Precruise hotels in Rome for NCL

[augiesmom]

My daughter and I are booked for an NCL cruise next May, leaving from Rome. We will be flying into Rome a few days before the cruise. Has anyone booked any of the Pre tour hotels suggested by Norwegian?  We are trying to get an idea of what the cost would be staying at one of these, rather than trying on our own to find a place.  Thank you!   Kathy

[dogs4fun]

26 minutes ago, augiesmom said:

My daughter and I are booked for an NCL cruise next May, leaving from Rome. We will be flying into Rome a few days before the cruise. Has anyone booked any of the Pre tour hotels suggested by Norwegian?  We are trying to get an idea of what the cost would be staying at one of these, rather than trying on our own to find a place.  Thank you!   Kathy

Although we have visited Rome multiple times, we would never booked a hotel through any cruise line. I can guarantee that you will find a more reasonably priced hotel in a more convenient location (central storico) if you book your hotel yourself rather than through NCL. I would recommend that you check a site such as booking.com where you can filter your choices by location and price. 

Edited March 15, 2020 by dogs4fun

[CruiserBruce]

46 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

Although we have visited Rome multiple times, we would never booked a hotel through any cruise line. I can guarantee that you will find a more reasonably priced hotel in a more convenient location (central storico) if you book your hotel yourself rather than through NCL. I would recommend that you check a site such as booking.com where you can filter your choices by location and price. 

Absolutely agree. It is very rare that cruise line hotels are a good deal. We only use them in very rare circumstances.

[delaware32]

Our first time to Rome we used NCL hotels . Pre cruise we stayed at the Crowne Astor . It is convenient to the Vatican but further out from other sites eg. the Colosseum . They do offer a shuttle for a few Euros . Keep in mind the cruise line  charges per person . Post cruise we stayed at the Hilton Airport which was very convenient . I think it depends on your level of comfort when booking stays independently .

[cruisemom42]

In addition to the cost factor (as mentioned, booking through the cruise line nearly always is double the price for two people in a room...), I have found that the hotels chosen by the cruise lines tend to be larger, more generic and generally not located in the heart of the city, near all the sites.

 

In Rome, in particular, you can easily walk to many if not most of the main tourist sites if you are in a central hotel. Look for one around the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain area. The only site you probably could not walk to from these areas would be the Vatican (and it would be an inexpensive taxi ride).

 

I know it can be a little overwhelming to not "go with the flow" and choose the cruise line's hotel. But really, you WILL have a much better experience of the city if you do.