Anyone used Bob's Limousines & Tours in Rome?

[rcarrosq]

We are a party of 4 taking the Liberty out of Civitavecchia on May 2006. We want to spend an extra night in Rome after the cruise is over and are looking for a taxi service to pick us up from the pier, take us to our hotel in Rome and then come back the next morning to take us to the airport. I sent a request for quotes to 3 places I found on the internet and received a response from all 3. Bob's Limousines & Tours in Rome (www.romelimousines.com) answered back with a canned but sort of personal response quoting a price of 175 euros for the 4 of us with our luggage from the pier to the hotel and 59 euros to pick us up from our hotel the following day and take us to the airport.

 

I was wondering if anyone has used this service and if they are reliable. The email they sent me directed me to go to their website and fill in the reservation form and give a credit card which is necessary ONLY to secure the reservation and will be charged only after each service unless we prefer to pay cash in which case there will be a 5% discount.

 

Thanks for any advice anyone can give me. Although we've cruised many times before, this will be our first mediterranean and boy am I excited:)

[ourlol]

I know lots of people that have used Bob's Limousines very successfully. This is 'my' experience. It's a bit negative I'm afraid. Make of it what you will!!

 

I was looking for a transfer from the pier in Rome to the airport for 8 people (this was for a sailing in July just gone) and booked Bob based on recommendations on here and his response to my initial enquiries. A few months later I needed to make some changes to my booking, but was unable to get a response to my emails. Eventually, after a number of attempts I received a reply back confirming the changes, but the tone was such to suggest that they didn't know what the panic was, given I had many months to go before I needed their services. It was as a result of this I cancelled and went elsewhere i.e. with another company. I received confirmation from Bob's Limos of the fact I had cancelled.

 

Move forward to July as I disembarked the ship. There waiting for me were two drivers both holding cards with my name on it. You've guessed it... Bob had sent a driver (based on my original booking). I felt very embarrassed and the driver was obviously very annoyed to have 'apparently' been sent on a wild goose chase. The driver didn't speak English (or pretended not to) and I felt he didn't believe me when I said that the booking had been cancelled months earlier. Of course I was then worried I would be charged for two transfers. When I got home I was able to forward to Bob a copy of his email acknowledging the cancellation, but it took a couple of emails before I got a response to confirm I had not been charged.

 

In case you are wondering, we used Romashuttle :D

 

Laura

[petlover]

I have never used them but priced them once and found them to be more expensive than many. I think the best transfer is:

 

http://www.romashuttle.com/default2.asp

[usavvy2]

We used Bob's last September from Civitavecchia to Rome. Our scheduled departure time to get off the ship was set for 7am but our private transportation, which was scheduled in advance, was arranged for 8am so we agreed to meet the other couple at 7:30am to debark the ship. By the time we got off the ship and got our luggage it was about ten minutes to eight. We found our driver, from Bob’s Limousine, and left Civitavecchia for Rome. The other couple departed the van first at the Holiday Inn then we were driven to the Cavalieri Hilton, situated on top of a hill near the Vatican. The only snag was that the driver didn't know where the Holiday Inn was! :eek: Maybe it's just a different culture but, here in America, my experience has been the driver ALWAYS knew where he/she was going! Fortunately, the other couple had the address & phone # of the Holiday Inn. I asked if he knew how to get to the Cavalieri and he said, "Of course." After the other couple departed the van he tried to convince us to get him to take us to the airport when we were leaving - we told him we already made arrangements.

 

(We used Olympic Limousine from the hotel to the airport; we were pleased with them.)

[Caesar]

I contacted Bob to get quotes, and it took a number of additional messages to even get a response.

 

When I finally did get my quote, I found them to be the priciest of all shuttles.

 

And, I also agree that the tone of the messages was not what I would call customer care.

[rcarrosq]

Thanks for the replies all. I sent 3 request for quotes and received a reply from all by the next day. Bob's Limousines was the most professional reply even though I'm sure it was a canned response. They quoted me 179E for 4 people with luggage from the pier to our hotel and another 59E from the hotel to the airport the following day for a total of 368E. Good God...I can't believe how expensive taxi service can be. Since this is a 12 day cruise I'm sure both couples will have at least 3 suitcases plus 1-2 carry-on pieces which will make it impossible to take the train. I think I will send a quote to the one everyone here is suggesting and see what they quote. Thanks again for the advice

[petlover]

If you want a quote from Roma Shuttles, their prices are listed on their website. You complete the request form on line and they will send you a confirmation email within 48 hours. You pay the driver in cash.

It couldn't be easier. I think our price was 110 Euros for transfer.

[DEL67]

We used Bob's Limos for a tour of Rome a couple of years ago and were very satisfied. Our driver was very helpful and knowledgeable and went out of his way to make sure that we saw everything we could.

 

At that time, theyw ere the least expensive of the 10 or so services I got quotes from, but that might have changed.

[andydee]

We used Bob's last year for an airport pick up and tour a few days later combined with transfer to the port. The service was most unsatisfactory. We are leaving for a land holiday in Italy in a few days and have booked Claudio for an airport pick up and a tour of Tuscany a week later. Will report back. In the meantime, book Bob's services at your peril.

Cheers,

Andy