VYrainbow

Be sure to sign up for email notifications if you do sail with RCCL because they did notify customers of the reduced price shore excursions twice before our cruise date, and the final sale was 2 months before sailing.

They were called Flash sales, and we called RCCL to have them adjust the prices. The Roma Express tour was the only one which could not be reduced, and was $89 per person, which was almost the same as the bus trips which took longer than our 42 minute ride to Rome.

We paid HALF as much as that to use the Roma Express, which was the going rate for RCCL. Also, we met a traveler who did get robbed of his cell phone on an Italian train and watched helplessly as the robber ran off the train, so the security of being in a group was real. Since we had just been in Rome 3 years ago, we knew where we wanted to go and the rest of our expenses were minimal. Many of the beautiful places in Rome have modest admissions or are free.

The beauty of this forum is that we can see all the choices that others have made and make the choice which works for us, LondonTowner.

We watched the internet and got 30% off all the shore excursions that were organized through RCCL (this one was NOT) during brief internet sales and in talking with our fellow travelers, were very happy that we were able to pack more in each port than we could otherwise, at prices which worked. There is no way you could see as much as we did apart from an organized tour, so we went home tired and happy.

We are just back from our 7 day Mediterranean RCCL tour and are DELIGHTED we took the Roma Express dedicated train to and from Rome because it gave us the longest time in Rome (6 hours) of ANY of the options and saved our senior energy for the 6 hours on the delightful cobblestone streets of Rome that we had last seen 3 years earlier. We were surprised that many of our fellow train travellers were young, as they too valued the time in Rome (priceless) and the convenience.

We were picked up right outside the boat by our comfortable tour bus, and our guide whisked us to the train station, saving us a great deal of time waiting for a shuttle and WALKING to the station before heading out on the train, which took about 42 minutes and we each had seats. The tour guide also gave us maps of Rome and discussed EXACTLY where we would meet afterwards and then after disembarking from the train, walked us from San Pietro station past St. Peter's and to the area near Castel S'Angelo where many of the travelers took the Hop on Hop Off Bus, or went wherever they desired. We opted to take a cab (a good value and very direct) to the Colisseum area and San Clemente, the fascinating layer church built upon 3 other churches.

Having the 6 hours in Rome enabled us to visit 3 special places, eat a leisurely lunch at Piazza Navona, do 2 gelato tastings at Rome's best gelaterias and end up near Castel S'Angelo and St. Peter's where the tour met promptly for the trip to Civitavecchia.

9 other people off our boat who didn't book an excursion in Rome got stranded, even though the boat waited almost 1 hour for them, as they missed their connections.

It was worth every euro to have a safe, comfortable, timely and efficient way to get to Rome, where we toured at our own pace, for a lovely day! The only way to book the Roma Express is through your ship's excursions.

pcur,

THANKS for taking the time to post. We were last in Italy 3 years ago, with 4 days in Rome. We have decided that due to energy and safety issues we also will be taking a RCCL dedicated train to Rome from the port. Can you remember about what time your NCL train arrived and when it departed? RCCL has told us we will have about 6 hours in Rome and every minute counts!

We totally agree with you that for some travelers the train is the way to go. We have had different friends robbed using every form of transportation in Italy and while we know by experience it is safe, having the extra time and convenience in Rome is worth it to us.