DIY Rome

[blossom52]

Hiya

We are going on Dream on Sat, we have decided to DIY Rome. My sister and I want to see the Pope do his blessing (We have applied for tickets) my B-I-L wants to see the Colosseum, can we all do both in a day or will we need to go our separate ways?

Also is the wi-fi any better on the ship than it was a few years ago?

[happy v]

It will be very easy to do both, plus Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, and Forum on the way, if you wish.

If you are doing thomsons DIY excursion you will be given a map. If not you will probably need to get one from the tourist information.

Have a lovely time. Rome is fabulous.

[blossom52]

Thanks for the reply, I though we could but my Sister wasn't sure so I said I'd ask.

Not doing the Thompson trip going to completely DIY.

May have a look online today see if I can find a map.

Early start in the morning for a 8am flight to Palma.

[dronnygirl]

We did Rome totally DIY and it was brilliant. The key is to be up very early and off the ship as soon as you can, that way you get to the train station before the trips. The other point is to have a plan and keep an eye on the time, we didn't leave the return until the last train just in case there was a problem. We managed to see all the sights we wanted. If you want me to let you have a copy of our itinerary for the day I can let you have it. You will have a lovely day out.

[WeeCountyMan]

There were large crowds (even with tickets) when we visited the Vatican City a few years ago and security was tight - be prepared for queues and bag searches etc.

[blossom52]

That would be great, yes please Dronnygirl

[jenny wren]

Ask at the excursions desk on the ship for a map.....we got a really good one from them a couple of years ago.

[dronnygirl]

Hi Blossom52 - Hope the notes help you, sorry they are so long....

 

This is an extremely easy and cheap way to see Rome on your own. The 3 main points that make this day relaxing and enjoyable are:

An early start – be in front of the cruise ship trips

Planning before you go so that you are not dithering what do when you get to Rome

Leave plenty of time for the train back to Civitavecchia as Termini is a very large station

We left the ship at 7.15 am and the shuttle bus was waiting at the bottom of the gang plank to take us the 5 minute journey out of the docks. The bus dropped us off and we walked to the right, around the corner to a kiosk where we purchased tickets to Rome. Tickets are 12 euros each for return journey or 16 euros for the non-stop faster train, however faster train was booked up. They will give you a timetable with your ticket. We took the 08.02 train and arrived at 8.55 am at Rome St. Pietro station. We got off there and walked round the corner to the Vatican. As it was early, there was only a small queue which was moving quickly. 10 minute wait and we were in St Peter’s Basilica (free of charge). Came out of Basilica and decided not to go to Sistine Chapel as you have to go through the Museum and it is a long walk. With limited time, we preferred to try to see Coliseum instead.

Walked towards Castel St Angelo and across the Pont St Angelo. We then took a left turn and walked by the riverbank to the next bridge and turned right, across the road, and we saw a sign for Piazza Navona. Followed sign into Piazza. This is a large open space with 3 fountains and lots of artists painting and plenty of cafes.

Took route out by the middle fountain and followed signs to Pantheon. Again another square with plenty of cafes. Was able to sit in Pantheon to rest our legs!

Then followed route to Trevi Fountain. Very busy square. By this time we were hungry and stopped for lunch in a cafe just off the square. Paninis 4 euros which we thought reasonable.

Moved out of square and toward the Coliseum. We came out at a large crossroad with the Coliseum straight in front. However, the forum is just across the road and it is best to purchase tickets from the Forum for both sites (12 euros) as there was only a 5 minute queue at the Forum, whereas we waited 25 minutes for tickets at the Coliseum. Walked around both.

We had seen all we wanted to see by 3pm so had an ice cream and headed for the underground station opposite the Coliseum as we wanted to take the 16.12 train from Termini back to Civitavecchia to get us back to ship by 17.30. The underground was very easy and we only waited a couple of minutes for a train – 2 stops to Termini Station.

At Termini we had to go up stairs to the main station. This is a very large station and you have to watch the notice boards to see which platform you require. Civitavecchia train was platform 28 and we could only see platforms 1-24. Saw a sign for 25-29 and followed. Then had to walk a good distance to these 4 platforms. We arrived just in time for the 15.45 train which arrived at Civitavecchia at 17.00. Leave plenty of time as this is a very large station and easy to miss signs.

We walked back from the station along the sea front which was very pleasant with cafes and ice cream places, to the shuttle bus back to the ship.

We had a fabulous and cheap day out. We did not stroll along as we wanted to fit so much in but kept walking and did all we wanted.

When we compared notes with people who had done the ships trips, they had paid £78 each and had spent a lot of time waiting for people who turned up late at rendezvous and didn’t see as much as we had.

The trains are clean and comfortable with upstairs if you want a good view. They appear to run on time. However, beware that they sometimes change the platform at the last minute e.g. when leaving Civitvecchia we were told platform 1 but as the train approached we were told platform 3 – just follow everyone else!

Would really recommend this but you will need to keep an eye on the time – don’t miss the train back.

Keep the phone number of the ship with you in case of an emergency. Good luck.

 

[blossom52]

Fabulous, thank you very much.

We have the ships trip booked for Sorrento as I was worried about missing the ship if there was a problem on the Amalfi drive but all the others we will do ourselves, I have printed off various things that people have put on and I think (hope) we will be fine.

Just doing the worst be now....I hate packing!!!!

[Pensioncruiser]

Think you will love Sorrento just allow plenty of time for the chair lift to get you back if its one of the trips that drops you off to find your own way back, if lots of other cruise ships in you will have big queues.

Have a great time:)

[jayneez]

Fabulous, thank you very much.

We have the ships trip booked for Sorrento as I was worried about missing the ship if there was a problem on the Amalfi drive but all the others we will do ourselves, I have printed off various things that people have put on and I think (hope) we will be fine.

Just doing the worst be now....I hate packing!!!!

 

Make sure you take the telephone number to the ship. When we went last year, a couple missed the last train from Florence. Luckily they had the number to call the ship to let them know. The ship told them to get a taxi and they would wait for them, which we did. This was RCI but I,m sure other Cruise lines would do the same. We also had the same thing happen in Cozamel a few years ago, they waited then as well.

[Langtoncouple]

I really think that if someone misses the train back through their own mistake then a ship should not wait. You should not depend on getting the "last" train back. If you are doing your own thing , do try and go for an earlier train/bus in case of transport problems etc.

[Pensioncruiser]

You can always get a taxi don't worry enjoy, expensive I know but we'll worth it 😀