NCL Tour Rome on your Own

[Gettingwarmer]

I have read all the post etc re travelling to Rome and getting the train or private tour but I have one question before I make my decision.

 

Please could someone tell me where the NCL Rome on Your Own coach stops in Rome. I have read posts in 2013 that say it stops at the the Colosseum. Is this still correct. Can someone who has recently travelled confirm this. Thank you.

[ghockley1981]

Has anyone been on this recently?

 

I to am interested to know where the coach stops and picks you up in Rome.

 

Anyone help here? thanks :)

[suron]

I was on NCL Epic in June - had a great time with some great fellow passengers from the roll call and via the Studio Lounge which I was able to use as a solo traveller.

 

Whilst I am sure you have your reasons for wanting to do Rome on Your Own I would strongly recommend you consider getting a group together from the roll call. This is how I organised my time in Rome. One of the roll call members kindly arranged a full day tour for six of us with stefanorometours.com. The cost for the six of us was Euros 550 which gave us a guide for the day and we travelled in a super seven seater car with air conditioning (most welcome in temperatures of 42C!).

 

We each arranged our own tickets for the Colosseum and the Vatican which meant we were able to skip the huge queues at these sights. We also paid Euros 120 for the whole group to have a private guide in the Vatican - well worth the money and what a fantastic lady we had She was so knowledgeable and did not rush us through.

 

The guide from the tour company was able to drive through the narrow streets and was able to get us really close to all the landmarks (something which is not possible if on a huge coach with the ship's excursions) and of course we had the added advantage of him being a local person who knew all about his lovely city.

 

It is about an hour's drive from the port of Civitavechia into Rome and it was lovely to travel in comfort and have the guide telling us about everything en route.

 

I hope your plans work out OK and you have a wonderful time in Rome, whichever way you choose to explore, and also have a great cruise

 

 

Suron (in Bristol UK)

[mugtech]

 

It is about an hour's drive from the port of Civitavechia into Rome and it was lovely to travel in comfort and have the guide telling us about everything en route.

 

Took us 1 hour 45 minutes to get back to the ship on a Thursday in May.

[ghockley1981]

I myself have tried the roll call but no one is free for our trip leaving Barcelona on the 31st Aug.

 

Hence why im going down this route now, i like the idea of using Rome Limo or the like but as there are 4 of us we have found all groups have already been formed.

 

Plus we dont want a set plan, we would like to experience it at our own pace in our own time, we don't want to rush around everywhere :)

 

So to try to find another group has been a bit hard.

 

We don't bite, honest lol

[Meanee]

Me and my significant other thought to take a train from Civitavecchia, but it worked out better. We took free shuttle to bus depot from the ship, and found a bus to Rome. Round trip was 17 euros, in a nice, comfy, air conditioned coach. We were given a map and a choice of 2 stops. Rome Hall of Justice or Termini. Hall was about 10 minute walk from Vatican. Pickup was at 4:15pm and we made it back to the ship without any issues.

[ghockley1981]

Me and my significant other thought to take a train from Civitavecchia, but it worked out better. We took free shuttle to bus depot from the ship, and found a bus to Rome. Round trip was 17 euros, in a nice, comfy, air conditioned coach. We were given a map and a choice of 2 stops. Rome Hall of Justice or Termini. Hall was about 10 minute walk from Vatican. Pickup was at 4:15pm and we made it back to the ship without any issues.

 

Sounds interesting Meanee, im just worried about turning up without having something booked. Are these a regular thing for everyone, or just for the Visiting Cruise Ship visitors?

 

I don't suppose you know the company it was with do you? (off i go to ask my friend Google!!!)

 

Something for me to look at, thanks.

[Meanee]

Sounds interesting Meanee, im just worried about turning up without having something booked. Are these a regular thing for everyone, or just for the Visiting Cruise Ship visitors?

 

I don't suppose you know the company it was with do you? (off i go to ask my friend Google!!!)

 

Something for me to look at, thanks.

 

These seemed to be regular. Bus was half empty. We thought we will go to train station, get to Rome this way, but there was a bus and a woman holding a sign that round trip is 17 euros. Regular price was 22, but we were "last minute" since we got off the ship a bit late.

 

When we got to bus stop in Civitavecchia (we did not plan to, but there's a lot of repairs and cruise shuttle no longer goes to train station, but other way to bus station), we saw about 4-5 other buses just standing there, offering a ride to Rome and back.

 

It can be a gamble. What if you don't make the bus? What if everyone and their pet hamster wants to go to Rome this way? But I think transport situation there is flexible enough to make it there and back. If buses are not available, take a train. If train is not available, do a ride share with someone to Rome in a cab. There will be plenty of people going to Rome in a taxi, since it's also embarkation/debarkation port.

[Dedabugg]

Please don't attack me for adding something to this thread that doesn't even answer your questions, but it is kind of relevant. I'll also be on the August 31 sailing from Barcelona. I was two seconds away from booking the Rome on Your Own Tour but I slept on it for one more night after reading the Rome section of Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports and noting that the train was an alternative. When I got to work the next morning, my very first customer started talking about how he and his wife cruise 7 to 9 times per year. I told him about my upcoming trip and he said, "If there's one piece of advice I can leave you with, it's this: Do not feel pressured to pay the cruise line to take you into Rome. Get on the train, and save a lot of money and you'll have a great time. Jus set a time to get back on the train and stick to it. It'll be great and you won't have any worries about missing the ship." I was stunned because all I told him was that we were going on a Mediterranean cruise...I made no mention of Rome or any shore excursions. I took it as a sign 😊, plus Mr. P and I are like to think we're adventurous. So we're going to take a chance. Good luck!

 

 

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[ghockley1981]

Please don't attack me for adding something to this thread that doesn't even answer your questions, but it is kind of relevant. I'll also be on the August 31 sailing from Barcelona. I was two seconds away from booking the Rome on Your Own Tour but I slept on it for one more night after reading the Rome section of Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports and noting that the train was an alternative. When I got to work the next morning, my very first customer started talking about how he and his wife cruise 7 to 9 times per year. I told him about my upcoming trip and he said, "If there's one piece of advice I can leave you with, it's this: Do not feel pressured to pay the cruise line to take you into Rome. Get on the train.

 

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I have looked into taking the train a lot. It does look quiet easy although i have read that you now get dropped of further away from the station in Rome because of some work they are doing at the entrance.

 

So something else for us to consider now lol Although i think we will go for it like you

[brownie20]

Hi all!

 

We are booked on the Norwegian Spirit Venice to Barcelona departing 10th August and have booked the Rome on your own tour. My reasoning was:

 

It seems quite a long journey time to get into Rome, so plenty of opportunity for things to go wrong if travelling by public transport. As a first time cruiser, I'm a bit paranoid about missing the boat, so as this is an NCL organised tour, no worries there. The cost of the tour was more expensive than going by train, but I thought worth it for peace of mind and especially since it terminates near the Colosseum which is where we want to go.

 

I didn't want to book one of the 'fully accompanied' NCL tours of Rome as they all seem to try and pack SO much in a very short time. We would rather go to fewer places and have a greater time to take everything in. The 'On your own' tour enables us to do this. In Rome we are concentrating on the Colosseum , Forum and Pantheon, with hopefully time to find a little trattoria for a bite of lunch. I've pre-booked a non NCL tour of the Colosseum which includes the underground part and the third tier which are not open to the general public. You are then free to spend as much time as you like exploring the rest of the Colosseum.

 

We've also chosen to do the 'On your own' tour of Florence and have pre-booked tickets for the Uffizi and The Academia, the latter with a local art expert who will take us on an explanatory tour of the key artworks in the collection.

 

I booked these tours as I hoped they would provide the right balance of peace of mind and convenience and independence once at the locations.

[CTCruisers]

Civitavecchia to Rome

 

We have gone on our own twice from Civitavecchia.

 

For those that like to explore ports on their own, traveling from Civitavecchia to Rome is easy to navigate on your own. The most important thing is to have a plan on what you want to see and do in advance so that you do not waste precious time once you get there.

 

When getting off the ship in the port of Civitavecchia, there will be free shuttle buses constantly running to bring you from the ship to the entrance to the port area by Forte Michelangelo. You are not allowed to walk through the port area. From the port entrance, it is a short 15-20 minute walk to the Civitavecchia train station (stazione).

 

As you enter the main lobby of the train station, it will be filled with fellow cruisers all looking to buy train tickets to go to Rome. The lobby has agents at windows that sell tickets along with automated machines on the side of the room. But if you go to your right, you will come across a variety of shops that have signs saying they sell train tickets. So don’t worry, you do not need to wait in line for the official ticket agents. Just keep on walking to find a shop with little or no line.

 

From Civitavecchia you will see that there a few options regarding trains that go to Rome. Almost every 30 minutes, there will be a regional train stopping at the station in addition to slightly faster inter-city trains that run only a few times a day.

 

If you want to go to the main station (Roma Termini) in Rome, the regional train takes about 80 minutes and the inter-city (IC) train takes about 60 minutes. From Civitavecchia to Roma S. Pietro (first stop in Rome) it is about 20 minutes sooner for the regional train with several stops after it on the way to Roma Termini. The inter-city train only stops at Roma Ostiense and Roma Termini.

 

(Note: if a train is full prior to arriving to Civitavecchia, they will announce that the train will not stop there. But hey, it is Italy. You need to be prepared for delays or inconveniences)

 

The best option for those that want to DIY is a special ticket offered at the various locations in the station called BIRG. (Biglietto Intergrato Regionale Giornaliero)

 

A BIRG ticket costs 12€ (as of JAN, 2014) and entitles you to take any regional train from Civitavecchia to any station between Civitavecchia and the main station in Rome (Roma Termini) and then return to Civitavecchia. But, the best part is that you can also use the same ticket with any of the public transportation (ATAC) in Rome for the day. This includes buses, trams, and the subways (Metro). So, once you get to Rome you can use any option to easily get around Rome depending on your plans. The BIRG tickets are not valid on the inter-city trains or trains going to the Fiumicino Airport, only on the regional trains to Rome.

 

Inside the station, they are large displays of train schedules for the upcoming hours where they will note the train number, arrival time, the track where it is to arrive, and whether it is a regional train or inter-city. Prior to coming to Italy, you can go online with the Trenitalia website to print out a schedule of trains going to Roma Termini from Civitavecchia and vice-versa. This will help you understand your options.

 

Once you buy a ticket, you will head to the platforms behind the station. To get there, you will need to go down stairs to the tunnel that runs underneath all of the platforms and tracks.

 

******The MOST important thing to remember is that you need to have each ticket validated with a time stamp before going onto a train. Look around the station in the tunnel and near the platforms and you will spot yellow boxes to time stamp your ticket. If you do not have the ticket validated, your ticket is not considered valid.*******

 

On the return trip, do not wait to take the last possible scheduled train as it might be full of commuters in addition to cruisers returning to the cruise port. Also, waiting for the train at the Roma S. Pietro, you will face the fact that the train leaving the Roma Termini main station will have stopped at a few other stops and may be full or standing room only.

[harz99]

When getting off the ship in the port of Civitavecchia, there will be free shuttle buses constantly running to bring you from the ship to the entrance to the port area by Forte Michelangelo. You are not allowed to walk through the port area. From the port entrance, it is a short 15-20 minute walk to the Civitavecchia train station (stazione).

 

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Such a comprehensive guide is very useful except for one thing; the section above is (hopefully) temporarily incorrect due to building works. This is clear from earlier posts in this thread, maybe you mised them.

 

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