Epic fail in planning our Rome day:(

[petuniaflower]

I think Ive done an epic fail in my planning our day in Rome in July..the number one thing we wanted to do was the Colosseum, and I figured since you can purchase tix there and I wasnt purchasing transfers for the day (planned to take train on our own) therefore wasnt sure what time to select on the ticket..come to today where I thought I may as well just buy the tickets now but Ill just select a bit later time slot and there is no availability!  I am so upset as this was the number 1 thing on our list..any tips are appreciated..should we even bother trying to purchase at the door, if they are sold out of pre purchase?

 

Thx

[Yakb0]

Have you tried booking through a tour company?

 

And you won't get in standby, the lines for the Colosseum are enormous, any tickets will be snatched up immediately.

 

Also, tickets to the rest of the Forum will probably be available, and you can walk around there, and the Colosseum is right next to it.

[euro cruiser]

Relax, they never sell all of the tickets on line.  Also, they use a staged roll-out for on line tickets so the first batch may have been sold but there will be another batch released (unless your cruise is next week, that is).  Keep checking the official web site.

 

There are always tickets available in person, the trick is to use either the Palatine or Roman Forum ticket offices rather than the one at the Colosseum.  There will still be a line but it will be much, much shorter.

 

Also, check for availability of different types of tickets.  If you were just looking at entry tickets, look for entry plus tour (or vice versa).

 

A tour company is another option.

Edited June 16, 2019 by euro cruiser

[abca]

Look up italiarail. They have a show and go ticket which you can see the Colosseum and Vatican without reservation.  Just show up at a designated time.

[petuniaflower]

12 hours ago, abca said:

Look up italiarail. They have a show and go ticket which you can see the Colosseum and Vatican without reservation.  Just show up at a designated time.

This would have been good but we arent necessarily keen on going to the Vatican.  Thx!

[petuniaflower]

Could someone post the legit site for Colosseum tix please as now I am unsure if I am on correct site.

 

This is what Im on

 

https://www.il-colosseo.it/en/biglietti.php

Edited June 18, 2019 by petuniaflower

[petuniaflower]

Urgh, so now (if Im on the right site) for my date (July17) they are showing availability for a $25 ticket including audio, which we didnt really want, but at this point...

 

Does this sound right, that they would sell out of regular tix but yet still have regular tix plus audio/video?

 

Also, it says kids are free but that doesnt include the skip the line portion, so does that mean we will have to wait in line for that purchase anyhow or is that a separate line?  Also, what age are considered kids there?

 

One more question, how specific are they with picking a time.  If we are heading over by train in the am from the port what tim can I expect to arrive/select, and how hard set is that time, as in should we pick a later time to ensure were there?  What if youre in line at your time but wait an hour in line?

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Sadly editing this as I think that was not the correct site, I believe this is official site

 

https://www.coopculture.it/

 

And there is absolutely nothing available for 6, I tried all of the ticket options.  For the staggered roll out, would that be over now as under a month away?

Edited June 18, 2019 by petuniaflower

[cruisemom42]

21 minutes ago, petuniaflower said:

Could someone post the legit site for Colosseum tix please as now I am unsure if I am on correct site.

 

This is what Im on

 

https://www.il-colosseo.it/en/biglietti.php

The official site for Colosseum tickets is  https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

[petuniaflower]

2 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

The official site for Colosseum tickets is  https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

Oh no, I was afraid of that..no tickets available for July 17:(

 

Can anyone advise if there is much to see without a ticket from the outside?  This was at the top of our to do list..

[cruisemom42]

1 minute ago, petuniaflower said:

Oh no, I was afraid of that..no tickets available for July 17:(

 

Can anyone advise if there is much to see without a ticket from the outside?  This was at the top of our to do list..

 

No offense but you seem to be kind of chasing your tail. You already have gotten some good suggestions -- see posts #2 and #3 above. You just need to decide how to approach this. If the Colosseum is super important I'm sure you can still find a way either via a private tour or getting tickets on the "day of" at one of the non-Colosseum ticket booths.

 

There is a lot to see from the outside -- but you won't see the inside without going in. 

[petuniaflower]

4 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

No offense but you seem to be kind of chasing your tail. You already have gotten some good suggestions -- see posts #2 and #3 above. You just need to decide how to approach this. If the Colosseum is super important I'm sure you can still find a way either via a private tour or getting tickets on the "day of" at one of the non-Colosseum ticket booths.

 

There is a lot to see from the outside -- but you won't see the inside without going in. 

I have certainly explored the options given..I checked the italiarail option, but considering its $159 euro and we dont want the Vatican thats not an option.  I checked the option of upgrading the ticket and they are also sold out.  One person said there would be tickets available day of, one said there would not, so unsure about that option.  What I was then asking was for more info on the staggering as I am a month out.  And my concern with private tour is not knowing what is legit..

 

Thanks!

[cruisemom42]

6 hours ago, petuniaflower said:

I have certainly explored the options given..I checked the italiarail option, but considering its $159 euro and we dont want the Vatican thats not an option.  I checked the option of upgrading the ticket and they are also sold out.  One person said there would be tickets available day of, one said there would not, so unsure about that option.  What I was then asking was for more info on the staggering as I am a month out.  And my concern with private tour is not knowing what is legit..

 

Thanks!

 

I just looked at the Coopculture site and tickets are available for the Colosseum admission plus the official 45 minute tour for only 19 euro per person on your date (July 17) for 11:00 am, which should work for you, yes?

[petuniaflower]

omg yes that would be perfect!  Why would that not be coming up for me..everything is red and unavailable I just checked all the tickets..all but one time for one person on one of the ticket options came up not available?

Edited June 18, 2019 by petuniaflower

[euro cruiser]

I just looked at your date and it is all red, but so is every day that week.  As I said earlier, tickets are released in waves.  There are tickets available for today and tomorrow, as you get closer to your date more tickets will be released.  You just have to keep checking, or you have to spend a lot of extra money for an outside tour. 

Edited June 18, 2019 by euro cruiser

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, petuniaflower said:

omg yes that would be perfect!  Why would that not be coming up for me..everything is red and unavailable I just checked all the tickets..all but one time for one person on one of the ticket options came up not available?

 

Are you looking here?:  https://ecm.coopculture.it/index.php?option=com_snapp&view=event&id=E6A1B5B3-BFDA-AC94-6929-0161B2E3A0C0&catalogid=BDB46B8C-0C49-10F2-6036-0167A8502B26&lang=en

 

For me it shows 16 slots available for the 11:00 am tour...

[petuniaflower]

25 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Are you looking here?:  https://ecm.coopculture.it/index.php?option=com_snapp&view=event&id=E6A1B5B3-BFDA-AC94-6929-0161B2E3A0C0&catalogid=BDB46B8C-0C49-10F2-6036-0167A8502B26&lang=en

 

For me it shows 16 slots available for the 11:00 am tour...

This is so bizarre!!!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!  I am totally seeing it through your link..going to book but have a question..we have 2 under 18, should I get the free ticket+tour+reservation for them? Comes to $9 I guess the 5 for the tour portion and 2 for online purchase?

[cruisemom42]

I wouldn't do it, because I think you have to get in line to validate the ages and actually get the tickets. It could waste a lot of time. But then perhaps the savings is important to you...

 

[petuniaflower]

44 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I wouldn't do it, because I think you have to get in line to validate the ages and actually get the tickets. It could waste a lot of time. But then perhaps the savings is important to you...

 

I panicked and booked the kids tix before I saw your response, but Im ok with it, Im just happy we got tix, thank you sooo much!  I just checked again not from your link and I show no availability..so I dont know how but I have them, thank you again!

[cruisemom42]

Good -- all is well that ends well.

 

When you have your tickets, pay close attention to the meeting location given. Because the Colosseum is so crowded now, they have assigned different meeting points for different types of tours/entry tickets. The website link you used for the tickets has all the info.

 

[euro cruiser]

Glad you got it taken care of.

 

Now, how are you planning to get to Rome and the Colosseum?  I think your original post said by train, what time does your ship arrive at Civitavecchia?

 

For the Colosseum the fastest route is to take the train to Roma  Ostiense and the metro from there, two stops, to Colosseo.  There is no need to go all the way to Termini, that just wastes time.

[Alaskanb]

On 6/16/2019 at 5:16 AM, euro cruiser said:

Relax, they never sell all of the tickets on line.  Also, they use a staged roll-out for on line tickets so the first batch may have been sold but there will be another batch released (unless your cruise is next week, that is).  Keep checking the official web site.

 

There are always tickets available in person, the trick is to use either the Palatine or Roman Forum ticket offices rather than the one at the Colosseum.  There will still be a line but it will be much, much shorter.

 

Also, check for availability of different types of tickets.  If you were just looking at entry tickets, look for entry plus tour (or vice versa).

 

A tour company is another option.

Where are the forum and palatine ticket offices? We just want to wander around those areas --what type of ticket do we need? Thanks. 

[PelicanLvr]

So glad you got your tickets.  Welcome to Italy!

[euro cruiser]

6 hours ago, Alaskanb said:

Where are the forum and palatine ticket offices? We just want to wander around those areas --what type of ticket do we need? Thanks. 

 

There is only one type of ticket available, it's a three-site ticket that includes the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine hill.

 

Each site has its own ticket office so you can buy it at any one of the three.  Most people head right to the Colosseum, overlooking the other two locations.

[petuniaflower]

21 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

Glad you got it taken care of.

 

Now, how are you planning to get to Rome and the Colosseum?  I think your original post said by train, what time does your ship arrive at Civitavecchia?

 

For the Colosseum the fastest route is to take the train to Roma  Ostiense and the metro from there, two stops, to Colosseo.  There is no need to go all the way to Termini, that just wastes time.

Haha good question, I have read through some of the posts and the express train post as well but am still a bit confused about which to buy/book in advance.  We port 7am-6pm.  Our goal is to see the Colosseum area and then likely whatever is in the same area as Trevi/Spanish steps/Pantheon, can we walk from Colosseum area to there?  Aside from Colosseum we'd just like to walk around and explore, have gelato and lunch etc.  Though now with having to be at Colosseum for 1030/11 I dont know if we can fit something in before that or not?

 

Any help re trains is appreciated!  These boards are AMAZING!

[euro cruiser]

You don't want to wait for the Civitavecchia Express train, it's really too late and you'll lose valuable time in Rome.

 

In my experience the ships are generally at the dock and cleared for disembarking pretty fast on port days, you can probably be off the ship by 7:15 AM.  

 

Depending on where your ship is berthed you may or may not be able to walk to the train station.  If you are at #10 - #13 you can walk from there, obviously from #13 is a longer walk (the length of three or four cruise ships) but it's manageable and faster than waiting for the port shuttle bus and then walking a mile from the drop off point near Largo della Pace.   From the absolute furthest point (#13) it's about two miles to the station, from the closer in berths it's more like a mile and a quarter. You can see this on the port map here:  https://civitavecchia.portmobility.it/en/mappa-del-porto#.  Note that this map is unusual, the top of the map is actually southwest (most maps put north at the top).

 

There are trains on weekdays as follows (depart Civitavecchia, arrive Roma Ostiense):

7:44 - 8:36

7:58 - 9:06

8:42 - 9:36

 

At the train station newsstand you can buy the 5-zone BIRG ticket, this covers your regional train travel to Rome and back as well as all metro, buses and trams in Rome for the entire day.  This ticket costs 12 euro and is a bargain (the train fare alone is 9,20 euro).  Be sure to validate each ticket by stamping them in the machines on the train platforms at Civitavecchia before boarding the train.  If there's room on the back it's also a good idea to write the name of the user and the date.  This isn't required but it's a good backup in the off chance that the machine doesn't properly stamp the date and time on it.

 

Let's assume you make the 7:58, which is reasonable, and arrive to Ostiense at 9:06.  There is an underground passageway that connects the train station with the Piramide metro station (see this map:  https://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=4).

 

Only the B line of the metro uses this station so you only need to worry about getting on in the right direction.  You want a train heading towards either Jonio or Rebibbia.  The second station is Colosseo, as you exit the metro station you're facing the Colosseum, it's pretty impressive and couldn't be easier.  You should be there no later than 9:30 if you make the 7:58 train.

Edited June 19, 2019 by euro cruiser