12 hours in Rome

[shofer]

Do the small private tour companies have skip the line access? We used the ship excursion and skipped the lines. There was a two hour line up to get into the Colosseum, and we walked right past. We also walked through the Forum, and spent a couple of hours at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Don’t do anything without skip the line access!

 

Yes, we were the first group in the Colosseum, having purchased our tickets online before leaving home as well with the Vatican. Got to the Vatican around 1:30 and the only line we could skip was the ticket line but we did have private guide who knew her way around.

 

Sue

[VickiatSea]

We did tours through romeinlimo.com last May in both Florence and Rome. The tours were excellent and the drivers/tour guides were very professional. We were very pleased. We shared the costs with two other couples we found on Cruise Critic. Look on your roll call for people interested in sharing a private tour.

 

 

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[dcac2]

We still look back at our excursion in Rome as 'one of the best'! We highly recommend Rome in Limo tours.

 

https://www.romeinlimo.com/

 

If you can connect with a group of other cruisers interested in the same excursion it can bring the cost down significantly. We connected online prior to the cruise through cruise critic roll-call & had a wonderful experience.

It was a fabulous day in Rome for us....we saw the Colloseum, Trevi fountain, the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, St Peter Basilica. (entrance tickets were pre-arranged for us & we walked straight in). Had a lovely lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant & got us back to the ship in plenty of time!

 

Hope you can arrange as wonderful a day as we experienced. Enjoy Rome!

[Beanb41]

a 12 hour visit to Rome means that one can cover most of the must see attractions by one self without the need of paying for what are often deemed expensive tours. All the major attractions can be accessed by public transport and/or by foot as many of them don't permit vehicle access unless it is just a drive by. The HOHO buses for example cannot get up close to many of the must sees. If one is relatively fit and mobile then here is a proposed day in Rome. Be ready to leave the ship as soon as it docks. In most case one can be ashore by 7.30 am. Catch the free shuttle from the ship to the port gates and then the bus from the port gates to the train. (2 euros). Catch the train from Civitivecchia to Rome (12 Euros return on a BIRG ticket which gives unlimited travel on Metro). Get off the train at Ostiense, transfer to metro and get off at Colliseum. You are now across the road from the Colliseeum ( time around 10.30 - 11.00 am). Take the underground tour of the Collisseum tickets can be purchased on line ( about 90 minutes). You wont have time to visit Palatine Hill and Forum but you can get an great overview from top of Collisseum. Catch metro to St Peters. You probably wont have time to go through the Museum but will have time to visit St Peters square and go through the cathedral. Catch train back to Spagna. You are now at the Spanish Steps . From Spanish Steps one can walk to Parthenon and Tevis fountain and Venezia. Time is now around 2.30 - 3.00. Walk back to Colleseum station and take metro to terninii station for train back to Civitivecchia. THis train is often quite full as many passengers are off cruise ships heading home. There is quite a long walk from main platform to this train. It is possible to catch the train at one of the stops after Terminii but you may not get a seat. Catch bus from Civitivecchia to port gates and free shuttle to ship. You should get back to the ship around 5.00pm. You wont have seen all of Rome but you can see it all in a day anyway but you will have seen enough to experience the majesty of the Eternal City

 

The only entry fee payable will be to the Colliseum. Everything else is free. Total cost for the day about 40 euros.

[lovelyr]

My wife and I are going on the 12 night Mediterranean cruise this October on the eclipse. We invited another couple to join us, this being their first cruise (only our 2nd). There are a lot of ports on the itinerary, Rome being one of the stops.

 

I understand it’s about 90 minutes from the port to Rome, and from everything I’ve read people recommend doing a tour. We’d like to stick with a tour through celebrity, just so we know if something happens the boat will wait for our return. We are leaning towards one of the small group, or private tours. Does anyone have any personal experience with one of the day long private or small group excursions? I see many of them only costing ~$800 for a private group of 4... but then read that it’s mainly them just driving you from spot to spot and not providing anything other than entrance to the colosseum and Vatican City. Is it wise to have a dedicated tour guide, vs a driver that will get you to many of the major stops? We only have about 12 hours total, so we want to maximize our time and get the most out of Rome, without breaking the bank. Thanks for any advice!

 

 

Use Romeinlimo for your 12 hours. I used them several times. They are fabulous. Will take you wherever you want and give you great history behind each site. If you need tickets for let’s say the Vatican, they will advise you and tell you exactly what to do. Vehicles are clean and new. Drivers are fabulous!!!

Edited March 22, 2018 by lovelyr
forgot to add something

[Chloesmom1]

Dependingon what you decide to do, we did a tour of the Vatican with "Through Eternity Tours" which was absolutely wonderful. The guide was knowledgable and we still use what he taught us when visiting museums. He also knew the best ways of seeing both the museum and Sistine Chapel with the smallest crowds possible which was a challenge the day we visited because the Mayor of Rome was visiting with the Pope and they were closing different areas from time to time. We were able to see everything because of the guide. That same day we were able to get tickets to the Scavi/ underground crypt beneath St. Peters. They only allow a couple hundred people each day and it's luck of the draw- if you write them they may have tickets available for the day you visit. We planned our tour around the time slot we were given by the Vatican- you get tickets through them. It was absolutely astounding and one of the most amazing things I have ever done.

 

The other tour we did which wasn't through a company but rather through the Colosseum itself was the underground tour of the Colosseum. It also was very special.

 

Doing both on the same day would be very difficult but either would be wonderful in case you are still looking at things to do.

[mimimoo2]

We spent 3 days in Rome prior to our Med cruise that started in Barcelona. We used Rome In Limo for all of our pre-cruise days and then for our port day in Civitavecchia we went to Orvieto.

 

I would highly recommend them, as they are knowledgeable about all things Rome, have great stories, hired us a guide for the Vatican, and took us the the many places we wanted to visit while there. We had Vinny as our driver, and loved him!

 

A Big Thumbs up.

[Yorkshire-Pudding]

My wife and I are going on the 12 night Mediterranean cruise this October on the eclipse. We invited another couple to join us, this being their first cruise (only our 2nd). There are a lot of ports on the itinerary, Rome being one of the stops.

 

I understand it’s about 90 minutes from the port to Rome, and from everything I’ve read people recommend doing a tour. We’d like to stick with a tour through celebrity, just so we know if something happens the boat will wait for our return. We are leaning towards one of the small group, or private tours. Does anyone have any personal experience with one of the day long private or small group excursions? I see many of them only costing ~$800 for a private group of 4... but then read that it’s mainly them just driving you from spot to spot and not providing anything other than entrance to the colosseum and Vatican City. Is it wise to have a dedicated tour guide, vs a driver that will get you to many of the major stops? We only have about 12 hours total, so we want to maximize our time and get the most out of Rome, without breaking the bank. Thanks for any advice!

We previously completed an Italian cruise on NCL including Rome, Florence, Pisa and booked private a private driver and tour guide with Viator because they guaranteed that if you miss embarcation, that they meet the cost of the transfer to the next port of call.

 

We were a party of 5 family members. The driver met us at the key side in a very comfortable Mercedes van and when we arrived in Rome, our English speaking guide was waiting. Tour included skip the line tickets and due to my MiL age, drop off was always as close to the stops as possible. The guide was very knowledgeable and accompanied us through everything, always ensured that the driver was ready for the next part of our tour. The tour was comprehensive with the Vatican and Cistine Chapel, Collesium, Parthenon, Trevi Fountain etc.

 

 

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[cindylairmore]

Our first med cruise I organized a group of 7 with Driver in Rome. It was the most perfect day. Subsequent trips we’ve done our own thing but that tour was amazing. We got right up close to attractions and saw so much. Have you checked out your roll call to see if there are any private tour openings?

Hi

Do you have a tour company you recommend?

Thank you

[Cruise Junky]

Hi

Do you have a tour company you recommend?

Thank you

 

Yes, Driver in Rome were excellent. We used them in Rome & Florence

[mek]

I know you mentioned wanting (preference) to do a cruise ship tour, but I would not rule out non-ship tours. Consider looking into RomeCabs. They are very good and reliable.

 

We have used RomeCabs several times and have always been pleased.

[B x]

We usually so our own thing and use the train to Rome, takes about 3/4 hour, but can recommend Rome Airporter (Carlos) if you want to go for a private tour.

[PelicanLvr]

It is NOT possible to see all of Rome in 8 hours. Pick a few major sites and see them well. Watch out for days things are closed in all your ports. Vatican Museum (Sistine Chapel) is usually closed on Sundays. Many museums in Italy are closed Mondays.....

 

Rome in Limo is excellent. We have used them (not in Rome) but the company is very professional.

 

Rome is a great city of the world filled with outstanding history. Don't just run thru it. You will hopefully be back to see more!

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[lovemylab]

Private tour companies build their businesses on reputation. If they had passengers missing ships, their reputation would be harmed. Whenever I have booked a non-ships excursion I ask how they handle situations such as a minor accident, a car breaking down, etc. The reputable companies all have a contingency plan in place for these things (i.e. calling another car to come take you to the ship).

 

When we visited Rome as a one day stop on a cruise, we opted to tour on our own. We bought the BIRG ticket that a previous poster mentioned. Realistically we knew that we couldn't see all of Rome in a day. Instead we opted to have quick photo stops at the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona, and spent the rest of our time focusing on the Colosseum and Roman Forum. At the Colosseum we booked a more in depth tour that took us to the underground areas and the third level. This was a tour with a timed entrance so we didn't have to worry about lines.

 

We have booked private tours in other Italian ports and have always found the drivers to be very knowledgeable when it comes to the attractions. I believe they are not able to call themselves a "tour guide" due to regulations.

[Beanb41]

"When we visited Rome as a one day stop on a cruise, we opted to tour on our own. We bought the BIRG ticket that a previous poster mentioned. Realistically we knew that we couldn't see all of Rome in a day. Instead we opted to have quick photo stops at the Trevi Fountain and Piazza Navona, and spent the rest of our time focusing on the Colosseum and Roman Forum. At the Colosseum we booked a more in depth tour that took us to the underground areas and the third level. This was a tour with a timed entrance so we didn't have to worry about lines ".

 

A point to note about getting into the Colesseum as we found out was that whilst we had timed tickets to get into the facility we didn't have priority access through the security lines. So be advised that you may still experience delays getting through Security to the ticket booths. Once we cleared security we were straight in. The Underground and third tier is the tour to do. It only costs a few Euros extra but the benefits are immense

[ISUVetMed]

Thank you all for your suggestions! We looked at our Roll Call and noticed that the majority of the "seasoned cruisers" are organizing tours through ItalyTours.EU in the small group (8 person tours). The tours offer drivers and private guides to the major attractions, and we are looking at possibly organizing multiple tours with another group of 4. Has anyone used ItalyTours.EU, and had a great or poor experience? Everything I read sounds great, people on our roll call seem to love them as well. Thank you all again for the advice!

[Globehoppers]

For those of us who visited Rome numerous times and want a different experience, try Ostia Antica. Its near FCO and a shorter drive than going into Rome itself. Ostia Antica is historic Rome's old port and was a bustling place of trade and Roman life 2000 years ago. It is mostly intact - no damage except for time. A great place to spend 3-4 hours gaining an understanding of Roman life.

[vulcan1971]

Thank you all for your suggestions! We looked at our Roll Call and noticed that the majority of the "seasoned cruisers" are organizing tours through ItalyTours.EU in the small group (8 person tours). The tours offer drivers and private guides to the major attractions, and we are looking at possibly organizing multiple tours with another group of 4. Has anyone used ItalyTours.EU, and had a great or poor experience? Everything I read sounds great, people on our roll call seem to love them as well. Thank you all again for the advice!

 

 

 

When I’m curious to know more about the performance of a car service, tour operator, etc., I will use a variety of consumer rating apps such as trip advisor to see what is said about them. Just suggestion.

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187791-d4101099-Reviews-Best_of_Rome_Tours_Day_Tour-Rome_Lazio.html?m=19905

 

 

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