Has anyone gone to the Wednesday Papal Audience from cruise ship port?

[timolin]

Our cruise ship docks in Civitavecchia at 6:00 AM on Wednesday October 26 and departs at 7:00 PM. Has anyone with a similar schedule made it to the Wednesday morning Papal Audience? If so, how did you get there in time?

Ideally we want to see the Papal Audience, tour St. Peter's Basilica and see the Vatican Museum. My wife uses a cane and has trouble with steps and walking any distance so our transportation choices are limited.

All input is appreciated. Thank you.

Timolin

Edited August 31, 2016 by timolin

[suzycruise]

Our cruise ship docks in Civitavecchia at 6:00 AM on Wednesday October 26 and departs at 7:00 PM. Has anyone with a similar schedule made it to the Wednesday morning Papal Audience? If so, how did you get there in time?

Ideally we want to see the Papal Audience, tour St. Peter's Basilica and see the Vatican Museum. My wife uses a cane and has trouble with steps and walking any distance so our transportation choices are limited.

All input is appreciated. Thank you.

Timolin

I'm surprised nobody has answered this question yet

I'm in Rome on 10.5.16 from the EPIC and I'm interested in seeing the the Pope as well. Anyone?

Thanks in advance.

[trophy_23]

We weren't there off a ship, but we had 2 days in Rome (Tuesday/Wednesday) and we chose to do our Vatican tour on the Tuesday just to avoid that crowd. As neat as it would have been to see the Pope, we just really wanted to avoid the crowd. Hope you guys enjoy the experience, Im sure it will be wonderful, but with thousands of people I would be a little worried about timing etc.

Edited September 2, 2016 by trophy_23

[Shacky316]

Bumping. Has anyone ever attempted Civi to Vatican for the 10:00/10:30 Papal Audience?

[Beanb41]

I wouldn't have thought getting to the Vatican would be much of an issue if one headed to Rome as soon as one was allowed off the ship. There is a one day ticket called I think a BIRG which costs around 12 euros and gives train and subway travel for 24 hours. I to recall seeing on another thread that one should get off the train at Ostiense and take the subway to the Vatican. By doing this one saves quite a bit of time by not going to Terminii station. Tickets for the papal audience can be arranged beforehand through the official website.

http://www.papalaudience.org/tickets

 

Hope that helps

[nicksd]

Our cruise ship docks in Civitavecchia at 6:00 AM on Wednesday October 26 and departs at 7:00 PM. Has anyone with a similar schedule made it to the Wednesday morning Papal Audience? If so, how did you get there in time?

Ideally we want to see the Papal Audience, tour St. Peter's Basilica and see the Vatican Museum. My wife uses a cane and has trouble with steps and walking any distance so our transportation choices are limited.

All input is appreciated. Thank you.

Timolin

 

I have done it once when we were in Rome but not from the cruise. We obtained the tickets through Santa Susana Church the day before. I looked around but I could not figure out how you can get the tickets the same day and that could be your biggest issue. I found a post that showed various ways to obtain tickets but not on the same day.

[ainecaine]

I think you must collect the tickets in person the day before. That's the problem. Check it out on the cats an official website.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[timolin]

Our cruise ship docks in Civitavecchia at 6:00 AM on Wednesday October 26 and departs at 7:00 PM. Has anyone with a similar schedule made it to the Wednesday morning Papal Audience? If so, how did you get there in time?

Ideally we want to see the Papal Audience, tour St. Peter's Basilica and see the Vatican Museum. My wife uses a cane and has trouble with steps and walking any distance so our transportation choices are limited.

All input is appreciated. Thank you.

Timolin

 

Tickets can be ordered in advance from the Vatican only via fax. I've tried faxing from a UPS store multiple times on 3 different days without success so I plan to follow plan B. Tickets can be picked up the day before or on the day of the audience from the Swiss guard staion in the attached site: http://www.papalaudience.org/tickets

 

I thank everyone who has replied and even given specific train directions. Can someone using a cane and having trouble with stairs follow this route?

Edited September 14, 2016 by timolin

[yoolykeme]

I'm docking in Civitavecchia on the 28th at 6a

 

I bought this:

 

https://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Papal-Audience-Tickets-and-Presentation/d511-3731POPE

 

 

I'm just wondering if a private transfer can get me from the port to the meeting point in the Vatican by 7:45.

 

The tour is refundable, so I have time to return, if needed.

 

Thoughts?

[Beanb41]

I'm docking in Civitavecchia on the 28th at 6a

 

I bought this:

 

https://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Papal-Audience-Tickets-and-Presentation/d511-3731POPE

 

 

I'm just wondering if a private transfer can get me from the port to the meeting point in the Vatican by 7:45.

 

The tour is refundable, so I have time to return, if needed.

 

Thoughts?

 

It would be tight but possible if you book your transport to be at the ship for 6.00 am , you could be ashore by around 6.30 all going well.

[yoolykeme]

Okay, I just did this. Here is the answer:

 

I originally bought Viator tickets to meet with a group, get "good" seats, and have a reserved spot. We were supposed to meet at the newsstand on Piazza Pio XII by 7:45, so I booked a private car to meet us at the port.

 

We didn't get to the newsstand until 8, so the tour left. I was really sad bc I didn't think that my Mom and I would get in, thinking that you need tickets.

 

So not knowing anything, we walked towards the plaza, where there are guards with wands who look in your bags and let you right in. Surprise! You don't need tickets to go in!!! Note, this is a better entrance than the side entrance, where you have to go through metal detectors

 

The Pope comes out around ~10:30, scoots around in the Pope-mobile, and waves at everyone. If your purpose is to just see Him and be in His presence, then commandeer a chair along the aisles. People are pretty civil about it. If you want to be in front while He speaks, then you have to get there early.

 

Pro Tip: Ladies, use the washroom before you go. The lines are insane.

Edited October 9, 2016 by yoolykeme

[timolin]

Thank you very much for your success in getting to the Papal Audience from a cruise ship. I think we will also try this but will use the train to Rome and then a cab to the Vatican.

What do others think of this plan?

Your input is appreciated.

Timolin

[yoolykeme]

You can get on the ~7:30 train and get to Rome by ~8:48 and just walk to the square. or take the 7a and get there 8:18.

 

The shuttles to the train station may or may not be running that early, so you'll have to take a taxi or walk to the train station. I would not recommend walking.

 

Again, it all depends if you want really good seats or not. The prime seats are along the rail where the Popemobile makes rounds. You can get close up pictures, selfies, etc. If you sit towards the middle of the square, and not along the rail, you won't see much, but you'll still be there for the experience.

[goofygame]

I went to the Audience 2 weeks ago. I had a ticket but nobody asked to see it. There were very long lines at 8 am to the right and left where you went through a scanner but in the center were short lines with wands. So I would suggest going for the center. I was able to grab a chair and sit next to the rail so got an up-close view of the Pope. No babies in our section so he didn't stop. The stopping seems to happen in the corners by the turns. There was a photographer with a large lens on the Pope side of rails where he stopped to bless babies so I believe it was a planned stop.