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Rome embarkation


aussiebossyboots
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We are joining the QV for a Rome return cruise on Saturday, 6 October.

 

We will be flying into Rome on Friday 5 October and want to organize an Early Vatican Tour for Saturday morning which should conclude at about 11am-12 noon.

 

Not sure what time we would embark in Rome (1.5 hours drive to the port), but would like to get there a bit later say 3.00pm.

 

From my research it looks like the QV will depart at about 7pm. I know we will be given our embarkation time closer to the date, but would like to secure this tour early as it is very popular.

 

Your thoughts on this schedule would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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We are joining the QV for a Rome return cruise on Saturday, 6 October.

 

We will be flying into Rome on Friday 5 October and want to organize an Early Vatican Tour for Saturday morning which should conclude at about 11am-12 noon.

 

Not sure what time we would embark in Rome (1.5 hours drive to the port), but would like to get there a bit later say 3.00pm.

 

From my research it looks like the QV will depart at about 7pm. I know we will be given our embarkation time closer to the date, but would like to secure this tour early as it is very popular.

 

Your thoughts on this schedule would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Assuming you are correct in relation to a 7pm departure, you will be able to board as late as 5pm no matter your official embarkation time. My advice would be to leave Rome no later than 2pm, scheduling Civitavecchia arrival no later than 4pm. My experience is it can take 2 hours by road, dependent upon volume of traffic.

 

By far the quickest way to go is by train, and there is a stop near the Vatican which will have you in Civitavecchia 45 minutes later....then a quick 20 euro taxi will have you dockside within 5 minutes. Luggage transfer via Vatican is, of course, the problem but if your hotel is in that area you can leave it and collect post tour.

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Assuming you are correct in relation to a 7pm departure, you will be able to board as late as 5pm no matter your official embarkation time. My advice would be to leave Rome no later than 2pm, scheduling Civitavecchia arrival no later than 4pm. My experience is it can take 2 hours by road, dependent upon volume of traffic.

 

By far the quickest way to go is by train, and there is a stop near the Vatican which will have you in Civitavecchia 45 minutes later....then a quick 20 euro taxi will have you dockside within 5 minutes. Luggage transfer via Vatican is, of course, the problem but if your hotel is in that area you can leave it and collect post tour.

 

Thanks for your insight. I am not 100% sure that the boat departs at 7pm - just did some research and found a schedule on line. Cunard probably won't give us the official time until a lot closer to the cruise date.

 

Booking the Vatican early entry needs to be done early as the tickets are limited.....

 

We have 3 full days post cruise so maybe we should just do this tour on the Monday after disembarkation.

 

We are now looking at perhaps going directly to the port area and spending some time there.

 

Thank you again

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Many years ago, I recall talking to a comedian who was a regular on RSVP cruises. He said that on one of the cruises, he didn't want to bother with going back and forth to Rome and decided to see Civitavecchia. He stopped by the tourist office, but it was all about transportation to Rome. He asked what there is to see in Civitavecchia and was told, "there is NOTHING to see in Civitavecchia." He found the Civitaveccha museum - all it had was reproductions of artworks in Rome.

 

(Obviously, bear in mind that this was a comedian telling the story - and that it happened around 2000)

Edited by MarkBearSF
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I strongly encourage you to forego the Vatican on your embarkation day. Even with early entry, there will be a substantial line, and a visit to the Vatican takes several hours once you finally cross the threshold. Save it for when you have more time.

 

I recommend that you spend embarkation morning in Ostia Antica, near the port. It is a very well preserved ruin of the ancient Roman port. Beautiful mosaic floors to be seen, and you can do the whole thing in three hours.

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I strongly encourage you to forego the Vatican on your embarkation day. Even with early entry, there will be a substantial line, and a visit to the Vatican takes several hours once you finally cross the threshold. Save it for when you have more time.

 

I recommend that you spend embarkation morning in Ostia Antica, near the port. It is a very well preserved ruin of the ancient Roman port. Beautiful mosaic floors to be seen, and you can do the whole thing in three hours.

 

Difficult to know what to do. We arrive at the Airport at 12 noon on the Friday 5 October and embark sometime on the Saturday afternoon. By the time we make our way to Rome it could be 3pm so most of that day is gone. Not sure when Cunard will advise our check in time!! And also, there is the in/out of Rome logistics. Doing the Vatican tour commencing at 7am was a good way to use the early morning, especially since Italy only comes to life at about 10am.

 

MarkBearSF - I totally agree that there really isn't much in Civitavecchia unfortunately. We were considering a 10 minute train ride to the beach at Santa Marinella for a walk around as an option.

 

A simple one way transfer to the port and some down time would be good after spending 6 days in St Petersburg - a bucket list item.

 

Your suggestion of Ostia Antica is interesting but how do we get there and back? Do you have any suggestions?

 

Decisions... Decisions...

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Difficult to know what to do. We arrive at the Airport at 12 noon on the Friday 5 October and embark sometime on the Saturday afternoon. By the time we make our way to Rome it could be 3pm so most of that day is gone. Not sure when Cunard will advise our check in time!! And also, there is the in/out of Rome logistics. Doing the Vatican tour commencing at 7am was a good way to use the early morning, especially since Italy only comes to life at about 10am.

 

MarkBearSF - I totally agree that there really isn't much in Civitavecchia unfortunately. We were considering a 10 minute train ride to the beach at Santa Marinella for a walk around as an option.

 

A simple one way transfer to the port and some down time would be good after spending 6 days in St Petersburg - a bucket list item.

 

Your suggestion of Ostia Antica is interesting but how do we get there and back? Do you have any suggestions?

 

Decisions... Decisions...

 

Try looking at tour companies. They may be able to combine a pick up at your hotel in Rome, and take you to Civitavecchia via Ostia Antica. You could aim to get to the ship mid-afternoon.

 

We have previously used Stefano at Romecabs for transfers to/from the airport and cruise port. It might be worth looking at his website to see if he can combine a transfer with sightseeing.

 

BTW I think we are boarding the same day as you :)

 

Susan

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Assuming you are correct in relation to a 7pm departure, you will be able to board as late as 5pm no matter your official embarkation time. My advice would be to leave Rome no later than 2pm, scheduling Civitavecchia arrival no later than 4pm. My experience is it can take 2 hours by road, dependent upon volume of traffic.

 

By far the quickest way to go is by train, and there is a stop near the Vatican which will have you in Civitavecchia 45 minutes later....then a quick 20 euro taxi will have you dockside within 5 minutes. Luggage transfer via Vatican is, of course, the problem but if your hotel is in that area you can leave it and collect post tour.

 

After lots of discussion, we have decided to do the early morning Vatican Tour which commences at 7am and concludes at 11am. Thanks hamrag for your train option suggestion.

 

We have booked a hotel about 200 mtrs from San Pietro Station and they are happy to hold our luggage until we complete the tour.

 

We will aim to catch a train about 1pm from San Pietro (knowing that the train may be full and we may have to stand), but this will remove the possibility of a traffic issue on the way to the Port. This will also give us an extra 1.5 hours just in case we want to see a bit more of the museum. This tour also includes a guided visit to St Peters.

 

Fingers crossed all goes well.

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After lots of discussion, we have decided to do the early morning Vatican Tour which commences at 7am and concludes at 11am. Thanks hamrag for your train option suggestion.

 

We have booked a hotel about 200 mtrs from San Pietro Station and they are happy to hold our luggage until we complete the tour.

 

We will aim to catch a train about 1pm from San Pietro (knowing that the train may be full and we may have to stand), but this will remove the possibility of a traffic issue on the way to the Port. This will also give us an extra 1.5 hours just in case we want to see a bit more of the museum. This tour also includes a guided visit to St Peters.

 

Fingers crossed all goes well.

 

In my experience, we have used the train a number of times, it is the later trains i.e. 3pm onwards that get really busy. You have made a wise decision, in relation to your travel to port.

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