though comparatively pricey tour or "limo" companies. We checked out "Rome In Limos" and even the Rick Steves' recommended "Roman Guy". But, the overall deal was so much better when pre-arranged via our concierge (actually did this almost a year out as well) and we had almost no waiting for entry anywhere we went (the guide, who'd been doing this for forty years, knew pretty much everyone at every entry.

 

Speaking of entry, do know that, because of terrorism concerns, many lines (just for security clearance BEFORE you get on the entrance line) eat up significant amounts of time (e.g,, the Colosseum).

DIY (without a licensed guide) can add much time to that wait.

 

Finally, do your homework (at least a Rick Steves' guidebook) to identify when and how to prebuy tix.