RomeInLimo questions

[flgirl543]

We are going on a Brilliance of the Seas Western Med Cruise on Oct 6 and would like to know how much time we have to book with Romeinlimo? We're waiting to see if anyone else in our group is interested. If they aren't then we'll try our Roll Call. We just don't want to wait to long and be unable to secure a tour with Romeinlimo. Thanks in advance for your advice.

[flgirl543]

Also, was it easy to find others from your Roll Call to join an excursion?

[CruiserBruce]

We are going on a Brilliance of the Seas Western Med Cruise on Oct 6 and would like to know how much time we have to book with Romeinlimo? We're waiting to see if anyone else in our group is interested. If they aren't then we'll try our Roll Call. We just don't want to wait to long and be unable to secure a tour with Romeinlimo. Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

I would get in contact with RIL. They will work with you as your group possibly expands. The will start with a sedan and work up.

 

October is getting out of peak season for sure. But I wouldn't wait too long.

[Nebr.cruiser]

When we cruised in April I booked tours in Villefranche (not RIL) and Livorno (with RIL) only a week out, but we probably got lucky that they had availability.

 

I was also able to get a group of eight together in that same time frame for both ports;again, probably lucky, and, we had a very active roll call. Both tours turned out great and everyone had a very enjoyable time.

 

I'd book the tours as soon as you are sure of what you want. The reason I was so late was that we thought we might want to do things on our own using local trains and buses. I just got overwhelmed trying to figure everything out and opted for the easier way. I'm glad I did, especially for a first-time visit.

Edited July 19, 2010 by Nebr.cruiser

[chipmaster]

If you book RIL and don't do anything else expect to get their "standard" tour. I did lots of research prior and their standard tour is pretty good, covers all the iconic that are possible to do and some.

 

If you haven't included, think hard to include the vatican and a private guide there. It really makes for a better experience as the place is huge and having a guide is good for the novice.

 

Hi,

We just booked a Oct 6 Brilliance of the Seas cruise and have lots of questions which I'm sure have been answered before. We would like to book a Romeinlimo tour in Italy, our ports are Civitavecchia, Naples & Venice. We would appreciate knowing exactly which tours to book and any additional services (guide etc.) that we should include. We have never been to Europe before and don't want to miss the "must see sights". We have no problem with 9hr tours. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[bobgail]

RIL accepts cancellations, I believe, up to one week in advance without penalty. I agree that you should e mail them and tell them what's on your mind and let them work with you. They are very easy to deal with. We booked in advance, but waited untik\l about a month before to book the French ports and while Revelations ( highly recommended ) was able to accommodate us for Nice, we were shut out of Toulon, so why take a chance.

[xcomet]

Hi,

We just booked a Oct 6 Brilliance of the Seas cruise and have lots of questions which I'm sure have been answered before. We would like to book a Romeinlimo tour in Italy, our ports are Civitavecchia, Naples & Venice. We would appreciate knowing exactly which tours to book and any additional services (guide etc.) that we should include. We have never been to Europe before and don't want to miss the "must see sights". We have no problem with 9hr tours. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

Ok, I know I am going to get a lot of fluff for this but......We just came back from Navigator of the Sea and 4 days, pre cruise Rome.

We used rome in limo for our vatican tour. We had Lorenzo, he was awful.

We paid for 4 hrs, he arrived 1/2 late, and cut the tour 1 1/2 hr early,He complained the entire time about the heat(hey its Rome in July for heaven sake) and rushed us thru everything, even my teens were complaining, and commenting " what's that? can we see that over there? " etc.

Anyway, Duman the owner did refund my money when I complained , saying that Lorenzo was ill with the flu, which is probably true, because 3 out of the 6 of us , got sick , about a day later.thanks Lorenzo!(JK) but we still missed the entire day and sites there. We basically stood on line, stopped a few feet looked at a statue,then stood on line for the sistine chapel, we stood there for 5 minutes , then stood on line again ,and left! We still tipped him!

Now I will say that for our pompeii , and ancient rome tour, we used

Your Tour in Italy,

with Aldo for these two seperate tours. They were wonderful. Our guide Julia was so fantastic, with little stories that totally interested and hooked my teens. Domenico drove us to Pompeii for a private tour, and went out of his way to make our trip so fantastic! Aldo , was so concerned when my son got sick at the colisseum, that he stopped as soon as he picked us up, to get my son a pastry and something to drink and us all waters, without even asking us then wouldnt take money for any of it.They were so fantastic! and on another note, they were so much less expensive than rome in limo!

ok you RIM fans, fire away!!!! but that is my experience!!!

[xcomet]

Ok, I know I am going to get a lot of fluff for this but......We just came back from Navigator of the Sea and 4 days, pre cruise Rome.

We used rome in limo for our vatican tour. We had Lorenzo, he was awful.

We paid for 4 hrs, he arrived 1/2 late, and cut the tour 1 1/2 hr early,He complained the entire time about the heat(hey its Rome in July for heaven sake) and rushed us thru everything, even my teens were complaining, and commenting " what's that? can we see that over there? " etc.

Anyway, Duman the owner did refund my money when I complained , saying that Lorenzo was ill with the flu, which is probably true, because 3 out of the 6 of us , got sick , about a day later.thanks Lorenzo!(JK) but we still missed the entire day and sites there. We basically stood on line, stopped a few feet looked at a statue,then stood on line for the sistine chapel, we stood there for 5 minutes , then stood on line again ,and left! We still tipped him!

Now I will say that for our pompeii , and ancient rome tour, we used

Your Tour in Italy,

with Aldo for these two seperate tours. They were wonderful. Our guide Julia was so fantastic, with little stories that totally interested and hooked my teens. Domenico drove us to Pompeii for a private tour, and went out of his way to make our trip so fantastic! Aldo , was so concerned when my son got sick at the colisseum, that he stopped as soon as he picked us up, to get my son a pastry and something to drink and us all waters, without even asking us then wouldnt take money for any of it.They were so fantastic! and on another note, they were so much less expensive than rome in limo!

ok you RIM fans, fire away!!!! but that is my experience!!!

 

Fellow cc members,

within 5 minutes of my posting this, I got an email from Duman , wanting me to make some corrections to my post! Firstly , this makes me very skeptical on the authenticity of some of the recommedations I read here. Apparently these companies, monitor the boards very closely! Also makes me wonder which posts are from true travelers, so my advice is to check the history of the posters before you take their advice!

[beckntom]

I'm not sure why you would think it suspicious for a company to monitor these boards. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that they would want to know what kind of feedback their tours are getting. I certainly don't think it means that RIL is "planting" good reviews among these posts. They've had way too many stellar reviews for me to think that is necessary. I have seen (and reported) what appeared to be self-serving reviews on other tour guide threads, but I daresay none have made by Rome in Limo because it's simply not necessary.

Edited July 20, 2010 by beckntom

[BigGuy25]

xcomet ... I'm not going to trash you and I'm sorry for your less than satisfactory experience. No company is 100% perfect! That said, it did sound like Duman was very responsive in handling your situation. I found RIL right here on CC and have been very happy with the service I've had with them for two years now and would not hestiate to use them again.

 

Also, you shouldn't be surprised that tour operators (and cruise lines, and hotels, and transfer services , and, and, and) monitor these boards. I certainly would if I was one of them. It would be irresponsible of them not to. But, while there may be a few unscrupulous operators who try to shape opinion, I can assure you than RIL is not one of them. We've spent more than 150 nights on ships and have toured all over the world. RIL is at the top of our list in meeting our expectations.

 

Again, I feel bad that you didn't have a good experience.

[xcomet]

As I said in my original post, I fully expected some fluff from my opinion, but to each his own opinion. That is what I gave, my opinion. Again, always good advice to check recommendations! and observe the number of posts ,some cc posters have written. This clearly stated by the official cc articles in the sticky at the top of the pages!

[Grandpaul]

Of course tour companies monitor boards like these. Why wouldn't they? Doesn't everybody monitor them? Lots of valuable info out here as to what people like and dislike.

[Grandpaul]

Oh, and I'm just a traveller from New York and I'm not a spy. LOL.

[stinesheri]

just wanted to post the "thank you" that I just sent to RIL regarding our 3 days of tours with them:

 

Thank you so much for three fantastic days in Italy! We were so happy with all three of our tours. Rafaelle (Naples), Angelo (Rome) and Giovanni (Florence) were fantastic. I can't believe how much we were able to accomplish in one day in each port.

 

Naples - Rafaelle was fantastic. Picked us up as planned and took us to Pompeii where we met Lucia. She was also amazing, and really helped in bringing Pompeii to life for us. She also made sure that our inquisitive 8 year old was engaged the whole time, which we loved. Then on to Sorrento, where we were amazed at the small streets and how well Rafaelle was able to navigate them - I felt safe the whole time, where normally I would have been a wreck! He gave us ample time to shop, then recommended a fantastic restaurant. After lunch, we went to Positano, where we had a short, but wonderful time to spend wandering the streets. Rafaelle always made sure that we saw everything we needed to, often stopping so my husband could get some photos along the way. What a fantastic start to our three days!

 

Rome - Angelo is a treasure! You are very lucky to have in working for you. Our pace was hectic, as there was so much to see in one day, but Angelo made sure that we saw it all. His knowledge of this amazing city was terrific, and we felt that we had more than just a driver - we had a personally guide throughout the day. He made sure that we got the most out of every site, either stopping to point out the finer points, or just driving by so that we can see as much as possible. We were able to see the Coloseum, Palatine Hill, Circus Maximus, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Victor Emmanuel Monument, the Panteon, Piazza Navona and so many other sites, I can't even remember them right now. After lunch (just off the Piazza Navona) we then went to the Vatican, where Sarah did a terrific job helping us navigate the museum, Sistene Chapel and then St. Peter's . She was a fabulous guide, and couldn't possibly have done it with out her. We were exhausted when we arrived to the ship, but certainly felt like we had seen everything.

 

Florence - another terrific day, this time with Giovanni. Since my daughter wasn't feeling well (Rome was a lot for her), we declined his offer to see the countryside and then the scenic overlook at the beginning of the day, in case we had to cut our day short. We went to Pisa first, and were able to get there before the crowds, and then on to Florence and the Duomo. Unfortunately, due to the crowds, we decided not to go inside, but loved the atmosphere outside. Then onto the Accademia, where Giovanni had our prearranged tickets (thank you!). After that, time for shopping, so off to the Ponte Vecchio. Giovanni dropped us off with instructions on where to meet us, and a minute later comes running after us to be sure that we knew to be careful in the crowds. Since my daughter was feeling better, we decided to continue with lunch. Giovanni insisted that we first go to Santa Croce. Not originally on our list of things to do, but we are so glad that he recommended it, as it was beautiful and we are so glad that we didn't miss such a wonderful site. A terrific lunch recommendation just across the street, and off we were back to the ship. This time we took him up on his offer to see the scenic overlook where we saw all of Florence, and then to take the 'long' way home to the ship to see some of the fabled Tuscan countryside. Again, we are so glad that we took him up on his offer, as it was truly specacular.

 

We had a fabulous three days, and would not hesitate to recommend them to all.

[cruisemom42]

Of course tour companies monitor boards like these. Why wouldn't they? Doesn't everybody monitor them? Lots of valuable info out here as to what people like and dislike.

 

It's not the monitoring of the boards I find disturbing, it's the plugs tour operators make for you to give them a positive review. To me, that's unethical. A review should be of your own free will and not prompted.

 

I cannot speak for RIL. I certainly agree they have many, MANY happy customers and that's not a fluke. However, other VERY SUCCESSFUL tour companies that I have either contacted or used have "strongly suggested" that I write about my experiences with them on Cruise Critic. Some even wanted me to do so before I had even taken a tour with them (again, this is against CC rules), and a couple have asked ME to correct someone else's post "on their behalf" as they are not allowed to post here.

 

Sorry, I just think it's wrong. There shouldn't be an "unseen hand" directing people's opinions.

[stinesheri]

We used 3 different tour companies - RIL for Rome, Florence and Naples, Ekol for Ephesus, and the Venice Experience for my husbands Venice Photography Tour (which he loved).

 

Both RIL and Venice Experience asked AFTER the tour, that if we were satisfied, that we post a review on cruise critic and trip advisor. Ekol did not ask.

 

I have no problem posting a good review (or bad for that matter) if it is warranted, and since I found all three companies by researching on this forum, have no problem passing on my comments or concerns. Had they then asked me to edit my comments to seem more favorable, I would then certainly edit them, though it would not be favorable!

 

My husband mentioned to me the other day where someone complained on another forum that the reviewee asked the reviewer to elaborate on an issue, as it seems that the reviewer may have not told the whole story. In that case, the reviewee has every right to request that. Whether it's done or not, if of course, another story.

[David]

The tour companies certainly "monitor" this website and others, such as Trip Advisor. And why not? That is one way they receive feedback about their work that is likely to be more balanced (rather than solicited reviews for their website).

 

Generally, I am inclined to share my experiences on this board whether or not a company asks me to. But I don't have a problem if, at the end of the tour or, in the case of some companies, after the vacation, I receive either a verbal or email request to share my experiences either on their website or on this or other major boards.

 

Any business has a right to increase their clientele. Asking satisfied customers to share their views with others in this fashion is perfectly legit. I don't know if many contributors to this board have been asked to edit their comments by a company so as to mask any criticisms, but I do know that such a request would NOT resonate well with me and, as others have already said, would result in a less than favorable comment about the company. However, neither RIL or any other company I've used in the past has tried to influence my opinions -- either on their websites or on this and other boards.

 

David

[Susan-M]

Fellow cc members,

within 5 minutes of my posting this, I got an email from Duman , wanting me to make some corrections to my post!

 

If he was asking you to make corrections, he must have thought that there were errors in your post, in which case I don't think it's wrong of him to ask you to correct the post. However, if he was asking you to change details to make your post not quite as harsh, then I think he should have let it go, especially since it backfired.

Edited July 22, 2010 by Susan-M

[BigGuy25]

The issue is not really about the "honesty" of the tour operator ... it's really about the honesty of us who use Cruise Critic. If you have a good experience i truly hope you will post it on one of the boards. It's the way I've found my "non ship's" tours for years. So, I have no problem if a tour company asks me to share my experience.

 

On the other hand, if you have a BAD experience, and post something other than that, then "shame on you!!" But, why would any of us do that. If you have a less than desirable experience, why would you post anything but the truth ... you'd never use that operator again!!

 

So, it's not about the tour companies, it's about us ... the people who make Cruise Critic the great service that it is!

 

And, I still think Rome in Limo is a terrific company!!

[gemz]

If I use Rome in Limo that is for the driver alone am I not correct? So when RIL drives me to Pompeii, do I have to use one of the tour guides located at Pompeii? What is the cost of the tour guides for a group of 4?

 

Thanks!

[beckntom]

Our private guide for Pompeii, as arranged by Rome in Limo, is $100 Euros.

[BigGuy25]

If I use Rome in Limo that is for the driver alone am I not correct? So when RIL drives me to Pompeii, do I have to use one of the tour guides located at Pompeii? What is the cost of the tour guides for a group of 4?

 

Thanks!

You are correct. Your driver will be very gracious and welcoming and give you a lot of information on the culture and history of the region you're visiting ... but they are not tour guides. However, RIL can arrange for formal guides at just about any venue that you'll visit.

[David]

This has probably been said before, but the only sites you really need a professional tour guide rather to get the most out of your visit is the Vatican and Pompeii. Otherwise, the RIL drivers will provide as much information as you need to really enjoy the various places they take you to, and they will either accompany you along in your visit to villages or towns, or give you a time and place to meet up and you can explore on your own. And, of course, if you arrange in advance with Jany or Duman, they will get you admissions to the busiest sites without your having to wait in line or experience any delay. It all works incredibly smoothly and efficiently -- and you will be happy beyone all expectations!

 

David

[Debordo]

I've just read the last couple of pages so not sure I'm responding correctly... so if not, please accept my apology. I find these threads extremely useful when booking tours so truly appreciate all everyone has to say... the good.. the bad.. the excellent...

 

In my humble opinion Romeinlimo is an excellent tour company. Never once did I feel that Duman or Janey were pushing us for a review after our return. Actually we used them a year ago and it was an incredible experience.. even better than our experience with another tour company 2 year before. We even used Romeinlimo to pick us up from the Rome airport and take us to the hotel pre-cruise. Service was more than we asked for. So with such an excellent tour company, It is MY privilage to highly recommend Romeinlimo. You can't go wrong!

 

 

Debordo

[McLover321]

I'm booking romeinlimo for some of my pre-cruise time in Rome, thanks to the many accolades here on CC. My questions:

1-They are suggesting an 8 hour tour with a driver, and a guide for the Vatican. Do we need a guide for other sites? Or is the driver usually knowledgeable enough to provide info?

2-Have you ever just gotten a guide at the Vatican rather than scheduled one in advance? If so, how did that work out? Did you still have to stand in line for tickets? Can you just visit the "church" on your own without tickets? (I obviously have lots more research to do! I visited Rome years ago, but I was on a tour and they took care of everything.)

3-Do you tip on top of the fee for the driver, or is it included?

 

4- Not a romeinlimo question, but has anyone ever done a day trip from Rome to Pompeii? Is that possible?

 

Thanks in advance for answers to my questions!

 

For those considering a private tour and guide, Romeinlimo is the way to go!

 

Yes, you do need a guide at many sites in addition to your driver and they are well worth the extra money -- in many cases the driver is not allowed to act as a guide at sites. You'll learn so much more about what you are seeing and avoid the crowded lines and confusion at busy locations. With the guide/driver, we did not stand in ANY lines (which were incredibly long at each venue...)

 

Compared to ship tours, which are much less personal and larger, we found this option a much more enjoyable and high quality experience. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly.

 

With regard to tipping, we were highly satisfied with all of our drivers and guides and tipped them 10 e/per person (we were a group of 5, so 50 e for the day) Guides were tipped separately from drivers.