RomeInLimo questions

[Donyb]

I would like to add my comments to how wonderful romeinlimo is. We utilized their services in May, 2009 in both Rome and Florence. We have also booked them for a tour of the Vatican for this coming October, 2010 and will be joining a tour from Livorno with someone else who has booked them for a wine tour.

 

In Rome, we were lucky enough to have Duman, the owner of the company as our driver guide. He was right at the pier in Civitavecchia when our group of 8 disembarked. He has a wonderful smile and was neatly dressed in a suit to meet us. Our tour was on May 1 and it was a national holiday. We were not sure what sites we would actually get to see as many things were closed. However, Duman managed to find out that one of the Catacomb sites was open and that was our first stop. He arranged for one of the resident monks to show us the underground. It was a moving experience for all of us.

 

Afterwards, we visited the highlight sites of Rome, he called ahead for us to be able to get our Coliseum tickets quickly and he than wanted us to see one of his favorite churches, St Igancio of Loyola. This church is not on the “tour list” of most companies but was one of the highlights of our day. I doubt if we would have seen it without his showing it to us. All eight of us already loved him but this was the icing on the cake.

We then had an absolutely delightful lunch at a restaurant he chose. In the afternoon, we did St. Peter’s Basilica and afterwards, Duman took us to a neighborhood gelato spot and we all had scoops of that wonderful delight.

 

All of us hugged Duman when he dropped us at the pier. It was like we were family.

 

The next day, our ship arrived in Livorno. I had also pre-arranged a full day tour with romeinlimo and again, our driver/guide, John, was waiting at the appointed time when we disembarked.

 

He told us that it would be about and hour and a quarter drive to Florence. Enroute, he took us through some beautiful rolling hills where we could get a flavor of the Tuscan countryside. Our first stop was an overlook park where we could see the city spread before us. It was breathtaking.

 

We then visited a leather shop (I came out with a jacket I never knew I needed!) and that shop was on a square where there were merchants who sold a multitude of things including great cheese and olives. One member of our group bought some of each and shared it on the van enroute to our next stop.

 

We visited the Academia (John called ahead for our tickets so we again bypassed lines of people) and did a number of other stops. One of the things I had requested ahead of time was a visit to a winery where we could have lunch and sample olives and wine. He took us to a place called Tenuta Torciano. The owner of the winery came out and personally greeted us. We were taken into a room in the wine cellar and had the most delightful lunch and samples of wine…lots and lots of wine. We bought olive oil and wine to bring home.

 

Our ride back to the ship in the van was VERY quiet!!! Wine and good food has a way of putting people to sleep!

 

Duman and John where at the pier as promised, they had us back to the ship in plenty of time for sailing, were very knowledgeable and kind and they were “family” by the end of the day.

 

I’ve done a fair amount of travel and romeinlimo ranks as about the best for private tours. On a scale of 10 they are 10+++.

[FCSTeacher]

You shouldn't be!! My DW and I have been on many shore excursions in many ports and RIL is simply one of the best. I'm one of their biggest cheerleaders ... for good reason. They always deliver on their promises. I'm sure you'll have a memorable day!! We're looking forward to being with them again in Rome this July!!

 

FCS Teacher

We are traveling in July on the Brilliance. Are you on that ship?

 

Thanks to everyone for the information on this thread. It has been invaluable. We have booked with RIL and now want to finalize what we actually want with them. I have already posted for others on the site and have a response. Hopefully everything will work out!

[Eurocruiser2010]

My husband and I will be embarking on our European Honeymoon next week! We have booked private excursions (It is our honeymoon after all!) with Rome In Limo for all three Italian ports ... Rome, Naples, and Florence/Pisa. I can't wait! :)

 

If it's just two of us, how much would you recommend tipping each guide? I've gone through this wonderful and informative post, but most tipping information is for a larger group.

 

While I am planning on doing 5-10 euros per person (10-20 euros per driver), I just want to make sure that is sufficient. Most postings say 10-20%, but that seems like a lot to me, considering European tipping customs. But, at the same time, I don't want to be cheap!

[beckntom]

<snip> While I am planning on doing 5-10 euros per person (10-20 euros per driver), I just want to make sure that is sufficient. Most postings say 10-20%, but that seems like a lot to me, considering European tipping customs. But, at the same time, I don't want to be cheap!

 

 

Personally, I think it should be a percentage of the cost of the tour; otherwise the driver/guide is penalized for there being only two people in your tour group opposed to six or eight.

 

Happy honeymoon and an even happier lifetime together! :)

[BigGuy25]

FCS Teacher

We are traveling in July on the Brilliance. Are you on that ship?

 

Thanks to everyone for the information on this thread. It has been invaluable. We have booked with RIL and now want to finalize what we actually want with them. I have already posted for others on the site and have a response. Hopefully everything will work out!

 

No, we're on the Pacific Princess embarking in Athens on July 2nd..

 

RIL is really great in helping you decide on what to see and how long you want to stay at each venue. Two tips that I would offer are 1) if you've never visited the area, let Jany at RIL help you decide what to do. They know the areas that they tour in VERY well. And, 2) feel free to adjust your day as it moves along. Your driver will ask your input on how long you want to stay at a site, what type of place you'd like for lunch, etc. We put total trust in their plan and we weren't disappointed.

[JosieJeangirl]

My friends and I travel extensively with Princess Cruises, since my

husband is a naturalist/guest lecturer with them. We use RomeinLimo

for our private tours. In October,2009...we had the delightful experience

of driving with Carmine from RomeinLimo for a full day in Naples, Pompeii,

and the Amalfi coast. Our trip was beyond expectations...Carmine was a

true professional, a wonderful guide, and like a member of our family.

We were given outstanding service, friendliness and attention to our every

detail all day. Our lunch atop the hill in Positano was unbelievable! Carmine

had made all the plans prior to our arrival to eat. He even had plans set in

place for one of our group who needed a gluten-free menu. This tour

company really cares about its passengers. Everyone in our group was

thrilled and extremely satisfied with everything RomeinLimo did to make

our day so beautiful. Prior to the planning....working with Duman (owner)

and Jany is also a fulfilling experience. They handle everything, graciously

and effectively.

We will be traveling in the Naples area again with RomeinLimo in October, 2011. We have our tour all set in place.....this early..we would not want

to wait any longer to book with Duman's wonderful "family." We already

are absolutely SURE that our day will be more than expected for us.

This is an outstanding company who will really care about you. You will

never forget the experience with RomeinLimo.

 

Julius and Joanne from Arizona

[Litehouse9]

We just came back from the NCL Jade cruise to W. Meditteranean. Wow, loved it. The best part of the trip: Using Rome in Limo in both Florence and Rome. Both were spectacular, cannot imagine my trip without them. Since the cruise gives you only a short 11 or 12 hours in a port, the Rome in Limo tour helped us maximize every possible second in port, seeing as much as possible.

 

Our guide in Florence was Fabrizzio and in Rome, Vincente ("Vinnie"). Both gentlemen were excellent-- prompt, courteous, knowledgable, funny, informative, and did everything possible to please our group of 8. We were in a comfortable, air conditioned Limo with water and plenty of leg room. Our guides provided tickets to museums, and we never had to wait in line, just got whisked in. At the Vatican, RIL provided our own guide (Katrina) who was excellent and super knowledgable in taking us through to the Sistene Chapel, St. Peters Basilica, etc.

 

In Florence, while having lunch at a cafe, it started to rain. Our guide brought umbrellas from his limo in to the restaurant for us! I have a bad knee and the guides also did everything possible to drop me off close to all the attractions, then pick me up to minimize walking.

 

We were taken back to the ship in plenty of time for sail-away, and thrilled to have had such a top notch experience with our short time at two of Italy's premier cities.

 

TIPPING: Our share of the tour each day was $130 for my spouse and I. We ended up tipping an additional 25 euros total for the both of us (which is basically 20%). Our guides seemed happy with the tip. I think it was the "right amount", we did want to show them how much we appreciated their top notch, A+ service. :)

 

And a great benefit: Our drivers knew of all the bathrooms everywhere, so if someone needed to go-- they knew where to send us.

 

I highly recommend Rome in Limo.. and for all the excellent touring-- it was WAY CHEAPER than the ship's tours. I would much rather be in the comfortable Limo, getting a more personalized tour, than in a ship's tour bus.

[twobluecats]

Just back from 16 days in the Med. We used RomeinLimo for our tours in Rome and Naples. If we could have brought Carmine (from Naples) and Nicola (from Rome) home with us we would have. These two men made our limited time in these locations special and quite memorable. The special touches and clear intention to satisfy us made the journey absolutely wonderful.

 

We would not hesitate to recommend RomeinLimo to any of our friends, and we will certainly use their services the next trip to Italy.

 

And...a special shout out to Jany for her amazing orginization and care in handling our reservations.

[cruzy-sue]

Just back from 16 days in the Med. We used RomeinLimo for our tours in Rome and Naples. If we could have brought Carmine (from Naples) and Nicola (from Rome) home with us we would have. These two men made our limited time in these locations special and quite memorable. The special touches and clear intention to satisfy us made the journey absolutely wonderful.

 

We would not hesitate to recommend RomeinLimo to any of our friends, and we will certainly use their services the next trip to Italy.

 

And...a special shout out to Jany for her amazing orginization and care in handling our reservations.

 

We also had Carmine from Naples - Did he take you to a fabulous (rustic) place for lunch outside of Portofino? Did you meet Mama? He truly made our one day in Naples spectacular, as well!

[Barbie075]

We used Rome in Limo a few years ago. There were six of ux and we booked them for Livorno (Pisa & Florence), Rome, and Naples. There was a discount for using them in all three cities. They were fabulous. All of the drivers/guides were excellent. In Rome we asked them to get a private guide for the Vatican and it was worth every penny. Would not want to wander around there without a really good guide so that you know what it is all about. In Florence they arranged to take me to the American cemetery where my father was buried and that was just really extra special. On top of that it did not short change us in Florence. In Naples we chose to go to Positano and Sorrento (WOW) and Pompeii, I would highly recommend it. I am sure Capri is beautiful, but there is not much that could compareto what we saw. In each of the cities we had great and I mean great meals at the places the drivers recommended. I had made all of the arrangements and everyone in our group just raved about how great it was. Go with Rome in Limo, you just can't miss!!! Barbara

[cookie115]

I am so happy to hear all of these wonderful reviews. I will be sailing on my first Med cruise in September and have booked 3 tours with Rome In Limo. Can't wait!

[Barbie075]

Have a great time. You will not regret it. We would use them again and again!!!!

 

Barbara

[ActiveTraveler]

After reading a lot of praise about Rome In Limo and claims ship tours are not as good, I thought RIL is a no-brainer. But like everything else, a lot of information gave me more questions to ask.

1. Can I take pictures of the buildings and gardens outside before and after each tour? I never go anywhere on vacation without my digital camera.

2. Can I use RIL to avoid the long line to the Vatican even if I don't want the guided tour of it inside? I might want to walk around on my own without commentary.

3. Do the drivers wear microphones in the car? If not I need to request a loud talker so I can hear him or her during the ride.

Certainly more questions will pop into my head later.

[ladycancer]

Just got back from mediterranean cruise. Went around Rome and Florence with Rome in a limo. Both tours were awesome. I organized it so I already knew where I was going to go. When the driver came, verified it with them. They do this daily for 8 mos out of the year. They are very accomodating and wants you to have a good time. They really do want to have good reviews online. I would recommend them highly.

[Grandpaul]

After reading a lot of praise about Rome In Limo and claims ship tours are not as good, I thought RIL is a no-brainer. But like everything else, a lot of information gave me more questions to ask.

 

1. Can I take pictures of the buildings and gardens outside before and after each tour? I never go anywhere on vacation without my digital camera.

2. Can I use RIL to avoid the long line to the Vatican even if I don't want the guided tour of it inside? I might want to walk around on my own without commentary.

3. Do the drivers wear microphones in the car? If not I need to request a loud talker so I can hear him or her during the ride.

 

Certainly more questions will pop into my head later.

Being a little familiar with RIL I think I can help you out.

1. You can take pictures of anything except the inside of the Sistine Chapel. I have all kindsof pics of everything else.

2. I think what you want to do for this is make reservations yourself online.

3. We had a big van and they used headphones since you wouldn't be able to hear our driver without them. But he did say the smaller vans can't use them. It's illegal there.

We're heading back to Italy in December and have a couple tours booked with RIL. Can't wait.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Besides the above answers, though we didn't use RIL in Rome, we did in Florence/Pisa. I'm sure they can buy Vatican Museum tickets for you ahead of time so that you can skip the lines to get in, and you do not have to buy the guided tour tickets; you can if you want, but you can just buy entrance tickets and do the museum yourself.

 

That's what we did in April. I had ordered our tickets online myself, but RIL will do that for you if you prefer--better if you are going with a group so the tickets are co-ordinated as to time.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Oops, double post.

Edited June 1, 2010 by Nebr.cruiser

[notentirelynormal]

Besides the above answers, though we didn't use RIL in Rome, we did in Florence/Pisa. I'm sure they can buy Vatican Museum tickets for you ahead of time so that you can skip the lines to get in, and you do not have to buy the guided tour tickets; you can if you want, but you can just buy entrance tickets and do the museum yourself.

 

That's what we did in April. I had ordered our tickets online myself, but RIL will do that for you if you prefer--better if you are going with a group so the tickets are co-ordinated as to time.

 

Actually, they are now having you pre-reserve your tickets and for what time you need to do it. From their website:

 

* We highly recommend for you to pre-purchase your Vatican tickets online for 2 pm www.vatican.va

Edited June 1, 2010 by notentirelynormal
,

[PCWalton1]

Being a little familiar with RIL I think I can help you out.

1. You can take pictures of anything except the inside of the Sistine Chapel. I have all kindsof pics of everything else.

2. I think what you want to do for this is make reservations yourself online.

3. We had a big van and they used headphones since you wouldn't be able to hear our driver without them. But he did say the smaller vans can't use them. It's illegal there.

We're heading back to Italy in December and have a couple tours booked with RIL. Can't wait.

 

Not sure what a big van was for you. Last month we had the driver and 8 people and the driver used a microphone so all of us could hear. You could arrange for RomeinLimo to get you the Vatican tickets but if you are going to looking around by yourself, you should book them yourself, it would be cheaper. Just emailJany to get an idea what time your tour would be at the Vatican.

[Litehouse9]

For Rome in Limo:

 

If you have hearing problems-- Sit in FRONT next to the driver.. plenty of room. We had a limo of 8 people-- plenty of leg room, and alto I myself have hearing problems, I could hear perfectly from the seats that were in the middle of the car.

 

Pictures: Yes, you can take LOTS of pics in the Vatican.. and as I understood-- you CAN take pics of the Sistene chapel-- just NOT flash ones. I took a couple pics of the Sistene chapel, but the postcards of it you buy everywhere are way better anyway, as it is somewhat dark.

 

You can have ROME in Limo get your Vatican tickets in advance (WHY wait in line?) and no need for a guide if you dont want.. but it is so enriching and more interesting with the guide.

 

have fun! :)

[Nebr.cruiser]

We we

We were in the Sistine Chapel in April and signs said no pictures at all, flash or otherwise. We didn't take any, but plenty of people were 'sneaking' photos with their digital cameras.

 

It was very crowded and fairly dark; I have a feeling most photos would have been mediocre, but I wish I had some anyway! I'm not sure what harm non-flash pictures would do.

[ballawana13]

We just booked Rome in Limo tour for our one day there in October this year. I visited Rome many years ago for 5 days (plus another 5 days in Tunis) and I know the time we have will be nowhere enough to get everything. We toured with a teacher who had been in the seminary for 7 years there and acted as our tour guide. He got us to places few were able to see and appreciate and it is years later that I really appreciate the insights we had from our tourguide. I still have some of the guidebooks from almost 40 years ago (Rome doesn't change, only the Pope does).

[mrs kanga]

We're 12 in the group and we used RIL in all our ports last May and they were excellent. For Pompeii i would recommend Giuseppi and Uli for Florence.

 

Though i did buy tickets for the Vatican via the internet, there was still a line when we got there for security checks and another line for swapping the voucher for tickets. 10 ships docked in Rome the same day we arrived so it was really crowded. We had a separte guide c/o RIL but we couldn't hear her because of the crowd. There was so much so see but we didn't have the luxury of time because Rome is almost 1.5 hours from the port. But Vatican shouldn't be missed indeed and indeed get a guide.

 

But definitely RIL will make sure that you don't miss your ship.

 

Good luck and enjoy

[Loubyloo]

I hope this is not a dumb question. I want to book Rome in Limo for all three of our Italian stops in September. Rome, Naples and Pisa. On the form it asks you where you want to be picked up. I have no idea what to fill in. Can you suggest something?

Also about payment....do you pay in advance or on the day of the trip? I can see where it asks for a credit card but I'm not sure if this is for a deposit or for the full payment? What happens if the ship changes the itinerary? Would I lose the full payment? Any advice you can give me would be deeply appreciated. Thanks!

[euro cruiser]

I hope this is not a dumb question. I want to book Rome in Limo for all three of our Italian stops in September. Rome, Naples and Pisa. On the form it asks you where you want to be picked up. I have no idea what to fill in. Can you suggest something?

Simply fill in Naples Cruise Port, Civitavecchia Cruise Port, Livorno Cruise Port. They'll need to know the ship you are on as well.

Edited June 7, 2010 by euro cruiser