"Rome on your own" excursion

[AEGBRG]

Has anyone taken the Rome on your own excursion with Celebrity? If so, approximately how long do you have in Rome? It doesn't specify on the excursion description. Thanks

[usavvy2]

didn't note our start time but noted on our 2005 Millie cruise that we were on the bus and on our way out of Rome by 4:30pm and back to the ship by 6pm. The ship set sail for Naples at 7 p.m. (Our guide arrived at 4pm to escort us back to the bus but we had to wait about an extra 15 minutes because a few of our fellow passengers decided to visit the Sistine Chapel and the last minute and hadn’t returned on time!)

 

Our ship arrived in Civitavecchia at 7 a.m. if that helps. (I believe they get the escorted tours off first so it wasn't the first off but don't recollect.)

[Andym]

You get to Rome about 10:00am (could change due to traffic conditions), The drop off point is by St Peters. The guide drops you off at the meeting point and you meet back up at 16:00pm.

 

So you have about 6 hours in Rome.

 

The guides usually tell you to use the Cafe San Pietro for a nice coffee and Restrooms. Do yourself a favour and look straight accross the road. You will see what looks like a little shop. There is a cafe in the back of this shop and restrooms. The coffee is much nicer and a fraction of the cost.

 

 

Andy

[jud123]

For those who have taken the 'rome on your own' excursion...How did you tackle your day?? Did you start at st. peter's?? What mode of transporation did you use while in Rome?? Did you get a day pass for transportation, if so, what did you get?? Any information would greatly help!!!

[Hlitner]

When in Rome (and most other cities) we try to use walking as our main mode of transportation. In Rome, you could use the subway to go longer distances, grab a taxi, or even use the local buses. But, since every street can be an adventure you do miss a lot unless you walk. We normally try to plan a circle route for our days so that we can see the most neigborhoods in a day without back-tracking.

 

Hank

[Andym]

We leave the drop off point and walk over to the Piazza Navona, then onto the Pantheon and then accross to the Trevi Fountain. You only have to take a a short walk to the Spanish Steps if you think you will have time. Then walk down to the Forum and through the Forum to the Colloseum . Leave the Colloseum by cab (8 euros) to St Peters and do the Brasillica before the arranged meeing time.

 

You can get straight into the Colloseum by joining a tour at the Green Hut by the Metro Entrance. This will cost you 10 euros plus the entry fee, but you will skip all the lines.

 

A good place to get Pizza, Ice cream or Coffee is by the Trevi fountain.

 

This is all very doable in the time you have. look at a map and get your bearings before you go.

 

Any more help?

[jud123]

We leave the drop off point and walk over to the Piazza Navona, then onto the Pantheon and then accross to the Trevi Fountain. You only have to take a a short walk to the Spanish Steps if you think you will have time. Then walk down to the Forum and through the Forum to the Colloseum . Leave the Colloseum by cab (8 euros) to St Peters and do the Brasillica before the arranged meeing time.

 

You can get straight into the Colloseum by joining a tour at the Green Hut by the Metro Entrance. This will cost you 10 euros plus the entry fee, but you will skip all the lines.

 

A good place to get Pizza, Ice cream or Coffee is by the Trevi fountain.

 

This is all very doable in the time you have. look at a map and get your bearings before you go.

 

Any more help?

 

THanks so much for your help. This will be our first time Europe and we want to make good use of our time!!

[usavvy2]

For those who have taken the 'rome on your own' excursion...How did you tackle your day?? Did you start at st. peter's?? What mode of transporation did you use while in Rome?? Did you get a day pass for transportation, if so, what did you get?? Any information would greatly help!!!

 

In 2005, we decided on "Ancient Rome" this time instead of "Religious Rome" which we did last time we visited Rome. When we arrived at St. Peter's Square, we shared a taxi with another couple from the ship to the Spanish Steps. (It wasn't our original destination but the taxi queue was long and it got us closer to where we wanted to be plus the Spanish Steps were on our list for this trip.)

 

From there we hailed a taxi which took us near the Roman Forum (Foro Romano) and Palatine Hill (Palatino). We walked into the Forum at the Palatine Hill entrance and purchased tickets not only for it but the tickets were also good for the Coliseum so we were set for the day! We spent at least an hour wandering alone through the ruins of the Forum. Fortunately we had our Rome Citypack guide with us that explained what major sights we should view at the Forum. We used the guide and plotted things from the map at the entrance. (The temples are hard to locate without a map.) At the museum we welcomed the bathroom facilities before heading over to the Coliseum via the Arch of Constantine next to the Colosseum.

 

Outside the Colosseum were many guides looking for tourists. They kept asking us “do you speak English” or “Excuse me” to get our attention but we just ignored them (pretending that we didn’t understand English one bit). It was kind of fun. In addition to the guides there were quite a few strapping young men dressed as Roman soldiers looking for tourists to pose for photos with them (which would then cost 10e each!). We were on to their ruse and strode past them as well.

 

Because we purchased our tickets on Palantine Hill, (10e/pp) there was no need to wait in the ticket line at the Colosseum (which was quite long). We queued in the line for individuals (which was much shorter than groups) and, once we were through the metal detector system, we walked around those waiting in queue for the ticket office and proceeded directly to the turnstile. Once through the turnstile, there was yet another long queue – this one for the unisex (first come, first served) restrooms (in a trailer). Fortunately, we didn’t need to wait in that queue either. After spending time at the Colosseum, we hailed another taxi to take us to Piazza Navona.

 

We went to Piazza Navona not only to revisit Bernini’s works but also to have some of the best Tartufo in Rome from Il Tre Scalini. Il Tre Scalini is a full service restaurant with outdoor tables. We started with (what we thought) was pepperoni pizza and beer. It turned out their definition of pepperoni is – yellow bell peppers! We had a good laugh when our pizza arrived!

 

We arrived back at St. Peter’s around 3:15pm and used a nearby ATM machine to get some euros. We accomplished what we set out to do – see the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum. We even sneaked in two of the four Altars of Science (Air and Water)!

[usavvy2]

For those who have taken the 'rome on your own' excursion...How did you tackle your day?? Did you start at st. peter's?? What mode of transporation did you use while in Rome?? Did you get a day pass for transportation, if so, what did you get?? Any information would greatly help!!!

 

in 2004 we arrived in Rome two days before our cruise departed. Two days prior to our ship sailing our hotel shuttled us to Barberini Piazza where we took the Hop On/ Hop Off Bus and did Drive Bys – Colosseum; Arch of Constantine; Roman Forum plus other sites. We then got off to see the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon (and Piazza della Rotonda), Piazza Navona, and Piazza Venezia. We got back on the Hop On/ Hop Off Bus Drive Bys of Castel Sant’ Angelo and St. Peter’s Basilica. The next morning we booked a private Scavi Tour – beneath St. Peter’s and then toured the Basilica in the morning and that afternoon went on to tour the Sistine Chapel (no time to tour the entire museum as we entered in mid-afternoon), then on to Campo de’ Fiori and the Pantheon for dinner. Most of this trip focused on "Religious Rome."