RomeInLimo questions

[hylasgirl]

Have settled on full day Rome tour with RIL. We are not big on art so I am wondering if we really need a guide for Vatican part of the tour in afternoon. Jamy says it's extra 150 Euros. Any thoughts?

 

 

I have done the Vatican alone and with a private, guided tour and I can say you'll get SOOO much more out of the tour with a guide. For me it was all about the history in the Vatican museum and not necessarily all the art. Although I ADORE Michelangelo so it was an amazing visit.

 

I loved our private guide. It was nice to be lead through in a way where we weren't wasting time doing things no one was interested in.

[wantocruisemore]

Definitely go for the private guide. I can only echo that you will get so much more out of your visit with the private guide.

[ansmom]

Did anyone do the Catacombs with RIL instead of the Vatican? I've been in contact with them about doing but wondering if anyone else has too.

[momva]

Did anyone do the Catacombs with RIL instead of the Vatican? I've been in contact with them about doing but wondering if anyone else has too.

 

Yes, we just did that very thing on our recent visit. We notified Jany when we booked the tour that we did not want to do the Vatican but wanted to do the catacombs instead. We also made sure the driver guide knew when he picked us up. No problem. He knew exactly when and where to take us and it was fantastic. For some in our family group of 8, it was the highlight of the day.

[sccat]

I have done the Vatican alone and with a private, guided tour and I can say you'll get SOOO much more out of the tour with a guide. For me it was all about the history in the Vatican museum and not necessarily all the art. Although I ADORE Michelangelo so it was an amazing visit.

 

I loved our private guide. It was nice to be lead through in a way where we weren't wasting time doing things no one was interested in.

 

Thanks for all the posts! I am going to Med on Celebrity Solstice in Sept and using r-i-l for Rome and Naples (both with guides from r-i-l) with other CC members. Looking forward to great tours!

Question : already got my Vatican tickets online. It says I need to turn in tthe voucher and "identity document" at ticket window to get tickets .... does this mean my passport ? and if yes, I thought my cruise line takes my passport at start of cruise and keeps it ... so how does it work ?

Thanks,

Elaine

[wantocruisemore]

We had a guide with Rome in Limo at the Vatican. She just had me give her the voucher (all 9 entries were on one voucher) and she went up to the window to get the little entry tickets. I asked her if she also needed all of our id's since there were a couple under 18 and she said no. Her name was Kathryn and she was the best!!!

Edited August 3, 2011 by wantocruisemore

[sccat]

We had a guide with Rome in Limo at the Vatican. She just had me give her the voucher (all 9 entries were on one voucher) and she went up to the window to get the little entry tickets. I asked her if she also needed all of our id's since there were a couple under 18 and she said no. Her name was Kathryn and she was the best!!!

 

Thanks for the quick reply, wantocruisemore!

[bluedolph1n]

We used Rome in Limo last week when we were on the carnival Magic, and highly recommend them. For Rome we had Francesco, for the Amalfi Coast and Herculaneum we had Gioanluca, and they both were great. We saw a lot more then we would have when we were there on our own, and they told us a lot about the places we were. Francesco also used a book for for example the Colisseum, so we could see how it was in the past, and how it was now. Loved what he told us about Rome.

They both speak very good english ( probably even better then me ;) ).

Gioanluca gave us even bottles of water, and my son a bottle of soda, and when we arrived at the port a bottle of Limoncello! When we were in Herculaneum it started to rain, and it was really bad when we arrived in the port. But fortunately he could stop very close to the ship, so we didn't get too wet.

We will use them certainly again and will recommend them to friends and family.

[Gracie115]

I posted this many pages back and didn't get much feedback, perhaps some of the recent Med cruisers have some info. We have RIL booked for several tours, the 1st is a "walking tour" of ancient Rome. We expect it will be wonderful as we've only read great things about RIL but wonder if anyone here has been on this "walking tour" and can tell us anything about it. Thanks!:)

[Bridgeview]

We have just returned from the Magic and used RIL for tours of Pisa/Florence & Amalfi/Pompeii, both of which were excellent. Our driver in Pisa was Sabrina, who gave us a great tour which was made extra special by including a trip to a fabulous vineyard in Tuscany where we were able to sample the organically produced wine, olive oil & bread & salami, all of which were fantastic. In Naples our driver was Tony, a really entertaining & funny guy. He drove us along the Amalfi coast to the beautiful town of Positano & then to lunch in a great restaurant in Sorrento where we sampled the limoncello. Then it was on to Pompeii where Tony introduced us to our guide Barbara for our tour of the ruins. Unfortunately our tour was cut short by a huge thunderstorm that flooded the roads of Pompeii in minutes but it did enable Tony to demonstrate those famous Italian driving skills :eek: to find a way through the floods back to the ship in time.

Five star service from both Tony & Sabrina.

[nycatty35]

We just returned from a 17 day cruise on the Noordam. We used Rome in Limo for our arrival and departure and for a full day tour in Rome. We had used them previously for tours in Rome, Florence and Naples. I can not recommend them enough. Jany is a pleasure to work with...she replies promptly and is flexible. When our cruise changed its arrival time in Rome, I was able to reach her by cellphone (at her home I believe), a few hours before arrival and she had our driver at the boat an hour earlier than planned. I great, reliable company.

[hylasgirl]

I posted this many pages back and didn't get much feedback, perhaps some of the recent Med cruisers have some info. We have RIL booked for several tours, the 1st is a "walking tour" of ancient Rome. We expect it will be wonderful as we've only read great things about RIL but wonder if anyone here has been on this "walking tour" and can tell us anything about it. Thanks!:)

 

 

Hi Gracie, I have done two different walking tours with Romeinlimo on my last 'land' trip. They are great! Most of the time they meet you in the lobby of your hotel. But that you can set up any way you'd like. Their guides are incredible. We did one that was more the historical... the Forum and Colosseum and then we did a Vatican city tour. They are great.

 

As for reviews on the walking tours, check out the reviews on the Trip Advisor. Since they are more land based tours than the normal for Cruise Critic, you'll find more first hand experience of their walking tours under "Things to Do" on the Rome forum.

 

Enjoy!:)

[Gracie115]

Hi Gracie, I have done two different walking tours with Romeinlimo on my last 'land' trip. They are great! Most of the time they meet you in the lobby of your hotel. But that you can set up any way you'd like. Their guides are incredible. We did one that was more the historical... the Forum and Colosseum and then we did a Vatican city tour. They are great.

 

As for reviews on the walking tours, check out the reviews on the Trip Advisor. Since they are more land based tours than the normal for Cruise Critic, you'll find more first hand experience of their walking tours under "Things to Do" on the Rome forum.

 

Enjoy!:)

 

 

Thanks for the recommendation, we are so excited about starting out our visit this way. Only 35 more days. If RIL is even half as good as everyone says it will be wonderful and I suspect they will be much more than that!:)

[compelled]

Hi

 

There are 4 of us taking the RIL tour of Pisa and Florence. Is there time to see both Uffizi and Accademia?

 

Thanks,

 

Anne

[chipmaster]

The day is packed... if you give up something else like a leisure lunch and time at St Croce, the Dumo, Pointe Vechio, or the stop overlooking Florence. I think you need to give up two items to squeeze Uffizi in.

 

You know the Uffiizi is a huge and wonderful museum. On a land tour decades ago it too more than a half day and I didn't do it justice. To be honest I had seen enough historical art that it got tiring. Unless there is a speicific piece/artist like at the Academia, I'd skip the Uffizi.

 

Good luck!

 

Hi

 

There are 4 of us taking the RIL tour of Pisa and Florence. Is there time to see both Uffizi and Accademia?

 

Thanks,

 

Anne

[baggal]

Hi

 

There are 4 of us taking the RIL tour of Pisa and Florence. Is there time to see both Uffizi and Accademia?

 

Thanks,

 

Anne

 

IMO not really. There's so much else to see, that I can't imagine spending most of my time in just two museums. Definitely go to the Accademia. Ask RIL to make reservations for you.

[compelled]

The day is packed... if you give up something else like a leisure lunch and time at St Croce, the Dumo, Pointe Vechio, or the stop overlooking Florence. I think you need to give up two items to squeeze Uffizi in.

 

You know the Uffiizi is a huge and wonderful museum. On a land tour decades ago it too more than a half day and I didn't do it justice. To be honest I had seen enough historical art that it got tiring. Unless there is a speicific piece/artist like at the Academia, I'd skip the Uffizi.

 

Good luck!

 

IMO not really. There's so much else to see, that I can't imagine spending most of my time in just two museums. Definitely go to the Accademia. Ask RIL to make reservations for you.

 

Chipmaster and baggal thank you for your replies. I will let my group know. Maybe just Accademia would be a better plan.

 

Anne

[jenearly]

We have a kid-friendly tour booked with romeinlimo in Naples. We would like to see the Amalfi Coast, Positano and are interested in hiking at Mt Vesuvius. I also thought it'd be fun to do the pizza school they offer in Sorrento, but it'll cut into our other touring. Has anyone done this? Is it worth it, or would we be better off just having pizza for lunch and spending more time touring?

 

Thanks!

[Cruisers from MA]

Our driver was Gianluca, and we had an excellent day. RomeInLimo really worked out for us.

 

We typically like to organize our own activities rather than book the ship's excursions - we don't want to pay high prices and then spend the day getting on and off busses, listening to unending tour-guide narrative, and visiting selected shopping destinations.

 

For Naples (though we did plenty of research) the logistics of taking public transportation to visit Pompeii, enjoy lunch somewhere decent, and hike to the summit of Vesuvius (oh, and return to the ship on time) on a hot summer day seemed daunting. The ship's excursion, we learned, had Pompeii in the afternoon (just before "visit to a cameo factory", I think :rolleyes:), and we really wanted to be there first thing in the morning.

 

So it was an easy decision - we reserved the RomeInLimo car/driver, and Gianluca met us our family of 3 dockside. We were in among the ruins of Pompeii long before the buses started to arrive (and when the temperatures were a lot lower than we were expecting later in the day). We finished up after ~2 1/2 hours, then Gianluca drove us to Sorrento, where we had a great lunch and a relaxed walk around the town center. After that, we drove to Vesuvius for the 25-minute hike to the summit. And finally, an easy return to the ship; stress free.

 

In my opinion, we just couldn't have done all this on our own and/or without serious time worries. The ship's tour would have been a disappointment. For not a lot more, RomeInLimo delivered an awesome day around Naples.

[chipmaster]

We did Naples, Amalfi to Ravello and Pompeii. Not sure what your definition of kid friendly. There is NOTHING with the drive and stops that are kid friendly. IE lots of driving along cliffs and spectacular views to cute towns on cliffs.

 

My kids were 7, 12, 14 at the time. The highlight for them was Pompeii. Just be aware if you go in the summer it will be HOT. We did Pompeii at the opening and by the time we left around 10:45 it was HOT and packed with big bus cruiseline tours. It was nice with RIL as they had us there right at the opening and we had the run of the place with almost no crowds. I would expect the mountain hike would be similar. Depends on what you like there, we clearly were going to do Pompeii as what kid or adult hasn't heard or know of that story.

 

The kids enjoyed the one way roads, gelato and some of the neat things in Ravello and Amalfi but the views and other stuff hopefully will come back to appreciate in a few years :D

 

I'm skeptical you can spend a lot of time anywhere on the coast and get a hike in our you'll have to cut short the tour.

 

One of the things we all enjoyed was the RIL lunch stop between Amalfi and Ravelo, the views were awesome.

 

Good luck!

 

 

We have a kid-friendly tour booked with romeinlimo in Naples. We would like to see the Amalfi Coast, Positano and are interested in hiking at Mt Vesuvius. I also thought it'd be fun to do the pizza school they offer in Sorrento, but it'll cut into our other touring. Has anyone done this? Is it worth it, or would we be better off just having pizza for lunch and spending more time touring?

 

Thanks!

Edited August 10, 2011 by chipmaster

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

I have tried to search for this answer but without success

 

If you have a tour guide and driver do you tip them seperately or all to the driver and he/she splits it with the guide. ? If seperately, how what is an appropriate amount to give to guide and to driver ? Our tour is approx 70 euro pp and the guide cost is approx 20 euro pp.

[CruiserBruce]

It has been discussed. You tip them separately.

[koalagurl]

I will be the first to admit, after reading so many glowing reviews, I was a bit worried that maybe my expectations might have been set a bit high. I was WRONG!! RIL exceeded my already high expectations!!

 

Pre trip - Communications with Jany are excellent! From the initial email (which she answered at maybe 3am Italy time??) to the confirmation email just days before our tours, I always felt it easy and convenient to contact RIL. (I am still not sure Jany is one person!) :)

 

Our group - 10 people total, 4 kids ages 1 - 6

 

Livorno - We opted to skip Florence (gasp!) in favor of going to do a quick photo op at Pisa, and off to Lucca and wine tasting. We had Riccardo and Angelo as our drivers. Both were great!! Of course they were great drivers / providers of information, but what impressed me was how they thought of everything before I could think of it (e.g. making / planning frequent potty breaks for the kids.) I am sort of the planner in the group, and it was SO NICE for me to relax and just go with what Riccardo and Angelo had planned for us.

 

After our stop in Pisa, we headed to Lucca where we saw a few sights, stopped for a gelato / pizza, and then were dropped off at a bike rental shop. We rented bikes (they had 4 seaters, regular bikes, bikes with carriages or infant seats) and cycled around the 4km wall. On top of the wall were a few small parks, perfect for letting the kids run around a burn off some energy.

 

After Lucca, we headed to a winery for a tour and wine & food tasting (the kids polished off the prosciutto, and we polished off the wine and everything else.) We ended up buying a bunch of wine to enjoy back on the ship (shhh...that is a debate for another thread.)

 

It was a the perfect day! (Just the right speed for our group!)

 

Rome - Our drivers for Rome were Mauro and Emanuele. I was in Mauro's car, and wow, he is a wealth of knowledge!! With the kids, we did some of the sights just driving by, and some we got out. Again, Mauro was one step ahead of me! We knew Rome would be a tougher day with the kids, and were ready for it. But it helped MORE than I could have imagined to have booked with RIL!! We were on the Epic and in port with the RCI Liberty of the Seas (I think), so everywhere we went, we ran into very large tour groups (many were RCI groups). It was so helpful to have Mauro send us in the right direction! I had pre-purchased tickets for the Coliseum, and Mauro got us to the right spot in no time (if I were trying to figure it out on my own, we may have been there for hours!)

 

After seeing the highlights, we stopped for a nice, family-style lunch (complete with wine, and Limoncello) before heading to the Vatican Museum. Ahhh, it was exactly what we needed!

 

We then met with Emiliano, our Vatican guide. Again, I had pre-purchased the tickets, and Emiliano walked us right up to exchange the voucher for tickets (no ID or credit card needed, though it does say so on the voucher.) I have to say, I toured the Vatican Museum before, but having a guide made it so much more interesting! Emiliano really seems to be passionate with his knowledge, and he was great at gearing the tour somewhat to the kids (e.g. pointing out the bathtub of an Emperor vs. one of a wealthy man). So worth the money to have someone whisk us through!

 

Overall, as hot and crowded as it was in Rome, our day could easily have been miserable! RIL helped us make the most of the day!

 

I would definitely, without a doubt, recommend RIL!!

[twoontheisle]

......after reading about 600 posts I am still not clear what to expect when we leave the gang plank! Will our driver have a sign with the "booking persons" name on it, along with RIL, or what is the protocol for finding our driver? We have assembled a group of 8 through CruiseCritic and none of us have met each other, as of yet. We are planning a quick meet-n-sip on the ship so we know who we are touring with for the day(s). Are there a lot of tour vans/cars lined up or is it quite easy for the group to find the driver? Can't wait for the next two weeks to pass!

[CruiserBruce]

When we used Rome in Limo, we found our driver several ways. At the airport, the driver had a sign, met us outside baggage claim. At Naples and Rome, we came off the ship, looked for limos or sedans. They were very easy to find- the space at Rome/Civi is very limited, and very close to the gangway. (At Naples it was about a block away, out front of the terminal). Then by the sedans, there will be a group of drivers just standing around. It will be very obvious. At Naples, the drivers had signs, the group of drivers started putting up their signs as they noticed people looking at them.

 

Sounds clumsy, but it actually worked fine and went perfectly.

Edited August 13, 2011 by CruiserBruce