Which Rome trip with P&O do you recommend?

[Jo and Rob]

Mum and Dad are off on their first cruise in April and I have offered to do a bit of research on their behalf. They have never visited Rome before, want the security of a P&O trip but don't want to be on a trip where they have to stand for hours or do loads of walking as they are not as mobile as they used to be! The trips haven't been released yet but any advice would be really appreciated.

many thanks

[6rugrats]

Not sure how you would get advice on excursions that haven't yet been released, but you may want to post this on the P&O boards, not the family forum.

[Jo and Rob]

Not sure how you would get advice on excursions that haven't yet been released, but you may want to post this on the P&O boards, not the family forum.

 

I hoping for experience that others have had and my aging parents are our family after all!

[RoadTripFanatic]

I'll confess that I checked out the P&O site today to see what kind of excursions they offer. If it were my in-laws (They are older and have a difficult time with lots of walking/standing) I would recommend the Panoramic Rome. It's all driving around and seeing the sites from the vehicle. There didn't seem to be much of a tour that had 1/2 walking and 1/2 driving.

[scubababy]

I would highly suggest that they hire their own private tour guides for Rome as well as other ports in Europe.

We cruised the Med in 2009 on the Ruby, and cruised the European Explorer on the Crown in 2010 with my in-laws (in their late 70's) and our young daughter. We visited Rome both times.

 

We used "Driver in Italy" both years, and they were fantastic. They met us at the ship in a comfortable van, and took us everywhere we wanted to go. They were able to drop us off as close possible to the tour sites, and would meet up with us after they parked the vehicle. They took us through the shortest routes to see things, and we never had to stand in long lines or wait on the bus for stragglers coming back late from their sightseeing.

 

We saw so much more than the cruise ship tours, and the pricing for 5 of us was much cheaper than the cruise ship tours. They were very punctual and very professional.

 

We used our own private guides for Italy, Turkey, France. The others we were able to research (most here on cruise critic) and figured out how to do on our own.

 

If your parents want to see more of the Vatican than the main grounds and St. Peters Basilica, they will need to purcase tickets ahead of time for the Sistine Chapel. They need to buy the "no waiting in line tickets". It is alot of walking to the Sistine Chapel - alot of walking. But so worth it. Just be sure they buy their tickets ahead of time.

 

It's about 1.5 hour drive from the port to Rome. And, it takes a few hours to see the Sistine Chapel. For my first visit to Rome, I would probably do St. Peters Basilica and main grounds of Vatican City . You'll want time to see the Pantheon, Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and time for a wonderful meal at a sidewalk cafe in Rome. We were able to see all of this at our leisure on our first cruise.

 

Patti

[chipmaster]

Unless your parents really enjoy the company of many others I'd go private. I did private with RIL ( Rome in LImo ) with my parents and inlaws who were pushing 70's and 80's but healthy but not the most mobile or faster walks as you can imagine.

 

Private in Europe is a car that drops you right at the entrance. Big bus tours are drive by or park and hike 1/4 or more mile to the location with 40-60 of your fastest and slowest friends. Private means small group a big plus, means you get to choose what you want to see and order and change if your interest changes.

 

Pirvate sounds more expensive but when you factor in how much you see and what you get versus cruise line, its well worht the money and if you can get another 2-4 people to join your parents you'll save money.

 

Good luck,

 

Mum and Dad are off on their first cruise in April and I have offered to do a bit of research on their behalf. They have never visited Rome before, want the security of a P&O trip but don't want to be on a trip where they have to stand for hours or do loads of walking as they are not as mobile as they used to be! The trips haven't been released yet but any advice would be really appreciated.

many thanks