Rome recommendations

[revjamesl]

My wife and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary with a trip on the Odyssey of the Seas sailing from June 19–26. We are flying out from Houston on the 17th and arriving on the 18th and flying out on the day our cruise ends.

 

Has anybody gone on a cruise out of Rome (Port of Civitavecchia)? How did you travel to and from the port? Does Royal Caribbean offer transport service? Where did y’all stay? We are hoping to see the Colosseum but I saw where it’s quite the drive from the port. 
 

Please offer any recommendations you found to be helpful or for places to stay, eat, ways to travel, etc. 

[RCCL Fan]

45 minutes ago, revjamesl said:

My wife and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary with a trip on the Odyssey of the Seas sailing from June 19–26. We are flying out from Houston on the 17th and arriving on the 18th and flying out on the day our cruise ends.

 

Has anybody gone on a cruise out of Rome (Port of Civitavecchia)? How did you travel to and from the port? Does Royal Caribbean offer transport service? Where did y’all stay? We are hoping to see the Colosseum but I saw where it’s quite the drive from the port. 
 

Please offer any recommendations you found to be helpful or for places to stay, eat, ways to travel, etc. 

 

Hi fellow Texan

 

We're doing Odyssey this summer too.  We  think we're going to sleep at a hotel by the airport after we fly in, and then get a ride to the ship the next day.

 

Covid tests abroad are still a concern for us we havent' worked out yet.

[Septemberbride07]

Another Texan responding! Yes, the ports of call boards are very helpful. My DH and I also were on a Med cruise for our 10th anniversary. We stayed in Rome near the Vatican and took Rome Limo to the port. Worth every penny. We never touched our bags once they picked us up, the driver was very knowledgeable, and we were at the port in less time than the train. The port is small but embarking was very quick(in 2017). As for the Colosseum, the public transportation in Rome is easy to navigate. Have a wonderful time!

[arlodog]

When we sailed out of Rome we arrived 3 days early.  Highly recommend spending time in this beautiful city.  Gave us time to get over the jet lag and loved our time there. We stayed in central Rome so everything was easy walking distance.  Loved that it seemed that around every corner you can see iconic buildings.  Highly recommend staying central, even if just for a day so you can walk to the Parthenon,  Coliseum, Tivoli Fountains ect... Rome at night was beautiful.  I would suggest trying to stay in the Parthenon area.  We had a hotel with a roof top terrace and really enjoyed looking out in the evenings with a glass of wine after walking around all day. 

We used a transport service from the airport to our hotel and then they picked us up and took us to the port.  I believe we used Rome in Limo as they were recommended frequently here.  They were waiting for us when we came out of the airport and right on time taking us to the pier.  We split tours with others on our roll call to help bring down the prices.  I had never done that before, but it worked out quite well.   Europe is expensive and when we went the exchange rate was not in our favor.  

Enjoy~  We are hoping to go back this fall! 

[RobInMN]

We spent a week in Rome before our cruise. Here is a link to a helpful thread I participated in.

 

[StanleyandGus]

We arrived 4 days early, and I’m glad we did. We stayed at the Albergo Abruzzi, right opposite the Pantheon. It was amazing. 
 

If you’re good walkers, most things are within walking distance, including the Colosseum. We did, in no particular order, a guided tour of the Colosseum with Walks of Italy, the Jewish quarter and the Appian Way, also with Walks of Italy, Nero’s Golden House, and the Borghese gallery.

 

We used Rome in Limo for airport pickup and transportation to the port.

[revjamesl]

2 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

 

Hi fellow Texan

 

We're doing Odyssey this summer too.  We  think we're going to sleep at a hotel by the airport after we fly in, and then get a ride to the ship the next day.

 

Covid tests abroad are still a concern for us we havent' worked out yet.

I was literally just thinking about the COVID test. We have to fly out on the 17th to get there in time for our cruise on the 19th and the Antigen test is to be done one-day prior to the cruise. We will already be in Rome 1 day prior to the cruise.

[blonde375]

Hello,

We will need to be tested in Rome for boarding.  I have read many notes on the Rome port forum here and Trip Advisor about the hotel's concierge helping the cruisers to find testing sites and set up appointments.  Doesn't sound too difficult or expensive.  Hopefully things will change for us by July.

Edited April 25, 2022 by blonde375

[powelweb]

Hi,

I wanted to give another favorable recommendation for Rome in Limo. We used them in Livorno, Rome, and Naples. On the Naples stop, we headed to Pompeii where we had also arranged for a private guide through Rome in Limo to help us make the most of that experience. She met us in the parking lot, swiftly got us past the long waiting lines and in through a special tour guide line and walked us all around the various ruins with excellent explanations of what life was like back in the day supported by illustrations in a 3 ring binder. We also had a great day in Livorno as we had arranged for our Rome in Limo guide to take us to the town of Lucca after visiting Pisa so our family could enjoy a round of disc golf on the hillside of what was formerly an olive tree farm with spectacular views. 

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Wendy

[taglovestocruise]

12 hours ago, revjamesl said:

I was literally just thinking about the COVID test. We have to fly out on the 17th to get there in time for our cruise on the 19th and the Antigen test is to be done one-day prior to the cruise. We will already be in Rome 1 day prior to the cruise.

We have used Bob's Limo - Rome several times and have been very happy. City to cruise terminal about $90.00 for two people.  Airport to Rome about $50 for two. happy cruising

[DesireeC03]

this is so helpful as we will be heading there this summer!

[dani negreanu]

On 4/25/2022 at 6:11 AM, revjamesl said:

I was literally just thinking about the COVID test.

 

We're staying near the Pantheon, and those 2 pharmacies were recommended to us for a rapid Covid test (open on Sundays too):

 

Farmacia della Scrofa is open. Piazza Cardelli, 6/6a.

There was another near Pza Navona: Farmacia Tor Millina, Via Tor Millina,6.

[senorbanda]

We have used Bob's Limo several times on our trips to Rome and Civitavecchia with their shared ride

service.  Excellent service and competitive rates. I highly recommend them.

[CCJack]

On 4/24/2022 at 10:39 PM, StanleyandGus said:

We arrived 4 days early, and I’m glad we did. We stayed at the Albergo Abruzzi, right opposite the Pantheon. It was amazing. 
 

If you’re good walkers, most things are within walking distance, including the Colosseum. We did, in no particular order, a guided tour of the Colosseum with Walks of Italy, the Jewish quarter and the Appian Way, also with Walks of Italy, Nero’s Golden House, and the Borghese gallery.

 

We used Rome in Limo for airport pickup and transportation to the port.

Another vote for the Albergo Abruzzi, we loved the location - can walk to almost any of the sites.  The  view of the Pantheon from our room was fantastic....!