Question - Enough time to get on the ship from Rome?

[greathusky]

We have a Rome Walks tour scheduled from 10AM to 2:30PM scheduled on Saturday 6/30. The ship's boarding time is from 12:30PM to 6PM that day. Our hotel is walking distance from the Vatican (about 5 minutes). The plan is for the shuttle to pick us up at the hotel around 3:30PM. Am I cutting this too close?

[kdowneymd]

yes. the driving time to the port is 80-90 minutes. does the ship depart at 6? one is supposed to be on board about one hour prior. Usually the muster (life boat drill is prior to departure. In additon you don't want to sweat getting your luggage on board. 2 PM would be more apppropriate. Remember, the ship will not wait

[Hlitner]

Great question without a solid answer. It would normally take about 1:10 to get from central Rome to the port, but this can vary depending on traffic. Once you escape the streets of Rome, its basically 4 lane highway until you get to the "Civ" exit where its only a few minutes to the port. However, you are putting some faith in there being no major accidents or tie-ups on the road, and Italy is just like the USA in that accidents can and do happen. You might want to change that shuttle pick-up to 3 (if possible) and give yourself that extra half hour breathing room. Your decision just depends on your level of comfort of cutting things a bit close. If the ship is in a nearby port such as Livorno or Naples the following day I would personally have no problem taking the risk...cause we would know that in the worst case we could catch-up to the ship the following morning.

 

Hank

[greathusky]

The ship leaves at 7PM. The next port is Naples which we could get to the next day. Perhaps 3PM would be a better time just in case.

[kdowneymd]

three seems very reasonable- not loads of extra time but not too reckless

[Keith1010]

I've been on the Rome Walks tours and they are great. We did the one of the Vatican along with one other one and enjoyed them both.

 

I do think that even 3:00 PM is cutting it close. The ride over to the pier should take 90 minutes but you never know. There is always the unexpected.

 

One thought is to leave the tour at 2:00 PM and then have the shuttle pick you up at 2:30 PM at the hotel. That will provide backup time for you should the shuttle not show up or be delayed.

 

Keith

[mountainmare]

I think that all things considered 3 is fine--especially since the next port is Naples, should the worst happen. You are leaving yourself three hours for what is normally an hour and a half drive, plus the ship sails at 7, not 6. So if there is a HUGE problem with the roads it is possible that other passengers would also have trouble getting to the ship.

Make sure that you have a ship and port agent contact number with you and enjoy your tour in Rome. Even here in the Northeast, if there was a traffic jam that was 1-1 1/2 hours long there would be notification and ways around it. And it is a Saturday, not a working day with rush hour.