Time for sightseeing in Rome?

[texas bound]

I will be flying into Rome for a 5pm departure. I will be coming in early to do some sightseeing. I didn't know if getting in early and doing some that day then some before the cruise departure on the next day is enough time.

 

What we definitely want to see is the Colosseum, Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and possibly the Spanish Steps.

 

Will that be enough time? I don't know if we will be DIY or going with a tour company. Should w do two half day tours?

[Gonzo70]

I would allot two nights pre cruise. The first full day in Rome you likely will be rather jet lagged and only be able to do limited sightseeing. The morning of your cruise you will have limited time for sightseeing as the port is quite far so you likely will be leaving Rome by noon. By having two nights pre cruise, you then have one full day where you are not as jet lagged to sight see. There is a lot to take in, so you do not want to be rushed.

[ISABELLA]

There is a lot to see on Rome. 2-3 days at minimum.

Vatican is one day alone...

[4774Papa]

I have been to Rome twice. Both times I spent a week and still have more things that I want to see. Plan to spend several days in Rome, it is a wonderful place, filled with history, art and great food.

 

The city can largely be see by walking or walking and taking the subway.

Don't try to whisk through the city for a few hours on your way to the ship. Come in at least three days prior to boarding the ship. You will need to recover from jet lag, then spend one day going to the Vatican/Sistine Chapel and another the ancient sites like Coliseum, Forum, Palatine Hill, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Castel St. Angelo, Trajan's Forum and Piaza Navona.

[bigbenboys]

Yes you really need 3 days. That being said. I hope your flight landing at 5am. FCO to Rome takes time. Then you have to get from Rome to Civitavecchia Port. Which you have to go past FCO to get to Civitavecchia. If you ship leave at 5pm, you have to be on the ship at least a hour before, maybe more. Richard

[texas bound]

BigBenBoys - the 5am time is when cruise docks at the end. I didn't know if docking at 5am would allow us time to travel to airport to make 11:15am flight time.

[Lsimon]

I will be flying into Rome for a 5pm departure. I will be coming in early to do some sightseeing. I didn't know if getting in early and doing some that day then some before the cruise departure on the next day is enough time.

 

What we definitely want to see is the Colosseum, Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and possibly the Spanish Steps.

 

Will that be enough time? I don't know if we will be DIY or going with a tour company. Should w do two half day tours?

 

We've been to Rome four times: Two times as a port of call, once with a two night pre-cruise stay and once arriving early the morning of the day before the cruise.

 

If you are arriving early the morning of the day before your cruise then you should have time to drop your bags off at your hotel and tour for most of the day - although if arriving from the USA you'll be jet lagged and will want to take it a bit easy. You will not have time for all the items on your list. You can tour the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Spanish Steps in a couple hours of walking but you'll probably want to take longer and savor just being in Rome and having a coffee and/or lunch along the way. You might be able to squeeze in the Vatican or the Coliseum, but not both, if you are in early and either traveling in the off season. If you are traveling in prime tourist season then there will extremely long lines at the Vatican and Coliseum. You can get around most of the lines by arraigning a tour with a licensed guide who can buy tickets in advance and bypass some of the lines. You might also be able to pre-arrange timed admission and can research this on the Italy port of call forum here on Cruise critic.

 

If your time is really short then you might want to contact a tour company with your itinerary and see what they recommend. Personally, I'd make sure it is a tour company with a licensed guide who can take you into the Coliseum and Vatican. If they are not a licensed guide then they'll basically be transportation only and you'll be on your own from the time they drop you off at a nearby point until you meet up with them in the car again.

 

You'll want to be heading to the port by noon or so on cruise day at the latest. It is over an hour to the port in very good traffic and you'll need to be checked in and on board well before 5PM - check with Celebrity for the check-in deadline time. Personally, I like to head to the port early enough to arrive by noon but delaying leaving the city until noon might give you a couple hours of touring time before heading to the ship if you get up early.

 

If you really want to see more of Rome you should really consider 2 or 3 nights there just to see the highlights as a semi-relaxing pace.

[PinkUK]

Well that's a tall order! I don't know what time you are arriving but I'd suggest you make a decision between the Vatican and all the others (you truly cannot do it all). If it was my decision I'd probably leave out the Vatican (wonderful but not sure it adds up to more than the sum total of the others and takes FOREVER to get around!)

 

Tough shout but you need to choose.

 

Hope you enjoy.

[gilladj]

We did the med out of Rome a couple of years ago. We spent 5 days in Rome pre-cruise. One day we did Florence/Pisa and the Appian Way on another day. We did the "core" Rome attractions in 3 days.

 

I recomment Rick Steve's Italy book. You can also down load his audio tours for free. We used them for the Colliseum, the Forum, Vatican and a walking tour that hits Pantheon, Trevi and Spanish Steps and more.

 

The book and audio tours were invaluable. We then took the train to Civi on our own and walked to the port.

 

I hope this helps!

[richstowe]

TexasBound,

You've been given some real good advice, 1) Give yourself a minimum of 2 nights prior to cruise and 2) scale back overly ambitious plans.

 

Next time we will give ourselves a 3rd night prior to a Rome/Civitavecchia cruise.

Our Mariner cruise began with 2 sea days so we were OK. If the ports start right away, you will appreciate the extra pre-cruise time.

 

Rome is a spectacular city. Enjoy! :)

[dougt1957]

Find a hotel located close to the things you want to see. Rome is a great city to walk in, and all the sights you mentioned are within a reasonable distance of each other. Study the guide books and plan your path. The Spanish Steps are at the end of the best shopping street in Rome. Great people watching and restaurants are everywhere in that area. And don't forget the gelato! We spent two days before a transatlantic a few years ago and walked to everything you want to see except the Vatican. For that we took the hop-on hop-off bus, which allows for some good pictures from the upper level. The only thing you need to pay an entry fee is the coliseum, and that's where the line is. You can buy your tickets across the street, usually with little wait, and then go to the short line for those with tickets. As for the Vatican, St. Peter's is free to enter if I remember correctly, the waiting line is for the museum. Save that for another time unless you really want to see it. Trevi Fountain is less crowded at night, and spectacular. The day we left for the ship, it was basically breakfast and then board the bus, as we took the cruise lines shuttle and stayed in their hotel beforehand.

 

 

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[Lois R]

I went on my first cruise to the Med last year (May 2012) and I arrived

1 day early...flight got in about 9am and I had a car service pick me

up at the airport and we were at the B&B I stayed at around 11am.

I had a booked a private tour for that day and then I met folks from

our roll call for dinner at a restaurant at the foot of the Pantheon.

Yes, it was a long day but I loved it.......if you can only do 1 day,

then I would do it, but I do agree with the other folks...and the next

time I go back? I will definitely do a 2nd night pre-cruise too.

 

Just one person's opinion.....

[texas bound]

Oh my, such very good advice. We are going in September 2014 flying in from the US. It sounds like we have two options. Stay over 2 nights pre-cruise or 1 night on each end.

 

Thank you all.

[richstowe]

Oh my, such very good advice. We are going in September 2014 flying in from the US. It sounds like we have two options. Stay over 2 nights pre-cruise or 1 night on each end.

 

Thank you all.

If those are your options, I vote for 2 nights pre-cruise ! :D

[jpthomas27]

I will be flying into Rome for a 5pm departure. I will be coming in early to do some sightseeing. I didn't know if getting in early and doing some that day then some before the cruise departure on the next day is enough time.

 

What we definitely want to see is the Colosseum, Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and possibly the Spanish Steps.

 

Will that be enough time? I don't know if we will be DIY or going with a tour company. Should w do two half day tours?

 

I think you are being overly optimistic about what you can accomplish in essentially one day. First you have to understand that your ship isn't actually in Rome, it's an hour away in Civitavecchia so to make a 5pm departure you need to leave Rome by 3pm.. at the very latest!! Also, when arriving you will lose time getting to your hotel and dumping your luggage. Not knowing what time you actually fly in the first day, I expect you wont actually make it anywhere until around noon or so.

 

In terms of what to see and how long each takes... I guess it depends on how you want to see each one. When we were in Rome we dedicated an entire day to the Vatican. The Trevi Fountain is a fly by; stare at it for a while, take some pictures, throw a coin over shoulder and go. You can spend time there if you have it, but it can easily be done quickly if need be. Spanish steps are kind of the same IMO; you can take time there if you want, or can afford to, but you can do it quickly also if you need to. The Pantheon will take a little more time, but not a huge amount. It's neat, basically a large one room cathedral, and again, you can adjust your time there to as little or as much as you see fit once you arrive. The colosseum is one that I would plan a lot of time for.

 

If I was determined to fit this stuff into this time table here is what I would do. Of course I don't know your budget for transportation and so on, and I'm assuming your going to be functional through jet lag issues and so on, but anyway...

 

Day 1

- Get a hotel near the Vatican for quick access on day two.

- Hire a car for transport from the airport, have them take you to the hotel and wait for you while you check in and dump your luggage. Then have the car drop you at the Colosseum to start day 1.

- Purchase your tickets in advance for the Colosseum so you can avoid lines and get strait in without wasting time.

- Take the metro to the Spanish Steps

- Walk South / South-East to the Trevi Fountain

- Walk South-West to the Pantheon

 

I don't know when your flight arrives and of course getting to the hotel to dump luggage and arriving at the Colosseum is very variable so you will have to judge your time for eating and night time activities based on that information. Getting back to the hotel at days end can be however you want. The negative to the Pantheon is that it's nowhere near a metro so your options are walking back or taking a taxi for the most part.

 

Day 2

-Get up early and be at the Vatican (taxi?) when it opens. Buy any tickets you need in advance so you an avoid lines again. Check out of your hotel before leaving in the morning but leave your luggage there.

- The two things you probably want to definitely see are St. Peter's, which can take a good amount of time, and the Sistine Chapel which is part of the Vatican Museums. The Vatican Museums can take some time to get through also so I expect this will be as much as you can possibly fit in.

- Hire a car to pick you up at your hotel at 2pm. Arrive at your ship around 3pm and be on board by 4pm, 30 minutes before "all aboard" and 1 hour before the ship pulls away.

 

Good luck, It's ambitious, but I think it can be done if your body can handle the jet lag.

[baldercash]

I will be flying into Rome for a 5pm departure. I will be coming in early to do some sightseeing. I didn't know if getting in early and doing some that day then some before the cruise departure on the next day is enough time.

 

What we definitely want to see is the Colosseum, Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and possibly the Spanish Steps.

 

Will that be enough time? I don't know if we will be DIY or going with a tour company. Should w do two half day tours?

 

Pantheon requires at minimum 20 minutes to walk around it outside and another 20 inside. We just finished 7 days in Rome and stayed 5 minutes from it so we visited it at least twice every day.

10 minute walk to Piazza Navona from the Pantheon, one of the nicest Piazza in Rome you need at least 30 minutes to walk around it and look at the 3 fountains.

20 minute walk to Trevi Fountain, 10 to 15 minutes to look at it and toss a coin.

10 minutes to Spanish steps, at least 30 minutes looking up, climbing up, then looking down and then walking down.

30 minute walk to Colosseum, with advanced tickets you can cut the line and spend an hour or so inside you can rent an audio guide.

 

Of coarse you can do it at this pace but you won't! Unless with a tour group.

There is so much to see, people to watch, stores to browse, restaurants to try and endless ancient buildings, statues, temples, ruins, monuments it takes all day if you want to enjoy it.

 

We did the Vatican on a Wednesday with a private guide while the Pope was speaking at St Peters so it was almost empty only 50 people in the Sistine Chapel and it took us 3 hours to see just the Vatican then we did the Square and St Peters it is a full day.

[Gonzo70]

First you have to understand that your ship isn't actually in Rome, it's an hour away in Civitavecchia so to make a 5pm departure you need to leave Rome by 3pm.. at the very latest!!

 

Well before 3pm! The drive can take over an hour and they usually close the check in area about 90 minutes before departure. 1pm at the absolute latest to leave Rome or they would risk being denied boarding. 3pm would be about the latest one could arrive and still have time to complete the check in process.

[bigbenboys]

Yes you really need 3 days. That being said. I hope your flight landing at 5am. FCO to Rome takes time. Then you have to get from Rome to Civitavecchia Port. Which you have to go past FCO to get to Civitavecchia. If you ship leave at 5pm, you have to be on the ship at least a hour before, maybe more. Richard

 

I must have misunderstood you. "I will be coming in early to do some sightseeing." I understood that as coming in early the day the cruise was leaving. Richard

[CathyCruises]

While all the sites mentioned are wonderful, there is so much more to Rome! For instance, the Capitoline Museum is just fantastic and a must see for us each time we're there. It is worth the trip for the statue of Marcus Aurelius and to see Michelangelo's Campidoglio alone. There is also a 'secret' staircase that takes you to the top of the Vittorio Emanuele monument with a small café that overlooks the entire Forum.

 

The Villa Borghese has the most amazing Bernini sculptures plus a host of other works, really a must see as well. The 'Daphne & Apollo' and the 'Rape of Prosperpina' are truly magnificent.

 

At the Vatican, the Scavi tour of the underground catacombs is one of my favorite all time tours; also climbing the dome of the basilica is way up there on my list. And there are great works of art in many of the churches; the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa in Santa Maria della Vittoria, San Pietro in Vincoli for Michelangelo's Moses, the trilevel church of San Clemente--so many things not to miss! So do spend as much time as you possibly can, I promise you you will not be bored!!

[cruise kitty]

We'll be returning to Rome in late November, & I can tell you, there's never 'enough' time there, I think you could spend years there & not get enough. :) That said, it sounds like you have a very limited vacation time, I'd say arriving 3 days minimum before your cruise would be ideal in your situation, that would realistically only give you 2 full days to site see (arrive day 1, tour 2 & 3, cruise on day 4) Hit the ground running first day...best way to deal with jet lag is to get on the local schedule right away. Enjoy your trip, plan on returning, Rome is rather addicting. :D

[Lsimon]

...First you have to understand that your ship isn't actually in Rome, it's an hour away in Civitavecchia so to make a 5pm departure you need to leave Rome by 3pm...

 

...- Hire a car to pick you up at your hotel at 2pm. Arrive at your ship around 3pm and be on board by 4pm, 30 minutes before "all aboard" and 1 hour before the ship pulls away....

 

Sorry, but if you follow the above advice you might be left on the dock waving goodbye to the ship while customer service tells you that you were too late!

 

The documents for our last Celebrity sailing out of Rome (last December) included the following:

Ship Check-in

Government regulations in some ports require us to submit a ship departure manifest60 minutes prior to sailing.

In order to meet this requirement, all guests must be

checked-in

no later than 90 minutes prior to the scheduled sailing time. Guests arriving late will not be permitted to sail.

The above schedule indicates you must be checked in 90 minuites prior to sailing. That means you need to arrive early enough to have completed the check in process by 3:30, so the latest you'd want to arrive at the dock is 3PM. It takes an hour to get to the port in good traffic, so that means that you'd want to head for the dock no later than 2PM. But keep in mind that even this schedule is tight and leaves no room for delays such as traffic, a long wait for the hotel bellman to get your luggage out of storage or your transportation arriving a little late. I've taken private transportation twice from Rome to the port with different companies that were both highly recommended here on Cruise Critic. The first time the driver was an hour late the second time about 20 minutes late.

 

Personally, I'd want to not feel rushed nor to even begin to feel stressed about being late. So if it were me I'd leave Rome no later than noon and probably a little earlier.

 

If you are considering touring the Vatican or Coliseum the morning of your embarkation you might consider booking a tour from a company who also offers transportation to the port so you'll have a driver to take you touring with your luggage already in the car and then take you directly from your point of touring to the ship when you're done.

[CaroleLee]

I will be flying into Rome for a 5pm departure. I will be coming in early to do some sightseeing. I didn't know if getting in early and doing some that day then some before the cruise departure on the next day is enough time.

 

What we definitely want to see is the Colosseum, Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and possibly the Spanish Steps.

 

Will that be enough time? I don't know if we will be DIY or going with a tour company. Should w do two half day tours?

 

How early does your flight land? Allowing time to claim luggage, go through immigration etc. Then there is the slight problem of jet lag & your hotel room may not be ready until the afternoon..but that said Rome is fantastic and having only a day +/- you may feel overloaded. I would contact a private tour service (Rome in Limo etc) give them your flight times & what you really want to see -arrange to have them meet you @ FCO and proceed with a tour and finally drop you at your hotel. Rome is wonderful, food is unforgetable and the shopping (!!)

Have agreat cruise

Carole

[celebritydave]

We have been to Rome twice, both times a pre-cruise stay. The first time we had 2 nights pre-cruise.

 

The first day was only a half-day after arriving and checking in to the hotel.

 

The second day we had hired a van and driver/guide from Romeinlimo for an all day tour. The private tour companies can go places in Rome that you can't do if you rented a car. This worked out very well as we managed to see all the main sights and got to tour the Vatican, St Peters and the Sistine chaper. We had a guide for the the Vatican and purchased tickets in advance. It was a full day, but we managed to get a lot in.

 

The second time we stayed in Rome 5 nights and had a chance to do some detailed exploring and we re-visited some of the places we saw the first time.

 

You can do Rome in a day, but you really need to hire a car and driver/guide for the day so you can get to all the main sites quickly. Rome's mass transit is not the best, you can waste a lot of time waiting for a bus.

 

Good luck,

Dave

[dln929]

Oh my, such very good advice. We are going in September 2014 flying in from the US. It sounds like we have two options. Stay over 2 nights pre-cruise or 1 night on each end.

 

Thank you all.

 

I see you live in Indiana. If you fly out of Indy, like we do, you'll have to connect in a larger airport like JFK or O'Hare before getting into Rome. And from Rome it's over half an hour on the train into the city. And getting to the port in Civitavecchia is another half hour at least. In short, a Hoosier going to Italy is like a labor of love! It's not easy to get there from here. :o Get there as many days ahead as you can spare so you have time to get over the jet lag (6 hours ahead). I'd suggest you look at the ports of call forum here. There are some really knowledgeable posters on the Italy boards and you'll pick up a lot of tips. And join your Roll Call, too.

[luvtravel88]

We were in Rome as part of a land tour for a total of 6 days. Three on the tour and three on our own. We spent 4 hours at the Forum and didn't see it all. The Colosseum is a pretty fast visit once you get inside and is within walking distance of the Forum so could be done the same day. St. Peter of Chains Church is within 2 blocks of the Collosseum and has a Michelangelo Moses sculpture with horns. Fantastic to see!!

 

The Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's can take most of a day.

 

Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon and Piazza Navonna can all be done in a couple of hours.

 

Good luck with your planning. There are some really great tour companies available that would allow you to see a lot more than trying to get around by yourself. Take a look at Tripadvisor for some advice as well as the section on Shore Excursions on the CC. We used Viator for some of our tours. They are reasonable and did a good job.