NCL Shore Excursions: 'Rome and the Vatican' VS 'Exclusive Rome and the Vatican' .... ??

[ajtraveler66]

Other than "Exclusive Rome and the Vatican" being $80.00 more expensive, what is the major difference between the two excursions listed in the title?  

 

The only thought I'd like to mention here is that we're not all that excitied about losing time going into the interior of the Colosseum...when we could see other things instead.    Some in our party have already been to the interior ... and the rest are not all that excited about being forced to see the interior.

 

If both excursions do take us inside the Colosseum, then so be it...we'll still have to choose one excursion or the other.

 

Also ... you do need to know that we prefer doing excursions through the ship ...   Oh yes, we could do a private tour ... but I've been around long enough to know that mishaps do occur every now and then.  That said, we do like knowing that by doing the ship's excursion, we do have the assurance of knowing that we'll get back on the ship.

 

 

[bluesea777]

Looks like the Exclusive one is an U tour - small group touring. How many of you are in the party?

 

We used Rome in Limo - excellent. 

 

 

[Turtles06]

It would help if you posted NCL’s description of both tours, and the length of each.
 

Also, I have found the NCL shorex desk to be helpful in answering questions, and getting answers if they don’t know them. 

[chillyw]

Exclusive is generally a mini-bus sized group rather than a full-sized bus group.  I find it a much better experience personally but up to you whether it's worth it.

[complawyer]

here's a thought, and ive done this a few times.  try and get off the ship as early as possible. see if you can negotiate a cab to take you to rome and back to the ship. that way he can take you wherever you want. just remember it's about an hour from the port to the city itself. but!!! it can be done, 

[Turtles06]

49 minutes ago, complawyer said:

here's a thought, and ive done this a few times.  try and get off the ship as early as possible. see if you can negotiate a cab to take you to rome and back to the ship. that way he can take you wherever you want. just remember it's about an hour from the port to the city itself. but!!! it can be done, 

The OP is worried about taking a private tour with a vetted tour operator and not getting back to Civi on time, and.you’re suggesting they pick some random cab off the street? 

 

Far better option is a private tour with a reputable company like RomeinLimo, as suggested above. Work out the itinerary in advance and see what you want to see. 

[MeHeartCruising]

21 hours ago, ajtraveler66 said:

Other than "Exclusive Rome and the Vatican" being $80.00 more expensive, what is the major difference between the two excursions listed in the title?  

 

The only thought I'd like to mention here is that we're not all that excitied about losing time going into the interior of the Colosseum...when we could see other things instead.    Some in our party have already been to the interior ... and the rest are not all that excited about being forced to see the interior.

 

If both excursions do take us inside the Colosseum, then so be it...we'll still have to choose one excursion or the other.

 

Also ... you do need to know that we prefer doing excursions through the ship ...   Oh yes, we could do a private tour ... but I've been around long enough to know that mishaps do occur every now and then.  That said, we do like knowing that by doing the ship's excursion, we do have the assurance of knowing that we'll get back on the ship.

 

 

 

The difference is the size of the vehicle you will be in and how many people will be on the vehicle with you.  There will be less people in your tour group in the more expensive version.  The tour company gets to decide how many apparently. 

[complawyer]

turtles06. if you cruise extensively, you will find that at most ports, there are a number of cabs. you make it sound like we're going to be kidnapped, and later shot and killed.  if you completely read my post, we've hired cabs in civi at least twice, in naples, oslo, hamburg, brussels, tenerife, and places too numerous to mention. never once in any foreign country have we ever had a problem, mishap, or threat, and we've always worked out with the driver, where we wanted to go, how much, and how long. ALWAYS!! have gotten back to the ship i n  plenty of time. 

 

also, it was just a suggestion, so dont get all huffy about it. you can easily fit 3-5 people in a cab, and the price split accordingly, is much cheaper than the ncl excursion. if you dont like to idea of renting a cab at the port, by all means, DON'T DO IT!!!!.

[Crazy planning mom]

NCL also used to offer an excursion called Rome on your own which provided transportation to Rome and back.  Then, you were free to see what you wanted.

[ajtraveler66]

Seeing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is the one thing we ABSOLUTELY want to do.  Since there are tickets involved, we prefer using an organized tour as opposed to doing it "On Our Own".  Were tickets not a big factor, we probably would have been tempted to choose the "On Your Own" excursion.  That's what we're going to do in Sicily --  "Taormina On Your Own".

[9tee2Sea]

I don't know what the difference is, but I STRONGLY recommend going thru NCL for whichever excursion you choose.  The city center is about 1 hour from where the ship docks.  Rail strikes are common in Italy, and they can happen at any time.  The tour that we took drove us around the main sites, narrated on board, I think we stopped for lunch at a restaurant. Took us to Vatican City ( where we did not have to wait in line to enter),  narrated tour of the statues and art work, and viewing of Sistine Chapple.  Ample time to explore other areas on our own.  Our tour came back 1 hour late, and because it was via NCL, the ship waited for us.  We had heard from some passengers that the trains from the port to Rome were on a slowdown schedule, and many decided not to risk the travel time.  

[Turtles06]

28 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I don't know what the difference is, but I STRONGLY recommend going thru NCL for whichever excursion you choose.  The city center is about 1 hour from where the ship docks.  Rail strikes are common in Italy, and they can happen at any time.  

 
But DIY by rail is not the only alternative to an NCL tour. There are private excursions one can take with a reputable company like Romeinlimo. 
 

The CC port of call forum for Italy is a great source of information regarding tours of Rome from Civi.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/464-italy-ports/

[9tee2Sea]

3 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 
But DIY by rail is not the only alternative to an NCL tour. There are private excursions one can take with a reputable company like Romeinlimo. 
 

The CC port of call forum for Italy is a great source of information regarding tours of Rome from Civi.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/464-italy-ports/

There may be other options, but for me, the only way to do a tour in any port that is at least 1 hour away from city center is thru the cruise line.  I would rather pay more, and be stress free that the ship won't leave if I come back late due to any unforeseen issues.  Just my opinion.

[Sailing12Away]

If you've never been to the Vatican, it's 'worth it' to pay for the smaller group. When you get near the entrance, the later in the day the more insane it becomes. There will be thousands of people waiting to go inside on tours. If you're with a large group of people, all of their heads will be in every one of your photos. With a smaller group, the folks up front take their shot and move along, letting you then come behind and get a clean(ish) shot. 

There's no way I would do a mega bus tour in those areas, it would almost be a waste as you won't see much other than heads of your fellow travelers.

Just one of countless example photos you can find by searching.

 

For comparison, this is my own personally taken photo when we did a small group tour (only 20 in the group) and we booked it for very early in the morning, shortly after they opened.

 

As well as the lines of folks waiting for their chance to go inside still behind us.

[ajtraveler66]

On 12/24/2022 at 1:51 PM, 9tee2Sea said:

There may be other options, but for me, the only way to do a tour in any port that is at least 1 hour away from city center is thru the cruise line.  I would rather pay more, and be stress free that the ship won't leave if I come back late due to any unforeseen issues.  Just my opinion.

 

"Stress-Free". THE KEY WORDS!!!  YES!  We will be doing an NCL excursion, and we'll probably splurge with the Exclusive based on what I've been reading here.  Thanks, everyone!