Rome Hop-on/Hop-off Tour Offered by Princess

[Voodoonite]

I’m planning a Rome excursion and am planning on using the Hop-on/Hop-off bus to get around. On the motor coach from the port, Civitavecchia to Rome, they are offering tickets for the Hop-on/ Hop-off bus. Does anyone know which Hop-on/Hop-off company Princess uses? Is there a discount getting the tickets on the Motor Coach verses waiting until we get to St. Peter's Square?

[dorisis]

I’m planning a Rome excursion and am planning on using the Hop-on/Hop-off bus to get around. On the motor coach from the port, Civitavecchia to Rome, they are offering tickets for the Hop-on/ Hop-off bus. Does anyone know which Hop-on/Hop-off company Princess uses? Is there a discount getting the tickets on the Motor Coach verses waiting until we get to St. Peter's Square?

 

It's a long ride from the port into the city. Never heard of a HOHO bus doing the transit.

[SwissDave]

I’m planning a Rome excursion and am planning on using the Hop-on/Hop-off bus to get around. On the motor coach from the port, Civitavecchia to Rome, they are offering tickets for the Hop-on/ Hop-off bus. Does anyone know which Hop-on/Hop-off company Princess uses? Is there a discount getting the tickets on the Motor Coach verses waiting until we get to St. Peter's Square?

 

I'm not sure if it is actually Princess offering the tickets. I have been sold HOHO tickets on other Princess 'on your own' transfers and it was not a Princess person doing the selling. I think the Company used by Princess also ran the HOHO buses. It was in Italy, but not Rome.

 

But, the way you worded your post, perhaps they have started doing it. I would check the princes before you get there to make sure they are charging at most the same, and hopefully less. If not then just buy the ticket when you get to Rome.

Edited May 16, 2014 by SwissDave

[paul929207]

It is usually a save bet that Princess will be more expensive or the same

[SwissDave]

It's a long ride from the port into the city. Never heard of a HOHO bus doing the transit.

 

Its not. They are selling the HOHO tickets on the transfer bus for the HOHO for when you get to Rome.

[dfields1814]

It has been awhile so I hope my memory serves me well. We took the excursion that just drops you off on at Vatican and picks up in a few hours. On the way to Rome the man in charge tried to sell other tours. One could have been a HOHO bus tour. I don't think the tours he was selling were official Princess tours. In other words if something happened and you were late back to the Vatican too bad.

[brian1]

hi,just google hoho buses rome and several sites come up,i saw one for 22 euros for 1 day.i think there is a train to rome termini which may be quicker as it is a long way,cheers brian.

[brian1]

hi again,i forgot to mention that if you want to see the sistene chapel the lines can be long but you can prebook a timeslot online with them and save a lot of time but to get to the chapel you have to go thru endless rooms and galleries which can also be time consuming,cheers brian.

[Voodoonite]

Thanks All,

…this is what it says in the “Rome On Your Own -- ROM-185” package:

A wonderful way to maximize your day in Rome is to utilize the hop on & hop off bus system. This upgrade can be purchased on the motorcoach to Rome, depending to local conditions. The bus route stops at the main archaeological sites and historical landmarks. The buses run continuously arriving at each stop about every 20 to 30 minutes.

[tartanexile81]

Thanks All,

…this is what it says in the “Rome On Your Own -- ROM-185” package:

A wonderful way to maximize your day in Rome is to utilize the hop on & hop off bus system. This upgrade can be purchased on the motorcoach to Rome, depending to local conditions. The bus route stops at the main archaeological sites and historical landmarks. The buses run continuously arriving at each stop about every 20 to 30 minutes.

 

I would certainly check with the vendor of the tickets about the timetable. We took the hoho is Rome (can't remember which line it was). It was August but we had to wait AGES at the stops for the buses to turn up and nothing like every 20/30 minutes. We vowed we'd never do it again. Too much time wasted. I'd do research before I went, decide on the line which operatesthe best timetable and go with that whatever price if offered on the transfer coach. The hoho buses all line up very close to St Peter's Square.

[Voodoonite]

I would certainly check with the vendor of the tickets about the timetable. We took the hoho is Rome (can't remember which line it was). It was August but we had to wait AGES at the stops for the buses to turn up and nothing like every 20/30 minutes. We vowed we'd never do it again. Too much time wasted. I'd do research before I went, decide on the line which operatesthe best timetable and go with that whatever price if offered on the transfer coach. The hoho buses all line up very close to St Peter's Square.

 

Thanks tartanexile81, that is very good advice. You've been very helpful.

 

Paul

[shredie]

The city is long way from the port. Rome is crowded, and things are not compact. The Forum is a good way from the Vatican. The lines everywhere are long. If it's hot, the wait can be uncomfortable. My advice would be to pick one thing and do that. I have never done the Hop bus in Rome, but I have in other big cities, and it wasn't always reliable. I did take the "Florence on your own" Princess tour once. Again, the city was a long way from the port. I did the Princess tour because I wanted to be sure to get back to the ship on time. I had also been to Florence before, so I knew where I was going. (Granted, Florence and Rome are very different cities.) I don't think I would try to do all of Rome in one day. I was there for a week once and still didn't see everything. In any case, you really need to do your homework on this one. Good luck!

[DrivesLikeMario]

I agree with the above post. We did the HOHO bus during our pre-cruise stay in Rome. The buses tended to be very, very packed and the lines for them at popular venues were very long. Everyone rushed to the door and crammed in and arguments broke out. We started walking to the next stop after the popular venues and the buses would come by completely filled to the gills so we couldn't even get on. We learned to back-track a stop to get on the bus before the hoards.

 

I think it's much better to pick maybe 1 or 2 venues and go to them. There just isn't time to do much else there when you only have a partial day. If you do the Colisseum and Forum, get your tickets in advance online. You can pick them up at the Forum for both venues, thus avoiding the massive lines at the Colisseum. Doing just these 2 venues would take up all your time that day.

[majortom10]

Thanks All,

…this is what it says in the “Rome On Your Own -- ROM-185” package:

A wonderful way to maximize your day in Rome is to utilize the hop on & hop off bus system. This upgrade can be purchased on the motorcoach to Rome, depending to local conditions. The bus route stops at the main archaeological sites and historical landmarks. The buses run continuously arriving at each stop about every 20 to 30 minutes.

 

Think the only way you will find out is to ring Princess and ask them what company are selling the HOHO bus tickets on your ROM-185 Rome on your own excursion. I think if it was me I would consider booking an excursion with http://www.cruiseingexcursions.com which will save you money on Princess prices and forget the HOHO buses altogether I know when we did one in Barcelona we stayed on the bus for the whole tour because of the queues at every stop waiting to get and we were worried we would never get back on.

Edited May 18, 2014 by majortom10

[chaub]

We did the Rome Hoho and it was the worst way to see the city because of the crowded buses, the commentary did not work and the buses were far too infrequent. If you are looking for an informational tour then you should look for a proper guided tour.

 

 

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[alyssa0922]

Rome is my most favorite city in the world! The hop on hop off buses are without a doubt the WORST way to see the city!!! Take the transfer from Princess and then walk and use the metro, you will see soooo much more and get exactly to where you want to be. The HOHO buses stop in inconvenient places so you still have to walk to all the sites. They are extremely hot and crowded as well! Happy travels in Rome! 😃

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

It's a long ride from the port into the city.

 

 

Correct, it is over an hour via coach into Rome from the port.

[Voodoonite]

Thanks for all the info. After also reading the bad Rome HOHO reviews on TripAdvisor, I think I'll stick with the Rome Metro. I did that on my last Rome (multi-day visit) and found the Metro very easy to use and very easy to get to all the desired attractions within short walking distances of the Metro stations.