Precruise in Rome

[stjohnrocks]

How many days do you recommend? I'm in the very early planning stages. I just cancelled my Quest booking for next May and rebooked for the Legend 6/2. The itinerary looks awesome for that cruise. I will be looking at air early (FF miles) so I need to think about how may days early in Rome. Thanks

[crazy4cruzin]

I would definitely stay at least 3 full days in Rome pre-cruise as a minimum. Keep in mind that you will be jet-lagged somewhat that first day. There is so much to see in Rome. Also look for a hotel in the center of Rome, so you could easily walk to everything. Rome is pretty compact. My favorite area of Rome is the Pantheon area, which is the historical center of Rome. Great location.

[agabbymama]

I would definitely stay at least 3 full days in Rome pre-cruise as a minimum. Keep in mind that you will be jet-lagged somewhat that first day. There is so much to see in Rome. Also look for a hotel in the center of Rome, so you could easily walk to everything. Rome is pretty compact. My favorite area of Rome is the Pantheon area, which is the historical center of Rome. Great location.

 

I'm planning 2 days pre-cruise in Rome and 2 days post-cruise in Venice. That's about all my pocketbook can stand. I've been to Rome before, so don't think I need 3 days there anyway. The Vatican is really the only thing we missed the first time, and we were only there for about 5 hours.

And now they have a wonderful hop on/hop off tour bus that we plan to utilize, wished they had had it in '98 when my husband and I went.

 

Not much affordable in the Pantheon area though. I looked in the Termini Stazione area and found a number of nice looking places for around 120 EUR. The places that are really cheap also look like dives. But I don't want to buy the hotel at 300-500 EUR a night either. I'm not going until next year, but put in Oct dates for this year to get an idea. Hotel Gea de Vulcano, Hotel Lirico, Hotel Delia, and Hotel Julia are a few of the ones I liked the looks of and they all got good ratings on TripAdvisor. Hotel Gea de Vulcano is small, only 18 rooms, so it fills up quickly. I plan to try and book at 330 days out and pray the dollar gains some strength between now and then. There are tons of hotels, just depends on what style of place you want and what you want to pay. Go to Expedia.com, venere.com, and hotels.com, then once you find a place you like the price of and the looks of, go to tripadvisor.com and see what others have to say about it. I had a number of hotels selected, the price was right, but the reviews on all of them were terrible, so I had to start all over again and move up a star to at least 3 star hotels.

 

Have fun searching, then taking your trip!

[Keith1010]

If you can I would fly in three days in advance. There is so much to see and you could spend weeks and not see it all. But, three days give you a chance to see many of the major attractions and also takes into consideratoin the fact that the first day can be a bit challenging due to jet lag.

 

Have a wonderful time.

 

Keith

[carlmm]

Stay as long as you can afford :)

I have spent months in Rome over the years and have not seen everything.

Yet this is not to discourage you. One day allows for a rough overview of the city or a in depth look at one place you are specifically interested in. Two days allow for both. And with every additional day you can get to know some more sights in some more detail. For the beginning three full days (four nights) can be nice - one concentrating on ancient Rome, one for the Vatican area and one for the highlights of the Baroque period. (Or the great patrichal basilicas, or museums like the Galleria Borghese, or follow the steps of early Christianity, or ...)

How ever long tyou will stay, plenty to see and to enjoy!

[crazy4cruzin]

agabbymama- Do a search for the Pantheon area on venere.com there are actually a few hotels that don't have over the top pricing. I have also stayed in the Termini station area at the Hotel Centro and Hotel Virgilio, they both accommodate families (we had a quad room). Both were clean and we were able to walk to all the major sights. These were also reasonably priced.

[zaandam_2]

i had 3 full days, and it wasn't enough.

[NAS-KARR]

I say 2 would be MINIMUM !!

 

CIAO,

[Longin2cruise]

stjohnrocks, You didn't say how much money you were willing to spend. If you're not concerned with the cost I suggest that you check into a private driver/tour guide for your first day in Rome. You'll see more in 4 hours than you would see in a couple of days on your own & it's an easy way to see things when you're jet-lagged. If you're interested, check out http://www.romecabs.com. After your initial tour you could always go back & visit the sights, more interesting to you, in depth. Also, don't forget to view the major sights at night............it's just magical.

[stjohnrocks]

stjohnrocks, You didn't say how much money you were willing to spend. If you're not concerned with the cost I suggest that you check into a private driver/tour guide for your first day in Rome. You'll see more in 4 hours than you would see in a couple of days on your own & it's an easy way to see things when you're jet-lagged. If you're interested, check out http://www.romecabs.com. After your initial tour you could always go back & visit the sights, more interesting to you, in depth. Also, don't forget to view the major sights at night............it's just magical.

 

Thanks everyone. Of course that pesky thing called money...I really like the idea of a tour guide for our first full day. I plan on thinking about that suggestion or what about the hop on hop off instead? I'm thinking how many days may come down to when I can use ff miles. Bottom line I will shoot for 3 full days and the minimum being two.

[NAS-KARR]

Also...if you disembark in VENICE, plan on some post-cruise days there also. We spent 3 nites post there and that was just great !!!

 

CIAO,

[agabbymama]

agabbymama- Do a search for the Pantheon area on venere.com there are actually a few hotels that don't have over the top pricing. I have also stayed in the Termini station area at the Hotel Centro and Hotel Virgilio, they both accommodate families (we had a quad room). Both were clean and we were able to walk to all the major sights. These were also reasonably priced.

 

I did check venere.com in the Pantheon area, as well as all the other areas. In the Pantheon area there is only one hotel (Hotel Coronet) that was under $200 EUR per night. Hotel Coronet has mixed reviews on TripAdvisor.com, so I'd be afraid to book it.

 

I also have looked on Hotel.com, Priceline.com, Travelocity, Expedia, Hotelclub.com as well as venere.com.

 

The dollar is not fairing well against the EUR right now, but prices are terribly high even considering that, I think. I'm not interested in staying somewhere that charges 200-500 EUR per night. That would be almost $300-$750 per night and that's just more than this working girl can afford.

But I do want a nice hotel in a nice area, a clean room, and friendly staff.

 

As stated in my earlier post, the hotels in the Termini area that I found are about 120-130 EUR for a twin which would be approx $165-195 right now and that would be about tops for me. I love Best Westerns, but even their prices are $200-300 range and I just won't pay that.

 

My husband and I found a really nice hotel outside of Rome and took the train in when we were there in '98, so I'm a little familar with Termini and where everything is located from that area.

 

So everyone has to do their own research and decide on what they want and can afford.

[NYC2FLA]

I did check venere.com in the Pantheon area, as well as all the other areas. In the Pantheon area there is only one hotel (Hotel Coronet) that was under $200 EUR per night. Hotel Coronet has mixed reviews on TripAdvisor.com, so I'd be afraid to book it.

 

I also have looked on Hotel.com, Priceline.com, Travelocity, Expedia, Hotelclub.com as well as venere.com.

 

The dollar is not fairing well against the EUR right now, but prices are terribly high even considering that, I think. I'm not interested in staying somewhere that charges 200-500 EUR per night. That would be almost $300-$750 per night and that's just more than this working girl can afford.

But I do want a nice hotel in a nice area, a clean room, and friendly staff.

 

As stated in my earlier post, the hotels in the Termini area that I found are about 120-130 EUR for a twin which would be approx $165-195 right now and that would be about tops for me. I love Best Westerns, but even their prices are $200-300 range and I just won't pay that.

 

My husband and I found a really nice hotel outside of Rome and took the train in when we were there in '98, so I'm a little familar with Termini and where everything is located from that area.

 

So everyone has to do their own research and decide on what they want and can afford.

 

We are booked at the Holiday Inn San Giovanni in the Termini area. We feel you cant go wrong with a known Hotel . We booked 330 days in advance and got it for 120 Euros a night for October/2007.

 

Here is a link to check it out... http://www.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=holiday+inn&near=Roma,+Italy&radius=0.0&latlng=41895466,12482323,6006970800634799011&sa=X&oi=local&ct=authority&cd=2

[agabbymama]

We are booked at the Holiday Inn San Giovanni in the Termini area. We feel you cant go wrong with a known Hotel . We booked 330 days in advance and got it for 120 Euros a night for October/2007.

 

Here is a link to check it out... http://www.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=holiday+inn&near=Roma,+Italy&radius=0.0&latlng=41895466,12482323,6006970800634799011&sa=X&oi=local&ct=authority&cd=2

 

Thanks for the info, I will keep this hotel in mind if the four I have chosen in town don't work out. This hotel is close to a train station, but not Termini Stazione. You are quite a ways from the city center. You will have to take the train to Termini Stazione, then around the city. You did get a great rate though, they are quoting $225 now. Have a great trip.