Need Help Regarding Pre-Cruise Hotels, Transportation, Tours in Rome

[TSUmom]

We are staying at the Hilton attached to the airport. I found it was not only convenient, but a good use of my Hilton Honors points. We booked with 46,000 pts. Often the less expensive Hampton Inns in the US require 50,000 pts. [in similar locations] Also, the reviews are positive.

 

IIRC the Hilton Garden Inn, which is on the airport property, required slightly less points. However, that required a short shuttle ride. Since we want to visit Ostia Antica the afternoon we arrive [12:30pm] we wanted the fastest possible way to drop off luggage and take a taxi.

 

We stayed at the airport Hilton post cruise last time - it was very convenient and we plan on staying there again post cruise. They also run a shuttle into Rome - we spent a few more hours just taking in our last day. This next time we are planning on heading to Ostia as you are and I thought it would be a great location for doing that.

 

I am so happy I tossed a coin in the fountain - I am returning just as the legend says.....:D

[singnrn]

I can recommend the airport Hilton. You walk to it from the concourse. There are a number of tour-transfer options mentioned above. They work just as well for transfers from the airport to the port as viceversa or as port-day excursions. I can also recommend www.italydrivinguide.com for this. Good options for sightseeing along the way are Ostia Antica, Cerveteri, Bracciano and/or Tarquinia. Look them up and see what interests you. Only the Castello Odesalchi in Bracciano is open on Mondays.

 

 

Thank you so much for this suggestion. I will look into those options.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

 

I am so happy I tossed a coin in the fountain - I am returning just as the legend says....

 

I will be visiting that fountain, too. :D

[sueajp]

I am just finding this thread since we just booked our Celebrity cruise in October from Rome back to Rome. The last time we did an itinerary that ended in Rome we didn't get to see it! So I am determined this time. My first plan is to come in a day ahead and book a hotel in Rome and go straight there from the airport. That is what we did a few years ago in Venice. Then spend the day in Rome perhaps on our own and then getting a tour and transfer to The port the next day. Does that sound doable? Some glitches we re fighting is the return flights post cruise seem to leave around 10:00 ish .. we are questioning if we an get off the ship and there on time? Celebrity assures us this can happen. But it makes me nervous. We considered doing Rome on the end of the cruise but find after such intensive ports we are usually ready to head home! Does anyone have a recommendation for a hotel in Rome that comes with a shuttle? I am open to any and all suggestions. Just getting started and love the planning part! Thanks so much in advance!

[Ky Lady]

I am enjoying this thread and will definitely be following it. We have been once to Rome but I’m definitely returning hopefully in 2019.

 

 

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[cruisemom42]

I am just finding this thread since we just booked our Celebrity cruise in October from Rome back to Rome. The last time we did an itinerary that ended in Rome we didn't get to see it! So I am determined this time. My first plan is to come in a day ahead and book a hotel in Rome and go straight there from the airport. That is what we did a few years ago in Venice. Then spend the day in Rome perhaps on our own and then getting a tour and transfer to The port the next day. Does that sound doable? Some glitches we re fighting is the return flights post cruise seem to leave around 10:00 ish .. we are questioning if we an get off the ship and there on time? Celebrity assures us this can happen. But it makes me nervous. We considered doing Rome on the end of the cruise but find after such intensive ports we are usually ready to head home! Does anyone have a recommendation for a hotel in Rome that comes with a shuttle? I am open to any and all suggestions. Just getting started and love the planning part! Thanks so much in advance!

 

Since you are still in the planning stages, I would STRONGLY suggest staying more than one night in Rome pre-cruise. Why? You're likely to be pretty tired and jetlagged on that first day, and depending on what time your flight gets in, your first 'day' will probably be more like a half day by the time you get into Rome, check into your hotel and are ready to start exploring. If you really want to see Rome, I normally advise three days, but if you can't swing that, at least spend two nights!

 

One other thing -- hotels in Rome don't offer shuttle service to/from the airport or the port. They will be happy to help arrange a ride for you if you need it, but there are a lot of other options you should research. For reference purposes, a normal taxi has a fixed fare of 48 euro from the airport into any hotel that is 'within the walls' -- basically any hotel in the historic center. Private drivers often charge a bit more.

 

Private transfers to the port are pricey but there's a wide range so do some research. You can get a better per person rate if you are willing to get on your roll call and see if you can find others to share the ride. Or you can take the train -- very cheap but more of a hassle factor.

[TX.Mameow&Papeow]

I am sorry to be radio silent for the last couple of weeks. I have been using my time wisely researching hotels and neighborhoods in Rome. :D:cool::D

 

 

On our previous TAs we stayed pre-cruise near one of the attractions we wanted to visit. In Barcelona our B & B was adjacent to Las Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter. In London we were 2 blocks from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. We visited these sites in the early morning before other tourists got there and in the evening. We really got the feeling of the neighborhood. I will never forget watching them add red poppies to the moat around the Tower of London to commemorate the casualties in WWI.

 

 

We will have 3 full days to tour in Rome. Attractions that we want to visit are below. [These are in no particular order of preference and it is only the main attractions. I will research other sites, too]

 

Vatican/St Peter’s Basilica/museums

Colosseum/Forum/PalantineHill

Circus Maximus

Pantheon

Piazza Navona

Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Campo di Fiori

 

 

So. . . keeping that in mind I have narrowed down the hotel search to the area around Plaza Navona and the Pantheon and the area around the Colosseum/Forum.

 

I am leaning toward the PiazzaNavona/Pantheon area. I noted that there are several smaller churches and other places in that area that are interesting to visit. For example, Santa MariaSopra Minerva is built over the old Temple of Minerva. Also, the Palazzo Chigi is the home of the Italian Prime Minister and is within walking distance.[many others] This area may be walking distance to the Vatican depending how we are feeling that day.

 

The Pantheon is free and a relatively quick visit. A late afternoon visit might be a good use of our time.

 

Who has stayed in one of these 2 areas? Does anyone feel one of the 2 areas is better than the other? A lot more expensive than the other? It seems there are ample restaurants in both places.

 

Names of any specific hotels you feel are better than the others? DH tells me we do not have a budget for thehotel. . . . However, I do not see us staying at a 5-star hotel. We hope to spend most of our time exploring the city. rather than a hotel

Opinions?

 

We have stayed at the Albergo Cesari, newly named 9 Cesari, and have reservations to stay there again in May 2018. It's not fancy, but clean and in a very good location. they have a wonderful free breakfast on their rooftop terrace which is also a bar in the evenings. Out the front door you go right through the piazza and down about a block to the Pantheon, lots of restaurants, shopping and gelato, if you turn left go a block and cross the main road another block and your at the Trevi Fountain. Their is also a church you can tour by the fountain. Seems we walked a little further and caught the HOHO bus.

 

When we got off the HoHo bus walking back to the hotel, we got lost and walked by the Victor Emanuel, so it was pretty close too. If you keep walking past the Pantheon you will also reach Piazza Navona. We took a taxi to St Peters and the Vatican Museum. St Peters is free, but buy your tickets on line in advance for the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.

 

We will be on the same cruise as you and the one before , doing a B2B. We will spend 3 nights in Rome pre cruise and I will probably book the same hotel basically because of the location.

 

Barbara

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We used RomeinLimo and I feel awful saying anything negative about them because I have loved every other tour and recommended them highly.

But this one from start to finish was awful:

no quaint streets, and driving on busy roads in Rome on a golf cart:eek::eek::eek:

 

and perhaps ours was a fluke.....i hope so

 

 

I got one reply to my question regarding the golf cart tours in the Rome in Limo thread [below].

 

"I have to say if I was to choose just one tour for a return trip to Rome it would be the Golf Cart tour :D"

I asked Samavarcruiser to tell me what he/she liked about the tour and some details. I will post if I get an answer.

 

 

[Nicstids]

No--we have not already booked this. We are just thinking about it.

 

You are right, that does not sound like the description at all. :(

 

Thank you for your comments.

 

We have booked a golf cart tour with http://www.mybesttour.com. They get very good reviews on Tripadvisor so am hopeful it will be enjoyable:eek:!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We have booked a golf cart tour with www.mybesttour.com. They get very good reviews on Tripadvisor so am hopeful it will be enjoyable:eek:!

 

Thank you for the link. I checked it out and read the review on Trip Advisor. They certainly get good reviews.

 

Which of the tours did you book? I think we would like to do the highlights of Rome on our own. However, the "Back Streets of Rome tour sounds like it would be great on Day 3 to take us to some of the places we missed or had never even heard of before. :D

 

edit: I see from your previous post that you are visiting Rome in September. Would you please report back on your experience? TIA

Edited February 4, 2018 by DragonOfTheSeas

[senorbanda]

 

 

I thought it might help if I repost our arrival and embarkation plans from the first page. As you can see we are not embarking the day after we arrive.

 

 

I am sorry if I was not clear.





"We land at FCO via Lufthansa at 12:20pm on Wednesday November 1, 2018 and leave from Civitavecchia aboard the Jewel of the Seas at 5:00pm Monday November 5, 2018."





We will be in Italy for most/part of 5 days. We will arrive on Wednesday--visit Ostia Antica and stay at the Airport Hilton overnight.





Then we go to Rome for 3 days of sightseeing. I am still looking at hotels and tour options for the city. We want to see the usual sites in the city. [ Colosseum,

Pantheon, Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, Campo di Fiori, Palatine Hill, Vatican, etc]





On Monday November 5 we board the ship. That is the day I was looking at visiting the Italian countryside on the way to Civitavecchia.

Greetings DragonOfTheSeas. I've been reading your posts and I just wanted to give you some ideas for tour companies in Rome for the sites that you were interested in. In 2016 we used Walks of Italy for the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill. And did a tour with City Wonders/ Dark Rome for the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and Trevi Fountain in the evening. Both of these companies provided excellent guides for these tours. BTW, hopefully we will get a chance to meet you on Nov 5th, and Nov1st is a Thursday. Enjoy Rome!

[Nicstids]

Thank you for the link. I checked it out and read the review on Trip Advisor. They certainly get good reviews.

 

Which of the tours did you book? I think we would like to do the highlights of Rome on our own. However, the "Back Streets of Rome tour sounds like it would be great on Day 3 to take us to some of the places we missed or had never even heard of before. :D

 

edit: I see from your previous post that you are visiting Rome in September. Would you please report back on your experience? TIA

 

We are doing a combination of the basic 1/2 day tour and tucked away sites tour, lasting 6 hours. Will try to remember to come back and let you know how we go:)

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Greetings DragonOfTheSeas. I've been reading your posts and I just wanted to give you some ideas for tour companies in Rome for the sites that you were interested in. In 2016 we used Walks of Italy for the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill. And did a tour with City Wonders/ Dark Rome for the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and Trevi Fountain in the evening. Both of these companies provided excellent guides for these tours. BTW, hopefully we will get a chance to meet you on Nov 5th, and Nov1st is a Thursday. Enjoy Rome!

 

Thank you for the recommendations. I will check them out. :D

 

Sorry about typing the wrong day of the week for Nov 1. :( A senior moment!

[TSUmom]

We have stayed at the Albergo Cesari, newly named 9 Cesari, and have reservations to stay there again in May 2018. It's not fancy, but clean and in a very good location. they have a wonderful free breakfast on their rooftop terrace which is also a bar in the evenings. Out the front door you go right through the piazza and down about a block to the Pantheon, lots of restaurants, shopping and gelato, if you turn left go a block and cross the main road another block and your at the Trevi Fountain. Their is also a church you can tour by the fountain. Seems we walked a little further and caught the HOHO bus.

 

When we got off the HoHo bus walking back to the hotel, we got lost and walked by the Victor Emanuel, so it was pretty close too. If you keep walking past the Pantheon you will also reach Piazza Navona. We took a taxi to St Peters and the Vatican Museum. St Peters is free, but buy your tickets on line in advance for the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.

 

We will be on the same cruise as you and the one before , doing a B2B. We will spend 3 nights in Rome pre cruise and I will probably book the same hotel basically because of the location.

 

Barbara

 

Thank you on the info for 9Cesari. I have read the location is great and now I just have to wait until bookings open up for Oct., 2019

[cruisemom42]

Thank you on the info for 9Cesari. I have read the location is great and now I just have to wait until bookings open up for Oct., 2019

 

You don't necessarily have to wait. You can email the hotel directly and ask if you can book. Be sure to ask them (politely) for their best rate. With that hotel you usually get the best rate when you book well in advance. Just beware of booking a nonrefundable room, as it is exactly as advertised -- you pay in advance for a great rate but it is nonrefundable if you should have to cancel for any reason.

[motherchic]

I just booked an AirBnB in Rome. Did a ton of research on Trip Advisor ( read allot of reviews ) Found some nice places very close to the Trevi fountain and/or the Spanish steps. And the price was much more reasonable then the hotels. Well worth looking into

[birdergal]

I just booked an AirBnB in Rome. Did a ton of research on Trip Advisor ( read allot of reviews ) Found some nice places very close to the Trevi fountain and/or the Spanish steps. And the price was much more reasonable then the hotels. Well worth looking into

 

I have also been looking at AirBnB or VRBO. Lots of nice rentals out there and prices are definitely reasonable. I've used VRBO a lot in the past but never AirBnB. Glad you found a nice rental! I'm looking more in the area of Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Campo Fiori.

[sueajp]

I am obsessively reading everything now that we are booked! We arrive the day before our cruise around noonish. We will probably use a cab to get to our The Hotel Navona which was recommended by Cruisemom 42. GREAT price and seems like a good location with good reviews. We only need to sleep there one night! The question now is how to best organize the time. We can walk but both have bad knees and cant walk forever ( like we did on our last river cruise!) So should we drop our bags and just start exploring towards the Parthenon and Piazza Navona? Use that time to do a tour of the Coliseum since that would take awhile! Contemplating the Rome by Night tour to see the sights all lit up! Then possibly doing the Rome Cabs or Rome in Limo transfer to the port with sightseeing of Rome itself rather than the country side with such limited time there.. Figuring we cannot do the Vatican tour but would love to see St. Peters Square. I admit the golf cart sound interesting but scary! Any suggestions on maximizing our time for the major sights?

Believe me i know this is not the ideal time frame but its all we can do right now! I am also in touch with our Celebrity Constellation roll all and hoping to share the trip to the port. Such great problems to have!

[cruisemom42]

I am obsessively reading everything now that we are booked! We arrive the day before our cruise around noonish. We will probably use a cab to get to our The Hotel Navona which was recommended by Cruisemom 42. GREAT price and seems like a good location with good reviews. We only need to sleep there one night! The question now is how to best organize the time. We can walk but both have bad knees and cant walk forever ( like we did on our last river cruise!) So should we drop our bags and just start exploring towards the Parthenon and Piazza Navona? Use that time to do a tour of the Coliseum since that would take awhile! Contemplating the Rome by Night tour to see the sights all lit up! Then possibly doing the Rome Cabs or Rome in Limo transfer to the port with sightseeing of Rome itself rather than the country side with such limited time there.. Figuring we cannot do the Vatican tour but would love to see St. Peters Square. I admit the golf cart sound interesting but scary! Any suggestions on maximizing our time for the major sights?

Believe me i know this is not the ideal time frame but its all we can do right now! I am also in touch with our Celebrity Constellation roll all and hoping to share the trip to the port. Such great problems to have!

 

You've basically got 3 "buckets" of time: afternoon of your arrival, early to later evening, and morning of the following day.

 

If you think you are going to go the route of a tour on the morning you depart (+ ride to port), then it would be best to get that planned first so you know what it will cover. Stopping by St. Peter's square should certainly be one of the things they could do in a car and easier than getting there on your own given the time you have.

 

If it was me, I'd probably not opt for a tour + transfer on the embarkation day. Instead, I'd just plan to do something in Rome on my own and then transfer to the port at noon or a bit later depending on departure time. There is no real need to rush to port, exciting as it is. Rome is time better spent!

 

At any rate, once you figure that out, it will make it easier to plan the preceding day. Visiting the Colosseum and Forum in the afternoon seems like a good idea, and then you could do a walk (I think Rick Steves offers one) that covers Piazza Navona, Pantheon and Trevi Fountain in the early evening before dinner.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

sueajp--Rick Steve's books on Amazon let you peek inside. Here is the description of one of the walks to take around

Piazza Navona. I am not sure it is the one mentioned by CruiseMom.

PS--I got his book Rome 2018 for Christmas. It is full of valuable information. You may not feel it is worthwhile to purchase since you will be there such a short time. YMMV

 

https://www.amazon.com/Rick-Steves-Pocket-Rome/dp/1631215590/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518532121&sr=8-2&keywords=rick+steves+rome+2018

[marazul]

sueajp-

 

don't give up on visiting the Vatican and St Peter's. The Vatican offers guided tours beginning at 8:30 am. They last 3 hours, so you can leave your suitcases at the hotel, taxi to the Vatican and taxi back to the hotel. You can get picked up for your transfer to the port around 1 or 1:30.

 

Here is the link:

https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking&codiceLivelloVisita=4&step=1

 

Notice that bookings are only available 60 days before the tour date. As an alternative, you can book it through several tour agencies from now. Many are mentioned in these boards, or simply google: "Vatican tours" and you will find many, many tour operators.

 

Follow cruisemom's advice for the previous day.

[JayhawkCruiser23]

First off, thank you so much DragonoftheSeas for starting this thread!

DH and I are going on a cruise in July 2018 embarking from Rome. As this will be our first time outside of the USA, travel and transfers are very high on my planning priority list. I had seen a few mentions of using UBER, but that consists of using your phone and data. What is the best way to have data in Europe? Getting a sim card or paying for international data with cellphone company?

We have only booked the cruise so far, no flight or hotel. We are looking at having at least 2 full days before cruise, and 1-2 days after (ex get in on Thursday, cruise leaves Sunday - cruise gets back Sunday, leave Tuesday). Planning on staying at an AirBnB possibly in the Trastevere area.

I got Rick Steves Rome pocketbook so we are not planning on doing any tours in Rome, just making sure to buy our tickets online before we leave and use his audio tours. After reading this thread though, I will definitely be looking into tours to/from the port.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I am glad the thread is proving to be useful.

 

One post a couple of pages back stated Uber is sometimes more expensive than a taxi in Italy.

 

Once you have made your flight arrangements you may find others on your role call on the same flight.

 

Have you checked on flights from Air2Sea? I have found their prices to be good for international travel--not, so much for domestic travel.

 

 

The last time we were in Europe we used the Verizon International plan. We did not need to unlock the phone or get any sim cards. They charge a certain amount per day [depends on country] and you can use your talk, text, data on one devise as if you are in the US. It gave me a lot of piece of mind, YMMV You may not need to use it every day.[ lodging may have internet, etc] You only pay for the day if you actually use it. We paid $5/day for Spain. However, some countries were $10.

[Chimamashouse]

I am glad the thread is proving to be useful.

 

 

 

One post a couple of pages back stated Uber is sometimes more expensive than a taxi in Italy.

 

 

 

Once you have made your flight arrangements you may find others on your role call on the same flight.

 

 

 

Have you checked on flights from Air2Sea? I have found their prices to be good for international travel--not, so much for domestic travel.

 

 

 

 

 

The last time we were in Europe we used the Verizon International plan. We did not need to unlock the phone or get any sim cards. They charge a certain amount per day [depends on country] and you can use your talk, text, data on one devise as if you are in the US. It gave me a lot of piece of mind, YMMV You may not need to use it every day.[ lodging may have internet, etc] You only pay for the day if you actually use it. We paid $5/day for Spain. However, some countries were $10.

 

 

 

For Canadians, this is also a possibility. I am with Virgin Mobile and they also have pay per day plans from $5-$10.

 

 

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[JayhawkCruiser23]

I am glad the thread is proving to be useful.

 

One post a couple of pages back stated Uber is sometimes more expensive than a taxi in Italy.

 

Once you have made your flight arrangements you may find others on your role call on the same flight.

 

Have you checked on flights from Air2Sea? I have found their prices to be good for international travel--not, so much for domestic travel.

 

 

The last time we were in Europe we used the Verizon International plan. We did not need to unlock the phone or get any sim cards. They charge a certain amount per day [depends on country] and you can use your talk, text, data on one devise as if you are in the US. It gave me a lot of piece of mind, YMMV You may not need to use it every day.[ lodging may have internet, etc] You only pay for the day if you actually use it. We paid $5/day for Spain. However, some countries were $10.

 

Thanks for the info on phone and Uber info.

I've been watching flight prices on Air2Sea and other sites; right now Air2Sea is a little higher. Probably going to keep watching for another 2 weeks before booking. Right now our roll call only has one other person, so will wait to see if others join or not.