Rome in Limo with Vatican Guide---Teenagers

[gnial131]

Hello! I have a quote from Jany from Rome in limo for our day in Rome from the NCL Gem. She also quoted a price for a Vatican guide. Our group of 7 will have 2 teenagers with us. What exactly does the Vatican guide do? Would that tour be interesting to teenagers? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks for all for all of the great reviews of Rome in limo...I am excited about the tour!

[bellagirl]

Hi-I can only speak about the guide we had for St. Peter's Basilica and she was terrific. Her name was Sarah and I have no doubt she would be more than capable of entertaining teens with her knowledge of history. Plus, she's very cute!!! Jany would be able to tell you if she is available.

Best of luck, Shelly

[Go9ersjrh]

gnial131 - When will you be in Rome? We are also booked with RomeinLimo and we have 2 teenagers in our group. We'll be there on July 31. We have decided to forego the guide. Although the adults would probable enjoy it, we didn't think the teenagers would want to listen for very long. At least I know my 13 year old will want to keep moving. I plan on selecting a few areas in the Vatican Mueseum and do a little research so I can talk about it and then move to the Sistine Chapel which is the reason we are going to the Mueseum. If I could hear that some had a great time with a guide and teenagers, I would change my mind.

[gnial131]

We will be on the Gem's July 6 sailing...I do however, want to see the Sistene Chapel, Pope's residence, etc...I like your idea of doing research yourself and seeing a few select places in the museum. Do you get the idea that the guide is just for the museum or all in the Vatican?

[sandinmyshoes]

We used Rome in Limo for our tours last Oct. and would have been bored in the Vatican and museums without hiring their guide. We got Laura and she was outstanding. Young and very interesting. She really brought what we were seeing to life. My husband and I are young without children, but my husand tends to bore easily (like most teenagers). He was so captivated by the stories Laura told of the things we saw. She took us through all of the Vatican (musuems, basilica, etc) and kept it all very interesting and fun. She was simply amazing. The time passed by so quickly and we didn't just stand around staring at a piece listening to some long oratory. Laura found out our interests and molded the tour to accomodate that. Not a single moment was boring or felt too long. I would highly recommend a guide through Rome in Limo because they will engage your teenagers and make the experience come alive for them instead of it being one of those places they have to go to because Mom and Dad want to go. You could all walk around on your own unguided; and those who didn't do the research ahead of time could be bored listening to those who did and are retelling what they read, or everyone could be engaged in an interesting and fun story telling-style experience where the legends and facts are told about in a very interesting way that will keep everyone's attention captivated. We learned so much about the paintings and sculptures we never would have learned about reading a boring website or guidebook.

It is worth every penny!!!! Believe me, your teenagers will be much happier with the experience and will actually remember details for years if you get one of Rome in Limo's guides. They seem to only choose people who are fun-loving and outgoing for their guides. At least that was our experience and that of our fellow cruisers who used Rome in Limo. You won't be disappointed!

[Jo1127]

Definately book the Vatican guide! Traveled with 22 and 19 year old for our June 2008 cruise and booked our guide through RomeInLimo. Julia was our guide and she kept her stories and history of the Vatican interesting the whole time. She provided details of things we were seeing more than DH or I could ever do. Teenagers definately would enjoy listening to the guide. The tour with our Vatican guide was one of the best decisions we made in planning our cruise.

[cruisyjulie]

We are on the Zuiderdam's July 19 sailing and we are using Romeinlimo in Rome as well. We are traveling with our 8 and 11 year olds and plan on doing the Vatican. I am sure they will not last too long. Do you recommend a guide? How much extra does the guide cost? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

[gnial131]

Thanks so much for the review!! How long are you walking at one time for the Rome and Vatican tour wieth Rome in Limo tour?? I will have 2 teenagers AND my mother!

[cincicouple]

We too have booked the tour of the Vatican. We were quoted 150E for a group of 4. I am curious about tipping the Vatican tour guide as well as the driver. I have also read that tipping was not expected, but my quotes from Romeinlimo specifically says that gratuity was not included.

 

Guidance from anyone would be appreciated.

[taba]

We were in Rome last week. We booked with Rome in Limo and had Sarah as our Vatican tour guide. I highly recommend both getting a tour guide for the Vatican Museum and using Rome in Limo.

 

Our driver was very interesting and gave us a whirlwind tour. The guide (Sarah) was in contact with our driver, so when she was ready for us he drove us over. We had no waiting anywhere.

 

THere is so much to see in Rome, and when you have only a day, the driver and guide help you make the most of the little time you have.

[bbyost]

We had a guide for our group of 6 (ages 21-52) and a son who bores easily in museums. Our guide for the Vatican was Mary Grace and she was wonderful. My son loved it and his friend said it was the favorite part of our entire trip. I would definitely recommend using a guide.

We paid 110 euros for 2 hours plus we paid her admission.

[slomotion]

The Vatican tour goes pretty fast. Its not boooooring at all.

 

Our guide Julia explained to our group (in a very hushed tone) why some of the artwork were missing their "privates" and some werent.

 

Our guide was not at all like one would expect as a guide for the Vatican. If you are thinking your guide will be "The Church Lady" from SNL think again......

 

We were in Rome (Emerald Princess) on May 27th and also used Romeinlimo and had Julia as our Vatican guide. She's cute as a button, smart, great attitude, has a sense of humor, and speaks English with an adorable Italian accent as "the statue ona the lefta is". I wanted to take her home with us, but my wife wouldn't let me. I think any teenager (male) would want to spend as much time with her as possible.

 

I do not think we would have gotten as much out of the Vatican had we done it on our own.

[nash7300]

We will be on the Gem's July 6 sailing...I do however, want to see the Sistene Chapel, Pope's residence, etc...I like your idea of doing research yourself and seeing a few select places in the museum. Do you get the idea that the guide is just for the museum or all in the Vatican?

 

 

A guide is a must! I am not a museum person at all! ZZZ.... We had Julia from RomeinLimo this past November and she was wonderful! We had a group of 6, one of which was a high school principal, and she answered all of his bizarre questions, and was VERY interesting. On prior trips I did not use a guide. We just kind of wandered through aimlessly not knowing what we were really looking at. It was a waste of valuable touring time without the guide!

 

The other MAJOR MAJOR reason to book a guide is she had our tickets waiting for us and when we got there we walked right in avoiding the huge lines. This enabled us to see the Sistine Chapel and Vatican. We were told by others on our ship who thought they could do it on their own, that they waited in line for a couple hours and only made it to the Sistine Chapel. We were in and out while they were still in line!

 

One thing we did when we started our day with RomeinLimo was tell them what we liked/disliked, wanted to see, didn't want to do.... They took that into account and planned our day accordingly. Hope this helps....

[gnial131]

Thanks so much...this really helps. I am not that familiar with Rome or the Vatican. What things did you tell your driver to skip etc...??? Did you go in the Colosseum and the Forum? Can you give me an "exact" description of your day if you can with times? Thanks!

[slomotion]

Thanks so much...this really helps. I am not that familiar with Rome or the Vatican. What things did you tell your driver to skip etc...??? Did you go in the Colosseum and the Forum? Can you give me an "exact" description of your day if you can with times? Thanks!

 

The first thing our driver (Duman of RomeinLimo) said to us was "I will do anything you want to do today, but if you let me plan the day I promise that you will get to see the etc. etc."

 

We trusted his judgment and had a superb day. (As we now like to say, "We conquered Rome in a single day")

 

We started at the Collesium, then the Forum, the palaces of Napoleon and Mussolini and ? the Spanish steps, the Trevi Fountain etc. We stopped at a cute little sandwich shop for lunch, that he picked, because service would be faster than a larger restaurant.

 

I can't give you the exact time we spent anywhere, but it was "enough". For example he stopped at a spot to buy the tickets for the Collesium so the we did not have to stand in the long line at the collesium to buy the tickets. He dropped us off and we agreed that we would meet him in about an hour and 15 minutes. We did just that. Then we drove and he pointed out a few spots. Next he drove us up a hill pointed to a paved walkway, and told us to walk up that path and we would then be at the top of the Spanish steps. We could then look around the plaza that we would be standing in, then walk down the Spanish steps and look to the right and he would be parked there. We did and he was. Each time we did something like that, he was right where he said he would be.

 

By the end of the day we had visited the highlights of Rome including the Vatican and were back to the ship on time. It turned out to be a great day and a letting Duman set the day was a good choice.

[Ms Understood]

Couldn't agree more with the advice to get a guide. We have used easitalytours.com several times once on a land trip and twice on cruises and twice we had Massimo as our Vatican guide. He gave the best explanation of the Sistine Chapel and makes it all even more compelling. Also we have NEVER waited to get in which alone is worth every penny. Don't waste your precious vacation minutes standing in a line!

[MamaQuack]

We are not museum or big church touring folks. We visited on Sunday, June 8 and only wished for more days and more time with Vincente and in Rome. We know now that a private guide would have made the Coliseum even better and that visiting on a different day The Vatican would have been interesting. We were travelling with our teen son who absolutely loved Rome, loved Vince, loved our luncheon spot and loved learning what we did from a driver who was intelligent, charming, well informed and funny! We cannot wait to return, to see the Sistine Chapel and The Vatican but more importantly to have another chance to enjoy this amazing city and its people. It was and is worth every penny, every Euro. We would and hopefully will do it again next June.

[ronayne]

Thank you sandinmyshoes, we are 'the other family' going with go9ersjrh in Romeand appreciate your comments

[sandinmyshoes]

You are most welcome for the comments. I got to thinking though, Julia was our Vatican guide through Rome in Limo not Laura. Laura was our Rome in Limo driver for Pisa, Tuscany, and Florence. Hope I didn't cause too much confusion. As far as length of time walking vs. sitting; you can manage it either way. There are plenty of places to sit along the tour and take it easy while Julia tells you about what is around you. There are so many different ages, and physical abilities of the people who visit the Vatican and it's surrounding buildings that they understand the needs and take careful consideration for those. I'm sure if you wanted to rent a wheelchair for a member of your group just for the Vatican tour, Jany would find a way. She's really amazing and is the one who sets up all groups and handles the correspondence with clients for Rome in Limo.

 

As far as tipping is concerned, it is a personal choice, but it if you liked your driver or guide it is always nice to give them a bonus to express this. We gave 20% because we were just so blown away by how wonderful they made our trips. The guide books say 10 - 15%, but we feel you can never go wrong by giving to others a little of the blessings that have come your way. Again, this is a very personal issue, so just go with what your heart tells you.

[gnial131]

I am convinced!! Thanks for all of the advice!

[szdiver]

All I can say is that I agree with everyone who says that Rome In Limo is the best and with a guide in the Vatican, you will see things in the pictures that no one else does. The guide is usually a student and very good at it.