Rome Advice

[Matt_Cardiff]

As part of our Med cruise in May 2018, we'll be visiting Civitivecchia - Rome (7am - 7pm). Usually when visiting European cities I tend to find my own way around via trains/metro. But as this is my first cruise, meaning there is time limit, and Rome is such a large city, I'm wondering whether or not to book on to a Royal Caribbean excursion package.

 

The RC packages look very expensive for what they offer, and I'm curious if it's better to do our own thing and get trains to and from the port. Are the excursions good? Or a rip off? Are we better booking with an independant tour company?

 

We would like to see the Coliseum, Vatican and Trevi fountain mainly.

[ORCRUISER]

We used Rome In Limo and shared with a family of 3 we met on Cruise Critic. Saw all three you mentioned plus the Pantheon. We hired a separate guide for the Vatican. I have used Rome In Limo for two cruises and on one cruise I used them for 3 ports.

[lamchops]

To this day, 2008 Rome is the most expensive excursion that we've taken. It was twice as expensive as any that we've taken. We DIY whenever possible but know my limits when it comes to planning. I can't imagine seeing all that we expirenced doing it on our own. The "imperial Rome" excursion was fantastic and worth every cent. We were dropped off at Trevi fountain, walked to the forum and colosseum. Skipping all the lines gave us ample time in each. The tour included a 3 course lunch meal with wine. We were then bussed to St. Peter's where we bypassed the line to the basilica. After touring the basilica we had a hour of free time in the square and area.

 

It was a ships tour but I would book with a outside operator now if I only had a day in port.

 

We threw our 3 coins into Trevi fountain 😀

I'm returning to Rome on a cruise this October and trying to plan my 3 DIY days post cruise and getting advanced tickets/scheduling is wearing on me.

[TMLAalum]

Hi Matt-

OR & lamchops provided some great advice, but I see from your post count that you are relatively new to cruise critic and may not know what was meant by meeting a family on cruise critic.

 

You need to find your sailing's roll call, where others on your cruise share suggestions for ports and look for others to join them on private tours. Or you could book a private tour and seek others to join you. The cost when shared by 6 or 8 is usually far less than a ship's tour and you get a personailized, in-depth experience to boot!

 

Here is the link to help you find your roll call:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/

[CruiserBruce]

I would book a private tour (like with the wonderful Rome in Limo). They be very efficient using your limited time, and take very good care of you. No bus loads of 45 of your new best friends,mat least 2 or 3 of whom can't tell time and will diminish your time and enjoyment.

 

Checking your roll call is an excellent idea for spreading the cost, if that is an issue.

[euro cruiser]

It's not at all difficult to get to all of the places mentioned on your own, but you have to be willing to do the research for both a "plan A" and a "plan B". It's really not a matter of ability, it's more about time and focus. For some of us that research is part of the joy of travel, for others it's a hassle not worth the time and energy. To each his/her own.

[easyboy]

You can also check http://www.romecabs.com

 

 

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[Matt_Cardiff]

Thanks all for the advice. I'm not afraid to do a bit of planning do it it ourselves, but we will also have my one and a half year old son with us so wondering if an excursion is the best option. However, they seem so over priced it's just making me want to jump on a train from the port then wander about on our own. I'm just worried we won't get back in time for the ship :eek:

 

Do most excursions give you a decent amount of time at the places of interest? E.g I would rather go in to the coliseum than just look at it from the outside for half an hour!

[dce85]

If you are going to have an 18 month old with you, I'd suggest the private tour. My kids are much older but we used a private tour in St. Petersburg and were matched with a family with a daughter who was under 2. She was great but she also had special needs. Because we were just two families, the guide could speed us up when no one was interested or pause and wait a little if she needed some extra time. The traveling in a van was much easier for the family and the seat was more comfortable for her (snuck in some nap time during the long rides). I love Rome . . . you might enjoy the most with a private tour so you don't have to worry and stress about the details.

[euro cruiser]

A private tour is ideal if it's within your budget but if it's not, rest assured that hundreds, if not thousands (I'm not exaggerating here, lots of cruise ships stop in Rome) of cruise ship passengers get back and forth on their own every day. Very, very few people get left behind and that's generally something they caused themselves.

 

There are at least two trains back every hour so you can easily take one that gets you back well before your all-aboard time. With a young child you'll probably be ready to throw in the towel well before the end of day anyway.

 

I'm not trying to push you in one direction or the other, but the honest truth is that packaged tours are usually built to see a lot of things in not much depth, because their audience is looking for breadth rather than depth. If that fits, they are a good option. They will usually give you some free time around a lunch break but that may not be located where you want free time.

[Sny]

I second the recommendation of Romeinlimo. Pick up at ship and return there. You can tailor your tour to exactly what you want to see. Try to share - we did four passengers last November. A great deal for the price.

[Matt_Cardiff]

I second the recommendation of Romeinlimo. Pick up at ship and return there. You can tailor your tour to exactly what you want to see. Try to share - we did four passengers last November. A great deal for the price.

 

May I ask what your itinerary was and the cost pp for 4 people?

[cruisemom42]

May I ask what your itinerary was and the cost pp for 4 people?

 

Their website provides info on itineraries and costs -- suggest you take a look there. (There is also already a long thread of discussion on RIL where this discussion might be more fruitful.)

 

It appears that a "highlights of Rome" tour is 550 euros for 4 people -- this does not include entrance fees, guides (for example a guide at the Vatican) or meals.

[blakejared]

Most excursions booked from the ship are very over-priced, compared to most private tour options. Doing it on your own is probably least expensive, but it might not be possible to enter both the Coliseum or the Vatican (might have to choose one), unless you really rush around (harder with a small child) and luck out with the lines. On your own, you might need to choose one area of Rome and really explore/enjoy that area... maybe visit the Coliseum, then take transportation to the Trevi Fountain area (lots to see walking around). That's probably enough to fill a limited day. I only just took my first cruise and I found the time restraints just meant I had to reduce how much I expected to visit in one day.

[mmporter]

We just got home from our Royal Caribbean Mediterranean cruise yesterday and one of our stops was Civitavecchia. Since the port is so far from Rome, we chose to book the Roma Express train transfer through Royal Caribbean. It is 50 minutes each way compared to 90 minutes in the car. It is simply a train transfer and then you are on your own during the day. We thought it was absolutely fantastic! We were standing in St. Peter's Square at 9:30AM, which was perfect as I had pre-booked Vatican tickets for 10AM and we were able to skip the huge line. I had also pre-booked the Underground and Third Ring tour tickets for the Colosseum at 1:20PM. That tour is amazing and lasts just over an hour. Afterwards, we had time to grab a late lunch and swing by the Trevi Fountain on the way back to meet our group at St. Peter's Square to get back on the train. We had 9:30AM - 4:45PM on our own and many people in our group saw both the Vatican and the Colosseum. I would highly recommend the train option. Since it's through Royal Caribbean, they guarantee you'll be back and it's not as expensive as some of their guided excursions. We also talked to people who did some of the guided excursions through RC and we ended up actually seeing more than they did, as we went inside and saw the Colosseum and many of the guided excursions just show you from the outside. It was a jam packed day, but we saw everything we wanted to see.

[euro cruiser]

We also talked to people who did some of the guided excursions through RC and we ended up actually seeing more than they did, as we went inside and saw the Colosseum and many of the guided excursions just show you from the outside. It was a jam packed day, but we saw everything we wanted to see.

I think it's a given that on your own, whether DIY or with a private tour, you will see more than someone on a bus excursion. It's the nature of the beast when you have to herd 50+ people onto and off a bus, or into and out of a venue, it just takes longer to do everything.

[cruisemom42]

We just got home from our Royal Caribbean Mediterranean cruise yesterday and one of our stops was Civitavecchia. Since the port is so far from Rome, we chose to book the Roma Express train transfer through Royal Caribbean. It is 50 minutes each way compared to 90 minutes in the car. It is simply a train transfer and then you are on your own during the day. We thought it was absolutely fantastic! We were standing in St. Peter's Square at 9:30AM, which was perfect as I had pre-booked Vatican tickets for 10AM and we were able to skip the huge line. I had also pre-booked the Underground and Third Ring tour tickets for the Colosseum at 1:20PM. That tour is amazing and lasts just over an hour. Afterwards, we had time to grab a late lunch and swing by the Trevi Fountain on the way back to meet our group at St. Peter's Square to get back on the train. We had 9:30AM - 4:45PM on our own and many people in our group saw both the Vatican and the Colosseum. I would highly recommend the train option. Since it's through Royal Caribbean, they guarantee you'll be back and it's not as expensive as some of their guided excursions.

 

I'm glad it worked out well for you. Just as a point of reference, one could also take the train independently (for 12 euro per person roundtrip) and still be in Rome by 9:30 assuming your ship arrives at the usual time. The regionale trains all take about an hour, give or take, to St. Peter's.

[RM]

We prefer private tours over a ships tour any day. Ship tours are general information tours, nothing really in depth. You definitely can do more on your own. Check out Rick Steve's Website, he has great downloadable walking tours.

[slidergirl]

Most excursions booked from the ship are very over-priced, compared to most private tour options. Doing it on your own is probably least expensive, but it might not be possible to enter both the Coliseum or the Vatican (might have to choose one), unless you really rush around (harder with a small child) and luck out with the lines. On your own, you might need to choose one area of Rome and really explore/enjoy that area... maybe visit the Coliseum, then take transportation to the Trevi Fountain area (lots to see walking around). That's probably enough to fill a limited day. I only just took my first cruise and I found the time restraints just meant I had to reduce how much I expected to visit in one day.

 

<start snark> There are these wonderful things called advance purchase tickets. You buy in advance for the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums and you now have an exact entry time, so no waiting in long lines like those who did not plan in advance <end snark>

 

Thousands of people every day do their research, pre-plan, buy tickets in advance, and "do" Rome on their own. If people don't do their research, they find that they can't check off all those "must see" boxes in a day (opinion - it's not realistic to think you can in the first place, regardless of paying for any kind of excursion/tour/driver). If you want quantity with a few minutes at each site, take a tour. If you want "quality", pick one or two places you truly want to see and plan around those. If you stay within the Centro Storico, you can see so much more for as long as you want. Trevi Fountain, The Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiore are all worth walking to and around. If you want to spend those hundreds and do one of the infamous "private cars", remember you are only paying for a driver. You MUST pay extra for a guide. It's the law. They are not allowed to accompany you, just drop you off and wait and pick you up.

[Matt_Cardiff]

Thank you all for your detailed responses, they're very helpful.

 

I like the sound of getting the train in, it seems quicker with less hassle compared to a tour bus. We really want to go in to the Coliseum and (if we have time) the Vatican so the DIY option probably suits us best. To me, the excursions/tours just sound like an awful lot of money for what they actually offer.

[Bobal]

Thank you all for your detailed responses, they're very helpful.

 

I like the sound of getting the train in, it seems quicker with less hassle compared to a tour bus. We really want to go in to the Coliseum and (if we have time) the Vatican so the DIY option probably suits us best. To me, the excursions/tours just sound like an awful lot of money for what they actually offer.

 

Travelling on your own by train also gives you a lot more flexibility in when you leave/return and how much time you spend at each place. Take a look on the Trenitalia website to find out train times http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en - they run frequently.

 

I would get off the ship and to the train station as early as possible to make the most of your day. You should also know that you do not have to go all the way into (or return from) Termini, the main station if you want to visit the Vatican. The train between Termini and Civitavecchia calls into Roma S Pietro which is the station closest to the Vatican (less than 10 minutes walk) so you could either get off there and see the Vatican before heading over to the Colosseum or catch the train from there back to Civitavecchia.