Rome post-cruise touring advice needed

[Trish Traveler]

We will be disembarking our cruise ship on a Saturday in Civitavecchia. We want to head to Rome via pre-arranged limo service to our hotel near the Pantheon, and then try to tour the Vatican Museum/St. Peter's, and the Colosseum in the same day. We will be there another day on Sunday, but can't tour the Vatican for Sistene Chapel because I believe it is closed on Sundays. And we don't want to do the Colosseum on that Sunday because I believe it is free on the first Sunday of the month and we don't want to have to wait in those long lines. I do hear that the lines anytime are long for the security even if we have our pre-purchased tickets. Is it possible to do this in one day? What's the best way to do this?

[irisheyes44]

Hi

We are doing a private tour of Rome through Italytours.eu in August post cruise.

You can email them to inquire since it is not an excursion. It includes skip the line tickets to The Vatican English speaking tour guide, the colosseum you can choose to view or enter etc. Hoping it will be worth every penny.

[cruisemom42]

Is it possible to do this in one day? What's the best way to do this?

 

I think it would be possible, if a bit of a rush. It helps that you have the entire day (e.g., don't have to go back to the port to your ship).

 

What exactly do you want to do at the Vatican? Do you want to tour the museums and Sistine with a guide or on your own? Do you also want to see St. Peter's? And at the Colosseum, do you just want to enter and visit the main level on your own or are you looking for one of the more specialized tours?

 

You'll need to figure out the answers to these questions and then figure out how to make it work. Pre-reserved timed-entry tickets are almost mandatory at the Vatican if you want to enter on your own, or you can see what tours the Vatican offers that might fit your schedule.

 

It's probably best to plan to do the Vatican first and then the Colosseum after, for two reasons: one is that the Vatican entrance ticket is timed, so you want to be sure you are there at the appointed hour. You can also buy a pre-reserved entry ticket for the Colosseum, but it is not timed. The second reason for doing the Colosseum second is that the rules for pre-reserved entry tickets have recently changed -- unless you are taking one of their tours, you cannot use the timed entry tickets at the Colosseum in the morning, apparently. See here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=56471897&postcount=7

 

The fastest way to get from the Vatican to the Colosseum is by taxi -- there is a taxi stand located just outside the colonnade around the piazza in front of St. Peter's. It is on the right-hand side if facing the front of the basilica. The ride should only cost around 10 euro.

 

If you need more help planning, feel free to ask more specific questions. Hopefully you'll have time to take it easier on Sunday and make some time to just enjoy being in Rome.

[Trish Traveler]

Thanks for the advice. We want to see the Sistine Chapel for sure at Vatican, probably with an audio guide, and try for inside of St. Peter's, before heading to Colosseum for an audio guide tour. I had thought about a limo type tour, but we would be paying too much money for a limo sitting around while we tour inside with two major sights in one day. And yes, our next day in Rome would be much more leisurely.

[cruisemom42]

I agree you don't need a limo-type tour (or private driver).

 

The official Vatican website for tickets/tours: http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/visita-i-musei.html

 

The official site for Colosseum tickets:

https://www.coopculture.it/en/the-colosseum.cfm

[BucketlistBG]

We will be disembarking our cruise ship on a Saturday in Civitavecchia. We want to head to Rome via pre-arranged limo service to our hotel near the Pantheon, and then try to tour the Vatican Museum/St. Peter's, and the Colosseum in the same day. We will be there another day on Sunday, but can't tour the Vatican for Sistene Chapel because I believe it is closed on Sundays. And we don't want to do the Colosseum on that Sunday because I believe it is free on the first Sunday of the month and we don't want to have to wait in those long lines. I do hear that the lines anytime are long for the security even if we have our pre-purchased tickets. Is it possible to do this in one day? What's the best way to do this?

 

We have the same issue on August 4 after our cruise. I searched for many different options including trying to pair up two different tours with two different companies (timing was difficult). But, we'd also have our luggage and need to drop at hotel and needed to get from port. Ultimately, I went with a private tour who will pick us up in port and take us to the Colosseum and then the Vatican while the driver watches our bags. We bought the tickets on our own with the tour company's help. We actually found another couple on our roll call to share the cost to make it a bit more palatable. I was lucky. They drop at hotel at 3 pm and we too have another whole day to see all the other sites. I was making myself crazy trying to do it the least expensive way but it would have been a logistical nightmare. You can probably do audio tours on your own in both places but transportation and luggage still are a factor. No one had a good surefire solution to the Colosseum on Sunday with it free. Some people suggested getting tickets at the Forum first and then the Colosseum but I didn't want to take any chances.

[Trish Traveler]

We have the same issue on August 4 after our cruise. I searched for many different options including trying to pair up two different tours with two different companies (timing was difficult). But, we'd also have our luggage and need to drop at hotel and needed to get from port. Ultimately, I went with a private tour who will pick us up in port and take us to the Colosseum and then the Vatican while the driver watches our bags. We bought the tickets on our own with the tour company's help. We actually found another couple on our roll call to share the cost to make it a bit more palatable. I was lucky. They drop at hotel at 3 pm and we too have another whole day to see all the other sites. I was making myself crazy trying to do it the least expensive way but it would have been a logistical nightmare. You can probably do audio tours on your own in both places but transportation and luggage still are a factor. No one had a good surefire solution to the Colosseum on Sunday with it free. Some people suggested getting tickets at the Forum first and then the Colosseum but I didn't want to take any chances.

BucketlistBG,

Just wondering how your day worked out? What tour company did you use and what approximately did they charge?

[BucketlistBG]

BucketlistBG,

Just wondering how your day worked out? What tour company did you use and what approximately did they charge?

Hi

Actually it was one of the best days we had and it worked out perfectly. We actually ended up having a third couple join us right before we left as their tour got cancelled and she had seen my postings on the roll call and the tour co. accommodated all six of us and luggage. The price was 550 euros for pickup at port, the colosseum tour, drive to Vatican and vatican tour of all pertinent bldgs. We got picked up at 7:30 am and dropped at hotel around 3 pm ish. Luckily the hotels were in same area otherwise it might have been more for extra stops. They also drove us around a bit to see some of the other sites as the add-on couple only had that day in Rome and had this arrangement in an email. Not sure if it was part of the deal but they did it. Also, they took us to a restaurant that was really good (we all paid--not incl). The tour guide was amazing and very animated and passionate about what she knew. We were at the Colloseum by 9, before it got really hot and crowded. Lines weren't bad. Right into the Vatican (timed ticket). We split it 3 ways, 182 Euros per couple and then added tip so around 200 euros. It would have cost a little less than that for just ride from port. Everyone that we spoke to on our ship was sorry that they didn't arrange something like this beforehand. The ship's excursion was similar but more money per person and sold out and didn't do both sites completely. We used Easitalytours.com. Silvia was very helpful. Unfortunately right now I can't remember the guide's name. The price didn't change with more people so definitely worth it to split. I think I heard someone say that the lines weren't bad at the Colloseum in the afternoon on that free Sunday but again, you'd be doing it on your own. The tour guides bring it alive. I did learn a valuable lesson. No matter how much research you do, in big cities, a tour like this is invaluable for the ease of travel and information and I'm usually a very frugal (not cheap) person. If you are going to see it, see it right. It's hard to read stuff in a book. I hope this helps you. Definitely see if you can share the cost. Your situation is identical to ours. Good luck. We used All Around Italy for our tour to Positano from the Naples port and they were very good too. Didn't price this tour with them as I booked Rome first but maybe they would have done something similar.

[Trish Traveler]

Thanks so much for the info. It is very helpful in our planning. Glad you had a great trip.

[Alaskanb]

I have decided to do something similar as the previous post. While I cannot recommend as we have not yet done the tour I contacted Antonio Cagnoli & Son based on a CC recommendation and Tripadvisor reviews. I gave them a list of places we wanted to see externally and others that we wanted to stop at and visit and then they provided a quote. We did not include the Vatican as we want to do an early entry tour of the museums and Sistine chapel and will do that the next day. Our bed and breakfast is a 10 minute walk from the Vatican so that should work well.

[samantha1]

Hi

Actually it was one of the best days we had and it worked out perfectly. We actually ended up having a third couple join us right before we left as their tour got cancelled and she had seen my postings on the roll call and the tour co. accommodated all six of us and luggage. The price was 550 euros for pickup at port, the colosseum tour, drive to Vatican and vatican tour of all pertinent bldgs. We got picked up at 7:30 am and dropped at hotel around 3 pm ish. Luckily the hotels were in same area otherwise it might have been more for extra stops. They also drove us around a bit to see some of the other sites as the add-on couple only had that day in Rome and had this arrangement in an email. Not sure if it was part of the deal but they did it. Also, they took us to a restaurant that was really good (we all paid--not incl). The tour guide was amazing and very animated and passionate about what she knew. We were at the Colloseum by 9, before it got really hot and crowded. Lines weren't bad. Right into the Vatican (timed ticket). We split it 3 ways, 182 Euros per couple and then added tip so around 200 euros. It would have cost a little less than that for just ride from port. Everyone that we spoke to on our ship was sorry that they didn't arrange something like this beforehand. The ship's excursion was similar but more money per person and sold out and didn't do both sites completely. We used Easitalytours.com. Silvia was very helpful. Unfortunately right now I can't remember the guide's name. The price didn't change with more people so definitely worth it to split. I think I heard someone say that the lines weren't bad at the Colloseum in the afternoon on that free Sunday but again, you'd be doing it on your own. The tour guides bring it alive. I did learn a valuable lesson. No matter how much research you do, in big cities, a tour like this is invaluable for the ease of travel and information and I'm usually a very frugal (not cheap) person. If you are going to see it, see it right. It's hard to read stuff in a book. I hope this helps you. Definitely see if you can share the cost. Your situation is identical to ours. Good luck. We used All Around Italy for our tour to Positano from the Naples port and they were very good too. Didn't price this tour with them as I booked Rome first but maybe they would have done something similar.

 

 

Glad it all went well! Quick question; we booked a Livorno (Florence) and Naples tour with All Around Italy; based on the good reviews of Trip Advisor. How did you like them? Also, when you say Vatican tour, did you mean Vatican Museum? Did you have a private tour? We are going to be traveling with our son and his family (7 of us in all).

 

Thank you for your review!

[awatt]

Glad it all went well! Quick question; we booked a Livorno (Florence) and Naples tour with All Around Italy; based on the good reviews of Trip Advisor. How did you like them? Also, when you say Vatican tour, did you mean Vatican Museum? Did you have a private tour? We are going to be traveling with our son and his family (7 of us in all).

 

Thank you for your review!

 

We used AllaroundItaly in Florence and loved the tour! Ask for Fabricio if you can get him. He was fantastic, so friendly, and he made history very entertaining. Tailored the tour to our wants and needs, which was great as my daughters were younger at the time. It was like seeing Italy with your Italian cousin. Would not hesitate to book with him again.

[BucketlistBG]

The day with All Around Italy was great too. The only thing that I was initially disappointed with was we were supposed to stop at Sorrento but stopped along the way on the Amalfi Coast instead for a taste of lemon ice and pictures. However, instead of Sorrento we ate lunch at a wonderful restaurant Da Constantino I think in Positano (not included in the tour price) and it was an unexpected surprise. It was a highlight for my husband. Also, we had an issue getting back to port on time. Our tour guide got us back to port in plenty of time but for some reason the traffic getting to the ship itself came to a standstill. No one was moving. (might have been because the new RC ship with 6000 passengers had to be back at the same time???) When we were directed out of port after sitting there for 1/2 hour, the guide ditched the car and literally walked us to the ship.

As far as the Vatican, we had a private tour of the Sistine Chapel, St. Peters Basilica and the museums. We were there for about 2.5 hours. You could spend days. We had purchased the tickets on our own for a timed slot but she handled all the logistics when we got there. It's definitely cost effective when you have that many people. You'd end up paying that much for other tours and this was more personal. Unless you just get their walking tour...

[samantha1]

We used AllaroundItaly in Florence and loved the tour! Ask for Fabricio if you can get him. He was fantastic, so friendly, and he made history very entertaining. Tailored the tour to our wants and needs, which was great as my daughters were younger at the time. It was like seeing Italy with your Italian cousin. Would not hesitate to book with him again.

 

 

Thank you! It’s wonderful that we can read reviews and ask our fellow travelers questions! I’m excited about our choice! We are traveling with our kids and grandkids, and they are so excited! Looks like I made a good choice!!

[samantha1]

The day with All Around Italy was great too. The only thing that I was initially disappointed with was we were supposed to stop at Sorrento but stopped along the way on the Amalfi Coast instead for a taste of lemon ice and pictures. However, instead of Sorrento we ate lunch at a wonderful restaurant Da Constantino I think in Positano (not included in the tour price) and it was an unexpected surprise. It was a highlight for my husband. Also, we had an issue getting back to port on time. Our tour guide got us back to port in plenty of time but for some reason the traffic getting to the ship itself came to a standstill. No one was moving. (might have been because the new RC ship with 6000 passengers had to be back at the same time???) When we were directed out of port after sitting there for 1/2 hour, the guide ditched the car and literally walked us to the ship.

As far as the Vatican, we had a private tour of the Sistine Chapel, St. Peters Basilica and the museums. We were there for about 2.5 hours. You could spend days. We had purchased the tickets on our own for a timed slot but she handled all the logistics when we got there. It's definitely cost effective when you have that many people. You'd end up paying that much for other tours and this was more personal. Unless you just get their walking tour...

t

 

 

 

Thank you again for all this great information! Based on your review, I’ve booked a Easitalytours for a private tour of the Vatican Museum and St Peter’s Basilica. Like you said, I will purchase the tickets for a time slot!

Looking forward to next July! Now we just need a hotel walking distance to the Vatican Museum!,

[MartinsCruise]

We will be in Rome for the first time next month for two nights pre-cruise. Has anyone used one of the hop on - hop off busses to get around? I thought this may be a good way to see Rome and get off to see those places which interest us. When we get to the Colosseum, are there guides available without making arrangements ahead of time? If the hoho busses are not a good option, we will probably use taxis and/or walk to go where we want to go.

[cruisemom42]

We will be in Rome for the first time next month for two nights pre-cruise. Has anyone used one of the hop on - hop off busses to get around? I thought this may be a good way to see Rome and get off to see those places which interest us. When we get to the Colosseum, are there guides available without making arrangements ahead of time? If the hoho busses are not a good option, we will probably use taxis and/or walk to go where we want to go.

 

The HOHO buses are not really a great option in Rome. Because of the traffic in the historic center, the bus cannot get close to some of the sites, so you will definitely be getting on and off the bus to see things. Not so terrible, but also realize that you may wait quite a long time for another bus to show up (again, due to traffic) and that bus may be full and will not let you on.

 

Except for the Vatican, which is a distance from the center, most other sites are walkable from a centrally located hotel. This includes the Colosseum and Forum, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, etc.

[MartinsCruise]

The HOHO buses are not really a great option in Rome. Because of the traffic in the historic center, the bus cannot get close to some of the sites, so you will definitely be getting on and off the bus to see things. Not so terrible, but also realize that you may wait quite a long time for another bus to show up (again, due to traffic) and that bus may be full and will not let you on.

 

Except for the Vatican, which is a distance from the center, most other sites are walkable from a centrally located hotel. This includes the Colosseum and Forum, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, etc.

Thank you for the information. Our hotel seems to be in a good location so we'll plan on walking to a lot of the sites. Can we get a tour right at the Colosseum or does it have to be pre-arranged?

[Trish Traveler]

On ‎7‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 3:55 PM, Trish Traveler said:

We will be disembarking our cruise ship on a Saturday in Civitavecchia. We want to head to Rome via pre-arranged limo service to our hotel near the Pantheon, and then try to tour the Vatican Museum/St. Peter's, and the Colosseum in the same day. We will be there another day on Sunday, but can't tour the Vatican for Sistene Chapel because I believe it is closed on Sundays. And we don't want to do the Colosseum on that Sunday because I believe it is free on the first Sunday of the month and we don't want to have to wait in those long lines. I do hear that the lines anytime are long for the security even if we have our pre-purchased tickets. Is it possible to do this in one day? What's the best way to do this?

I'm back  from the Crown Princess Med Cruise and just want to say that my plan did work!  Luckily, everything fell into place for success, but it was a busy day.  Here is the excerpt from my complete review:

 

Early in the cruise, we had received a form to indicate our preference for disembarkation.  We requested the 7:15-8:00am time slot, and were pleased to be assigned that group.  One last crazy-busy early morning in the buffet for breakfast.  We needed to wait in the Explorers Lounge and were quickly called close to the 7:20am time assigned us.  This was one of the easiest disembarkations we have ever experienced.  Although, it could be because there were quite a few people who were continuing on the ship for the transatlantic repositioning cruise to Ft. Lauderdale.  We had pre-arranged a transfer to our Rome hotel with Stefano’s Rome Cabs for 8am.  Shortly after exiting the building we saw our driver, Andrea, with our name greeting us about 20 minutes early.  It was an easy commute (less than 90 minutes) to Rome on the expressway early on a Saturday morning.  He even helped get our luggage into the hotel lobby.  I would definitely recommend RomeCabs.

 

We had pre-booked a two night stay at the Albergo del Sole Al Pantheon Hotel right on the Piazza della Rotonda where the Pantheon is located in the historic district. This is a charming, elegant little hotel dating back to 1468!!  The hotel allowed us to leave our luggage with them, so we could head out to begin our busy day of sightseeing.   We had pre-booked online tickets for the Vatican Museum for 12:30pm.  Since we had arrived so early, we were happy to know that we would have time to visit St. Peter’s Square and Basilica first.  Saw a very long line wrapping to the other side of the massive square to go through security, so we joined it while we viewed the details of this huge square.  We used a Rick Steve audio download on our phones.  The lined moved pretty fast.  The first view of the massive size of St. Peter’s as you enter is jaw dropping.  It was crowded, but you could move around fairly easily.  The chapel with the Pieta was our first to enter and it is very beautiful. We worked our way around the church in awe of the inspirational art and sculptures that we saw.  The area in the front of the altar was roped off but we had a view of the altar and the Swiss Guard.  

 

After completing this, we exited to begin the 15 minute walk over to the Museum entrance, stopping along the way for coffee.  Glad that we had pre-booked tickets, because the line to buy tickets was about two blocks long!  We were able to enter immediately and go through security quickly.  I knew in advance that the Vatican Museum is huge, but it was so packed with people that it was really hard to navigate and find anything in particular.  We were glad when we got to the open courtyard to get fresh air, and see the giant pinecone and Pomodoro Sphere, now in a rain shower. The art collections are amazing, but the excessive crowds, shoulder to shoulder in a hot stuffy building really took away from the experience.  They definitely let too many people in there at once.  Also, we had adhered to the no backpack rule, and were dismayed that others were let in with backpacks. We viewed some of the Egyptian art, tapestries, map room, other rooms with equally impressive ceilings, etc. Inching closer to the Sistine Chapel we were routed down narrow hallways and stairways that felt like fire traps to me. 

 

Finally, we reached the Sistine Chapel, but were quickly herded in to the middle by the guards.  People were not adhering to the no talking policy so it took away from the spiritual enjoyment of the moment. Finally, we heard an order “Silenzio”  = Silence!  And, of course, some people insist on taking forbidden photos.  I loved seeing this masterpiece, but definitely didn’t enjoy the circumstances and was glad to finally leave the crowded chapel.  But we still had a long walk back to the exit, using a different hallway that was less crowded and had more artwork that we hadn’t previously seen, which was good.  Finally, to the amazing spiral staircase to exit.  We approached one cab who gave us a ridiculously high price quote, so we went to the next one who was properly metered and headed off to the Colosseum.  Glad to see the rain had stopped.

 

We had again pre-booked online “after 2PM entry” tickets for entrance to the Colosseum.  There were several long lines, but the staff let us know which one to enter.  We had about a 30 minute wait to get to security and they were still selling tickets even though the last entry time of 3:30pm was fast approaching.  We were relieved to finally enter and begin our Rick Steves audio tour downloaded on our phones of this fantastic structure with such a sad history.  There were lots of people here also, but it is much more spread out with fresh air.  At least we could get to a railing for the amazing views.   Did the second floor first, where you can also get some amazing views of the Forum.  The main level gets some good views of the lower level and an awesome photo op of the back of the cross.  My DH loves the movie Gladiator, so he really enjoyed his visit here!  A quick taxi ride returned us to our hotel for check in.