Journey Cruz docking in Rome end of April

[girlofthewest]

Only 4 months to go before our first cruise. Just learned from our TA that we will be receiving a refund on some of our payment as the rates have dropped.:D

Does anyone have any advice, we will be ending our cruise in Rome and will stay there for two nights and are looking for someplace to stay that is not overly expensive. Does anyone have any recommendations? Also, how difficult would it be to get there? Thanks!

[Susan-M]

We've taken the train between Civitavecchia and Rome a couple of times ... once with luggage, once without. It's the least expensive way to go, but I would only do it if you have a reasonable amount of luggage and are OK with walking for 10-15 minutes with it between the port entrance and the train station in Civitavecchia.

 

For hotels in Rome, a less expensive area would be near the Termini (main train station).

 

The Cruise Critic Ports of Call-Europe-Mediterranean board has quite a few threads on hotels in Rome and train transportation ...it's also a good forum for getting ideas on what to do in ports in the Med.

 

If you are interested in train travel, this site (put together by a CC member) has excellent information: http://www.ftroute.com/ItalianTrains.htm

 

Enjoy your cruise!:)

[KnoxvilleSam]

We've stayed at the Nicolas Inn, which is situated within a block of the Forum, a couple of blocks from the Coliseum, a few more from the Vittorio Emmanuel memorial. The price is very good for such a good location - it's closer to places you can walk to than the Termini station area. Also, the owners are a very nice couple (wife is American) who are very helpful with restaurant and touring recommendations.

 

http://www.nicolasinn.com/en

 

Sam

[abenaki]

Having lived in Roma for a number of years, I would check small hotels in the Trastevere area of the city. It is walkable to everything that you are going to want to see, and gives you a feel for a Rome much more interesting than the Termini area. Termini is a much newer area (as Rome goes) and is similar to the area around the train station in any American city.

 

The best thing to do in Roma is to walk the streets in the older neighborhoods and observe Roman life. Standing for hours in lineups to shuffle through the Vatican Museums with the other millions of tourists is a waste of precious time, unless you are there for a good number of days, IMHO.

 

I would also agree that after the cruise, the train in from Chivitavecchia, dragging luggage, is not for the faint of heart. Take a taxi directly to your hotel, drop your luggage, and then sit in a cafe with a cappuccino and cornetto and watch the city go by.