Cruisecritters

To start with, Jany at RIL answered every email question promptly and sometimes within minutes. Great customer service!

Rolando picked us up at the port no problems. We were a party of 8 people and the van was comfortable. Rolando was very personable and friendly. As for information by the driver, we didn't get much and the van A/C was too loud to here him from the back when he was talking. The site states that the driver is not a guide, so did not expect him to give us history, but it would have been nice to here what he was saying. If I had to do it again, I would have arranged a smaller group of 6 or 4 and paid a little more. It would have been nice to converse with him about life in Italy.

Rolando was excellent at getting us where we need to go. He let us off to see the Trevi Fountain and even gave us coins to throw in.

Then, he took us to the Spanish Steps where we walked from the top down to the bottom for pictures.

Next, he took us to the Colloseum for 45 mins which was enough time to tour through it. We didn't need a guide, and buying the tickets online made it easy to by pass the very long line that was there for ticket purchase. It would have been nice to tour the Palentine Hill, but time was limited.

Rolando made reservations at a great restaurant near the entrance of the Vatican. The appetizers were on the table waiting for us when we got there. Great restaurant with plenty of atmosphere! The food was excellent and came with wine for only 15 euros each. Don't pass this part up, as you have an option to do lunch on your own, do it with the driver's arrangement.

When we got to the Vatican, with pre-purchased online tickets (don't buy the tickets when you get there). Rolando really impressed us with his ability to talk us past the tour lines and to get right into the building. We felt like VIPs. As for the tour guide in the Vatican, it depends on what you want from your experience. We did not do the guide and enjoyed everything we saw. If you are into the details, reserve a guide. The crowds are insane in the museum and the large groups from the ships are hard to get around, but being a small group we worked are way around better than most. St Peter's was at the end of the tour and was spectacular to walk through (I believe you can do this for free admission if you don't want to see the museum and the Sistine Chapel).

All in all, a great experience from our tour with RIL. ;)

I love this picture from our sea day back to San Juan, PR. It was taken from Deck 18 of the Caribbean Princess....oh about 3 days ago. :p