Help with one day in Rome please

[lawyerrose]

I contacted him about doing Rome on our October cruise (2 of us). He responded quickly, but his prices were much higher than I'd been led to believe. He also said we should get a tour guide for the Vatican and that would be extra. He quoted 450 Euros, which is more than what the ship's excursion is. That's a lot more than has been quoted on this board, too. I was disappointed. :(

[texancruzer]

I contacted him about doing Rome on our October cruise (2 of us). He responded quickly, but his prices were much higher than I'd been led to believe. He also said we should get a tour guide for the Vatican and that would be extra. He quoted 450 Euros, which is more than what the ship's excursion is. That's a lot more than has been quoted on this board, too. I was disappointed. :(

 

 

Check out post # 24. They posted they paid 450 euros for 2 people. Bear in mind this includes the fact they pick you up at the port and take you back..... it is a good 1.25 to 1.5 hr drive each way. Consider gas is like $ 10.00 a gallon over there......upkeep on the car, pay the driver, fees for the company to do business.....

 

Also alot of people do not realize that most of the companies that take you around to sightsee are DRIVERS. In order to utilize the fact that tour companies get in to say the Vatican earlier than the general public..... you must use a LICENSED GUIDE. They are licensed by the tourist board of Rome. They have little badges and everything. They also have fees to pay to be licensed.

 

We stayed in Rome precruise (2 nights) but really only had 1 day to sightsee. I hired a private GUIDE for the Vatican and the Coliseum/Forum for 600 euros. We had her for pretty much the entire day - all to ourselves. She had multiple degrees but her main one was art history. She knew sooo much about all the sites we saw. Little things that were not in any book etc. And she answered a gazillion questions I kept asking her all day. We taxied from hotel to Vatican and met her there. Then taxied again to the Coliseum with her with us...... when we were done there we parted and we taxied back to hotel for a rest before going out that night for dinner, the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain.

[lawyerrose]

Check out post # 24. They posted they paid 450 euros for 2 people. Bear in mind this includes the fact they pick you up at the port and take you back..... it is a good 1.25 to 1.5 hr drive each way. Consider gas is like $ 10.00 a gallon over there......upkeep on the car, pay the driver, fees for the company to do business.....

 

Also alot of people do not realize that most of the companies that take you around to sightsee are DRIVERS. In order to utilize the fact that tour companies get in to say the Vatican earlier than the general public..... you must use a LICENSED GUIDE. They are licensed by the tourist board of Rome. They have little badges and everything. They also have fees to pay to be licensed.

 

We stayed in Rome precruise (2 nights) but really only had 1 day to sightsee. I hired a private GUIDE for the Vatican and the Coliseum/Forum for 600 euros. We had her for pretty much the entire day - all to ourselves. She had multiple degrees but her main one was art history. She knew sooo much about all the sites we saw. Little things that were not in any book etc. And she answered a gazillion questions I kept asking her all day. We taxied from hotel to Vatican and met her there. Then taxied again to the Coliseum with her with us...... when we were done there we parted and we taxied back to hotel for a rest before going out that night for dinner, the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain.

 

Apparently I missed post #24. I understand why they're so expensive; just that it's probably beyond what we can pay. The cruise line offers the excursion for $300 pp. I'll have to put up with the crowds. Oh well, it's much better than not seeing Rome at all!!

[lawyerrose]

Check out post # 24. They posted they paid 450 euros for 2 people. Bear in mind this includes the fact they pick you up at the port and take you back..... it is a good 1.25 to 1.5 hr drive each way.

 

Yep, you're right. My eyes read "dollars" when she said "euros". That's where I ran amuk. I THOUGHT $450 was a good price.:o Then there's the cost of getting inside the Vatican, too. And and guide. Guess it's cruise shore excursion for me.

[texancruzer]

Yep, you're right. My eyes read "dollars" when she said "euros". That's where I ran amuk. I THOUGHT $450 was a good price.:o Then there's the cost of getting inside the Vatican, too. And and guide. Guess it's cruise shore excursion for me.

 

You know I gotta tell ya. We really enjoyed the ship excursions we took while on our cruise. We normally do not like taking them but circumstances were such that it ended up taking some private tours and some ship tours. We had booked another cruise for the Caribbean and when dhs' work schedule changed we saw an unbelievable price for this Med cruise. Since we booked so close to the sailing date I just flat ran out of time to get in on alot of tour sharing or researching the "do it on our own" thing.

 

We started in Rome (2 nights precruise), then Naples (shared a tour with some others on roll call- got lucky) did Dubrovnik on our own, ship tour in Corfu, ship tour in Livorno (did Pisa and Florence on your own) which is basically a bus ride with a little history and info thrown in. Did ship tour in Villefranche (very good one !) and also in Toulon ( did Aix-en-Provence on your own). Ended up in Barcelona and stayed 1 night post cruise. Explored on our own there.

 

Hopefully you will have as good an experience as we did with ships tours. I was very pleasantly surprised.

 

PS: Just saw you are going end of October....hopefully the crowds will be greatly diminished at this time. We went the end of Nov. and it was really nice as nothing was crowded. We had great weather and even though some restaurants/shops were closed we had no problem finding a place to eat or spend our $$ shopping :)

[lawyerrose]

You know I gotta tell ya. We really enjoyed the ship excursions we took while on our cruise. We normally do not like taking them but circumstances were such that it ended up taking some private tours and some ship tours. We had booked another cruise for the Caribbean and when dhs' work schedule changed we saw an unbelievable price for this Med cruise. Since we booked so close to the sailing date I just flat ran out of time to get in on alot of tour sharing or researching the "do it on our own" thing.

 

We started in Rome (2 nights precruise), then Naples (shared a tour with some others on roll call- got lucky) did Dubrovnik on our own, ship tour in Corfu, ship tour in Livorno (did Pisa and Florence on your own) which is basically a bus ride with a little history and info thrown in. Did ship tour in Villefranche (very good one !) and also in Toulon ( did Aix-en-Provence on your own). Ended up in Barcelona and stayed 1 night post cruise. Explored on our own there.

 

Hopefully you will have as good an experience as we did with ships tours. I was very pleasantly surprised.

 

PS: Just saw you are going end of October....hopefully the crowds will be greatly diminished at this time. We went the end of Nov. and it was really nice as nothing was crowded. We had great weather and even though some restaurants/shops were closed we had no problem finding a place to eat or spend our $$ shopping :)

 

Thank you for your imput, Texan. I'm feeling better after reading about your experience with ship tours. :)

[jenny wren]

It is so very easy to get to Rome on the train from Civitavecchia and the cost for a return ticket including the metro fares in Rome is 9 euros. per person...the trains are very reliable ...we did the journey in June and went to the end of the line Terminii (but you could get off at St. Peters ) then got the Metro direct to the Colosseum from where we walked past the Forum to the Trevi Fountain and then onto the Spanish Steps ...stopping for coffee and a cake ...then we got the metro back from Spanish Steps to the Terminii to catch our train back to Civitavecchia. We did all that in a day with plenty of time to spare and will do the Vatican area on our next visit. Neither of us speak Italian and we didn't need to. Terminii station has plenty of information visible on computer screens it was very easy to understand.

 

We think that you get a feel of the country if you use the local transport and of course good views from the window of the train which travelled along the coast for a while.

 

You just need a bit of confidence to do it but we found that we weren't alone and there were several others off the ship on the train.

[bellagirl]

Hi Kessieann-sorry for the delay in getting back to you! First of all,don't worry about romeinlimo-they are wonderful. I am a very detail-oriented person like you and also had my concerns. I contacted them almost a yr. before our cruise because I had heard good things about them and wanted to book asap.

I basically had a list of all the things we wanted to see and we went from there. Poor Jany-I e-mailed her so many times about the tiniest details and each time I was assured that all would run smoothly and it did. I'll give you an example of how professional they are-the morning that we were supposed to arrive in Citavecchia(at 8am),we hit a really bad sea storm that delayed our trip(we didn't hit Rome until noon). I e-mailed Jany right away from the ship,told her my problem and was in constant contact with her right up until the time our ship finally docked. Duman(our driver)had been at the port much earlier than he needed to be just on the off chance that we arrived early. I felt bad that he had been waiting all that time,but he wanted us to get the most out of the tour.

Even though we had 4 hrs. cut from the tour, I know we saw more than most would on a full-day tour. He is able to get into tight corners with his sedan,thus eliminating the need for walking great distances. I can't praise him enough. He also had a guide waiting for us at St. Peter's Basilica who took us through for about a 2 hr. guided tour. You certainly don't need to hire a guide, but I'm really glad we did-we just found we got so much more out of the experience because of it.

I realize i've written a book(!!) but I just wanted to reassure you that you have absolutely nothing to worry about with romeinlimo. You will be in good hands. Any more questions, please don't hesitate to write. My address is missvanna@hotmail.com. Good luck! Shelly:)

[DavidandPaula]

Can anyone offer information about free shuttle service from the port to the center of Civittaveccia? Are the shuttles offered by the individual cruise line? The town itself?

 

Thanks.

 

Unless things have changed since July last year the shuttle is from the cruise ship dock and goes to the inside the front gate of the port. On return you enter the pedestrian entry to the left of the main gate and the shuttle bus stop is on your left behind a garden bed and a bit of lawn.

 

I am not sure what you would define as the centre of Civit but the railway station is about a 100m walk from the main gate and is on the non beach side of the main road, ie you need to cross the main road at one of the pedestrian crossings. Bear in mind the concept of a pedestrian crossing in Italy is a bit different to other countries and you need to assert your rights. The only time I did not establish some sort of eye contact with the driver I came very close to being run down. The rule is firm but not foolhardy when crossing.

 

If you go to the left comming out of the port the main road continues through a number of shopping areas. Car Hire depots are located near the station, we used hertz and were more than happy with the service but try to make sure you are back before they close as you wil have great difficulty finding somewhere to park the car so you can drop the keys through the slot.

 

David

[kessieann]

Hi Kessieann-sorry for the delay in getting back to you! First of all,don't worry about romeinlimo-they are wonderful. I am a very detail-oriented person like you and also had my concerns. I contacted them almost a yr. before our cruise because I had heard good things about them and wanted to book asap.

I basically had a list of all the things we wanted to see and we went from there. Poor Jany-I e-mailed her so many times about the tiniest details and each time I was assured that all would run smoothly and it did. I'll give you an example of how professional they are-the morning that we were supposed to arrive in Citavecchia(at 8am),we hit a really bad sea storm that delayed our trip(we didn't hit Rome until noon). I e-mailed Jany right away from the ship,told her my problem and was in constant contact with her right up until the time our ship finally docked. Duman(our driver)had been at the port much earlier than he needed to be just on the off chance that we arrived early. I felt bad that he had been waiting all that time,but he wanted us to get the most out of the tour.

Even though we had 4 hrs. cut from the tour, I know we saw more than most would on a full-day tour. He is able to get into tight corners with his sedan,thus eliminating the need for walking great distances. I can't praise him enough. He also had a guide waiting for us at St. Peter's Basilica who took us through for about a 2 hr. guided tour. You certainly don't need to hire a guide, but I'm really glad we did-we just found we got so much more out of the experience because of it.

I realize i've written a book(!!) but I just wanted to reassure you that you have absolutely nothing to worry about with romeinlimo. You will be in good hands. Any more questions, please don't hesitate to write. My address is missvanna@hotmail.com. Good luck! Shelly:)

 

Sorry I didn't see this sooner but for some reason my subscription notice didn't indicate any new posts. Thanks for the info. as it is always nice to have reassurance in the decisions I have made. I am doing the planning for 18 people and I worry that they will not like the things I have picked. That is too bad your tour had to be cut so much but it is nice that they were still able to provide you with a nice day. I have been skipping around planning the ports so when I get back to doing Rome again I hope it is okay if I e-mail you.

 

Thanks Again!

[bellagirl]

Hi Kessieann-I would be more than pleased to answer any question you may have! You can write anytime! Take care, Shelly:)

[bellagirl]

Hi Kessieann-I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions-write anytime. Take care, Shelly:)

[nash7300]

Hi Kessieann! I agree completely with BellaGirl! We booked 3 tours with them and they were great, plus for multiple bookings they will give you a 10% discount. Check out my post from a while ago. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me! Have a great trip!

 

 

This past November we took the western Mediterranean cruise and thanks to Rome in Limo, it was the best vacation of our lives. Our party of six booked with them 3 of our ports: Florence/Livorno (Ricardo was our guide), Rome (Duman and Julia for the Sistine Chapel/Vatican, one more amazing than the other), Sorrento/Positano (Carlo, and Donato is the best guide to Pompeii on the planet earth). They were punctual, professional, entertaining, accommodating and a wealth of knowledge. They knew when to see the sights so that we never had to stand in line wasting valuable time. We were never in masses, hearded like cattle, like some of the other tours. They were knowledgable as far as shopping, historical information and my personal favorite, the restaurants. We did more in a day, than a cruise ship guide could do in a week, although we were never rushed or overwhelmed trying to see too much. It was relaxing and being in a small group, we were able to go places the ship tours will never see. We were able to tailor our days how we wanted to spend them, eat when we want, shop, stop the car and jump out for a quick picture.... I cannot say enough about Rome in Limo, and the best part.... A day with them was less money than a day with a cruise line tour. I could go on forever, but I think you get my point. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have here or offline at nash7300@verizon.net. If you book with anyone else you are making a grave mistake!