Boarding Celebrity cruise in August in Civitavechhia - question

[carolekv]

We arrive in Rome early on July 31, and then board Infinity on August 2.  We are in Sky Suite, so will want to take advantage of early boarding.  Here is my question - we plan on staying in Rome for 1 or 2 nights then getting to the ship early in the AM.  I'd love to sightsee the day we arrive (a little) and then all day Saturday, so should we stay in Rome that Saturday night and make our way to the ship on Sunday or get on over to Civitavecchia on Sat night so we are already there?  My main goal is to avoid lines, traffic, travel panic.  My second goal is to be able to show my son about a day's worth of Rome - the Colosseum, Pantheon, and a fun dinner.  Guidance from experienced folks in this whole thing is much appreciated! Thanks!

[kwokpot]

7 minutes ago, carolekv said:

We arrive in Rome early on July 31, and then board Infinity on August 2.  We are in Sky Suite, so will want to take advantage of early boarding.  Here is my question - we plan on staying in Rome for 1 or 2 nights then getting to the ship early in the AM.  I'd love to sightsee the day we arrive (a little) and then all day Saturday, so should we stay in Rome that Saturday night and make our way to the ship on Sunday or get on over to Civitavecchia on Sat night so we are already there?  My main goal is to avoid lines, traffic, travel panic.  My second goal is to be able to show my son about a day's worth of Rome - the Colosseum, Pantheon, and a fun dinner.  Guidance from experienced folks in this whole thing is much appreciated! Thanks!

There is really no benefit in staying in Civitavecchia the night before. We've departed many times from there and NEVER have stayed there, and as we will do this July the stays will always be in Rome, then a car service the day of embarkation right to the pier. There's alot more choices in hotel accommodations in Rome than Civitavecchia. 

Edited February 18, 2020 by kwokpot

[Dr. Pam]

Absolutely stay in Rome for your arrival day on Friday and Saturday!  Traffic on Sunday morning will not be as bad as on a week day.  If you have never visited Rome before than it is even more important that you maximize your time in the city!  Lots of incredible history, wonderful hotel choices and amazing restaurants.  It is still one of my kids' (now adults) favourite cities and definitely one of mine!  Enjoy Rome, you will have lots of time on a ship that will not compare to your experiences in Roma!

 

Happy and Safe Travels!

 

Pam

[carolekv]

Thank you - sounds like excellent advice!  So, I will take this one step further and ask - would you recommend a car service?  How about a hotel in Rome?  

[az_tchr]

1 minute ago, carolekv said:

Thank you - sounds like excellent advice!  So, I will take this one step further and ask - would you recommend a car service?  How about a hotel in Rome?  

We took Uber last time from Rome. Definately agree leaving on Sunday morning will make for a fast trip 

[Wine-O]

They don't allow all cars/taxis to have access to drop you off at the pier.  They have to have some sort of special permission to gain access to the port, otherwise you will be dropped off at the port entrance then having to take the port bus to the ship with all your luggage.  🍷

[PelicanLvr]

Car Service - You will find many great reviews of ROMEINLIMO on these boards.  I would not hesitate to use them.  We have used them for a full day private tour from Livorno port.  

[kwokpot]

16 minutes ago, carolekv said:

Thank you - sounds like excellent advice!  So, I will take this one step further and ask - would you recommend a car service?  How about a hotel in Rome?  

We used this car service in November and they were great. Arrived exactly on time and we had no issues. Great prices.

https://romehabicabs.com/ 

[Dr. Pam]

8 minutes ago, carolekv said:

Thank you - sounds like excellent advice!  So, I will take this one step further and ask - would you recommend a car service?  How about a hotel in Rome?  

We have used DRIVERINROME several times while in Rome and private excursions in Naples (off a Cruise Ship.)  Remo and his son Daniel are amazing and very safe drivers.  We used them for touring our family plus my brother's family for seeing the highlights of Rome.  We could not have covered the same ground on our own.  Daniel had pre-purchased tickets for the Forum, Colliseum, and the Basilica and we also had arranged a private guide for us.  It was nothing short of amazing. He would drop us off right at the location and then coordinate when to pick us up.  We also asked to be taken to an authentic ROMAN restaurant off the beaten path.  No English was spoken here and no tourists....except US! :)  Incredible day. I have used this company several times for FCO pickup, Ship pickup and dropoff as well as touring.  Highly recommend.  I think they are on TRIPADVISOR.

 

Regarding hotels:

 

Our personal favourite is The ST. Regis Rome.  Outstanding beautiful old world hotel. We have stayed there a few times. :)

 

[kwokpot]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Pam said:

 

Regarding hotels:

 

Our personal favourite is The ST. Regis Rome.  Outstanding beautiful old world hotel. We have stayed there a few times. 🙂

 

Ouch! For the nights in question The St. Regis is $650/nt!

[Dr. Pam]

8 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Ouch! For the nights in question The St. Regis is $650/nt!

Yesssss, I know it is not cheap!  We used our Marriott (Now Bonvoy) points to have a suite connected to our kids' room.  It was wonderful. :)  We have had friends that stayed at the Westin Excelsior and they loved the hotel and its location.  Sorry, I cannot be more help.  Please no flames....we are kinda high end travellers.  

 

Check out TripAdvisor and make it your friend for research on hotels, restaurants, everything.  There is something for everyone and every budget. 

[kathynorth]

I would stay in Rome for as many nights as you're travel schedule allows. Where you stay may be impacted based on cost and how you plan to move around the city. If you plan to do plenty of walking then you may want to explore options that are near Piazza Navona/Parthenon areas. If you plan to hire a tour guide with car, use public transport or just hail cabs from place to place, then the outer neighborhoods have lots of reasonably priced options.  Last time we were there we visited Rome we stayed at an apartment near the Vatican that we found on VRBO. On another trip we stayed at Hotel Gerber, which is located near the Prati area. We used Jump Limousine to transport the morning of our cruise. The van held 8 passengers each with 1 lg suitcase. We posted our open seats on our roll call and found others who wished to transport with us from Rome to Civitiavechhia. We all shared the cost and were on ship by 11am. As Wine-O pointed out, you need to ask whomever you arrange your transport with if they have access right outside the ship. Otherwise you have to wait for the shuttle bus to bring you and your luggage to the ship. We found lots of wonderful advice for Rome in the Italy thread. One suggestion is to determine your must see sights and map these out on a map along with your hotel. You can then cluster these according to location to make efficient use of your time. Also, you can see amazing works of art located in churches throughout Rome, so consider mapping these out on you map so you can make quick stops that may be located close by your main stops. For example, the Coloseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill are right next to each other. 

Edited February 18, 2020 by kathynorth

[kwokpot]

Here is a a  hotel that seems to get good reviews. We have not stayed  there yet but plan to in July after our NCL cruise. I met someone who stayed there on our trip in November and they enjoyed their stay there. 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187791-d531936-Reviews-Residenza_Argentina-Rome_Lazio.html

 

With regard to hotel recommendations it would be helpful if you could list a suggested budget per night. The good thing about Rome is there is such a variety of accommodations of every style and price level. 

[alj1208]

Definitely stay in Rome for 2 nights, and don’t waste a night in a hotel near the port. The ride to the port is easy (maybe an hour or slightly more), and it’s all highway. There won’t be traffic on a Sunday.

 

We hired a private car transfer to drive us from Rome to the port the morning of the cruise, and it was great. We were not in a suite, but we were among the first on the ship. No lines.

 

In Rome, we stayed at Hotel Artimede in connecting rooms for 2 nights with our teenage son. We did a private one-day Rome tour the day after our arrival. We did the “Rome with the Vatican” tour with ItalyTours.EU. It was so worth the extra money, as the private tour allowed us to move efficiently around the city. The tour company really did deliver “Rome in a day.”

[kathynorth]

You can pre-purchase entry tickets online for the Colosseum and Vatican Museum. Doing this will save you substantial time as you can bypass the ticket lines. We waited more than 2 hrs on the Vatican Museum line on our first visit to Rome. The next time we had tickets in hand and walked right in. If you go to the Vatican Museum do not bring anything large that would need to be checked at the front gate because the exit is on the opposite side of the building and it's a very long walk to retrieve your belongings. Save your visit to the Sistine Chapel for the last thing you want to see at the museum. There is a door on the right rear of the chapel that is used by organized tours to enter directly into St. Peter's that bypasses the outside security line. If you blend in with an organized tour as they exit this door you'll be saving yourself lots of walking time and another long wait. We've been to the Colosseum several times and found the Underground Colosseum tour to be the best. You need to call them directly to book this tour, but it's well worth it. You can also purchase a combo ticket that provides quick access to the Forum and Palatine. For dinner, we really enjoyed our meal at one of the outdoor restaurants at Piazza Navona. 

Edited February 18, 2020 by kathynorth

[Miaminice]

As mentioned in recommendations by others, stay in Rome!

 

We are in Rome frequently and love a central location. We can recommend 

lh Suites Hotel www.lhroyalsuites.it and Hotel dei Barbieri www.hoteldeibarbieri.com for their unbeatable location.

You can reach all the interesting sites on foot and Trastevere for dinner is just around the corner - so is Campo dei Fiori.

 

Both hotels arrange a pick up from the airport and transfer to Civitavecchia. Otherwise we can highly recommend Bob´s Limos www.romelimousines.com.

 

 

Edited February 18, 2020 by Miaminice

[carolekv]

41 minutes ago, Dr. Pam said:

Yesssss, I know it is not cheap!  We used our Marriott (Now Bonvoy) points to have a suite connected to our kids' room.  It was wonderful. 🙂 We have had friends that stayed at the Westin Excelsior and they loved the hotel and its location.  Sorry, I cannot be more help.  Please no flames....we are kinda high end travellers.  

 

Check out TripAdvisor and make it your friend for research on hotels, restaurants, everything.  There is something for everyone and every budget. 

Yes, we have actually stayed there before and loved it.  The one right near the American Consulate, I believe.  But I will be a bit more frugal this time, as I am also taking my son on a cruise in a suite, so getting less fancy on the hotel side of things.  BUT I am also super picky about comfort and safety and usually am high end too.  Mostly for comfort and safety reasons - I hate little beds, too many stairs up, bad locations, no bar in the hotel or nearby, yucky bathrooms, all of those things that are risks that I would've gladly taken when younger. 😉 

Edited February 18, 2020 by carolekv

[suzyluvs2cruise]

On our recent trip we stayed at the Argentina Residenza Hotel. It's withing walking distance of many attractions transport stops. Piazza Navona is a few blocks away and Trastevere is across the bridge. We found a great local restaurant there with reasonable prices that is a short walk across the bridge from the hotel. Restaurante Carlo Menta

[Dunmore2]

Hotel Richmond was one of our favorites, location was superb and the view from the top floor while having breakfast is second to none.

 

I see that it has changed hands, not even a hotel anymore, sorry.
 

we have used bobs limo services and Civitavecchia shuttle services for port drop offs and pick ups. Both are reliable companies and will be able to communicate by email with you.

Edited February 18, 2020 by Dunmore2
Hotel closed.

[Crowls]

We were in Rome last summer and used AirBnB (booked with a "Super host" to ensure no problems - we were a family of 4 but found it much more comfortable, affordable and roomy than a hotel (again, no flames for us either please :) we are a bit choosy so the extra rooms and having 3 bedrooms, laundry, etc was good for us).  Air BnB has alot of options for even short stays.

 

We pre-purchased high speed train tix (allows you to choose seats, etc) and took the train to port, then a taxi (from the door of the train station) directly to the ship. My understanding is that taxi's from the train station can drive you directly to the ship but some other services may not (not sure if this is true but I can attest that our taxi did literally drive us to the dock/check-in....we seriously didn't walk 500m total, which with 2 cranky teens in the morning and luggage was kind of nice!).  I wouldn't hesitate to take the train again - quite affordable and very easy!

 

Enjoy Rome!!! :)

 

[BSinPNS]

From personal experoience, taxis that can go in the port can be hard tofind at the Civi train depot.  

[dani negreanu]

5 hours ago, carolekv said:

Thank you - sounds like excellent advice!  So, I will take this one step further and ask - would you recommend a car service?  How about a hotel in Rome?  

 

For a reliable and value for money car service --

 

https://www.civitavecchiacabservice.com/

 

You can easily check the prices on their site.

 

We're also booked in September on  Argentina Residenza Hotel, which was recommended to us on these boards.

[dani negreanu]

3 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

On our recent trip we stayed at the Argentina Residenza Hotel. It's withing walking distance of many attractions transport stops. Piazza Navona is a few blocks away and Trastevere is across the bridge. We found a great local restaurant there with reasonable prices that is a short walk across the bridge from the hotel. Restaurante Carlo Menta

 

So glad to see that you've enjoyed this hotel, coming from an experienced cruiser like you 😁 For sure we'll check the restaurant.

I think we were together in Sept. 2017 (Vision to New England/Canada).

[Northern Aurora]

We spent several days in Rome prior to boarding the Constellation.  I initially contacted Romeinlimo for private transfer from our hotel to the port, but they didn't have any availability for the date we needed.  Our Rome hotel concierge recommended Autolineroma (info@autolineroma.com).  We found them easy to deal with.  Driver was ontime for our pick up and we felt the price was extremely reasonable for a private transfer for two people.

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

 

So glad to see that you've enjoyed this hotel, coming from an experienced cruiser like you 😁 For sure we'll check the restaurant.

I think we were together in Sept. 2017 (Vision to New England/Canada).

My friend and I have booked Rome cabs dot.com for our transfer from FCO to our hotel also from hotel to the port 2 days later. Would anyone know if they drop off at pier or if we have to wait for shuttle?  We will each have 1 piece luggage and one carry on. I didn't see anything in their confirmation to us now I'm a bit concerned