Symphony of the Seas Mediterranean cruise in June

Hello, my family is taking symphony of the seas Mediterranean cruise in June we are trying to plan out shore excursions as this is the first Europe trip for my children, ages 14 and 12 years old. I’m looking for suggestions on private tour companies. Specifically I’m trying to plan out the excursion to Pizza and Florence. The ship docks in La Spezia. I have read posts that Florence is just too far from that port. However, the ship surprisingly is running quite a few excursions to Pisa/Florence. Unfortunately I don’t like the program that they’re offering. I would preferred to go to Pisa, have my kids climb up the tower with the skip the line tickets and spend some time there, and then go to Florence and see some of the major attractions there. Would be nice to have skip the line Accademia ticket as well. In addition, I am looking to book a really nice Rome excursion. The ship charges extraordinary amount of money, and on the one of the excursions Colosseum is only viewed from the outside. I really wanted my kids to go inside and have an ability to explore. I would really appreciate any suggestions, recommendations, perhaps things I can do on my own? Thank you so much and advance.

If you look down the board, there are several recommended vendors, including the one we have used 8 times and love, Rome in Limo. They operate out of both La Spezia, as well as Civi- for Rome. There is a good sized thread down the board on Rome in Limo, with questions and recommendations.

Booking a private tour, which are usually customizable- is a good way to make your time used more efficiently. Booking multiple tours through one vendor will typically get you a discount.

Thank you. Do you have a link for the thread you recommended? I am not sure if I see it. If not, it's ok. I will keep looking :). Also, does the tour company you mentioned provide tour guides or just transport? Lastly, what tour dis you find was really good with them?

Thank you. Do you have a link for the thread you recommended? I am not sure if I see it. If not, it's ok. I will keep looking :). Also, does the tour company you mentioned provide tour guides or just transport? Lastly, what tour dis you find was really good with them?

Rome In Limo thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1906755

The provide both guided tours with guides who speak excellent English and basic transportation too.

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much!

You're very welcome.

I know you want to see Florence, but even with a car and driver you're looking at two and a half hours, each way, in the car. If you add Pisa that makes the driving time three hours to get there and two and a half to get back. Subtract an hour stop in Pisa, and add the one hour pad for return that all reputable car services will insist on, and even with a twelve hour port day you would have at most about four and a half hours in Florence.

You can see a lot in 4.5 hours but the cost of that time is five and a half hours of sitting in a car.

Be sure to understand that with most private services in Italy (RomeInLimo included), the cost quoted to you is generally just for the transportation. If you want to add on a guide at specific sites (for example at the Vatican or at the Colosseum), there is an extra charge.

Your driver may give you information prior to your stop but cannot get out and take you through the site itself.

Thank you. Do you have a link for the thread you recommended? I am not sure if I see it. If not, it's ok. I will keep looking :). Also, does the tour company you mentioned provide tour guides or just transport? Lastly, what tour dis you find was really good with them?

Others have given you the link, and informed that in Italy, drivers and guides are two different things. But if you read the link, and many other posts here, you will find a driver can give you tons of info...and you will do just fine. Guides for specific places, like the Vatican, for example, are extra, but worth it.

We have done transfers, and tours in Florence, Rome and Naples. The tours were custom, which you can do as well.

Thank you! Do you think it's possible to get to Rome on your own from port and buy Colosseum tks in advance with skip the line option? I am just trying to see if I can save anything by doing it myself.

Thank you! Do you think it's possible to get to Rome on your own from port and buy Colosseum tks in advance with skip the line option? I am just trying to see if I can save anything by doing it myself.

Absolutely. There is much discussion on these boards about taking the train from Civitavecchia (port) into Rome. It's about an hour, plus or minus, depending on which stop in Rome you want. There is an integrated ticket that costs 12 euros per person and is good for your round trip train ride to Rome and back, as well as any subway or public bus in Rome itself during the day.

It does require some organization and some patience -- willingness to get to the train station in Civitavecchia, for example requires either a long walk or using the free port shuttle to the port gate and then a public bus to the train station.

You can book tickets to the Colosseum in advance online, with or without a guided tour, and you can get there by getting off the train at the Roma Ostiense station (no need to go all the way to the central Rome station, so you save a little time) and then you transfer to the metro -- located in the adjacent station and go just 2 stops to the Colosseo station.

If you really are interested in doing it on your own, I suggest you start by doing a lot of reading here -- lots of good info and most questions have been asked and answered. And also I suggest getting a guidebook such as Rick Steves' guide on Mediterranean ports to help with ideas on how to tour independently and specific suggestions for your ports.

Thank you! Do you think it's possible to get to Rome on your own from port and buy Colosseum tks in advance with skip the line option? I am just trying to see if I can save anything by doing it myself.

That's what we did a few weeks ago. If you have access to an express train to Rome from your cruise line, that would save you the most time. If not, then you can get a BIRG ticket at the Civitavecchia trans station for 12 Euros each that gives you unlimited train, Rome metro, and Rome bus travel for 24 hours. Figure a little more than one hour each way to Rome on the train.

I'm not convinced that a ship's train will save you much time and they are very expensive. Consider that these trains run on the same tracks as the public train - they can't go all that fast and must work around the existing public train schedule. Also, every one that I've heard of drops you off at Roma San Pietro, which is great if you're headed to the Vatican but if you're headed to the Colosseum getting over there will eat up a lot of time.

All in, I suspect you won't save any time IF the Colosseum is your first stop. Using the public trains you'd get off at Roma Ostiense and jump on the metro for two stops to Colosseo. As you exit the station you're staring right at the Colosseum, which is just across the street.

I'm not convinced that a ship's train will save you much time and they are very expensive. Consider that these trains run on the same tracks as the public train - they can't go all that fast and must work around the existing public train schedule. Also, every one that I've heard of drops you off at Roma San Pietro, which is great if you're headed to the Vatican but if you're headed to the Colosseum getting over there will eat up a lot of time.

 

All in, I suspect you won't save any time IF the Colosseum is your first stop. Using the public trains you'd get off at Roma Ostiense and jump on the metro for two stops to Colosseo. As you exit the station you're staring right at the Colosseum, which is just across the street.

Makes sense, plus the local trains run more often and would afford more schedule flexibility.

One tip someone gave me - if traveling from Rome to Civitavecchia on a week day, the local trains fill up quickly as the train gets farther away from Termini. So it might be best to take the metro to Termini to have a seat for the trip back to CV.

Absolutely. There is much discussion on these boards about taking the train from Civitavecchia (port) into Rome. It's about an hour, plus or minus, depending on which stop in Rome you want. There is an integrated ticket that costs 12 euros per person and is good for your round trip train ride to Rome and back, as well as any subway or public bus in Rome itself during the day.

 

It does require some organization and some patience -- willingness to get to the train station in Civitavecchia, for example requires either a long walk or using the free port shuttle to the port gate and then a public bus to the train station.

 

You can book tickets to the Colosseum in advance online, with or without a guided tour, and you can get there by getting off the train at the Roma Ostiense station (no need to go all the way to the central Rome station, so you save a little time) and then you transfer to the metro -- located in the adjacent station and go just 2 stops to the Colosseo station.

 

If you really are interested in doing it on your own, I suggest you start by doing a lot of reading here -- lots of good info and most questions have been asked and answered. And also I suggest getting a guidebook such as Rick Steves' guide on Mediterranean ports to help with ideas on how to tour independently and specific suggestions for your ports.

Thank you! I will definitely look into the guide you mentioned. A little nervous to be traveling by myself, but doesn't hurt to investigate and read about it

Makes sense, plus the local trains run more often and would afford more schedule flexibility.

 

One tip someone gave me - if traveling from Rome to Civitavecchia on a week day, the local trains fill up quickly as the train gets farther away from Termini. So it might be best to take the metro to Termini to have a seat for the trip back to CV.

Thank you! Good suggestion!

That's what we did a few weeks ago. If you have access to an express train to Rome from your cruise line, that would save you the most time. If not, then you can get a BIRG ticket at the Civitavecchia trans station for 12 Euros each that gives you unlimited train, Rome metro, and Rome bus travel for 24 hours. Figure a little more than one hour each way to Rome on the train.

Dear Host Clarea, what did you end up seeing in Rome? What time did you get there and what time did you leave to get back in time before the ship leaves? Is there a train schedule posted somewhere around train station?

Dear Host Clarea, what did you end up seeing in Rome? What time did you get there and what time did you leave to get back in time before the ship leaves? Is there a train schedule posted somewhere around train station?

There are train schedules on line and in the train station. I suggest you download the online version because you can get it in English. While we could make out the schedules in Italian at the station, there are small (but important) notations that might not be clear to you, such as Saturday only, every day except Sunday, etc.

We arrived in CV 3 days before our cruise, so we did not have a time constraint getting back to the ship.

We caught a 7am train to S. Pietro and walked to the Vatican from there. We spent about 3 hours at the Vatican. We then took the metro to the Spanish Steps then walked to Trevi Fountain, Forum, and the Coliseum. Took a 5pm train back to CV, whihc arrived around 6pm.

Just a suggestion. If you book three tours you can usually get a discount with several of the providers so if you have three stops consider this.

Don't limit yourself to one company. Look at many of them:

Rome In Limo

Joe Banana Limos

And probably a few others.

Let google be your friend.

If this is your first trip to Rome I would not do the train. I would want to rely on a company to get you into Rome and help organize what you will see.

Keith

While a train is a reasonable way to do it, I don't think a train is the most time efficient way to do it. A private tour will go when you are ready, not on a schedule like the train. No connection issues. The private tour will take you direct to the site- at least as close as you can get. Train/subway may be a ways away.

While a train is a reasonable way to do it, I don't think a train is the most time efficient way to do it. A private tour will go when you are ready, not on a schedule like the train. No connection issues. The private tour will take you direct to the site- at least as close as you can get. Train/subway may be a ways away.

I agree, if time is an important factor, I would not consider the train.

The Symphony of the Seas will dock at 25. There you have to take the port shuttle (free) - no walking. At the terminal stop of the port shuttle there´s a shop at the corner with a "T" sign outside. There you can already buy the train tickets. From the terminal stop you have to take the bus (2 Euro each way) to the train station or walk 20 min.

Best way is to the off at San Pietro and directly walk over to the Vatican. For a quick tour you can take one of the Hop on Hop off busses (several companies) there. At Roma Termini it´s quite a long walk to the track where the regional train to Civitavecchia is leaving. So consider at least 15 min for that walk. As said before for the return trip board the train at Roma Termini if you want to have a seat.

Civitatours offers a daily bus transfer to Rome for 19 Euro (departure at 9:30 am, arrival in Rome at 11 am, departure in Rome 4 pm, arrival in Civitavecchia at 5:30 pm). Of course they also offer tours with guided sightseeing.

steamboats

Thank you everyone for such wonderful suggestions. I am worried if I can pull off going on teh train without getting nervos to miss teh ship. I will investigate all teh suggested options. Has anyone purchased anything throguh company called tiquets? I just saw them teh otehr day online with good reviews They mainly offer skip teh line audio tours

Avoid resellers if at all possible. You can purchase tickets directly for "skip-the-line" privileges at most sites, including the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Accademia, the Uffizi, etc.

For a quick tour you can take one of the Hop on Hop off busses (several companies) there.