Has anyone toured Rome before getting on the ship...

[DeeMarch]

but without staying the night before the cruise? We are flying in from NJ and will arrive in the early morning. Is there a ship excursion? Or do we have to do it on our own?

[teedee]

I was in Rome for a few days before my cruise. Don't forget it takes an hour to an hour and a half to get to the port. That doesn't leave a lot of time for a tour. Look at the options for shore excursions from Celebrity's websight to see if anything fits your schedule. I don't know if they do excursions for arriving cruisers like they do departing cruisers with late flights.

 

Terri

[kitty9]

While I know that most flights from the US arrive in Rome early in the morning, once you do everything you need to do at the airport, like getting your luggage, going through Immigration and Customs and finding transportation, there's really not all that much time to tour Rome. It takes quite a bit of time to get to the city's center from the airport, the traffic in the city is awful, and then it takes at least 90 minutes to get from the edge of the city to the port, and that's if traffic isn't jammed, which it usually is. You really can't do justice to seeing anything in Rome on embarkation day unless all you want is a quick glance of one or two things.

[tangerinebunny]

We've all heard that Rome wasn't built in a day; what it wasn't built for was modern traffic. Darcie's right - allow extra travel time to get from place to place.

[teedee]

While I know that most flights from the US arrive in Rome early in the morning, once you do everything you need to do at the airport, like getting your luggage, going through Immigration and Customs and finding transportation, there's really not all that much time to tour Rome. It takes quite a bit of time to get to the city's center from the airport, the traffic in the city is awful, and then it takes at least 90 minutes to get from the edge of the city to the port, and that's if traffic isn't jammed, which it usually is. You really can't do justice to seeing anything in Rome on embarkation day unless all you want is a quick glance of one or two things.

 

That's very true. My flight landed at 9am & between waiting for luggage, and the drive to the hotel, it was noon before I checked in.

 

Terri

[JeriNP]

Oh, please tell me you're kidding. PLEASE change your flight to two or three days prior to sailing, if it's at all possible...you'll be missing a lot if you don't. I flew from NY-Rome last December:

 

1) YOU ARE WIPED OUT when you reach Italy from NY/NJ, whether or not you're able to sleep on the plane. The time change alone does you in.

 

2) Then you have to go and claim your luggage.

 

3) Then you have to go through customs.

 

4) Then you have to get some Euros (ATM).

 

5) Then you have to navigate the air terminal, then flag down a taxi to get to Rome (45 minutes or more in Friday morning traffic).

 

6) Where are you storing your luggage while you tour Rome?

 

7) You then have to get to the port at Civitavecchia - another 90 minutes AT LEAST by car or bus, especially on a Friday.

 

8) You can take TrenItalia to the port, and that takes about an hour, but you'll have to take a taxi to Termini, which is akin to NY's Penn Station, and located in a dicey neighborhood. (The pickpockets LOVE tired, disoriented tourists with lots of luggage to watch over - it makes it SO much less likely that you'll give chase when they cut the strap on your wife's purse and stroll away with it. I'm not being sarcastic or exaggerating here - a 12 year old walked RIGHT UP TO ME and tried to grab my bag, and I was standing with friends who LIVE in Italy.)

 

Please do yourself and your family a huge favor and get that flight changed. It would be a shame to miss Rome. Even two days will give you something you'd remember forever.

[Lane40]

Hope your flights are on time and not delayed any. :(

[EGG]

If you are flying Continental, the limo driver in Rome told me Continental is always on time. We arrived 10 minutes early at 7:30 a.m. When you have a direct flight, it is not as bad a flight as some of the others experience.

 

That being said, we stayed a night in Rome. We dropped off our luggage (our room was ready), locked up our valuables and headed out for a wonderful day in Rome. We ate an early dinner, and were fast asleep at 8:00. When we woke up, we were ready to go. No jet lag. I always try to arrive a day early.

[chasetf]

but without staying the night before the cruise? We are flying in from NJ and will arrive in the early morning. Is there a ship excursion? Or do we have to do it on our own?

If there is any way you can get there a couple of days before, it will be well worth it. Arriving at the airport, you will be so far out of town, you have to go to the opposite direction to see anything worth while.

 

We flew in three days prior to our departure. Do not know where your cruise is going, but it would be a shame missing the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museums, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, etc......:(

[JLC@SD]

Oh, please tell me you're kidding. PLEASE change your flight to two or three days prior to sailing, if it's at all possible...you'll be missing a lot if you don't. I flew from NY-Rome last December:

 

1) YOU ARE WIPED OUT when you reach Italy from NY/NJ, whether or not you're able to sleep on the plane. The time change alone does you in.

 

2) Then you have to go and claim your luggage.

 

3) Then you have to go through customs.

 

4) Then you have to get some Euros (ATM).

 

5) Then you have to navigate the air terminal, then flag down a taxi to get to Rome (45 minutes or more in Friday morning traffic).

 

6) Where are you storing your luggage while you tour Rome?

 

7) You then have to get to the port at Civitavecchia - another 90 minutes AT LEAST by car or bus, especially on a Friday.

 

8) You can take TrenItalia to the port, and that takes about an hour, but you'll have to take a taxi to Termini, which is akin to NY's Penn Station, and located in a dicey neighborhood. (The pickpockets LOVE tired, disoriented tourists with lots of luggage to watch over - it makes it SO much less likely that you'll give chase when they cut the strap on your wife's purse and stroll away with it. I'm not being sarcastic or exaggerating here - a 12 year old walked RIGHT UP TO ME and tried to grab my bag, and I was standing with friends who LIVE in Italy.)

 

Please do yourself and your family a huge favor and get that flight changed. It would be a shame to miss Rome. Even two days will give you something you'd remember forever.

 

and you are guaranteed to hit traffic going into Rome and leaving Rome.

 

We did a 3 day pre cruise stay. We arrived early morning and by the time we did # 1 through #6 in jerim's post it was noon. You would have to leave Rome about that time to catch the ship in Civitavecchia. You will not have time to see anything.

 

Rome is probably one of the best sights you can see on your trip and you will miss it if you do not do a pre or post cruise stay. If you haven't seen Rome......please do not miss it.

 

And the post about the pickpockets........very true.....I have been picked, my mother was picked (inside St Peters) and friends picked. Buses and subways, where everyone is crammed together is the most likely spot.....they travel the routes the tourists take.