Vatican on a wednesday

[heathero]

Hi, I am booked to go on the ncl spirit and we are due to visit rome on Wednesday 23rd October.

 

I had hoped to visit the Vatican in the morning, will it be best waiting till the afternoon to visit the vatican after the Papal audiences have ended?

[euro cruiser]

You can visit the Vatican Museums in the morning, then see the basilica in the afternoon once the audience is over.

[dalgirl]

Wed is going to be crowded because of this, so just be prepared for that. Your wait to get into the Basilica will be long. I really hate that NCL has changed to Rome on Wed (we were there a few times on Thurs), but you will still enjoy your visit.

[causeyoutdoor]

Hi, I am booked to go on the ncl spirit and we are due to visit rome on Wednesday 23rd October.

 

I had hoped to visit the Vatican in the morning, will it be best waiting till the afternoon to visit the vatican after the Papal audiences have ended?

 

I can't say this often enough, but BUY THE VATICAN EXPRESS PASS before you go. When you get to the Vatican you will see all the lines, but with the express pass you bypass all of that and go right in. One friend told me the longest he waited was for the metal detector.

[katrina915]

I can't say this often enough, but BUY THE VATICAN EXPRESS PASS before you go. When you get to the Vatican you will see all the lines, but with the express pass you bypass all of that and go right in. One friend told me the longest he waited was for the metal detector.

 

 

Does the Vatican Express Pass get you into St. Peter's faster?

[causeyoutdoor]

Does the Vatican Express Pass get you into St. Peter's faster?

 

Yes. Search for Vatican City Express Pass and you you can look at all the options online. The lines outside the Vatican can be a couple hours.

[slidergirl]

The "express" passes that include St. Peter's Basilica are only available if you are doing a guided tour. If you are going it alone, you can only get a timed ticket for the Vatican Museums. If you are indeed DIY, buy the ticket direct from the Vatican Museum site, avoiding any service charges tacked on by other agencies:

http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html

[euro cruiser]

Does the Vatican Express Pass get you into St. Peter's faster?

If your only interest is avoiding the lines at the Vatican Museums, feel free to pay extra to outside vendors ... but you don't need to. You can avoid the line by purchasing your ticket in advance directly from the Vatican Museums: http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do

[slidergirl]

EUC and I posted at the same time :D To avoid confusion with our different "official" sites, mine is the "home" page where you can find info on the Museums and operating time, etc... The one that EUC posted is the one that you are directed to if you click on the "purchase" button at the top of the "home" page.

[MaddieEms]

Our cruise went to Rome on a Weds and I read a different TR where the poster had trouble even getting through to the general Vatican area due to the crowds.

 

In contrast. we started at the Forum, Colosseum then went to the Vatican AFTER 1pm when it was over. The crowds were still huge, but our cab was able to get through and I had heard from other cruisers that when they went in the morning it was insane.

 

In any event, go to the bathroom before you head over to that area. I went to the bathroom at Il Colonnato and waited 30+ minutes right around 1pm.