General Help Pre/Post cruise Rome

[AmR87]

See my comments above. I think it's good to have plans in mind, even if you don't end up doing all of them. Some days you may be wishing for another idea or two.

 

 

Thank you so much for your insights. You have no idea how much this is helping me.

 

 

In your personal opinion do you think a tour guide is needed for the Vatican area? I already emailed the Scavi email address to request a tour there. I am starting to think I can just buy the tickets beforehand and explore on our own with a guide book. I am more interested in viewing and taking everything in.

[cruisemom42]

 

In your personal opinion do you think a tour guide is needed for the Vatican area? I already emailed the Scavi email address to request a tour there. I am starting to think I can just buy the tickets beforehand and explore on our own with a guide book. I am more interested in viewing and taking everything in.

 

It's a tough question to answer. I honestly think most people would be fine without a guide in the basilica (as long as you have some notes or a guide book), the dome, and the piazza.

 

The museum is harder -- so much depends on how interested you are in the individual works of art and how much you want to know. In my opinion, a guide is best for people who either a) have a limited amount of time (like on a cruise tour) and want to quickly locate and hear about the main highlights, or b) really prefer to get their information from a person rather than from reading it in advance and/or as you go.

 

You know your own "group" best -- will they listen better to someone else than to you reading a page? Or will they "zone out" and wander off if someone gives a lot of background and history?

 

Edited to add: Keep in mind that the museum is nearly always packed. Sometimes it's difficult to focus with so many people around, and it can even be hard to stop and "contemplate" for a few minutes without impeding the flow of visitors. You should factor that in when deciding what to do.

Edited January 27, 2016 by cruisemom42

[dogs4fun]

Thank you so much for your insights. You have no idea how much this is helping me.

 

 

In your personal opinion do you think a tour guide is needed for the Vatican area? I already emailed the Scavi email address to request a tour there. I am starting to think I can just buy the tickets beforehand and explore on our own with a guide book. I am more interested in viewing and taking everything in.

 

I agree with Cruisemom - the basilica is easy to DIY - the museum is a little more work, depending on your particular level of interest.

Regarding the basilica - I was last there in November & the queues to enter were an hour long (about noon). I would suggest early arrival. A nice audio tour for the basilica (FREE - download in MP3 format or download the audio Europe app for iphone/pad, android) is the Rick Steves St. Peters Basilica tour. Other free audio tours are available including Pantheon, Forum & Colosseum: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/italy

Vatican Museum: the vast majority of visitors are making a beeline for the 4 Raphael Rooms & Sistine Chapel. IMHO, there is SO much more to see in the Museum. Audio guides are available for rental but I love the following book for exploration of the museum: In the Footsteps of Popes: A Spirited Guide to the Treasures of the Vatican You should be able to get a copy on Amazon & maybe, read a little before you go.

[AmR87]

Some great news this morning. We got into the Scavi tour on our preferred date... AND at 9:15am! Woo hoo!

 

I had been planing on buying my tickets online for the museums so we can just go after. After the Scavi tour, is there somewhere else I should go first, or do I just walk back around to enter the museums?

[euro cruiser]

The Scavi tour ends inside the basilica so you might as well spend time seeing that while you are there.

 

If you are interested in climbing the dome I would get there just before 8 AM, when it opens, and do that before the Scavi tour.

 

The tour should end at about 10:45 or so. Allowing yourself at least 30 minutes in the basilica and another 20 minutes to walk to the entrance of the museums, I would look for Vatican Museum tickets at around noon or so. There's a pretty big cafe inside the museums, near the entrance, so you could head right to lunch before braving the crowds headed to the Sistine Chapel.

[cruisemom42]

The Scavi tour ends inside the basilica so you might as well spend time seeing that while you are there.

 

If you are interested in climbing the dome I would get there just before 8 AM, when it opens, and do that before the Scavi tour.

 

The tour should end at about 10:45 or so. Allowing yourself at least 30 minutes in the basilica and another 20 minutes to walk to the entrance of the museums, I would look for Vatican Museum tickets at around noon or so. There's a pretty big cafe inside the museums, near the entrance, so you could head right to lunch before braving the crowds headed to the Sistine Chapel.

 

Agree completely with this -- makes very efficient use of your time. If for some reason you don't want to go so early to climb the dome, the other option is to leave it til the end of the day when the crowds also usually thin out.

 

The only problem with this is that you will be exhausted at the end of the day and the thought of climbing the dome may be too much!

[AmR87]

The Scavi tour ends inside the basilica so you might as well spend time seeing that while you are there.

 

If you are interested in climbing the dome I would get there just before 8 AM, when it opens, and do that before the Scavi tour.

 

The tour should end at about 10:45 or so. Allowing yourself at least 30 minutes in the basilica and another 20 minutes to walk to the entrance of the museums, I would look for Vatican Museum tickets at around noon or so. There's a pretty big cafe inside the museums, near the entrance, so you could head right to lunch before braving the crowds headed to the Sistine Chapel.

 

Thanks! I have copied and pasted this into my travel doc. Now if only June could come faster... :)