Rome review

[Specs]

My husband (53 years old) and I (54 years old) had a wonderful time on our trip beginning October the 28th 2009.

 

We arrived at Barcelona October the 29th 2009 and October the 31st 2009 we began our cruise on the Celebrity Summit, 14 nights Mediterranean Legacies Itinerary:

 

Barcelona, Spain / At sea (Formal) /Villefranche (Nice), France* / Livorno (Florence), Italy /

Civitavecchia (Rome),Italy 2 days / Naples (Capri), Italy / At sea (Formal) / Piraeus (Athens), Greece / Istanbul ,Turkey 2 days / Mykonos, Greece / At sea (Formal) / Split, Croatian /Venice, Italy.

 

*We missed Villefranche because of the high waves we cannot used the tenders to go ashore sniff! Sniff!

 

It was one of our best cruises perhaps because we tried for the first time to do excursions by ourselves. It was fantastic!

Thank you to you, Cruise Critic Board, who convinced me to try!

Thank you for all the precious information I got from you!

So, in return, I would like to share with you the detailed itinerary we followed for some ports...

 

Rome review

 

Wednesday, November the 4th 2009 – DAY ONE

Civitavecchia

At 7:00 am, we left the ship to take the free shuttle to go to the entrance of the docks area. Afterwards, we walked alongside the shore, with the water to our right (to give you a sense of direction). We arrived at the train station 30 minutes later. We bought our B.I.R.G. tickets FR5 Lazio regional 9,00€/person valid all day for metro and bus in Rome and for the return on the train. We put our tickets in the machine for validation (a yellow machine) - it is very important to do so. We were able to take the 7:59am train for Rome. There were many seats available but the more we neared Rome, the more the train filled up. Here is a link to a very interesting website for the train schedule and to find out about the possibility of strikes:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com

and

http://www.summerinitaly.com/planning/strike.asp

 

Rome

We arrived at 9:00am at Roma Termini (Giovanni Paolo II). We followed the signs for the metro Blue line B direction Laurentinas.

We exited the metro Colosseo station. We arrived at the Colosseum around 9:30am.

There was a line BUT no line for those who wanted an audio-guide (5,00€/each) and ticket for entrance at the Colosseum + Palatina + Roman Forum + temporary exhibition named “Deredia a Roma” (12,00€/person) for a total of 17,00€/person.

A few minutes later, we began our visit. The audio-guide is a must that made the visit more interesting, more significative. It was extraordinary to be inside one of the most renowned historical sites of Europe...

 

We continued our discoveries, walking to the Palatina and through the Roman Forum. It was like taking a fabulous walk in a great park. We took a lot of pictures.

 

At the time we exited the Roman Forum, the rain began, so we decided to visit “musei Capitolini” 9,00€/person. The art and archaeological collections are displayed in two buildings: Palazzo dei Conservatori and Palazzo Nuovo. We began with the Palazzo Nuovo that houses busts of infamous philosophers and emperors, Venus Capitoline, the gigantic statue of Marforio, etc. Then we walked through the underground gallery that connects to the Palazzo dei Conservatori, where we admired splendid frescoes on Rome history, some bronzes like Capitoline Wolf (the legendary story of Romulus and Remus), Spinario (thorn puller), Brutus and the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius etc. The Capitoline museum is the oldest of the world. It is a MUST SEE!

 

After our visit (2 hours long), the rain stopped so we were able to continue our visit in Rome. We walked to Piazza Navona to see the Fountain of Four Rivers, Fountain of Neptune and the Moor Fountain. We ate a piece of pizza with a cappuccino. Then, along we went, following the direction to see the Pantheon and after, the Piazza della Minerva to see Bernini's Elephant.

 

We were tired but we continued our itinerary to see the Trevi Fountain and we threw two coins. The first one, you have to turn your back to the fountain and toss it above your shoulder if you would like to return to Rome. The second one, we simply tossed it in the Fountain to make a wish!

 

At this point in my schedule, we were supposed to continue to Piazza di Spagna but we were too tired. Instead, my husband decided we should walk back to the Termini Station. Do not do that because it is a looooong walk! And at the Termini you have to walk again for a loooong time to reach tracks 26 – 29... We were exhausted! We took the train at 5:14pm and we arrived at 6:27pm at Civitavecchia. (When you see the station S. Marinella, you know that the next one will be Civitavecchia...)

 

First thing we did on the ship: had a nice swim in the Aqua spa pool and relaxed with a little drink. After all, we had to be in good shape for the next day when we would visit the Vatican!

 

Stay tuned, the day two review in Rome will follow shortly!

[cruisemom42]

Glad you took the time to visit the Capitoline museum; it's one of my favorites in Rome. I feel it's greatly overlooked by most who are only in Rome for 2-3 days.

[nevertolate]

We are going to be in Rome in Oct 2010 so we are finding your information great, thanks again

Christine

[nikel]

Funny you popped into the Capitoline museum because it was raining. Same thing happened to us, never would have gone there otherwise. Most people don't talk much about it. Knowing what I know now, I would be very unhappy if I missed it. What a great museum. Same thing with Borghese gallery, a must in my opinion. Actually....everything in Rome is fantastic!

[CALMOM]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. My DH & I are planning a cruise to Europe and your experiences are certainly going to be an asset to our planning. I can't wait to read your next post.

[Specs]

Thursday, November the 5th 2009 – Day two

With a sunny day and full of energy, we disembarked from the ship at 7:00am, took the shuttle, walked to the train station, bought the B.I.R.G. ticket (9,00€/each), validated the ticket and took the 7:33 train for Rome. We left the train at the Roma San Pietro station (when you see the station Aurelia you know that the next one will be Roma San Pietro). We walked to the St. Peters Basilica by following the many signs indicating where to go.

Around 9:00am, we arrived at the city of the Vatican. I couldn’t believe that I had the chance to be there! We were practically alone... We decided to begin by climbing up the “Cupola”. No line up at all! I think we were in the first 10 persons who took the elevator (7,00€/each). After the elevator ride, we had to climb 330 stairs to reach the Dome. Those stairs are very narrow, irregular and high. Often times, we had to bend over because the roof is curvy and ceiling not high. Just before the summit, we had the chance to admire from up in the Dome the beauty of the Basilica down below. Then, we climbed a little bit more for a panoramic view of the Piazza di San Pietro and the gardens. This is absolutely beautiful and worth the effort! On the way down, when we finished the part with the stairs just before taking the elevator, we had a look at the gift shop to buy some postal cards. That is also the place to purchase some religious artefacts. We visited the Basilica and saw the Pietà of Michelangelo, the Colonnade of Bernini... When we left the Basilica, the number of visitor had increased and there was a long line for the Dome. So going early is a very good idea to avoid the crowd.

Next destination, 10:10am, was the Vatican Museum (14,00€/each). Another good timing, no line up; I was very surprised. I suppose that November is perfect for avoiding the crowd! We went immediately to the Raphaël Room and to the Sixtine Chapel by walking through the magnificent galleria and the corridor housing gigantic maps. Everything in the museum was breathtaking! We finished our visit walking down the great spiral staircase and we arrived at the Postal Office. I purchased two nice stamps one is about the 50th anniversary of “Concilio Ecuminico Vaticano II” 1959 – 2009 and the other I bought to put it in a frame. It is a depiction of “Raffaello – La disputa del Sacramento 1509 – 2009” representing a part of the painting of the Raphaël Room embellished by a gold edge (dimension 4” x 3”). It is an original souvenir of the year 2009 in Rome to display on your wall! They have a great selection of stamps that you can choose from.

Before leaving Rome, we spent some time at “Museo ****onale Castel San Angelo”, now famous for being the setting for the movie Angels & Demons. We took the time to stroll along the Tevere river and look at the statues on Ponte Sant’Angelo, a pretty bridge. After, we entered in the castle (8,50€/each) and we looked at the different apartments and went all the way up on the top. From there, we took splendid pictures of the Basilica St Peter, the Piazza and the boulevard V. Della Conciliazione. Great photo opportunity!

We grabbed a gelatino on our way to Roma San Pietro station to take the train for Civitavecchia!

ARRIVEDERCI ROMA! GOODBYE ET AUREVOIR! Like the song says…

[blue-noser]

Great reading. Where to next?

[Specs]

If you wish to read about other ports we visited during our cruise, please refer to the following links:

Barcelona:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1149234

Florence:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1154257

Istanbul:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1158074

 

Enjoy!

[donnasperls]

Thank you specs,

 

That was exactly the information I was looking for in relation to the Vatican. You did it the same way I plan to with the museum last as I want to do the audio tour. So I will be climbing the dome first and then the museum.

[Specs]

Bon voyage, donnasperls! Have a great time!!!

[Keith1010]

Thanks for taking the time to write and to post your review.

 

Keith