Rome post and pre Cruise ideas

[debbrilacy]

We are boarding the Epic on June 17, 2023 in Rome and debarking on June 26.  We are planning on flying in a day early in case of airline glitches and staying at least a couple days after to see Rome.  We are first timers cruising to the Mediterranean.  I’m not sure if NCL has good packages, or if anyone has suggestions, because we will not be renting a car.  We are in our mid 60’s. Hotels? Sites not to be missed?  Any help appreciated!

[MeHeartCruising]

Have you found the Italy ports forum yet?  Lots of information there.

 

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

 

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[debbrilacy]

I will check there!! Thank you!

[complawyer]

anywhere you turn in rome will be amazing. there is culture and history on almost every corner.  we were at the marriott last nov, and we were able to arrange a shuttle to take us to all the important sights. you definitely need to go to the vatican(although the lines are outrageous) sistine chapel,almost anywhere. you really need a week or so to explore rome, and even that's probably not enough. im certain you will love it

[thespiritmovesme]

We did a Vespa Sidecar tour in 2019 that we saw on Tripadvisor. It was great fun. My DH rode behind the driver & I rode in the sidecar. Other tourists were taking photos of us. We were able to go down narrow streets where cars & busses couldn't. We made a few scenic stops but not the Vatican or the Colosseum. There are YouTube videos of it. You get commentary thru the helmets. We felt very safe.

[BostonGal35]

we stayed at the Hotel Smeraldo, downtown Rome.  walking distance to all of the sites including the vatican.

 

we did a food and wine tour at night.  we arrived in the morning, explored for a few hours, took a 2 hour power nap, then headed out for teh tour.  it was amazing, as Rome looks so different at night!  we spent 2 nights here, then the 3 night we stayed at the Hotel San Giorgio in Civitavecchia.  We used, if i remember correctly, Rome in Limo for our transportation.   The port itself is cute and we found no shortage of restaurants there. 

[chillyw]

It's pricey, but the best tour I've ever done in my entire life is this:

 

https://www.contexttravel.com/cities/rome/tours/rome-with-dimo-archaeologist

[YVRteacher]

We did a full day tour (Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Coliseum, archaeological sites) booked through Viator and it was outstanding.  Our hotel was about half a block from the Trevi fountain but I wouldn’t recommend it because the room was small and hot.

Edited March 5, 2023 by YVRteacher

[debbrilacy]

32 minutes ago, BostonGal35 said:

we stayed at the Hotel Smeraldo, downtown Rome.  walking distance to all of the sites including the vatican.

 

we did a food and wine tour at night.  we arrived in the morning, explored for a few hours, took a 2 hour power nap, then headed out for teh tour.  it was amazing, as Rome looks so different at night!  we spent 2 nights here, then the 3 night we stayed at the Hotel San Giorgio in Civitavecchia.  We used, if i remember correctly, Rome in Limo for our transportation.   The port itself is cute and we found no shortage of restaurants there. 

Great tips! Thank you! We are new to international travel, so there’s a bit of a learning curve!

[debbrilacy]

32 minutes ago, chillyw said:

It's pricey, but the best tour I've ever done in my entire life is this:

 

https://www.contexttravel.com/cities/rome/tours/rome-with-dimo-archaeologist

Sounds amazing!!!  Thank you!

[debbrilacy]

29 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

We did a full day tour (Vatican, Sistine Chapel, Coliseum, archaeological sites) booked through Viator and it was outstanding.  Our hotel was about half a block from the Trevi fountain but I wouldn’t recommend it because the room was small and hot.

I will look into Viator! Thank you!

[Ixtoras]

We stayed six days in Rome downtown prior to our Escape Transatlantic on Nov 1 last year.  There is a lot of good information in the italy ports discussion.  Had so many amazing experiences during those days.   

 

Rome has a very good bus and metro system that can drop you off near many of the major attractions.  A metro pass for the week is about $25 per person.  Assuming you are up for walking (and stairs) many of the must do's are all within walking / metro distance. (We averaged well over 12,000 steps per day)  I recommend Rick Steve's Rome guide for recommendations for walking tours and descriptions of the attractions.  Also would recommend working with one of the reputable tour guides for access to the "main" attractions as they have the ability to skip some of the lines.

 

Have a wonderful time!

[The Other Tom]

Get the Rick Steves book on Rome and do a self tour.  He has recommendations for hotels, restaurants, etc.  

[Host Kat]

6 hours ago, debbrilacy said:

We are boarding the Epic on June 17, 2023 in Rome and debarking on June 26.  We are planning on flying in a day early in case of airline glitches and staying at least a couple days after to see Rome.  We are first timers cruising to the Mediterranean.  I’m not sure if NCL has good packages, or if anyone has suggestions, because we will not be renting a car.  We are in our mid 60’s. Hotels? Sites not to be missed?  Any help appreciated!

 

Howdy @debbrilacy

 

To help you out I have moved your new topic to the Ports of Call - Europe - Eastern & Western - Italy Ports forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have been to Rome frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles on this forum looking for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you.

 

Hope this will be satisfactory and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

[debbrilacy]

3 hours ago, Ixtoras said:

We stayed six days in Rome downtown prior to our Escape Transatlantic on Nov 1 last year.  There is a lot of good information in the italy ports discussion.  Had so many amazing experiences during those days.   

 

Rome has a very good bus and metro system that can drop you off near many of the major attractions.  A metro pass for the week is about $25 per person.  Assuming you are up for walking (and stairs) many of the must do's are all within walking / metro distance. (We averaged well over 12,000 steps per day)  I recommend Rick Steve's Rome guide for recommendations for walking tours and descriptions of the attractions.  Also would recommend working with one of the reputable tour guides for access to the "main" attractions as they have the ability to skip some of the lines.

 

Have a wonderful time!

Thank you!  Any recommendations for reputable tour guides, or where I might look?  We are really getting excited!

[debbrilacy]

47 minutes ago, Host Kat said:

 

Howdy @debbrilacy

 

To help you out I have moved your new topic to the Ports of Call - Europe - Eastern & Western - Italy Ports forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have been to Rome frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles on this forum looking for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you.

 

Hope this will be satisfactory and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

Thank you, Kat!

[MeHeartCruising]

14 hours ago, debbrilacy said:

I will look into Viator! Thank you!

 

Be aware that Viator is a broker of tours.  They are not the actual tour provider.  Basically, they re-sell other companies' tours worldwide.  Many people use them and they are quite well known.  I have personally used them as well, years ago.  However, I have now found that it is better to research and find the actual tour provider in the local country.  This way you will have a direct contact line to the actual provider and not via a broker's call center communications.  Usually, the broker price will be more expensive than the local tour provider's price because the broker needs to make some money on the deal.

Edited March 6, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[CruisingSince1982]

16 hours ago, BostonGal35 said:

we stayed at the Hotel Smeraldo, downtown Rome.  walking distance to all of the sites including the vatican.

 

 

Did you hotel have good a/c? We are booked there in June. 

[BostonGal35]

3 hours ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

Did you hotel have good a/c? We are booked there in June. 

no issues.  rooms are small, but that's pretty much everywhere in Europe.  we are only there to sleep anyway.   i believe it includes breakfast too, if i remember correctly.  you cannot and i mean cannot beat the location of this hotel and it was Rick Steves recommended!  (as was San Giorgio in Civitavecchia).

[CCJack]

We have stayed at the Hotel Abruzzi - which is right across from the Pantheon.   Our room window looked out directly at the Pantheon, it was a beautiful view.  This is also a good central location in Rome.  Breakfast was good and was included.   Rooms small as expected.   Can't comment on AC as we traveled in late fall.

 

Good luck.

[Gen X Life]

I would not book tours to Vatican on Wens or Sun.. Always check the Vatican site for Holy Days or Early Close Times BEFORE booking ticket... ALWAYS GET TICKETS IN ADVANCE! JMHO. St. Peters is NOT TO BE MISSED, it is Not the same as the Vatican Museums... . 

 

Pay the extra money and skip the line - SO WORTH IT! GO AS EARLY AS YOU CAN!

 

** If this is "Once in a Lifetime Visit to Rome": The tours before and after regular hours -  expensive but worth it depending on time of year you go.  NO CROWDS.

 

 

[debbrilacy]

12 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

Be aware that Viator is a broker of tours.  They are not the actual tour provider.  Basically, they re-sell other companies' tours worldwide.  Many people use them and they are quite well known.  I have personally used them as well, years ago.  However, I have now found that it is better to research and find the actual tour provider in the local country.  This way you will have a direct contact line to the actual provider and not via a broker's call center communications.  Usually, the broker price will be more expensive than the local tour provider's price because the broker needs to make some money on the deal.

Thank you for that information.  Sounds like very good advice. 

[nini]

On 3/5/2023 at 12:08 PM, debbrilacy said:

We are boarding the Epic on June 17, 2023 in Rome and debarking on June 26.  We are planning on flying in a day early in case of airline glitches and staying at least a couple days after to see Rome.  We are first timers cruising to the Mediterranean.  I’m not sure if NCL has good packages, or if anyone has suggestions, because we will not be renting a car.  We are in our mid 60’s. Hotels? Sites not to be missed?  Any help appreciated!

 

It looks like you are flying in from Florida, so jet lag may not be too bad. My hubby was nearly useless the first day, except he was able to walk around a bit that night and eat a bit of dinner.

If I were you, if you can fly in 3 days ahead then I would do that.

 

We flew in 3 days ahead and were able to do a Colosseum tour, Vatican tour, saw the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon. Late one day, we did a "Trastevere Twilight Food Tour" which was fabulous!

We walked to all of our destinations, except took a cab to get to the Vatican early one morning (it was dark), because we booked an early entrance tour. We walked back to or hotel.

 

We were there in October (2018) and the weather was very pleasant. We are from the northwest and I am afraid that June would be too warm for us. You would probably be fine since you are from Florida. We were in our late 60's when we did this cruise.

[debbrilacy]

5 hours ago, nini said:

 

It looks like you are flying in from Florida, so jet lag may not be too bad. My hubby was nearly useless the first day, except he was able to walk around a bit that night and eat a bit of dinner.

If I were you, if you can fly in 3 days ahead then I would do that.

 

We flew in 3 days ahead and were able to do a Colosseum tour, Vatican tour, saw the Trevi Fountain and Pantheon. Late one day, we did a "Trastevere Twilight Food Tour" which was fabulous!

We walked to all of our destinations, except took a cab to get to the Vatican early one morning (it was dark), because we booked an early entrance tour. We walked back to or hotel.

 

We were there in October (2018) and the weather was very pleasant. We are from the northwest and I am afraid that June would be too warm for us. You would probably be fine since you are from Florida. We were in our late 60's when we did this cruise.

Thank you! Yes, we are from Florida, so it may actually be cooler in Rome in June than here! It’s already hit 90! 
Our plan is to do 3 days after the cruise, but arrive in Italy a day before the cruise to allow time if there’s an unplanned flight delay.  Do you remember what hotel you stayed at?

[nini]

1 hour ago, debbrilacy said:

Thank you! Yes, we are from Florida, so it may actually be cooler in Rome in June than here! It’s already hit 90! 
Our plan is to do 3 days after the cruise, but arrive in Italy a day before the cruise to allow time if there’s an unplanned flight delay.  Do you remember what hotel you stayed at?

 

Absolutely! We stayed at Hotel Damoso which was a very central location. And I kid you not, they had the very best coffee (regular and decaf) and hot cocoa ANYWHERE on this planet!!! And... we are connoisseurs. They have a lovely breakfast and we walked everywhere (except to the Vatican in early am). Our Aunt was with us and we booked a room that would sleep 3. Her bed was in a bit of a separated area and we had a lovely balcony. The have an elevator and a lovely rooftop area where you can order drinks. Our Aunt and I did not suffer much from jet lag so we enjoyed the rooftop with adult beverages and enjoyed a fabulous thunder and lightening storm, while hubby slept.