Tips on Vatican excursion

[Larry the Legend]

Our cruise on the Century docks in Civitavecchia for 12 hours. I would like to plan an excursion to Rome to visit the Vatican and tour inside St. Peters Basilica without waiting in long lines. Can anybody offer some guidance on the best way to get to Rome and the best Vatican tour guides? I am a first time cruiser and can really use the guidance. Thanks.

[dzcruisers]

Our cruise on the Century docks in Civitavecchia for 12 hours. I would like to plan an excursion to Rome to visit the Vatican and tour inside St. Peters Basilica without waiting in long lines. Can anybody offer some guidance on the best way to get to Rome and the best Vatican tour guides? I am a first time cruiser and can really use the guidance. Thanks.

 

If you would like to email me at dcztravel at aol dot com I have some info for you. I am not a travel agent. That's where our travel e mail goes.

[ORCRUISER]

We used romeinlimo and did a great Rome tour witha private Vatican tour. The private Vatican guide was 150 Euros but there were 5 of us in the gorup so it wasn't too bad. Med our tour buddies here on cruisecritic.com and it was GREAT.

[jlijny]

We used Romeinlimo, too. They were FANTASTIC!!!!. Our day in Rome was my favorite day. We had a driver/guide and a private tour guide for the entire day. We never had to wait on one line. They had pre-ordered tickets for us to the Colisseum and the Vatican.....so we walked right in.....passing hundreds of people on line. Considering that there is so much to see in Rome, we saw everything we wanted, and they stopped at a wonderful restaurant.

 

I hope you enjoy your trip

[ORCRUISER]

It would be hard to say which day was our favorite but we used Romeinlimo for Naples and Florence/Pisa also. All were GREAT. Best driver/guide was Naples (Pompii, Sorrento & Positano)

[Pat.bz]

We did Rome ourselves several days before embarkation; the best tip is to go to the Apple Itunes store and do free downloads to your Ipod of Rick Steves individual tours of St. Peters, Sistine Chapel, forum, Colisseum etc. Each tour was 45 mins long and very in-depth with photos (to be sure you were exactly where you were supposed to be. The limo might be a great way to cover a lot of territory in a little time.

[Cybercsp]

In case you are not aware, to enter St Peter's Basilica, women must have their heads and shoulders covered. No shorts for men or women, and dresses should go to the knee. (This was protocol four years ago..though I doubt it has changed). I mention this only because we saw many people denied admission and no one wants to journey so far to be turned away at the door.

[CruisinManiac]

In case you are not aware, to enter St Peter's Basilica, women must have their heads and shoulders covered. No shorts for men or women, and dresses should go to the knee. (This was protocol four years ago..though I doubt it has changed). I mention this only because we saw many people denied admission and no one wants to journey so far to be turned away at the door.

We didn't have to cover our heads. :eek: :confused: :eek: Shoulders and knees only. Maybe to visit St. Peter's tomb you had to cover the head, though we didn't have reservations to go under to see that.

 

We used Romecabs and had the same experience as jlijny. Go over to the Europe/Mediterranean boards and you can get lot's of information. :)

[kitty9]

I've been to the Vatican at least 5 times and never had to cover our heads. The only time it's truly appropriate to cover your head is if you're in the presence of His Holiness.

 

Neither men nor women can wear shorts or sleevless tops in St Peters.

[Bet & Peg]

Larry ~ We stopped in Rome (also 12 hours) on a 2008 cruise. We used Rome Cabs and everything was more than perfect! We did a complete day in Rome but I'm sure they would tailor a tour to your choice and spend more time at the Vatican if you wish.

The Vatican sells VIP tickets (forget the price I'm sure its on their web site) and we decided to go for those to avoid losing any time waiting in line. We also arranged for a separate Vatican guide (75euros an hour). I had arranged the tour (8 people) and felt the responsibility that everything should go smoothly! When we got to the Vatican, our driver (can’t remember his name but he was great!) said the Vatican guide was Walter – I’d also highly recommend him – he was FABULOUS and very knowledgeable especially answering questions about art. He didn’t try filling us with too much information but one of the group was interested and he gladly answered all her questions.

But back to my point – The driver said to me that Walter didn’t get the VIP tickets – I started to protest but the driver said no need, there’s no line! We saved money because all he had to purchase was regular price tickets – and, more important, they were honest!! None of us had ever been there before and probably wouldn’t have realized there was no need for VIP tickets! We gave them both a tip, paid for lunch, and I could still refund a bit of money to everyone! And, the most important, it was cheaper than the ship’s excursion – and a millions times more personal!!!!

I’m sure there are a lot of companies that are very good – good luck – and I hope your experience is a good as ours was!

[mildavis]

We went summer of '08 and also booked a private tour that picked us up at the ship and took us into Rome where we picked up our private tour guide, Maria, who was marvelous to say the least. She had all our tickets/tours pre-arranged for the Vatican and the coliseum so we wouldn't have to wait in line with "all the ordinary people". Her words. She was a trip. Our teenage kids LOVED her and so did we! There were 8 of us in our group and the price of our private tour wasn't much more than the big group tours and was well worth it!!! We booked this one through one of our local travel agencies that new this group very well but i booked others on my own and was very pleased. Definitely go the private tour route, it usually isn't anymore than the ships tours and much much better!!!! Have fun, I can't wait to go back.

[Softball20]

When we did this in 08, we actually took the ship's transportation to/from Rome, and were off on our own for the day. We hired Real Rome Tours for our Vatican/St. Peters tour. Once in Rome we had a bit of time to wander around before we were to meet our guide. He was wonderful! Very knowledgeable about everything we saw. There were four of us, and we paid 38 euros each for the tour/guide plus the entry fees, which were 25 euros. We really enjoyed it. Doing the ship's transportation gave us the security of getting back on time.

[sdjsnewmexico]

We used romeinlimo as well and asked them to arrange for a private tour guide at the Vatican. We can't say enough good things about them. They were outstanding!:) We also used them in Naples.

[CathyCruises]

Interesting that no one has yet mentioned doing this on your own, which is very easy.

 

Take the free port bus to the front of the port, turn right and walk 4 blocks to the train station. Buy a rail ticket from the newsstand at the station for 9 euros. VALIDATE on the platform by inserting the ticket in the yellow box. Get off the train at Roma San Pietro, walk 6 blocks and you are at the Vatican. The Basilica is free, you just have to go through security. No head covering necessary.

 

IF you want to see the museums and the Sistine Chapel, make advance reservations here: http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html and you can skip all lines. You can book regular admission or a guided tour. The Sistine Chapel is at the very end of the museums; do not go out the regular door, take the back right hand door that says 'for groups only' and you will come out right at the Basilica; you can also buy tickets to climb to the top of the dome here (HIGHLY recommended).

 

If you want a REALLY special experience, try to book the Scavi tour that takes you to the catacombs UNDER the Vatican; hard to get into but totally amazing if you do.

 

After your Vatican day, you can have lunch somewhere in the neighborhood, maybe stroll down to the river, whatever, then hop the train back to Civitavecchia using the same ticket--9 euros covers the round trip.

 

You will spend a FRACTION of any tour mentioned here and please do not waste your money on "Rome on your own" which provides transportation only at about a $50 markup per person, or more.

 

Cathy