Litehouse9

I agree with previous posters-- Rome In Limo is excellent! We had Vinnie in Rome and Fabriccio in Florence... wish we had gone with RIL for Amalfi Coast, rather than the cruise ship......

Our driver/guides were soooo knowledgeable, funny, entertaining, helpful etc. that we did not need additional guides (except at the Vatican, you really do want a guide!). They were so wonderful, we wanted to tip them, they deserved it for their energy, knowledge, expertise, and willingness to honor all our requests. Those tours were the absolute highlight of our trip. I will never forget Vinnie or Farbricio, and am forever grateful we did two tours with RIL. Next time, I would do everything with them. The price was lower than the Ship's tours, and much more informative, interesting, fun, and tailored to our specific needs and wants. :cool:

Cruise to Relax: So glad you had a wonderful experience with RIL.. so did we! You mentioned cost.. since we were on a cruise ship-- we found the ship's tours to be way more expensive than RIL... and also there is NO flexibility in the cruise ships excursions, unlike RIL...

We had a similar experience to yours... 3 of us went to eat lunch in a lovely cafe (with no windows) so we were oblivious that it started raining. Our driver-- Fabriccio (we loved him!!)-- came in to the cafe, found us and brought each of the 3 of us an umbrella for our trip back to the limo (we were eating in a square where cars not allowed, so he couldn't drive up the cafe door). Such Service!

I can never say enough good things about Rome in Limo... they are wonderful! :D

Trips to Pompei are best from Naples-- but knowing how FABULOUS Rome in Limo is.. I am sure you can do anything, and a trip from Rome should be "do-able".

We love Rome in Limo so much... I cannot imagine going to Italy without having them arrange tours.

Excellent people, excellent drivers/tour guides... great prices, excellent service. The "only way to go!" :)

RIL arranged for us to have a guide in the Vatican. WELL WORTH IT. we were only there for 5 hours or so, and the guide was so tremendous and helpful and A+++. I think you should do a guide for the Vatican.

As for joining another ship's group--- might be a great idea, not sure. :)

I do highly suggest using Rome In Limo first and foremost.. but in this case, since they were booked, the other company would be great too. I am very partial to RIL, and have never used the other company.... but with the recommendations they got, I would go ahead.

And in the future, I recommend that people get in touch with RIL as much in advance as possible-- so they avoid being told that RIL is full. They are so excellent and worth it! :)

I would totally trust Jany and RIL and any advice they give. They are so excellent and would never steer you wrong!

RIL got us a guide to the Vatican, and it was sooooo worth it. Our guide was excellent and made the tour fabulous.

Good luck on your trip! :)

Thanks to all with suggestions and tips for the Old Lady Gimps. But we won't be going after all. We both had sudden health problems that will keep us from this cruise. Oh well.. not meant to be. Maybe some other time.... thanks anyway for the info! WIll save for a possible future trip!!! :):cool:

:rolleyes: Thank you to all who posted suggestions on this thread.. I appreciate it, and the ideas sound wonderful! Cannot wait for the trip, will look in to all of these wonderful suggestions....

Hi. My friend and I will be on Norwegian Pearl and will go to Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. We are arthritis-y, old and cannot hike or even walk far. What are any activities we might do? Cost is no concern. Should we plan on taking private cabs to certain places....? or??? We do not need to do anything fancy or "outdoor-sy".... just doing out for a glass of wine and a salmon dinner would be good, or shopping.

Any suggestions? Can we take the tram in Juneau? (can we get dropped off right at the entry to it?)

Thank you for any ideas.. we are old and achy.... but would love to do a few things in each port. Again, even just shopping or whatever. ;)

Rome in Limo is sooo organized, responsible, and has the most excellent customer service. We used them for 2 ports in Italy-- Rome and Florence.. Both times were the highlights of our cruise. Excellent. Limos picked us up dockside at 7am, had bottled water, took us exactly where we wanted to go, on our own timeline. They prearranged tickets for things, had air conditioning and bottled water in the limo. We could stay at each stop as long or short as we wanted. Limos were able to go much closer to the sights than the big ship tour buses.

For Naples, we took the ships tour. Firstly, way more expensive than Rome in Limo. Second, there is no varying the schedule. You go where the bus wants, when it wants and leave on a pre determined schedule. No wiggle room. I remember seeing so many things through the bus window that I wanted to stop at and wished I could scream out "Stop!". The ships tours take you to stupid things (like the cameo factory) that pays them to do so... no choice on your part. No flexibility.

SO I HIGHLY recommend Rome in Limo. You can go just the two of you, or join in with another couple or two. Plenty of room, super staff. :)

We found Rome in Limo to be SOOO WORTH IT! We have taken some ship's tours and they were very good, but not nearly as excellent as RIL tours.

So many advantages with RIL.. personal service. On the ships' tours, there is no stopping anywhere except their regularly scheduled stops. RIL will stop where you like. If you see a bazaar or some shop you want to shop at... they will!

On the other hand, you won't have those forced "shopping stops" that the cruise ships do, when they are paid by places to bring the buses there.

And Rome in Limo costs a lot less for some excellent personal service..... knowledgeable guides who know so much and will answer you questions and take you were you want to go. :):)

We have only done Rome in Limo, so cannot compare the two.. but we found RIL to be SOOOO excellent, that we find it hard to think of any other alternative to them.

Their staff was so caring, fun, knowledgeable, professional, and offered such excellent customer service, I cannot tell you. We were way beyond just "pleased" with them.. they MADE our trip fabulous!

Good luck with your travels! Sher

Rome in Limo is excellent! They go wherever you want. Drivers (and all staff!) are so knowledgeable and friendly. They are cheaper than the tours on the ships. We would never go anywhere in Italy without using them. :)

They can help you get a tour guide for the vatican (they did for us, and she was EXCELLENT!) and other places. I highly recommend them.

They have bottles of cool water in the Limo for your convenience (so you don't need to bring any). Also, when it rained in Florence, they had a couple umbrellas for our use! So convenient. Limo comfortable and roomy.

The excursions offered by cruise ships are EXPENSIVE! Also you are on a bus with 45 other people, the bus NEVER veers from their itenerary, you are stuck. We went with Rome in Limo---They were excellent! I give them an A+++.

We did two tours with them and had Fabrizzio in Florence and Vinnie (Vincente) for Rome-- in comfortable, air conditioned limos. Both gentlemen were so excellent, punctual, funny, informative, and bent over backwards to make sure we had a great time and fit in as many things as possible that we wanted to do. We were met at the dock each morning at the ship, and had a great time for that second on. They had tickets in advance for the Academia and the Vatican.. we never waited in line. Plus they arranged for our fabulous guide Katrina at the Vatican. When we ate lunch at an outdoor cafe in Florence, it started to rain-- our driver showed up with umbrellas from his limo for us! It was so much more intimate, fun and interesting that a large tour on a bus from the cheap-- and more economical too! I give them my highest rating and regards. When we make it back to Italy some day-- you can be sure I will be contacting Rome In Limo. They made our trip special

The tour buses cannot go on the narrow streets of many European cities, but the Limos can! You can vary your tour depending on your mood or what strikes you fancy... no rigid iteneraries! The staff are super wonderful! Jany will take care of you! :)

- The smell of the wonderful, clean sea air!

- Not having to cook, grocery shop, vaccuum, wash dishes, or make the beds!

- Waking up each day and being in a new country or a new island

- The wonderful, friendly crew members and fellow passengers who are all so interesting to interact with

- The huge variety of things to do on and off board.

- Tequila tastings! (or wine tastings!)

- Great food and restaurant choices onboard

- Feeling so "away"-- no newspaper, no news, no politics, no phone ringing...

- As my hubby says: "I like the 'boatiness' of cruises"

- Sun, sand, beaches, sea air, sea breezes, and tequila sunrises-- plus the Spa!

Wish we were going on another cruise soon-- will have to plan one! :cool:

Before we leave, we scan copies of our passports, lists of all our medications/doses, phone nos. for our Drs. and Pharmacy, and the 1-800 phone numbers for our credit card(s) to report theft, etc.-- in to our computers. Then if something happens during the trip, we can get to a computer, and have access to medication doses/names, where/how to report a stolen credit card, etc. I also take photos of our suitcase(s), so if they are stolen, I have a photo to be able to describe it to airline personnel, etc.

Other than that, here's what I take, that at one time or another I forgot:

- A small roll of black electrical tape - handy to repair broken luggage handles and all kinds of things

- Ziploc baggies.... to hold souvenirs that might leak, shells from the beach, wet bathing suits, photos, etc.

- Hair conditioner (ship did not have any on one cruise, and my hair frizzed badly from the humidity!! Couldn't find any in port either!)

- Bar soap, if that is what you prefer (ships usually have only LIQUID soap in the showers)

- A few extra HANGERS.....I handwash a blouse or two during trip, nice to be able to hang them up to dry in the shower.

- Air freshener... sometimes the toilets back up, and you will be glad you have this!

- Small flashlight-- in case of power outage on the ship, or for getting up in the middle of the night, etc.

- More than one Memory Disc/card for your camera.. switch the disks out, so that if the camera is stolen in a port, you won't lose all your photos!

- Highlighter pens.. to highlight activities/info in the "Dailies"

- List of emergency phone numbers for our sons, relatives, neighbors

and addresses of people I want to send post cards to

- Some Rolaids, Pepto Bismol, bandaids, allergy pills, etc. When you are in port, the shops on ship are usually CLOSED. Nice to have your own small supply in case you need it. (take travel sizes of above)

- Aloe Vera gel! (a travel size)--- great for itching, rashes, burns, sunburn, a great thing to have!

- Sunscreen - you can buy this on board, but much more expensive!

- At the Container Store, we found a small clock that had suction cups, so sticks to the wall-- also glowed in the dark. Great for waking up in middle of the night, you can see what time it is from across the room!

- Sticky Notes-- so you can leave your mate/friend/kids messages like "Gone to the Pool"

- Magnetic metal office clips. These are so handy! The walls of the cabin are metal. Stick these to the wall and they can hold receipts, Dailies, necklaces, jewelry, brochures, tickets, etc.

- How important are your eyeglasses to you? If you are Blind as a Bat without them, bring an extra pair, just in case!

- And YES--- Bring a Great ATTITUDE, SPIRIT of ADVENTURE, and PATIENCE... think of it as not just a trip but an adventure...

:rolleyes:

A few other things I take-- and then LEAVE before I go home:

- I wear some old tee shirt and clothes traveling to the ship, and use those as my "sleeping outfit" during trip. End of cruise, I dump them.

- A few cheap wire hangers.... just to have, love having them, so useful. Leave them behind at end of trip.

- Some of my old undies... throw them out when done!

- A couple of those 99cent cloth reuable Grocery store bags... they are great for use as beach bags, shopping bags, something to hold dirty clothes, etc. Don't take up much room or weight, easy to leave behind.

- We sometimes bring travel guides for our destinations (from used book store), then leave them behind in the ship's library for others to use in the future.

-- And BEST item I've brought on several cruises: the MAGNETIC CLIPS frm office supply store- hold receipts, important papers, list of ships activities, leave notes for my family, etc.-- plus I can hang necklaces on them, etc. (all the walls of the cabin are metal).

Things we neglected to bring and then wanted/needed:

- OTC meds like tummy medicine (Pepto), Rolaids, and cold medicine

(the gift shop is expensive! and not always open, esp. when in port)

- BAR SOAP (showers only have liquid soap) and hair conditioner

(*humidity made my hair go wild.. none on the ship, and we could not - find any in the ports)

- Flashlight (in case of power outage)

- Air freshener for bathrooms (no windows in there!)

- Magnets or Magnetic CLIPS to put on cabin walls-- they can hold

receipts, Dailies of activities, maps, necklaces, notes, etc.

- Sun screen (expensive on ship!)

- Water bottle or travel coffee mug (to fill up on ship, then take to ports)

- Extra memory cards for your camera... so if camera lost/stolen, you

wont lose all your pictures (I used one disk per port).

-

A few more things to consider packing---

- BAR SOAP: the cabins provide liquid soap in the showers, but no bar soap. I much prefer the bar soap, so I bring my own travel size bar.

- POWER STRIP: for recharing your camera, I phone, Ipad, computer, etc. etc. Power strips really helpful to have, otherwise you have just one plug outlet (maybe two) in the cabin.

- A "cut proof" (i.e. metal inside the cord) NECK POUCH to carry money, passport, ship's ID card, etc. when you go off the ship

- A small NOTEBOOK to carry off the ship with you, to make note of foods you ate, monuments/museums you visited, the names of famous landmarks, squares, etc... so when you get home, and go through your photos, you have the notes/info on what/where each one was.

- CLOTH TOTE BAG (or two-- I buy the 99c ones from the grocery store) to use to carry stuff to the Pool on board and back, to use in ports for souvenirs, etc.

- TRAVEL ALARM CLOCK so you can see what time it is in the middle of the night, and also be able to get up in time for those excursions!!

- NIGHT LITE to help you navigate the bathroom in the middle of the nite

- MAGNETS: I bring a few Magnetic clips... the walls of the cabins are metal, so they will stick. Magnets are great to hold receipts, coupons, the ship's "Dailies" (newsletter of daily activities), necklaces, etc. so they are handy and visible.

My 1st cruise in Carribbean.. hair got all wiry, frizzy, and I hadnt brought Conditioner. None in ship's gift shop, and I couldn't find ANY when on shore... so I always bring Conditioner. Even if the gift shop on the ship stocks something, then A) it will be really expensive; and b) the ship's store is NOT open when you are in port, so not too convenient.

Other essentials:

- Stomach medicine/rolaids/Pepto

- Aspirin/Ibuprofen

- Allergy tablets / eye drops for red eye

- Small roll Electrical tape (to repair luggage rips, all kinds of things)

- Small flashlight (in case power goes out on ship-- it happens!!)

- Some kind of air freshener spray or solid for bathroom

- Health insurance info, in case you need it

- Xerox copies of your passports, kept in separate case

- More than one camera card for my Digital camera (in case camera is stolen, I take photos on more than one disk, and only bring one on any shore excursion)

- 1 or 2 plastic coated hangers-- so I can handwash something and hang it up (closet hangers on ship usually cannot be removed from rod)

- Plastic, waterproof "neck case" to hold Ship I.D., money, credit card, etc. when in ports (you can go swimming & not worry about your things being stolen while you are in the water).

:o

I find it very very hard to believe that ANY company can compare to or beat Rome in Limo! WOW, they are WONDERFUL! Now, don't get me wrong.. if I feel something I pay for or order is not right, I am not afraid to give negative feedback where deserved. But in the case of Rome in Limo, my husband and I cannot say enough good things! They are awesome!

Jany and Duman are super and will help you organize any tours you wish to have. We had Rome in Limo for two days of our 7 days trip... wow, I wish we had used them more! They absolutely MADE our trip the fabulous time it was! We booked FIRST, then got others to join us... don't worry-- people will join you! Even if not, you will spend less $$$ for a more fabulous time than the Ship's very expensive (and inflexible) tours.

Rome in Limo is the MOST EXCELLENT tour company EVER! I highly recommend them...... I would never say this if it was not true... They will be flexible, have so much experience, and will help you determine when./how/where to go. Whenever my hubby and I reminisce about Italy and our Europe trip, so many times our best memories come down to what we did with Rome in Limo (not that the other parts were bad).... We had a fun time seeing the Amalfi Coast (without RIL), and kept saying to ourselves "How much better would this have been if we had used RIL for this part of the trip. Ship’s tours are “okay”, but they cost way more, and have no flexibility—with Rome in Limo, if you see something you want to examine, your driver will stop, unlike the ship’s tour buses. And the Limos can get you much closer to your destination.

I think I will have to rob a bank or win the lottery this week... I hope, as I SO want to go back to Italy-- and this time around, I would use Rome in Limo for everything! They are so trustworthy, great, excellent and worth every penny (altho they are very reasonable compared to the ship's tours). Good luck finding people to share your tour-- you WILL! Most people just wait til the last minute.. but if you are smart, you will reserve now and have things all worked out for your own desires/needs.

Thanks.. Sher near Seattle ;)

Our group used Rome in Limo for two ports this past summer. It made our trip! I believe the other poster that Laura was the most fun guide ever for Florence... however-- I think FABRIZIO is the best, most fun, wonderful guide ever that we had for Florence!

We had Vinnie in Rome, and both of them were just A+++. They were funny, charming, knowledgeable, prompt, caring, concerned, and did an excellent job taking us exactly where we wanted to go, customizing the tours to our needs and wants.

I use a cane and walk with difficulty.. they were both excellent at dropping me off as close as possible to every stop, and then picking me up as close as possible as well. They both took us to fabulous places for lunch, and were just wonderful.

They were absolutely on time and made sure we got back to the ship on time (do not worry about that ever-- they deal with cruises every day of the week, and fully understand the time tables, etc.)

The Rome in Limo tours just made our cruise the most wonderful one we have ever had. The ship's tour we had of Amalfi coast was good.. just not near the excellent, personal service we had from Rome in Limo. :)

Things we like to bring:

1) 2 or 3 of those 99cent reusable cloth Grocery Bags for carrying souvenirs, carrying stuff on/off ship, taking beach stuff to the pool, etc. If your luggage is full at the end, you can just toss them. Or they make great holders for dirty laundry on the way home.

2) A small roll of black electrical tape.. great for patching things, like a broken strap on a sandal or a luggage handle, or a tear in luggage, etc.

3) 3M "Command" hooks that come off cleanly-- great to hold necklaces, earrings, bathing suits, etc.

4) Also, some cheap Magnetic Memo Clips from the office store.. the walls of the cabin are metal, so you can use the magnet clips to hold receipts, the Daily activity news, brochures, tickets, and also jewelry, etc.

5) Bar soap! (the cabins usually have liquid soap only)

6) Night Lite for the bathroom.. as others said, the overhead is too bright for middle of night bathroom runs.

7) Small suction clock for room-- attach to mirror or wall, easier to see in middle of night if one wakes up.

8) Sticky Notes and Pen-- so you can leave notes for your family like "Mom's gone to the Pool"

9) Highlighter pen-- to highlight things in the Daily activity paper that you dont want to miss!

and 10) a good attitude-- to roll with the punches and have fun no matter what-- heck, you're on VACATION!!! ;)

We used Rome in Limo for tours of both Rome and Florence. EXCELLENT both times! The price was NOT more than the competition. Even if it was-- they are WORTH IT. THEY ARE EXCELLENT. Great people, great service, they really cater to you and they made our trip the fabulous memory and experience that it was.

I highly recommend them for any tours.... they were just the best and wonderful to us. ;)

After having experienced these two tours, I'm totally spoiled and the ship's large group tours just won't measure up any more. It's amazing that we could get such wonderful personal service for a fraction of the cost of the ship excursions. These drivers were both very conscientious about getting us back to the ship on time. Their experience allowed them to know just how to time it. Many thanks to all the people on Cruise Critic who posted reviews in the past. That encouraged us to use Rome in Limo, an experience that greatly enhanced our enjoyment of our Mediterranean cruise. Thanks Tony, Alex and Duman!

I am with you! After having two Rome In Limo tours, which we also rate as Top Notch, Excellent-- I am spoiled now for life! No way can I ever settle for ship's tours again! Since there is no Rome in Limo outside Italy-- I guess I will have to just travel to Italy from now on.... seriously, they did such a fabulous job, we were so satisfied and happy with the tours, I really do feel spoiled. I highly recommend Rome In Limo to anyone, it is soooo worth it.

We had Fabrizio in Naples and Vicente in Rome-- both were just excellent. I highly recommend them to anyone, it is so much better than the boat tour-- you have better, more personal service, more personalized itenerary, flexibility, and comfort, plus guide/drivers who are so entertaining, knowledgeable and fun-- and all for a LOT less money than the ship charges. You cannot go wrong!