Italy port tour suggestions

[tidygirl]

I will tell you our experience remember we were a port day so our times will be different but this is how our day worked out. We got the 4:12 train back to Civit. the Termini is a big station so you may have to walk a ways to your train.

The train was crammed full of people at that time, my 1 daughter got on and kind of shoved a lady out of the way as there was room behind her, and if 1 of us was getting on the train all 5 of us were too! At the end of our ride my hubby informed me that lady that was shoved out of the way was feeling around in his back pocket and flipping her finger along his front pocket to see if he had anything there. He didn't! Just a word of advice keep passports, money and credit cards in an underclothes money belt and just leave a minimal amount out that you think you will need for the day and watch your bags and wife's purse! We had one ship officer tell us you wouldn't believe the people that show up for a cruise and can't board because of a missing passport!

Anyways we got back to the port at 6:00 took a port shuttle to the ship got on board and through the metal detectors at 6:29 boarding time was 6:30!

If you plan on doing the train try to find out the time of one you will need to be leaving and give yourself a little more time as you will have luggage and won't be able to walk as fast as us! I am not sure if the Termini has a place to store luggage or not but if you could leave suitcases there it would save you time.

[cruisemom42]

Hey! CathyCruises, CruiseMom42, Tidygirl, Turtles06!!! Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions.

Here's the thing that concerns me the most. Our ship leaves at 5PM, but I noticed that they want us to board by 3PM. Our hotel is about 5 blocks away from the Termini, or as they put it, close enough to walk, but far enough to be away from the bad element. (We can still cancel this hotel and re-book with another if need be) If we get out of the Vatican between 11:30-Noon, should we try to head back to the hotel, where our bags would be held for us as we would have already checked out, and head to the Termini to take the train (a 50 minute ride). Otherwise we'd have to bring our bags with us to the area of the Vatican, though I wouldn't know where we could check them during the visit, and leave from there.

I know there are a number options available to us with shuttles and taxi services. Just wondering if anyone has had any experiences heading to the port either from the Vatican, or from the hotel...anyone used the train?

 

Harry

 

 

I have used the train and am comfortable doing so. But keep in mind that if you leave the Vatican at noon, you have to get back to your hotel and pick up your luggage & then get to Termini -- even with a taxi, that's probably 30 minutes.

 

I don't know which train you're considering, but unless you're on the Freccia, they take more than 50 minutes from Termini.

 

And finally, you have to get from the train station to the port entrance (a walk of around 25-30 minutes with luggage, IF the port entrance is still under renovation) or wait for a bus. And then another shuttle, after which you will finally arrive at your pier.

 

On the other hand, RIL is going to be very expensive.

 

A compromise idea would be to look at one of the shared shuttle services to pick you up after you return to your hotel (let's say at noon). There are several frequently used & they are cheaper -- such as Roma Shuttle, Bob's limo, etc. Look for recommendations in other posts.

 

The benefit is that you go directly from your hotel to the pier with no waiting or wrangling with luggage.

Edited February 4, 2015 by cruisemom42

[CathyCruises]

I have used the train and am comfortable doing so. But keep in mind that if you leave the Vatican at noon, you have to get back to your hotel and pick up your luggage & then get to Termini -- even with a taxi, that's probably 30 minutes.

 

I don't know which train you're considering, but unless you're on the Freccia, they take more than 50 minutes from Termini.

 

And finally, you have to get from the train station to the port entrance (a walk of around 25-30 minutes with luggage, IF the port entrance is still under renovation) or wait for a bus. And then another shuttle, after which you will finally arrive at your pier.

 

On the other hand, RIL is going to be very expensive.

 

A compromise idea would be to look at one of the shared shuttle services to pick you up after you return to your hotel (let's say at noon). There are several frequently used & they are cheaper -- such as Roma Shuttle, Bob's limo, etc. Look for recommendations in other posts.

 

The benefit is that you go directly from your hotel to the pier with no waiting or wrangling with luggage.

I totally agree that you need to forego the train if you want to do the Vatican in the mornng. The shared shuttles are the best idea under the circumstances. And given your very limited time, I would REALLY consider changing hotels to one in the Centro Storico. There is nothing you want to see near Termini, and you will waste precious time getting around, plus miss out on the opportunity for a late evening stroll in the most beautiful parts of Rome. I have stayed in both place, and believe me, I know how big the difference is. If you go to venere.com you can select for hotels close to piazza navona, the Pantheon, Campo di Fiore and see if anything is available in your price range. It will also be much closer to return from the Vatican to collect your luggage on your way to the ship.

 

Good point about the Trevi, I knew they were doing construction, I just didn't know the time frame for completion. I'd probably still go if I hadn't been there before!

[guest4254]

Hey All, your input is really helpful.

 

I've put a message up on our roll call to see if anyone wants to share a shuttle. Otherwise, we may end up using RIL, which btw is 400 euros.

 

If there was a safe place to check our luggage while at the Vatican, that would've solved everything, but, I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles.

 

Harry

[cruisemom42]

Hey All, your input is really helpful.

 

I've put a message up on our roll call to see if anyone wants to share a shuttle. Otherwise, we may end up using RIL, which btw is 400 euros.

 

If there was a safe place to check our luggage while at the Vatican, that would've solved everything, but, I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles.

 

Harry

 

If you are talking about just having a service pick you up at your hotel after the Vatican, you should be able to get one of the less expensive shared shuttle services for 70 euro for 2 people. (They will group you with others, if there are any. Otherwise you still only pay the 70 euro.) Even if you get the private service, it is still 120 euro. (Of course I am assuming there are two of you...)

 

https://www.romashuttle.com/

 

I urge you to consider this. No need to shell out 400 euro to have their driver wait on you to visit one location then take you to the port....

 

If you leave Rome at 12:30, you will be at Civitavecchia by 2:00 at the latest.

[guest4254]

If you are talking about just having a service pick you up at your hotel after the Vatican, you should be able to get one of the less expensive shared shuttle services for 70 euro for 2 people. (They will group you with others, if there are any. Otherwise you still only pay the 70 euro.) Even if you get the private service, it is still 120 euro. (Of course I am assuming there are two of you...)

 

Actually they would pick us up at the hotel, take us to the Vatican with our luggage, wait for us, then to Civi from the Vatican...the backtrack to the hotel to get luggage is the sticking point....I have no idea what traffic will be like on a Saturday, assuming we'd have to take a cab from Vatican to hotel....and then the traffic again, just to get out of the heart of Rome...

and yes, there are 2 of us.

[cruisemom42]

Traffic shouldn't be any worse on a Saturday than any other day, unless it's a holiday. I can't see putting out that kind of money just to have someone wait for me for several hours, but I suppose everyone has to do what they feel comfortable with...

 

You might consider changing your hotel to one near the Vatican if that is the thing of primary importance.

[guest4254]

 

You might consider changing your hotel to one near the Vatican if that is the thing of primary importance.

 

Yeah, that is something I'm contemplating now as well....

[guest4254]

Well, I re-booked a hotel near the Pantheon and less that a half hour walk to the Vatican...under 10 minutes without traffic by car/taxi...now to find a shuttle to take us to the port....

[bearette]

I found a company that will pick up your luggage and deliver it to you for 20 Euro a piece. I had the same problem finding storage for after a cruise. They pick up and deliver to the port. The company is bon bags. Com. Haven't used them yet as we sail in March, but I found a good review on trip Advisor.

 

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[guest4254]

Thanks for the info Bearette! We will definitely look into this. In the meantime we switched hotels to one near the Pantheon, about a half hour walk to the Vatican, so now we have some better options.

 

Harry

[guest4254]

Ok, so now that I've got Rome booked, I'd love to hear some suggestions about what you may have done or suggest in Venice.

We'll be getting off our cruise ship on a Saturday morning, and leaving the next morning, so we've got the entire day in Venice. Already have a hotel booked, walking distance from the cruise dock in the Santa Croce section. Supposedly near transportation. Now, where to go, where to go?

[mrobstad]

Venice! I LOVE Venice! this is a walking town. My one regret was I wish I had spent a more time/full day at Burano, one of the nearby islands. I feel you can skip Murano....

[CathyCruises]

Yes, Venice is a walking town, and everyone recommends just wandering and 'getting lost'. You will want of course to go to St. Mark's Square and consider doing the Doge's Palace. People here recommend the "Secret Tour" that takes you into the attics and cell where Casanova was jailed; the day we did that, it was glorious outside and all I wanted was to be out of there and soaking up the atmosphere! YMMV.

 

We really enjoyed the Peggy Guggenheim Collection at her former home near the Academia Bridge. You can also buy a vaporetto pass and ride the #1 or #2up and down the Grand Canal, wander in the markets near the Rialto Bridge, check out the Jewish Ghetto. With only one day, I probably wouldn't try to go to Murano or Burano, I'd just meander. But that's what we usually do no matter how much time we have!!!

[jtkball]

My family and I will be going on our first cruise this summer, this will also being our first time going to Europe as a family. We are very excited about getting some pizza in Italy. I was wondering If anyone knew a great place to eat some pizza while we are in Naples.:)🍕

[tidygirl]

Just be aware that the price on the pizza is by weight in many places! We were confused when we thought we were paying by slice and the total was quite a bit more till we realized why.

[jtkball]

thanks Tidygirl , that is good to know. Do you recommend a certain place to get pizza?

[CathyCruises]

I know that many people say that Da Michelle (sp?) is THE iconic place for piZa in Naples

[jtkball]

Thanks CathyCruises, I appreciate the response and I will definitely try to get some pizza there, while at Naples.

[tidygirl]

I'm sorry but we were just walking the streets and stopped a couple times at places that looked good. Honestly we didn't find anything awesome!

[guest4254]

If you are talking about just having a service pick you up at your hotel after the Vatican, you should be able to get one of the less expensive shared shuttle services for 70 euro for 2 people. (They will group you with others, if there are any. Otherwise you still only pay the 70 euro.) Even if you get the private service, it is still 120 euro. (Of course I am assuming there are two of you...)

 

https://www.romashuttle.com/

 

I urge you to consider this. No need to shell out 400 euro to have their driver wait on you to visit one location then take you to the port....

 

If you leave Rome at 12:30, you will be at Civitavecchia by 2:00 at the latest.

 

We've booked a 3 hour Vatican Tour that starts at 8:15AM, and finishes at 11:15AM...Even if we had to walk back to our hotel, that would be 30 minutes. We could either get a cab back to the hotel, and have the cab take us to Civit (not sure what a taxi would cost) or have a shuttle pick us up at the hotel and take us....

[dogs4fun]

I was wondering If anyone knew a great place to eat some pizza while we are in Naples.:)

I have eaten incredibly delicious pizza at all the following:

Da Michele - Via Sersale, 13

Brandi - Salita S.Anna di Palazzo, 1- 2

Il Pizzaiolo del Presidente - Via Tribunali, 120

[MommyJamiex4]

We are doing Viator's 9am Vatican museum tour. The website says 3 hrs. Taking the train to the museum and back. Then back to the hotel for luggage and then onto the pier with a private driver for a 6pm embarkation. Sound doable?

[bearette]

A little close, by everything perfect you could because of the private driver. While possible I wouldn't try with the train to the port.

 

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Edited April 7, 2015 by bearette

[CathyCruises]

We are doing Viator's 9am Vatican museum tour. The website says 3 hrs. Taking the train to the museum and back. Then back to the hotel for luggage and then onto the pier with a private driver for a 6pm embarkation. Sound doable?

 

What train are you taking to the Vatican? Are you staying outside of Rome? No need to take a train unless you are staying far away. Bus, metro or taxi are the usual modes.