Is This Possible On B2B Turnaround Day in Civitavecchia?

[BSinPNS]

Another option is to look at private tours that visit the Etruscan countryside and/or Tarquinia.   

[BSinPNS]

Another option is to look at private tours that visit the Etruscan countryside and/or Tarquinia.   

[ECCruise]

58 minutes ago, BSinPNS said:

Another option is to look at private tours that visit the Etruscan countryside and/or Tarquinia.   

Or rent a car and do exactly that.  Europcar is a 1 minute walk from the shuttle drop off. Maximize your day. 

Edited September 18, 2019 by ECCruise

[crslover]

Viator will meet you at the ship drop off in Rome. You will have may choices. You will never be too far from your pick up point. If your focus is the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, you will be just fine with their small group tour.  You will be minutes away from pick up point.  

[Shadow9612]

Perhaps Celebrity Cruise's Private Journeys  would be able to tailor a private tour for you on the turn around day?

 

From their website: 

"SHORE EXCURSIONS CREATED BY YOU
One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to adventures on shore! We’re here to help you create the personalized destination experience you’ve always dreamed of. Our Destination Insiders team will guide and inspire you, offering a range of authentic experiences and exclusive visits. Plus, private cars, limousines, aircraft and individual local guides. If you don’t see what you’re looking for among our tour offerings,..."

 

They can be emailed at privatejourneys@celebrity.com

 

I've never used this service, and it could be costly, but perhaps worth it if this is your one and only chance to visit Rome?

 

Hope you can find something that works.

[CruiserMickey]

4 minutes ago, Shadow9612 said:

Perhaps Celebrity Cruise's Private Journeys  would be able to tailor a private tour for you on the turn around day?

 

From their website: 

"SHORE EXCURSIONS CREATED BY YOU
One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to adventures on shore! We’re here to help you create the personalized destination experience you’ve always dreamed of. Our Destination Insiders team will guide and inspire you, offering a range of authentic experiences and exclusive visits. Plus, private cars, limousines, aircraft and individual local guides. If you don’t see what you’re looking for among our tour offerings,..."

 

They can be emailed at privatejourneys@celebrity.com

 

I've never used this service, and it could be costly, but perhaps worth it if this is your one and only chance to visit Rome?

 

Hope you can find something that works.

 

Thanks, I think that might be a good option to make sure that we are back to the ship on time.

[hcat]

If you can get a tour, the guides should  arrange for tickets to enter the places you want to see.  We saw many long lines but our X tours always provided tix.  Saved alot of waiting time.

Hope it works out.

[snichols23]

We did excursion to Tarquinia. Etruscan tombs and ancient walled city. Wonderful! Available thru get your guide and my love Italy tour group. 30 minutes from Civitichea port. I laugh when people try to see Rome in a day.

[Iamthesea]

DH and I have done B2B out of Civitavecchia.  I do not recall the cruiseline offering any excursions, but we may not have been looking for any.  We stayed on the ship to await the arrival of our children to join us on the 2nd leg.

 

If the cruiseline is not offering anything, definitely make arrangements to see what you can of Rome.  Maybe not try to do the Vatican this time.  But it is doable with a private, yet pricey, tour.  Have you checked your Roll Call to see if others are doing a B2B and would like to share a tour.

 

DH and I have done private tours with both RomeInLimo and RomeCabs (StephanoTours) https://www.stefanorometours.com/.  We have even done a short tour from Civitavecchia to Rome and back.  Worth the time in my opinion.

 

We have also taken the Fast Train in to the city and taken a cab all around.  That was fun and fast!  However, with the new layout of the port, getting to the train is now a pain.  :(

 

 

[CruiserMickey]

3 hours ago, snichols23 said:

We did excursion to Tarquinia. Etruscan tombs and ancient walled city. Wonderful! Available thru get your guide and my love Italy tour group. 30 minutes from Civitichea port. I laugh when people try to see Rome in a day.

 

Wow, sorry my once in a lifetime trip (that really isn’t turning out the way I originally had hoped) makes you laugh. I was just asking if it was possible, as I will likely never be able to bake it back to Europe. No judgement necessary, thanks.

Edited October 10, 2019 by CruiserMickey

[CruiserMickey]

1 hour ago, Iamthesea said:

DH and I have done B2B out of Civitavecchia.  I do not recall the cruiseline offering any excursions, but we may not have been looking for any.  We stayed on the ship to await the arrival of our children to join us on the 2nd leg.

 

If the cruiseline is not offering anything, definitely make arrangements to see what you can of Rome.  Maybe not try to do the Vatican this time.  But it is doable with a private, yet pricey, tour.  Have you checked your Roll Call to see if others are doing a B2B and would like to share a tour.

 

DH and I have done private tours with both RomeInLimo and RomeCabs (StephanoTours) https://www.stefanorometours.com/.  We have even done a short tour from Civitavecchia to Rome and back.  Worth the time in my opinion.

 

We have also taken the Fast Train in to the city and taken a cab all around.  That was fun and fast!  However, with the new layout of the port, getting to the train is now a pain.  😞

 

 

 

Thanks, we haven’t decided what we will do yet. The Celebrity excursion coordinator I spoke with said that the ship may offer a day tour of Rome if there is enough interest, but they may not. There is no activity on our roll call, so no one to coordinate with.  We will likely take a ship excursion if it is offered, and if not, we will enjoy a day on the ship.

[Bobal]

A couple of things to bear in mind:

 

1) There will be procedure in place for B2B guests, whereby you would usually all meet and be taken through a process whereby you get your new cards and zero out the cards for the first cruise and then use your new cards to join the second cruise. If you decide to leave the ship you will need to inform Guest Services so different arrangements can be made for you

 

2) Your estimate of leaving at 8.00 is a little late. On the last day of a cruise the ship usually gets in really early so you could potentially be off the ship around 7.00.

[Notts1964]

I haven’t done a b2b cruise but have been to Rome several times, for a cruise stop a couple of times, and a couple of long weekends. We have always done our own thing.

by catching the train and walking. The trains seem to be very reliable and you can get an all day BIRG ticket for around 12euros, this allows you to catch the train to and from Rome and use unlimited metros whilst in the city.

If you are considering the train, points to note: 

1. The Civitavecchia Express will not be possible as the timings do not work.

2. The normal train will take around 50 minutes to SAN Pieta station, get off there, or else you go around the city on the train (takes another 20 minutes) and end at termini which is inconvenient for sightseeing.

The trains run about every 20 minutes early in the morning. Get a timetable just before you go.

3. Get off the ship as soon as you can in the morning, this should be earlier than 8am.

4. I would view as much as possible from the outside and walk around the Vatican area to see St Peters (go in if not too early and is open and no queue, it is free) and walk across the river to the pedestrian old town area to see Navona Square, the pantheon (just go in for a few minutes as it is free) and Trevi fountain and possibly Spanish Steps (a bit boring and not worth the extra walk in my opinion), and any churches you come across (they are all beautiful and free), and perhaps metro to see the colloseum depending on time (it has a stop right outside).

Incidentally, you can’t see anything in the old town such as Pantheon or Trevi Fountain on a bus or in a taxi.

5. I personally wouldn’t attempt to make timed bookings to go inside the Vatican Museums or Colosseum/forum, as for me that would cause me stress, as they both need hours to look around.

Just walking around the little streets in the old town in Rome is lovely and you could stay for as short a time as you like, and I feel it would be worth it, especially when your day ticket only costs 12euro pp.

 

You would need to plan carefully and have a good map, and be fit and healthy to manage the walking.

 

[Fogfog]

Doing B2B - don't you go through with a transit pass and security AFTER the rest of the pax are off? 

When we did B2B--our transit was done at 9:30am...and we were back on the ship at 9:50am with new key cards

Otherwise you will be going off early--- and then having to come through the whole boarding process when you return from your excursion. 

Would be nice if they do something for B2B pax.  Rome is HUGE, sprawling and congested. 

[snichols23]

9 hours ago, CruiserMickey said:

 

Wow, sorry my once in a lifetime trip (that really isn’t turning out the way I originally had hoped) makes you laugh. I was just asking if it was possible, as I will likely never be able to bake it back to Europe. No judgement necessary, thanks.

 

 

Not judgement just experience. You should go to Rome when you have a week to really enjoy the city. Even if you prebook transportation, museums, etc., things happen. My last  trip to Rome there was a pop up transit strike. NOTHING was running. no taxis, buses, trains, private transport. Nothing! It lasted 1.5 days. Happens often.

 

It could take 2 hrs to your chosen site and 2 hrs back. You preplan and book museum entrance and miss your time. Not getting in. You still have the unknown of the ship's procedures. It takes a whole day to do the Colosseum and the Forum alone. Many museums book months ahead and have limits on the time spent inside. Rome is starting to limit the number of tourists in some areas and have even limited tourist buses traveling to certain areas. You still have to look at traffic which is indescribable.

 

I'm sure you are frustrated but Rome is beautiful and If it's a place you want to see, plan a week there in the city. 

[sanger727]

OP, have you already booked your plane fare? If you haven't, have you considered flying in or out of rome on one end. Venice is a 4 hour train ride. Could fly in pre-cruise, stay a few days, and then take train to venice for cruise. Rome is such an amazing place, I can't imagine trying to get it in in a few hours, especially if you don't think you'll return to Europe.

Edited October 10, 2019 by sanger727

[Iamthesea]

Hi again,

 

If you can swing it (450 euro for 2 persons), I'd do the following tour through Rome Cabs. As I mentioned before, we have done this tour when time was short.  That was on our first visit to Rome.  We have come to trust these private excursion guides because they deal with cruisers everyday and know their schedules, how to time things, etc.

 

We have been fortunate to go back to Rome several more times.   All have been either by cruise ship, or a pre and post cruise where we stayed at least 2 extra days.   Each visit, we always see basically the same sites, plus add a few new adventures. 😉 We never tire of Rome!  We have taken cab rides, the metro, and the HOHO, but we mostly walk from one end to another.  While Notts1964 advice is excellent, I really think you need to be familiar with Rome, and their public transit,  before setting out on-your-own... with a time crunch!

 

LINK: 

https://www.romecabs.com/tours/panoramic-rome-for-cruisers/

You can email them, tell them your time frame, and customize what you would like to see. Perhaps even negotiate the rate down since it would not be a full day tour.  I would skip the Vatican Museum, but definitely go into St. Peters!    So hope you are able to work something out.

 

Fogfog

Two years or so ago, we took a B2B.  The day before docking in Rome, I believe on a sea day, all B2B'rs met in the dining room for a meeting on what to do that next morning.  Frankly, I do not remember getting off the ship and getting back on.    I believe we went back to the dining room for the turn around.  And we certainly did not wait for all passengers to disembark.  I do remember that we were finished and out by the aft bar by 9:00am looking for our adult children to arrive to the ship.  They had flown in the day before and stayed at a B&B in Civi.  Children were onboard having a Bloody Mary with us by 10:00am!

Edited October 10, 2019 by Iamthesea

[CruiserMickey]

3 hours ago, snichols23 said:

 

 

Not judgement just experience. You should go to Rome when you have a week to really enjoy the city. Even if you prebook transportation, museums, etc., things happen. My last  trip to Rome there was a pop up transit strike. NOTHING was running. no taxis, buses, trains, private transport. Nothing! It lasted 1.5 days. Happens often.

 

It could take 2 hrs to your chosen site and 2 hrs back. You preplan and book museum entrance and miss your time. Not getting in. You still have the unknown of the ship's procedures. It takes a whole day to do the Colosseum and the Forum alone. Many museums book months ahead and have limits on the time spent inside. Rome is starting to limit the number of tourists in some areas and have even limited tourist buses traveling to certain areas. You still have to look at traffic which is indescribable.

 

I'm sure you are frustrated but Rome is beautiful and If it's a place you want to see, plan a week there in the city. 

 

Thank you, but a week in Rome is not an option for us for a number of reasons. Most important of those is my degenerative health condition. I don’t think walking around a city is doable with my back issues and I would hate to get there and be confined to a hotel room. We are doing the cruises so that I can rest, not have to pack/unpack/travel which would be exhausting for me, and we will fit in exploring as much as my back pain allows.

 

Sometimes pushing myself for a whole day (and being confined to bed the next) is worth it if there is something special to do or see. Because I may never get to see the Vatican or the Colosseum in any other way, I think it might be worth trying to do it. If the cruise ship excursions can offer something worthwhile, we may go for it since it will likely be our only chance.

 

Which I why I asked the question in the first place...because this is likely our “one and done” trip to Europe, and because I have health limitations, we are trying to fit in as much as possible within our constraints.

 

How wonderful it would be if we could return to Europe one day...but I don’t think that will ever be possible, unfortunately.

[CruiserMickey]

3 hours ago, sanger727 said:

OP, have you already booked your plane fare? If you haven't, have you considered flying in or out of rome on one end. Venice is a 4 hour train ride. Could fly in pre-cruise, stay a few days, and then take train to venice for cruise. Rome is such an amazing place, I can't imagine trying to get it in in a few hours, especially if you don't think you'll return to Europe.

 

Thank you for the suggestion...no, we haven’t yet booked our airline tickets. Rome for a few days was in our original travel plans. Unfortunately due to Celebrity cancelling two of the sailings we had booked, having to change plans multiple times, my back pain issues not resolving, and my husband only allowed so much time off work, we can’t fit in extra days in Rome. Believe me, this has been a frustrating process and we are just trying to eke out as much as we can within these new plans.

[CruiserMickey]

55 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

Hi again,

 

If you can swing it (450 euro for 2 persons), I'd do the following tour through Rome Cabs. As I mentioned before, we have done this tour when time was short.  That was on our first visit to Rome.  We have come to trust these private excursion guides because they deal with cruisers everyday and know their schedules, how to time things, etc.

 

We have been fortunate to go back to Rome several more times.   All have been either by cruise ship, or a pre and post cruise where we stayed at least 2 extra days.   Each visit, we always see basically the same sites, plus add a few new adventures. 😉 We never tire of Rome!  We have taken cab rides, the metro, and the HOHO, but we mostly walk from one end to another.  While Notts1964 advice is excellent, I really think you need to be familiar with Rome, and their public transit,  before setting out on-your-own... with a time crunch!

 

LINK: 

https://www.romecabs.com/tours/panoramic-rome-for-cruisers/

You can email them, tell them your time frame, and customize what you would like to see. Perhaps even negotiate the rate down since it would not be a full day tour.  I would skip the Vatican Museum, but definitely go into St. Peters!    So hope you are able to work something out.

 

Fogfog

Two years or so ago, we took a B2B.  The day before docking in Rome, I believe on a sea day, all B2B'rs met in the dining room for a meeting on what to do that next morning.  Frankly, I do not remember getting off the ship and getting back on.    I believe we went back to the dining room for the turn around.  And we certainly did not wait for all passengers to disembark.  I do remember that we were finished and out by the aft bar by 9:00am looking for our adult children to arrive to the ship.  They had flown in the day before and stayed at a B&B in Civi.  Children were onboard having a Bloody Mary with us by 10:00am!

 

Thank you so much for the suggestion! If we had more time (and courage?) we would definitely book with Rome Cabs. I think, though, we will stick with a cruise ship excursion just to be on the safe side. I don’t usually worry about getting back to the ship on time after a private excursion, but with so many things going wrong with our planning of this trip (Celebrity cancelled two different sailings we had booked and I have had to cancel and rebook hotels and excursions twice), I think the peace of mind is worth it. If for some reason they don’t offer an excursion (we won’t find out til we are onboard), then we will just have a quiet day on the ship, and there is nothing wrong with that. There is something to be said for settling in on deck with a nice, cold beverage!

[PelicanLvr]

If you have never been to Rome and may never get back.....don't let this opportunity slip by.

 

Another vote for Romeinlimo.  Have used them and very satisfied.  Contact them and explain your situation and they will let you know how to use your rather limited time in Rome to see as much as you can.  Also you will see what you want to see, at your pace and not what the slow X excursion goes to.  Also with them you would have a car at your disposal in Rome and that would be helpful if you decide to do a "drive-around" to see sites like:

 

Coliseum (from the outside)

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Spanish Steps

Piazza Navona

 

That's all very doable.

 

If you decide you want to devote all your time in Rome to tour one of the  big site like the Coliseum or Vatican take a look at "Walks of Italy".  They are small group tours and they have time-slots to get a group into the big sites without the line.  Have also used them with great success.  You walk past the lines or use a special entrance.    Perhaps you could coordinate to be dropped off for one of their tours.  There are other companies that have these time-slots as well....but I have not used them.  You should be able to find them on the internet.

 

Yes, you can do it!  It will be expensive, but from your posts I get it that this is a "now or never" opportunity.  Hope you decide to go for it.  These two types of companies I believe are your best best!  They give you transportation and skip the line access. 

 

Good luck!!!!!

 

Have a wonderful day in Rome!

 

  

 

    

[kathynorth]

Here’s another vote for Romeonlimo for this scenario. We’ve visited Rome a bunch of times, twice via a Civitavecchia cruise stop. On one of these stops we booked transport through Romeinlimo. Keep in mind the driver is not a tour guide, but more like a knowledgeable driver. They can arrange for a tour guide at strategic locations for an additional fee. The company has permits to pick up and drop off right at the ship (need to check to see if this still is the case). This is a big time saver, especially for passengers with mobility challenges. On our trip we were driven to the Colosseum and toured inside, then took a quick walk through the Roman Forum (directly across from Colosseum), then back in the van for the quick drive to the Spanish Steps for a 10 min photo op, then back in van to St Peters. You need to plan for additional time here in case there is a long security line to get in. It was a short line the day we visited so we had extra time to stop at a gelato shop, then drive to a scenic overlook for a high up view of Rome. We made it back to the ship in plenty of time. 

[bEwAbG]

There's a lot of walking involved with seeing all of these sites.  If you're having back issues, I would think that might be an impediment to seeing some of these ideas in a short amount of time because even if you can get close via car, you still have to do a fair amount of walking to and through them (unless you're using a wheelchair).

 

Would it be possible to disembark in Rome and join the ship at the next stop?  You could take a small bag and spend the night in a hotel in Rome and give yourself more time to get around.  Downline embarkation has to be requested and approved in advance.  I don't know if Italy has cabotage laws that would prevent this.  Just an idea to research.

[CruiserMickey]

27 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

There's a lot of walking involved with seeing all of these sites.  If you're having back issues, I would think that might be an impediment to seeing some of these ideas in a short amount of time because even if you can get close via car, you still have to do a fair amount of walking to and through them (unless you're using a wheelchair).

 

Would it be possible to disembark in Rome and join the ship at the next stop?  You could take a small bag and spend the night in a hotel in Rome and give yourself more time to get around.  Downline embarkation has to be requested and approved in advance.  I don't know if Italy has cabotage laws that would prevent this.  Just an idea to research.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely research that option.

 

No wheelchair needed, but I do need to pace myself. More likely is having a long day (though there is quite a bit of travel between Civi and Rome anyways), and then taking the next day to rest completely.

[elbarney]

13 hours ago, CruiserMickey said:

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely research that option.

 

No wheelchair needed, but I do need to pace myself. More likely is having a long day (though there is quite a bit of travel between Civi and Rome anyways), and then taking the next day to rest completely.

This!

Instead of booking a very expensive excursion, book a train ticket to La Spezia(probably you next stop) for that evening, or next day, or a hotel in rome.

If you lose the ship(worst case scenario) just rejoin next day. 

If they allow you to join next day, just take a room in Rome, enjoy the full day, have a romantic dinner, and take a morning train to La Spezia.