Need Help Regarding Pre-Cruise Hotels, Transportation, Tours in Rome

OK--this sounds very interesting. We will have to do an Indiana Jones tour of this church, :D This moves up to the list to the must visit category.

This is the best thread, I've now booked our May 2019 TA ending in Rome. So happy I'm returning to Rome. There are so many things to see and do in this historic city.

Thank you to the original poster who asked the question about the pre-cruise tour with transfer! The RomeCabs 4 hour tour into the Roman Countryside with port transfer looks just perfect!

Like others on this thread, we are booked for our first Mediterranean cruise (Rome to Barcelona) in 2019. First time to any of these places, and I'm researching intensely now. I truly appreciate all the tips and advice!

I am also spending WAY too much time researching and planning, a possible first cruise and visit to Europe for next year!!!I Have now contacted RIL, and wonder how much this might be if they were able to offer a discount for multiple tours/transfers. We will be Departing and Returning to Rome, and also considering a tour from Naples.

I am now going to look into Rome Cabs as well.

We would prefer private tours/transfers, without trying to start a share group. But, for just the two of us...

Wow... Sticker shock!!! $$$$

This thread is a wealth of information. Thank you to all who have posted. We will be in Rome for 3 nights before our TA October cruise. Since we've never been to Rome before I truly appreciate all the recommendations for hotels, transportation, and tours.

First thank you for starting this thread - I will be following any advice given.

 

We will be starting our cruise from Rome. We have nearly two years to research and plan and I am always searching for ideas.

 

We plan on going to Ostia post cruise and also spending the night at a hotel airport before our early morning flight home.

 

My DH is the one that wants to stop at any and all churches. Me, I love the history. We cruised Italy in 2015 and I have been wanting to go back since then.

 

You mentioned Pompeii - I really enjoyed my time there, the others thought it was ok but that was their thoughts on the Forum in Rome also. I am wired differently then they are because I could envision the whole whole thing. A lot of that is because I love the history but I read Rick Steves and he brings it to life if that makes sense.

 

Anyway I will definitely be following this thread.

I totally agree with you. I love the History. Loved Pompeii in 2015 while others in our group thought it was just ok-they must have known the people in your group!! LOL We used RIL for our tour of Rome back then and it was amazing. I loved every minute of the history lessons and I could see clearly how it was back then. My DH thought he was back in school cramming for an exam and on brain overload, lol. I will be following this thread as well.

We are sailing Jade the week before you and I can't wait. I've always wanted to go to Greece and Italy is our happy place. We did an extensive land vacation and put over 500 miles on our convertible rental in Tuscany (2016) We love Italy. Now it's time to go back. Can't wait to see Sorrent/Positano again. We know a mountaintop restaurant that serves family style authentic mid day meals. Let me know if you would like the name. Totally getting off topic, sorry. Following.

Kim

Can't wait to see Sorrent/Positano again. We know a mountaintop restaurant that serves family style authentic mid day meals. Let me know if you would like the name. Totally getting off topic, sorry. Following.

Kim

Yes please, if you remember the name of the restaurant that would be great. We sail in just 17 days and have a trip planned to visit Sorrento. Knowing a great place to stop for lunch would be helpful if you remember it.

I am looking forward to all of the cruisers visiting Rome on TAs next month. I want to pick your brain when you get back. :D

Yes please, if you remember the name of the restaurant that would be great. We sail in just 17 days and have a trip planned to visit Sorrento. Knowing a great place to stop for lunch would be helpful if you remember it.

Name of the restaurant is Fattoria La Tagliata and it is fabulous! Please check out their website....they grow their own vegetables and the food is presented beautifully. With lunch was also red and white wine, of course. We still talk about our experience there 3 years ago and look forward to going back.

Wow, am I seeing a huge difference and increase in price with RIL in those quotes above?

I contacted them about a tour of Rome w/ port transfer... and Tivoli.

I am thinking it is supposed to be 450 euro and 400 euro. But something happened and the last messages didn't go thru???

In trying to figure out scheduling, it works out better to do the tour and transfer TO the port.

But, that limits the amount of time for your tour of Rome, as you have to head to port early.

I was thinking of the Coloseum, and focus on seeing the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican?

I think I will start separate threads on the Sistine Chapel. It looks like tours of the Vatican are longer and more complex.

If we are not into more of the Vatican, and more ancient ruins, what else should we 'not miss'?

Hard to make decisions if we are limiting our time in Rome!!!

Wow, am I seeing a huge difference and increase in price with RIL in those quotes above?

I contacted them about a tour of Rome w/ port transfer... and Tivoli.

I am thinking it is supposed to be 450 euro and 400 euro. But something happened and the last messages didn't go thru???

In trying to figure out scheduling, it works out better to do the tour and transfer TO the port.

But, that limits the amount of time for your tour of Rome, as you have to head to port early.

We fly into Rome on the morning of the 7th, then head to our ship on the 9th - so we don't have a lot of time as well. We have schedule a private car to pick us up from our Rome hotel at 8am on the 9th, bring us to Tivoli, and has guaranteed we'll be back to the port by 5pm to catch the ship. Fingers crossed that it works out.

We fly into Rome on the morning of the 7th, then head to our ship on the 9th - so we don't have a lot of time as well. We have schedule a private car to pick us up from our Rome hotel at 8am on the 9th, bring us to Tivoli, and has guaranteed we'll be back to the port by 5pm to catch the ship. Fingers crossed that it works out.

Good luck and have a great cruise. Please come back and let us know how you did. I am not sure of your sail away time. However, I think I would need to be ready to board the ship before 5pm.

We fly into Rome on the morning of the 7th, then head to our ship on the 9th - so we don't have a lot of time as well. We have schedule a private car to pick us up from our Rome hotel at 8am on the 9th, bring us to Tivoli, and has guaranteed we'll be back to the port by 5pm to catch the ship. Fingers crossed that it works out.

You do know that Tivoli is almost one hour east of Rome and that Civitavecchia is one hour west of Rome. If you leave at 8 you can be at Tivoli by 9. You can see the gardens and fountains at the Villa d'Este and leave by 11 It takes less than 20 minutes to drive to the Villa Adriana so you can get there a little after 11. Spend up to two hours there. By 1 or 1:30 you can grab panini somewhere and drive about 2 hours to the port. You can be at the port by 4 if there is no traffic. And you have a little leeway to spend more time in Tivoli. But, do skip a restaurant stop for lunch.

@marazul - that was exactly our plan. I'm hoping the weathermen are wrong, but it appears it will be raining the entire 2 weeks we are in Italy. I guess this is karma's payback from when we spent 2+ weeks in Ireland, Scotland and London and had ~2 hours of rain the entire trip.

Our tentative ballpark is to be back in the car on the way to the port no later than 2pm, either with a quick sandwich in hand - or relying on protein bars that we're packing in our luggage to hold us over until we gorge on food within the ship itself.

I'm also hoping that by us checking into the ship so late there will be virtually no crowds and our room will be ready to go.

Dragon I am hoping you will do a review when you return. I am curious if it will be crowded in November and also how your weather was.

 

We will be sailing Oct 24th thru Nov 7th in 2019. I keep reading things about off season and sites closing earlier.

We were in Civitavecchia on 1st November 2017 - the weather was perfect for sightseeing. I always made sure that I had a light jacket with me and you needed it when the sun went down, but it was still warm. I am sure that some years it is warmer than others but after having been forced to do my cruising in the summer months (Rome in mid July :evilsmile::evilsmile::evilsmile:) I have loved having my schoolteacher husband retire so that we can have the opportunity to travel in the spring and autumn when you can actually enjoy the places you are visiting.

We were in Civitavecchia on 1st November 2017 - the weather was perfect for sightseeing. I always made sure that I had a light jacket with me and you needed it when the sun went down, but it was still warm. I am sure that some years it is warmer than others but after having been forced to do my cruising in the summer months (Rome in mid July :evilsmile::evilsmile::evilsmile:) I have loved having my schoolteacher husband retire so that we can have the opportunity to travel in the spring and autumn when you can actually enjoy the places you are visiting.

That sounds very good. I know that you can not really predict the weather. However, your experience is encouraging. :D

We were in Civitavecchia on 1st November 2017 - the weather was perfect for sightseeing. I always made sure that I had a light jacket with me and you needed it when the sun went down, but it was still warm. I am sure that some years it is warmer than others but after having been forced to do my cruising in the summer months (Rome in mid July :evilsmile::evilsmile::evilsmile:) I have loved having my schoolteacher husband retire so that we can have the opportunity to travel in the spring and autumn when you can actually enjoy the places you are visiting.

Thank you for your input - a light jacket will travel with me.

I was thinking the same thing - we are not among those that rush to the ship, especially when I can spend a few more hours in Rome. I am thinking a private transfer. That way we can wake up, enjoy a Roman breakfast at a local coffee bar and since we plan on staying near Trevi fountain we can take a walk and just take it all in again. The last time I left Rome I was near tears. I know some say that about Venice but Rome keeps drawing me back.

Since we are on the same ship, maybe we could share a transfer to the ship as an option. Might not be worth it, but we have time to decide. I wanted to do the same as you, have a relaxed morning walking around seeing things in a slower way. We are either staying at Le Meridien Visconti Rome (closer to Vatican) or in an arbnb near the Trastevere/Colosseum area. We don't have to connect before the transfer or we could meet for coffee. We're totally open. No pressure.

Phew...what a wealth of knowledge here. Thank you for starting this. I will be on board with TSU Mom in 2019, but for me never been on a cruise in Europe. Never been to any of these ports including Rome. Planned to spend 2 or 3 nights there. Was trying to start planning but all is so overwhelming... so many decisions.

Dragon I am hoping you will do a review when you return. I am curious if it will be crowded in November and also how your weather was. Me too!

 

We will be sailing Oct 24th thru Nov 7th in 2019. I keep reading things about off season and sites closing earlier. Oh NO!

Yes, I will come back and add information to this thread and do a mini review of Rome. I have done that for each of my other TAs.

 

Sunset will be ~ 5 pm in early November. We expect everything to close by then. [or around then] We know a few sites are open later.

Since we are on the same ship, maybe we could share a transfer to the ship as an option. Might not be worth it, but we have time to decide. I wanted to do the same as you, have a relaxed morning walking around seeing things in a slower way. We are either staying at Le Meridien Visconti Rome (closer to Vatican) or in an arbnb near the Trastevere/Colosseum area. We don't have to connect before the transfer or we could meet for coffee. We're totally open. No pressure.

We have decided to stay near the Pantheon, Albergo Abruzzi to be exact. I already made room reservations. The hotel is providing transfer from the airport to the hotel. We are also looking as using Rome Cabs two day tour and transfer to the port. Check them out and see if you are interested. We can maybe share tours and or just transportation. I am totally up for pre cruise coffee or maybe we can all get together for an evening meal or just an evening stroll. We to are totally open. My email is on the roll call spreadsheet so lets keep in touch that way. Happy planning and yes it is over whelming but that is part of the fun!

Following along. We will be in Rome Nov 10-12 so need to sort out what to do on a Monday. Probably will be the Vatican museums etc. Not sure yet about staying at Albergo Abruzzi.

Following along. We will be in Rome Nov 10-12 so need to sort out what to do on a Monday. Probably will be the Vatican museums etc. Not sure yet about staying at Albergo Abruzzi.

Yes, we found that the closures on Monday are a problem. We wanted to see sites outside of Rome on the way to the port. However, they are limited.

Our cruise is before yours. I will be reporting back to this thread. It will be very late in your planning stages, but could be useful.

Have a good cruise.

Yes, we found that the closures on Monday are a problem. We wanted to see sites outside of Rome on the way to the port. However, they are limited.

 

Our cruise is before yours. I will be reporting back to this thread. It will be very late in your planning stages, but could be useful.

 

Have a good cruise.

I forgot to put 2019 as the year for ours!

The Hotel Domaso appeals to me but we cannot make reservations until Feb 2019. My current plan is to do a debarkation tour of some sort that gets us from the port to our hotel on the Sunday. Vatican Museums and Basilica of San Clemente on the Monday. Short stroll in Panthenon area Tuesday morning maybe.

We made reservations yesterday for our flight home when we arrive in San Juan from this TA. One more item checked off my list. :D

Southwest opened flights from Nov 3 through January 6.

I just wanted to post an FYI if anyone plans to fly SW during this time frame.

We will be on the Southampton to Rome cruise (ends in Singapore) 31 October 2019 arriving in Rome on Sunday 10 November. For a 9:00 am debarkation transfer, 4 hr tour, quick lunch, and B+B drop-off we have decided to use Antonio Cagnoli and Sons http://www.transferitalyrome.com/ https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187791-d2370877-Reviews-Antonio_Cagnoli_and_Son_Day_Tours-Rome_Lazio.html . This allows for a walk round the outside of the Coliseum and the Forum area, plus a visit to San Clemente Basilica and the Pantheon. We have reservations for 2 nights at a View of Rome B+B near the Vatican walls http://www.bbaviewofrome.it/en/. On the Monday November 11 we will focus on the Sistine Chapel, Vatican museums, and exterior Castel Sant Angelo.