Is This Possible On B2B Turnaround Day in Civitavecchia?

[CruiserMickey]

My husband and I are booked in a b2b on the Constellation with our turnaround day being in Civitavecchia. I know that the ship will not have any excursions available for b2b clients, but having never been to Rome before, I am wondering if it is feasible to do a tour on our own to get into the city and see SOMETHING, rather than having to miss Rome completely. I am assuming we could get off the ship around 8am, and the all aboard time would be around 3:30 for a 5:00 sailaway. Is this too risky to have a few hours in the Eternal City? Unfortunately, a land tour before we board the ship in Venice is not feasible on this trip.

 

I am asking in this forum because I thought Celebrity-specific experienced cruisers may have more to add? If not, I will ask in the Italy forum. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

[Orator]

Risky yes. Check the train schedule. The train station is within walking distance of the port. They usually offer transportation to the airport which includes a tour. You can ask about that option. They will take you to Rome and then to the airport to leave departing passengers off. They then stay for new passengers and take bus back to ship. They sometimes offer special tours for B2B passengers and you can ask about that option once on the ship.

[Loracpin2]

Just for clarification, do your board the first sailing in Venice and the cruise ends in Rome? if so, when you reboard in Rome, where is your final destination? 

[di T]

We have had turn around day in the port of Rome a number of times! Unless the ship is doing a tour I wouldn’t put ourselves through the stress of getting back to the ship, the only way in my opinion to see Rome is to spend at least two days in the city. On this turn around and most on B2B we just go for a walk for a couple of hours then get back on the ship and enjoy the peace! Dianne

[CruiserMickey]

1 minute ago, Loracpin2 said:

Just for clarification, do your board the first sailing in Venice and the cruise ends in Rome? if so, when you reboard in Rome, where is your final destination? 

 

Yes, the cruises are Venice-Rome and then Rome-Venice.

[CruiserMickey]

1 minute ago, di T said:

We have had turn around day in the port of Rome a number of times! Unless the ship is doing a tour I wouldn’t put ourselves through the stress of getting back to the ship, the only way in my opinion to see Rome is to spend at least two days in the city. On this turn around and most on B2B we just go for a walk for a couple of hours then get back on the ship and enjoy the peace! Dianne

 

If we could spend a few days in Rome, we certainly would. Unfortunately that is not an option for us. Hopefully the ship will do an excursion?

[CruiserMickey]

4 minutes ago, Orator said:

Risky yes. Check the train schedule. The train station is within walking distance of the port. They usually offer transportation to the airport which includes a tour. You can ask about that option. They will take you to Rome and then to the airport to leave departing passengers off. They then stay for new passengers and take bus back to ship. They sometimes offer special tours for B2B passengers and you can ask about that option once on the ship.

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

[di T]

Really hope they are doing an excursion for you, when are you travelling? 

[Loracpin2]

1 minute ago, CruiserMickey said:

 

Yes, the cruises are Venice-Rome and then Rome-Venice.

I agree with Orator. A ship's tour on the turn-around-day would be the best option to ensure a timely return to the ship. Rome is definitely not a "do itself city" with a very limited time frame.

[CruiserMickey]

2 minutes ago, di T said:

Really hope they are doing an excursion for you, when are you travelling? 

 

We are traveling in June 2020. We are even considering a private car tour into the city...expensive, I know, but then we would not be at the mercy of the train schedule.

[OT-Miami]

Your estimate of 8:00 – 3:30 only gives you a 7 ½ hour window.   I don’t know about the train service, but the port of Civitavecchia is a 90 minute drive from Rome, so you are looking at a minimum of 3 hours just to get there and back.  If you encountered any traffic other unforeseen delays you might not make it back in time.  IMHO it is too much of a risk for just 4 hours in Rome, especially since anything worth seeing will have significate wait time just to get in…

[Orator]

2 minutes ago, CruiserMickey said:

 

We are traveling in June 2020. We are even considering a private car tour into the city...expensive, I know, but then we would not be at the mercy of the train schedule.

Check Rome Cabs for tour prices.  Might actually be less than Celebrity. The company is highly reliable.

[di T]

We will be on a b2b starting on 4th June we love the med! In fact doing similar in5 days😊on Connie. Dianne

[CruiserMickey]

25 minutes ago, di T said:

We will be on a b2b starting on 4th June we love the med! In fact doing similar in5 days😊on Connie. Dianne

 

We are on the June 4th sailing, too! 😊 Enjoy your trip next week...I hope you write a trip report so we can get more excited about next year!

[di T]

Will try, hey that’s great you are on that cruise. Will try and put a few thoughts on here after this one! Now to finish the packing, doesn’t matter how many cruises I still get so excited😃Dianne

[crslover]

We did a B2B with turnover in Civitavecchea. The ship sponsored a bus to Vatican City for those staying on the ship. I do not believe we had to pay.I believe we left around 7:00 AM and returned around 2 PM.

[ischeer]

We have dealt with a company (www.romeinlimo.com) several (5 ?) times, always with excellent results. Their website list a Rome Highlights tour, (9 hrs) for ship passengers.  I realize this would be too long for you, but they do custom tours.  We once did a 7-person tour when we were in Rome (Civitavecchia) for the day, and it worked fine. You might contact them and see what they could do with your time frame.

[CruiserMickey]

17 minutes ago, crslover said:

We did a B2B with turnover in Civitavecchea. The ship sponsored a bus to Vatican City for those staying on the ship. I do not believe we had to pay.I believe we left around 7:00 AM and returned around 2 PM.

 

Do you recall when/how you found out about this tour? I will be contacting Celebrity to request something like this, as that is exactly what we would like to do. Also...did you have a tour of the Vatican Museums, or was it just a quick stop at St. Peter’s?

 

Ultimately we would love a two hour tour of the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s, then a city tour so that we could see the Colosseum, Pantheon and Spanish Steps (drive-by if no time allows).

[CruiserMickey]

13 minutes ago, ischeer said:

We have dealt with a company (www.romeinlimo.com) several (5 ?) times, always with excellent results. Their website list a Rome Highlights tour, (9 hrs) for ship passengers.  I realize this would be too long for you, but they do custom tours.  We once did a 7-person tour when we were in Rome (Civitavecchia) for the day, and it worked fine. You might contact them and see what they could do with your time frame.

 

Thanks for the info. We may go this route if no excursion from the ship is offered.

[ECCruise]

2 hours ago, Orator said:

Risky yes. Check the train schedule. The train station is within walking distance of the port. 

That would be one long walk.  At least 45 minutes (we've done it a few times, no longer do so).  The only way to effectively do it is take the free shuttle to the shuttle station near the Hotel Traghetto (about 15 minutes with waits) Then either take the 2 or 3 Euro shuttle to the train station (10 minutes or so if they leave right away) or walk (20 minutes or so).  That cuts the travel time down to 25 or 35 minutes.  And then you need to do it in reverse when you return.

Not alot to see in Rome for a couple of hours, honestly.  Needs lots more time.

[hcat]

You can e mail  X excursions dept and ask if anything will be offered between the cruises.

 

Or check with the on board concierge who might assist with a pvt tour.

 

Truthfully, its a long haul for a  such short " port"  day.  Something closer by or even just  enjoying lunch / pizza out in Cv might be more fun..less stress

 

. Keep in mind that shops and restaurants  in Cv do  close  for sev hrs in the afternoon...

[CruiserMickey]

32 minutes ago, hcat said:

You can e mail  X excursions dept and ask if anything will be offered between the cruises.

 

Or check with the on board concierge who might assist with a pvt tour.

 

Truthfully, its a long haul for a  such short " port"  day.  Something closer by or even just  enjoying lunch / pizza out in Cv might be more fun..less stress

 

. Keep in mind that shops and restaurants  in Cv do  close  for sev hrs in the afternoon...

Yes, we are aware of the long haul for a short day, but we are trying to weigh out if it is worth it, considering we may never make it back to Europe again.

[crslover]

It is not that long.  Depending on traffic, one hour to Vatican.  I would suggest you look at Viator. If Celebrity does not offer you a bus, I am sure they will.  They want you off the ship.  Viator has  small group tours within your time frame. I highly recommend them.  It is the only way you will experience the wonders of the Vatican. They also offer a short visit of Rome.  

[crslover]

It is with it!!!!!

[Wine-O]

I would do a ship's tour just to be sure you don't miss the ship on turnaround day.

 

We're stopping there for a port visit from 7am to 7pm.  Plenty of time to do an excursion on your own.  🍷