Millennium in Rome, Vatican tour - will I make it in time?

[haliburton33]

Hi, we will be on the Millennium on 11/4 (Barcelona to Venice). One of the ports of call is Rome. The ship is to dock at 7am in Civitavecchia. I would like to book a tour with the Vatican at 10:30am (this tour is not with the cruiseship). Do you think I will make it in time (I heard the train ride in takes 1 1/2 hr)? I know that the cruiseship generally lets the people who have booked cruiseship tours off first but how quickly do they let the rest of us off? Anybody had any similar experience? Thanks

[woodmill100]

I am not sure about this. Rome is a very popular port - our cruise last year stopped there and all but a handful of guests spent the day in Rome. It took us quite a while to get off an we did an organised tour!

 

The train can take as little as 50 minutes or so to get to Rome but the Vatican is on the otherside of the city to the station and Rome traffic is heavy.

 

IF the ship arrives on time and IF you get off quickly and IF you can get a taxi at the station then yes, you should make your 10.30 slot!

 

It is expensive but I'd say if X are offering a transfer into the City and back then take it - yes, the train is much cheaper and a little quicker but we did have a couple last year on our dinner table who took the train but had to pay for a taxi at 200 euro due to point failure because of the heat.

 

I am very much for travelling by myself as I do find organised tours to be hugely expensive but for Rome, I'd certainly feel happier. I am sure there will be others who will say take the train though!

 

Here is the english link to the train website for you

 

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

[haliburton33]

That's a shame ... it doesn't sound like I'll make it for the 10:30am Vatican private tour (too many "IFs" have to go my way). We'll be in Rome overnight (7am to 7pm the next day) and I just found out that the Vatican is only open for admission from 10am-12:30pm in November (the month I am going) and the museum closes at 1:45pm each day. Unfortunately, any of X's tours that include going into the Vatican museum is outrageously expensive (one is $221pp and the other one is $393pp). The good thing is that since we'll be docked overnight, I won't have to worry about not catching the boat on my way back the first evening.

 

Needless to say, I am very disappointed to not be able to visit the Vatican but I just can't justify spending at least $440 for the two of us just to get a quick view of the museum.