First Time in Rome… 13 hours What to see it ALL! Help!

[jlwilliams4]

I am looking for the best recommendations of what to see in Rome! My 12 year old son will be with my husband and I. I think I absolutely want to see the trevi fountain, the coliseum, and the vatican… but I have no clue where these are geographically, what I need to tour, and what amount of time to expect to spend. Please, any help, and any suggestions are welcomed!

[cruisemom42]

First, how are you interested in touring?

 

Rome is about an hour from Civitavecchia, where the ship will dock. If you want to travel to Rome on your own to sightsee, it is pretty straightforward to get to the train station and take a train into Rome. Several people here could help you put together a plan for the day based on what you want to see. But it's important to realize that if your ship is docked for 13 hours, you will probably only have about 8-9 hours actually IN Rome.

 

The train option is very inexpensive. But if you just don't feel comfortable trying it, there are private tours that will pick you up and take you into Rome. It will probably cost about 500 euro for a day (more if you want a guide for the Vatican), but that price is probably comparable, if not cheaper, than what the cruise line will charge for their excursion x 3. Plus you can personalize your itinerary. There are several providers that are highly recommended on these boards.

 

So....let us know what your thoughts are and we can better help you.

[Wiltonian]

I'd suggest looking at RomeInLimo tours, and think of creating or joining a group tour through your cruise's roll call. There's also a web site to share their tours. We did that last year, and it was excellent, and not bad price-wise with 8 on board a mini-bus (mini-van).

 

Stuart

[suec12]

I am usually a do it yourself traveler but for one day in Rome, off a cruise ship, a tour might be a good idea. I think first of all you need to decide - Vatican, yes or no, because if you do want to go there, it will take at least half the day. Being on a tour will also help with with either skipping the line, or moving more quickly.

 

If you don't want to do the Vatican, and maybe with a child, that's not a bad idea, then DIY becomes more possible. Get a Rick Steves guide to Med. cruise ports - he will give you many ideas to help with the logistics and usually his suggestions on where to spend your time are spot-on, as the Brits say. You could wander past, or thru, some of the "crumbles" and then people watch at Piazza Nuvona. Be sure to get some gelato. Give yourself plenty of margin, train wise, Ital. trains do not always run on time! and head's up at Termini - some spotty characters there.

[Got2Cruise]

I don't think 12 years old is too young for the Vatican. The enormity and spectacular artwork will make an impression even if the religious symbolism isn't fully appreciated. Try to get up to the rooftop viewing.

[b_cruise]

I did rome on my own the first cruise I did. I have to admit I missed a lot but still loved it. What about a private guide? The second time I used joe banana limos ( got the recommendation off cruise critic), and saw things and learnt about stuff I had no idea existed. My daughter was 14 then and she really got a lot out of that day. That was private.

 

Since then, I learned about the share tours that are awesome!! I have used italytoursharing.com which are amazing. RIL is recommended as well. My whole cruise group used italytoursharing last time and we were all happy. This june a lot are using them again. Great variety of tours to pick from.

 

This june, I'm venturing out on my own again. I'm so excited!! You are going to have a fabulous time whatever way you choose to go!!

[samavarcruiser]

I echo that private tour choice if you only have a day in port, otherwise I am one of those DIY people :)

[4cats4me]

Personally, having just come back from there and having done a Rome limo tour share, my personal feeling is that it is just a little too much to do Vatican in addition to all the other sites in Rome. We had a very rainy day there the first big rain of the season, so it curtailed the things that we could have ordinarily done such as Circus Maximus Spanish steps etc. but to compensate for not being able to do those things our driver hooked us up with a really. Fun restaurant experience it called an ostoria , where the owner basically cooks for you and you don't choose what you want they just cook and keep delivering it to your table it was only €20 in a great deal of fun. I felt very rushed that day due to the fact that we were trying to cram so much in and although we loved going to the Vatican it was not relaxing at all and you are heard it through at a breakneck pace and you aren't even allowed time to stop and take photos because you are on such a strict schedule. We did love it and found it very interesting and we were lucky to be able to go to the Basilica afterword but the day could have been a lot more relaxing had we not tried to cram all of it in. We started out the day going to the Basilica because our driver said that it would be closing at 1 PM that afternoon but we couldn't get into the Basilica because we were only allowed 45 minutes as to not cut into our other time. Then we went to the coliseum and toured it for 45 minutes then we went for a peek at the Trevi which is still under construction went to the pantheon, which was very interesting. But you were not able to take part in the other highlights that is why our driver took us to the restaurant and we had a one hour lunch and from there off to the Vatican for two hours we had a guide Can't even imagine doing this without a guide. Then at 4 o'clock we had to leave for the drive back to the port approximately one hour 15 minutes and I guess it can be upwards of 1.5 hours at times. So, if I was with a kid I don't think I would try to cram the Vatican into the whole day. It really was overly crowded rather chaotic and not exactly the most enjoyable part of the day I think that I would devote the whole day to the Vatican next time as to have more flexibility. Or I would devote the whole day to the other sites of Rome and not try to see it all

Oh and what I mean by not take photos I don't mean to imply that you cannot take photos I mean to say that you take photos as you are walking because there is no time to stop and pause, for the most part, and as others have said you will only have about eight or nine hours , not 13. Even if you don't get anyone to share the cost of your private tour, I still recommend it , because it is still a better deal than the cruise ship

You don't even have to put any money down in advance, Roma limo simply take your credit card number

Edited November 2, 2015 by 4cats4me

[brazilgirl]

On my first visit to Rome ( with my three kids) , we hired a private tour guide and visited the following:

 

The Vatican ( just the patio - we did not go in )

The Trevi Fountain

The Coliseum ( we did go in)

The Palantine

The Roman Forum

 

It was a full and enjoyable day - we got a nice overview of Rome.

 

Rome needs to be visited several times to really get a good feel for it!

 

 

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