Galaxy Mediterranean

[GinK]

I would like to spend two days in Rome prior to the cruise. We are doing the hotel on are own. What is the easiest way to get to the ship the day of the cruise and the least $$. Do I go back to the airport since I have purchase transfers?

 

Any suggestion on great things to do in Rome, first time for us?

 

Appreciate your help.

 

Thanks,

 

GinK

[Seabee]

We did exactly this last summer. So I will offedr what we did.

 

First regarding getting to the port....we teamed up with some others from our Roll Call and hired a private driver. With 6 of us this really turned out to be the cheapest way to go. I had considered returning to the Airport but decided against it. And it may be a godd thing. Public Transportation went on strike the day we were heading to the port and that could have made getting to the airport impossible.

 

We arrived in Rome on Wednesday morning, checked in our hotel and immediately caught the Metro to the Colisseum. Hired a tour guide and spent a couple of hours there. Then walked over to the Forum and spent an hour or so walking through it. Walked up to Capitol Hill and looked around a bit, walked to the Pantheon. Here we took a break at a sidewalk cafe. Then we walked to the Trevi Fountain, then to the Metro where we returned to the Hotel. At this point jet lag was creeping up on us as it was about 5:00 pm. We showered and went to Dino and Tony's for a wonderful dinner.

 

We spent all Thursday at the Vatican...morning in St Peters and afternoon in the Museum.

 

Friday morning we tried to take the City Tour in the double decker bus but got totally screwed up by the strike. At 2:00 our driver picked us up at our Hotel and took us to the Ship.

 

It was a great time!

[rebeccalouise]

There is an inexpensive train from Rome to Civettchia. It is about 13 Euros per person. It runs every hour. I'd do that.

 

For hotels- I highly recommend the Imperiale on Via Veneto. Loved it there. Beautiful part of the city. Almost like a suburban tree-lined street, which all the finest hotels in Rome. The Imperiale is the least expensive of the hotels on the Via Veneto.

[Chick's pal]

I recommend the hop-on, hop-off bus for your first day in Rome. It runs 8 am to 8 pm and goes on a continuous route to all the great city attractions. We've done this in many cities and enjoy "getting our bearings" the first day in this way. There are a couple of different companies. We used the 110 red bus. It was about 18 Euros per person per day.

 

It was a bonus that the bus stopped right outside our hotel's front door.

 

My opinion is that the only way to get around any better is to hire a private guide service. We've done that also in Rome and used "Driver in Rome." They can also offer you a city-to-port service.

[Tinwoman]

We were in Rome last fall.

We used the hop on, hop off bus plus taxis. But be aware that drivers of both go on strike at the drop of a hat. :eek:

You really need to get with the people on the roll call for this cruise, it is cheapest and most reliable to get with others and share the cost of a van and driver to take you to the port.

There are a lot of stairs to navigate for the train so if you have a lot of luggage keep that in mind plus the train people strike a lot too .

Try to take time to stroll the sidewalks ( the area near the vatican is great) and enjoy the local shops, markets (we would get wine, fruit and cheese to take back to our hotel rooms for snacks, very cheap) and diners with the chalkboard menu's.

Learn a few italian phrases they really appriecate it, and will be more friendly towards you.

Have fun I really love this city. :)

[superjerryw]

When we did a Med cruise the price of the cruise line transfers for two people was about the same price as the cost of hiring a private car to take us to the port so we opted for the private car. We arrived one day before the cruise and it would have been more expensive to make our way back to the airport to meet up with the cruise line transfer. I would be leary about taking the train to the port since there have been many posts where people said they had a hard time getting a taxi in Civitavecchia to get to the ship. The train would be the cheapest, but you will have to go through the hassle and added expense of first going from your hotel to the train station in Rome, waiting for and then taking the train and then paying for a taxi from the train station to the ship. As for what to do while you're in Rome, Seabee gave some excellent suggestions. As for a hotel, we stayed at the Mercure hotel near the Colosseum. They had a very good breakfast buffet that was included in the price of the room and it was only a 5 minute walk to the Colosseum and the adjacent Roman Forum.

[Rev22:17]

GinK,

 

I would like to spend two days in Rome prior to the cruise. We are doing the hotel on are own. What is the easiest way to get to the ship the day of the cruise and the least $$. Do I go back to the airport since I have purchase transfers?

 

Any suggestion on great things to do in Rome, first time for us?

 

Hmmm....

 

The most seamless way to get from Rome to the pier in Civitavecchia with your luggage is to have your travel agent add Celebrity's transfer service to your cruise booking. The pick-up points are the hotels where Celebrity offers hotel packages, but you can buy the transfers separately and you won't have far to go if you stay at one of those hotels. Rome's taxis are pretty expensive ($90 from the airport to the city, and the airport at Fiumicino is closer to Rome than Civitiavecchia!) and a train or bus, on which your luggage might be a problem, also would require a taxi to transfer from the terminal to the pier.

 

As to hotels, I found the Crowne Plaza St. Peter's to be excellent. It's a classic upscale Roman hotel that became part of the Crowne Plaza chain relatively recently in its life.

 

That said, you might do well to reconsider booking your hotel on your own. Celebrity's hotel packages are not so expensive as they might sound because the quoted prices include the transfer from the hotel to the ship (or the reverse transfer on a postcruise package). Celebrity also has representatives at a hospitality desk in the hotel lobby to assist those who book through Celebrity with any problems that might arise. On my last stay, when the airlines misplaced my luggage, they took the information and worked with the airlines to track it down. These representatives also coordinate optional tours, conducted in English, for guests booked through Celebrity. Of course, you are equally free to go exploring or shopping or whatever on your own, just as you would in a port of call.

 

Norm.

[travelingmcmahans]

What date is your cruise? We're on the June 11 out of Rome, flying in the day before. There's a link to the roll call in my signature.

[Rev22:17]

travelingmcmahans,

 

There's a link to the roll call in my signature.

(boldface added)

 

Which did not display....

 

Norm.

[GinK]

Thanks for all the information on Rome. We will start our cruise on the 10th of August (few days prior to the cruise). I just read an article about a lot of the shops will be closed for vacation in Rome. Is this true and should I have booked at a another time?

 

I also understand the the tempatures are really high. Appreciate any input.

 

I"m still learning on how to use the boards. Any tips would be very much appreciated.

 

Is anyone else book on this cruise?

 

BR, GinK - Michigan

[Nonna and Papa]

Unfortunately, yes, that can be a problem with traveling to Southern Europe in August. That is usually the month that many of the people take their vacations either to the mountains or the beach, to escape the heat and high humidity.

 

While I have only spent August in northern Europe and the UK (to escape the heat), and was in Rome during October, I can't reply specifically about which shops and attractions close and which remain open. I would imagine though that the shops that would be closed are the smaller, family owned establishments. I would think that many of the attractions you would be interested in seeing would be open. Although I would check the hours. I think you can expect closures to be around siesta time (approximately from noon to 3pm).

 

Good Luck,

 

Mary

[Rev22:17]

GinK,

 

Thanks for all the information on Rome. We will start our cruise on the 10th of August (few days prior to the cruise). I just read an article about a lot of the shops will be closed for vacation in Rome. Is this true and should I have booked at a another time?

 

Yes on both counts. Late June, July, August, and early September are very hot and humid in the Mediterranean, so people who live in many of those countries developed the custom long before air conditioning of closing up shop and going on vacation, either to the mountain where it's cooler or to the sea where the water provides relief. It might not be quite as bad in larger cities that now get a lot of tourists at that time of year, but it's still very much a part of their culture and lifestyle.

 

I also understand the the tempatures are really high. Appreciate any input.

 

Yes, that's about right -- and it's also a region where the main attractions are history, art, architecture, culture, and cuisine, so you probably will not be spending much time at the beach, and many of the facilities still are not air conditioned.

 

Honestly, I really recommend changing the date of your booking if you can. It would be better to go to the Mediterranean either in May or early June, before the summer's heat, or in late September, October, or November, after the summer heat is gone.

 

I"m still learning on how to use the boards. Any tips would be very much appreciated.

 

You seem to be doing fine!

 

Is anyone else book on this cruise?

 

You might try posting in the Celebrity "Roll Call" board.

 

Have a great cruise, whatever you decide!

 

Norm.