Rome - How many days post cruise

We have never been to Rome but would like to see the highlights. After a 28 day cruise I don't want to spend too much extra time but I am debating between 2-3 days. Day we get off ship would be day 1. Are there companies that pick you up from ship and travel to Rome via bus and then tour a bit? If so then the next day we could tour some more and go home the next. Or do we need to count the day we get off the ship as a travel day and the next two days for sightseeing?

Thanks. Also I don't know how far away the port is.

Always hard to tell how much time you might need. I listen to people who say they have seen a city like Rome or London in a day but when asked what they did it was to drive by and "see" the buildings.. Most of these cities take many days to really immerse oneself. Rome has highlights and the big ones would be the Vatican area, both the Museum, including the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peters. The other top spot is ancient Rome, the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill. On our last visit on a cruise we spent virtually the whole day in ancient Rome by choice. There are however many other museums as well as famous sites both in the city and the surrounds. If you can do it 3-4 days would likely give you a good flavor. We used the train on our own because it was a day visit, but if you search these boards you will find a number of agencies that provide pick up and drop off from the port. Civitavecchia is quite a distance and often measured in time. Most say to give at least 90 minutes by car or bus when you take the traffic of Rome into account. Where you stay may also factor in as Rome is a large city but not one with a great metro system so some of your time will be eaten up by travel even on your touring days.

Because my husband has stamina issues, and Rome is a BIG city, it would take DAYS to do it justice. But we didn't have days. So here's the solution I came up with.

I found a group transfer under the Roll Call for my cruise, using Rome In Limo for the transfer from ship to Rome hotel. We stayed at Hotel Fori Imperiali Cavalieri which is within easy walking distance of the Colosseum and Forum. We were dropped off early and, guessing our room wouldn't be ready (we were right), we checked our luggage with the hotel and headed over to the Colosseum. We got right in (it was just opening) as I had purchased tickets on-line. We toured that and the Forum and by then my husband was ready for a lunch break and then back to the hotel.

For the next day, I arranged a full day tour with Gioia Tours, a golf cart tour! We got to see and do a LOT without exhausting my husband. It was the perfect solution.

And the next day we flew home. Yes, the golf cart tour was expensive but when compared to the alternative of 2 or 3 more nights in Rome, the cost was a wash.

If you'd like to read my blog post about our Rome visit, you can find it here.

Thank you both for your informative replies. I have some reading to do!

My usual response to this question is to recommend three days: one day for the Vatican (museum and basilica, the dome if you want), one day for ancient Rome (Colosseum and Forum, Palatine Hill if you want, Pantheon), and one day for just seeing some of the other iconic sights and enjoying Rome -- Trevi Fountain, Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona, perhaps another of the many museums if you wish.

This is a schedule that doesn't wear you out and allows you to see most of the key sites. If you have to condense it into two, I'd still keep the Vatican and Ancient Rome as the two main focuses of your days and try to fit in the other sites at the end of the day as you can.

I would say 3 if you can, based on our recent trip there that would be about right to see the major stuff. Of course, the more time the better but 3 will be better than 2 if you can swing it. We did it in 2 full days, but we arrived the night before. Vatican/Sistine/St Peter's the first day, with Trevi Fountain at night when it was lit up. Second day we did Colosseum, Forum, Palantine, Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain again and Piazza Navona. We walked a ton to cover all that ground, but our hotel (Hotel Grifo) was very central which helped, an extra day would have been great.

Rome is a great city and we have been there twice. The first time was a 3 day pre-cruise experience on our own. We loved it so much that the next time we were in Italy, we spent another 4 days there and still haven't seen everything we wanted. If you are physically capable, and love history, spend as much time in Rome as you can.

I'm waiting for the day someone asks about Rome "lowlights" ;)

CruiseMom42 gave a good way to see some highlights.

And, I can't believe I'm saying this, but in the Rick Steves' tour books, he has several ways to "do" cities depending on the number of days you have. I'll bet he has something like this in his Rome book.

We've chosen to spend 5 nights in Rome, pre-cruise. That will include our jet-lag day, when we wander around in a stupor. We are staying near the Colosseum so that should make for interesting wandering.

So including an afternoon embarkation in Civitavecchia, this gives us about four and a half days to "see" Rome. We are not particularly energetic tourists, we like our downtime, and as with diane.in.ny, we have stamina issues. So we sit back and smell the roses--an afternoon nap, time spent sitting in a cafe people-watching, strolling through a park. This should give us plenty of time to see the Vatican, thoroughly do ancient Rome, see the tourist sites in the Centro Storico, perhaps wander the Borghese, a bunch of churches with amazing art, plus get to know our somewhat laid-back bohemian neighbourhood of Monti.

On return, we take the train to Florence, where we again have four full days in this amazing little city before flying home.

You will love the Monti area, we found it to be very nice with plenty of wonderful restaurants that seemed to have many locals and we never felt unsafe even late at night.

Since you want to visit some churches:

When you are visiting the Pantheon, take some time to go into the Basilica Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. It is right behind the Pantheon. It is Rome's only gothic church. It looks rather plain on the outside, but it is absolutely beautiful on the inside. It is my favorite place to visit in Rome. It is so calming and peaceful to me. Beautiful cupolas, windows, frescoes, sculptures (including one Michelangelo). I am not Catholic, but this church just calls to me.

We recently spent four days in Rome after the cruise and our plan was as follows:

Day 1 : AM - train up to Rome and book into hotel

PM - Walk through Palatine Hill and Roman Forum and do late afternoon underground tour of Collesseum

Day 2 : AM 11.00 am tour of Vatican Museums and St Peters Basilica. Leisurely café lunch

Tour through Vatican and St Peters took over 3 hours

Day 3 : Walked from Hotel to Spanish steps, Trevis Fountain, Pantheon and had meal in Piazza Navarro

Evening took in light show at Duomo Augustus near the Forum and Collesseum. Not sure if this is still operating.

Day 4 : Departed Rome.

Our cruise on the Constellation had taken us to Ephesus, Athens, Rhodes, Malta, Pompeii and the Greek Islands and at the end of our stay in Rome we had seen enough Churches and ruins to last us a long time.

How long one spends really depends on how much "culture" one wants to see. After two weeks in the Eastern Med we were on "culture" overload and looking to head home knowing that we may never be back but satisfied none the less.

As it has transpired we will be back in Rome next May again on the Constellation so if visiting the Trevis Fountain make sure you throw those coins over your shoulder into the fountain as you never know what may transpire...............

Thanks! Everyone's experiences help a lot.

I'll be doing 2 full days before my cruise and attempting to find 2 full day tours that cover all the spots. I'm going to hopefully see as much as I can during that time.

I'm grateful the first day of my cruise is a sea day as I'll probably be sleeping most of it.

I'll be doing 2 full days before my cruise and attempting to find 2 full day tours that cover all the spots. I'm going to hopefully see as much as I can during that time.

 

I'm grateful the first day of my cruise is a sea day as I'll probably be sleeping most of it.

Let us know if you find any good tours. I've read that seeing the Roman Forum with a guide is a good thing. I remember it as a distant memory when I was backpacking, and that memory is that it's a pile of rocks--a good guide would bring that historical area to life.

Let us know if you find any good tours. I've read that seeing the Roman Forum with a guide is a good thing. I remember it as a distant memory when I was backpacking, and that memory is that it's a pile of rocks--a good guide would bring that historical area to life.

I'm actually just printing the voucher for the tour I booked! It's the Rome Hop On Hop Off 48 hour inclusive, so I get skip the line entry into the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel. This was the best way to maximize my money but get to see a lot of sights. In between all that, I'll find time for the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps.

We had three full days in Rome after our cruise. It was great. I would assume that you would disembark early in the morning and the ship would have a bus transfer option to take you to the city center. That is what we did. From the city center you can take a taxi to your hotel. Our cruise line had a guide on the bus give some orientation during to ride in and also arranged for taxis to be waiting for us at the bus station - very nice.

We were at the hotel by noon so we had the rest of that day to tour on our own. Rather than schedule something on our first 1/2 day, we just did a self guided walking tour. We took the subway to the station by the Spanish Steps, toured the Keats Shelly House and a couple churches, saw some Bernini art (it's everywhere), passed the Trevi Fountain (was under construction), went through the Pantheon, and the Piazza Navona. Eat gelato, drink espresso, take your time (no one eats until 8 PM anyway). That is a great part of town for a self guided walking tour. Pizzeria da Baffetto (right by Piazza Navona) is great Pizza and the Frigidarium next door is great for gelato.

Then if you have only one full day, pick one place to focus on (Vatican? Ancient Rome?) and go there the next day.

As many days post cruise as possible

10 or 15 perhaps? Lol

We had Rome as a port stop one day, and the following year we took a land vacation to Italy. We spent three days in Rome. We were able to see the well known sights you hear about, but there is so much more to see that I cannot wait to go back.