Rome

Hi

Can anyone recommend a really good trip to take in the main sites of Rome and perhaps some free time, either ships trip or independent company.

Thank you.

Sandie

We usually take hop on hop off tours in many of the ports we stop at. It is a great way to see the City and allows you to stop at any of the sites that interest you and then hop back on the next bus. Rome is a beautiful Cit with a lot to see. In case you do not know it is far from the cruise port.

Check Angel Tours they were awesome, we used them while staying in Rome pre cruise

Rome In Limo....great company, excellent drivers and guides. We've used them for several walking tours, transfers and all day tours in Rome. Will use them again whenever we return!!

I agree in recommending rome in limo. We used them for transfers and a tour. Professional, friendly and safe driving.

Absolutely, Rome in Limo! It's pretty expensive if it's just the two of you but the value is incredible. Your driver will drop you right where you want to be, not like a big tour bus that has to find the parking lot. Your day will be tailored to your interests, not the cruise line's. If you participate in your roll call, you can share a van with some other people and make the pricing much more reasonable.

The hop on / hop off bus is a great way to get a feel for the city, stop at all the major sights, and get on and off at your leisure.

You can also reference the Ports of Call board (Europe) for more information on Rome.

I may be wrong, but I had the impression that the OP was referring to Rome as a port day, not as a pre- or post- cruise destination. Rome is a long trip from the port of Civitavecchia that must be managed, most likely by train. Then, you have to be sure to be back at the train station in time to return to the port. I know it's quite do-able but the traveler needs a lot of information in advance about what kind of ticket to buy, what train to take and where to stop. Just avoiding that hassle makes Rome in Limo worth the money.

However, if you're staying in Rome, a day spent doing a Hop-On, Hop-Off is well worth it. In fact, it's a 24 hour ticket. So, if you buy your ticket at 1:00 in the afternoon, you can still use it the next morning.

The hop on / hop off bus is a great way to get a feel for the city, stop at all the major sights, and get on and off at your leisure.

While HOHO buses can be a good way to learn about a city, that's not really the case in a place like Rome, where narrow, ancient streets prevent the buses from getting close to most of the major sites. They are much better suited to "newer" and more spread out cities, like Barcelona, New York, Paris, etc.

You did not say how much time you would have in Rome, that is a big factor. You also did not say what is your budget. If you have limited time then I think you may want some guided tour. We've been in Rome couple of times but never used guided tour as we had time, but we always used RomeCabs for all our transfers, they used Mercedes and fees are just a little over what a cab would cost. They also provide guided tour that may be a good option for you if you have only a day off the ship. But if you have more than a day, Rome is very walkable and you can get anywhere on the Metro which is cheap and fast. A local guided tour will always be cheaper than shore excursion, but seeing Rome in a day is cheating yourself.

Rome In Limo....great company, excellent drivers and guides. We've used them for several walking tours, transfers and all day tours in Rome. Will use them again whenever we return!!

Won't even look at another company when we return to Italy.

Check their reviews on Tripadvisor..they are the best. :)

I've heard nothing but good things about Rome In Limo but we decided to use Rome Cabs for our tours last year. We did 3 of them with Rome Cabs - one of which was Rome. It was absolutely fabulous. They used Mercedes vans and they held 9 people - 8 passengers and the driver. We had great tours. One additional tip. At the Vatican they offer a private guide. Get one. Ours was fabulous and 3 different times she took us to the front of long lines. I think her fee was 150 Euros but divided by the 8 of us it was really reasonable IMHO.

I've heard nothing but good things about Rome In Limo but we decided to use Rome Cabs for our tours last year. We did 3 of them with Rome Cabs - one of which was Rome. It was absolutely fabulous. They used Mercedes vans and they held 9 people - 8 passengers and the driver. We had great tours. One additional tip. At the Vatican they offer a private guide. Get one. Ours was fabulous and 3 different times she took us to the front of long lines. I think her fee was 150 Euros but divided by the 8 of us it was really reasonable IMHO.

Totally agree about the private guide at the Vatican. We had 1pm reservations but because we had a private guide, we were able to get in early and skip the lines. We also paid $150 for our private guide arranged through RIL. Euros well spent .

We were picked up in Civitavecchia by Rome Cabs (Claudia) Intensive tour of Rome. Drove to all the best sites even parking almost on top of some. Used to live in NY. Most awesome, comprehensive and informative time. Even got our tickets to the Colosseum. Highly recommended.

I may be wrong, but I had the impression that the OP was referring to Rome as a port day, not as a pre- or post- cruise destination. Rome is a long trip from the port of Civitavecchia that must be managed, most likely by train. Then, you have to be sure to be back at the train station in time to return to the port. I know it's quite do-able but the traveler needs a lot of information in advance about what kind of ticket to buy, what train to take and where to stop. Just avoiding that hassle makes Rome in Limo worth the money.

 

However, if you're staying in Rome, a day spent doing a Hop-On, Hop-Off is well worth it. In fact, it's a 24 hour ticket. So, if you buy your ticket at 1:00 in the afternoon, you can still use it the next morning.

I would hire Rome In Limo if it was a port day too.... they will be there the INSTANT you are off the ship, no waits and tailor your day to see as much as possible in a short time. They really are excellent. Have used them in Rome and Naples for multiple trips, never disappointed.