Ultimate Rome excursion by NCL

[CruizinKittie40]

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this, but I'm looking for answers specifically for this excursion by NCL.  

 

I'm wondering if the Ultimate Rome excursion is worth it.  I'm debating between this ($409 USD) and the Hop on/Hop off Rome ($135 USD).  As you can see, there's a huge price difference.  It's just me and my mom so I feel like the Ultimate Rome is the safer option as we would be with a group.  Just wondered if anyone had an experience with either of these excursions. 

[Hadacareer]

Hop on off is the usual canned tape around historical areas..the other has tours right?

[CruizinKittie40]

7 minutes ago, Hadacareer said:

Hop on off is the usual canned tape around historical areas..the other has tours right?

It's noted as a U tour so sounds that way

[Jldevlin]

You still have to get into Rome.. so you have the cost of that you have to add .The hop on bus only goes around the outside of the city really....the good stuff is in the middle . If it is your first time I would go with the ships tour, it is an easy city to navigate once you have been there 

[CruizinKittie40]

6 minutes ago, Jldevlin said:

You still have to get into Rome.. so you have the cost of that you have to add .The hop on bus only goes around the outside of the city really....the good stuff is in the middle . If it is your first time I would go with the ships tour, it is an easy city to navigate once you have been there 

Thank you!! I don't think we will ever go back so I think the Ultimate is the way to go, really

[ColdCruise]

50 minutes ago, CruizinKittie40 said:

I'm wondering if the Ultimate Rome excursion is worth it.  I'm debating between this ($409 USD) and the Hop on/Hop off Rome ($135 USD).  As you can see, there's a huge price difference.  It's just me and my mom so I feel like the Ultimate Rome is the safer option as we would be with a group.  Just wondered if anyone had an experience with either of these excursions. 

@CruizinKittie40

for $800+ I would look for a private tour. In our roll call for the Epic out of Rome, people have shared several private tour companies/guides they’ve used previously.

And check your cruise roll call to see if anyone would share the tour (and cost).

 

good lock!

[CruizinKittie40]

Just now, ColdCruise said:

@CruizinKittie40

for $800+ I would look for a private tour. In our roll call for the Epic out of Rome, people have shared several private tour companies/guides they’ve used previously.

And check your cruise roll call to see if anyone would share the tour (and cost).

 

good lock!

I've never taken a private tour and am leery about doing anything outside of the cruise line

[ColdCruise]

46 minutes ago, CruizinKittie40 said:

I've never taken a private tour and am leery about doing anything outside of the cruise line

Everyone has their own comfort level ..I was leery the first time but I did research and  talked to other passengers for recommendations 

[complawyer]

dont be leery about a private tour. we've been to rome with ncl twice, and both times hired a cab. it's cheaper, and the driver will take you wherever you want to go. bring the tour itinerary, show him what you want to see and you should be ok, $800 is way out of line.

 

go to the colosseum, vatican, and trevi fountain for sure. it's about 45 minute drive drom the port to the city.

[Trimone]

Someone has said that in safety at sea only passengers with NCL excursions will be allowed off in Italy?

[SpainAlien]

I would recommend you do a your through RomeinLimo they take you in a minibus which hers you right up to the attractions, the NCL coach can't get that close. 

[SpainAlien]

Just now, Trimone said:

Someone has said that in safety at sea only passengers with NCL excursions will be allowed off in Italy?

Really? I haven't seen that. I will have to go and look

[Trimone]

*Due to local government regulations, guests are required to take a Norwegian Cruise Line shore excursion while visiting ports in Italy as guests will not be allowed to explore on their own

[ScratchTheRat]

6 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

Everyone has their own comfort level ..I was leery the first time but I did research and  talked to other passengers for recommendations 

You can’t. NCL updated their sail safe this week to say that Italy is off limits to anyone not on an NCL excursion

[Hadacareer]

2 hours ago, ScratchTheRat said:

You can’t. NCL updated their sail safe this week to say that Italy is off limits to anyone not on an NCL excursion

That answers that!  I also prefer the ncl shore excursions though, they are vetted and guaranteed to not miss the ship..also big difference between a licensed tour guide and a driver..made that mistake once and never again.  Driving someone to a site and saying this is it versus a full tour is so much better, esp since this is your first time (and maybe last, unless like us you fallen love with Rome!) remember the price also includes transportation to and from the cruise port..we are staying in Rome before cruise and looking at tours, and to get a good one they are not cheap!

[caitlynambrai]

3 hours ago, ScratchTheRat said:

You can’t. NCL updated their sail safe this week to say that Italy is off limits to anyone not on an NCL excursion

😱

[4774Papa]

HoHo buses are OK for some cities, but not for cities with heavy traffic.  I would not take a HoHo bus in Rome.

Also, look for private tours, far less expensive than the ship's excursions.  Use TripAdvisor and Viator.com as well as what you find from private companies.

[Trimone]

As I pointed out earlier?

*Due to local government regulations, guests are required to take a Norwegian Cruise Line shore excursion while visiting ports in Italy as guests will not be allowed to explore on their own.

[Gen X Life]

2 minutes ago, Trimone said:

As I pointed out earlier?

*Due to local government regulations, guests are required to take a Norwegian Cruise Line shore excursion while visiting ports in Italy as guests will not be allowed to explore on their own.

I wonder how many people will cancel due to this??  With the addition of the possible mask mandate (Depending on sail date and almost daily regulation changes for masks - almost guaranteed now).

 

Is it worth the "Cruise Experience" and the expense at this time to travel to/in Europe??

 

We were so disappointed when our B2B with a Trans Atlantic were cancelled ; Now not so much - and we were going to possibly re-book a different ship - NOW I don't think so  - You don't know what your going to have to be subjected to - Regulations change daily with increased prices! >>. that is NOT a Vacation.  IMHO

[Trimone]

25 minutes ago, Gen X Life said:

I wonder how many people will cancel due to this??  With the addition of the possible mask mandate (Depending on sail date and almost daily regulation changes for masks - almost guaranteed now).

 

Is it worth the "Cruise Experience" and the expense at this time to travel to/in Europe??

 

We were so disappointed when our B2B with a Trans Atlantic were cancelled ; Now not so much - and we were going to possibly re-book a different ship - NOW I don't think so  - You don't know what your going to have to be subjected to - Regulations change daily with increased prices! >>. that is NOT a Vacation.  IMHO

We have thought about the September 5th cruise in depth, since booking it last September.

We are in the haven with loads of space, we don’t mind face masks for walking between venues, we have done Italy that many times, so happy to stay on ship, we just want to read and relax with the iPhone turned off and locked away.

 

[DCGuy64]

30 minutes ago, Gen X Life said:

I wonder how many people will cancel due to this??  With the addition of the possible mask mandate (Depending on sail date and almost daily regulation changes for masks - almost guaranteed now).

 

Is it worth the "Cruise Experience" and the expense at this time to travel to/in Europe??

 

We were so disappointed when our B2B with a Trans Atlantic were cancelled ; Now not so much - and we were going to possibly re-book a different ship - NOW I don't think so  - You don't know what your going to have to be subjected to - Regulations change daily with increased prices! >>. that is NOT a Vacation.  IMHO

I don't know how many people will cancel due to this, but we sure won't. We're scheduled to visit Italy next week on MSC and all of their excursions are cruise line-sponsored only. We've never had a problem doing their excursions and don't anticipate one now, either. My wife is a lot more concerned about Covid than I and I'm not sure she'd agree to anything else right now. So, IMHO, that's still a vacation. 😉

[Trimone]

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I don't know how many people will cancel due to this, but we sure won't. We're scheduled to visit Italy next week on MSC and all of their excursions are cruise line-sponsored only. We've never had a problem doing their excursions and don't anticipate one now, either. My wife is a lot more concerned about Covid than I and I'm not sure she'd agree to anything else right now. So, IMHO, that's still a vacation. 😉

Look forward not behind 😎

[hernando52]

We did this tour (or one similar long expensive NCL one) a few years ago.  We cringed at the price, but one thing it got us was skip the line at all of the major sites (Vatican, Pantheon & Coliseum).  That is absolutely necessary as the lines are VERY long.  We had a good guide who explained everything we were looking at.  I would suggest this approach if this is your first time in Rome.  We are going back ourselves in 2023 after a cruise and will do it on our own because we don't need to see the big sites again....

[Markanddonna]

For now, this is probably your only practical option  but know that most experienced cruisers prefer private excursions over the ship excursions.  I have never been disappointed with a private tour but have found almost every ship excursion to be quite inferior and more expensive.  These are different times, so ship excursion it is.

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, Markanddonna said:

For now, this is probably your only practical option  but know that most experienced cruisers prefer private excursions over the ship excursions.  I have never been disappointed with a private tour but have found almost every ship excursion to be quite inferior and more expensive.  These are different times, so ship excursion it is.

I would agree with this, we have often booked private excursions over ship-sponsored ones, although in many cases we found them to be the same tour operators but cheaper when booked on our own. That being said, if a cruise line tells us we have to do their excursions or none at all (due to Covid), we'll do the ship-sponsored ones.