Carnival: Rome Shore Excursion??

Question

This question is for anyone who has ever done the "Highlights of Rome with Regular Visit to the Vatican" shore excursion with carnival cruise lines? We spent $199 on it and want to make sure that we're not rushed through all the sites. I realize you can't thoroughly visit Rome in 12 hours, but we want to make the best of it.

Any input is appreciated!

Answer 1

I did the tour of Rome with a visit to the Vatican City and the Coliseum, but from a Royal Caribbean ship.  While I was on a different ship, there are aspects of the tour that will be the same regardless of what ship you are on.

First, the port stop for Rome is actually Civitavechia, Italy which is an hour or more by bus, train, taxi from Rome itself.  So at least two hours of your tour, and possibly more if you get caught in traffic in the city as our tour did, will be in route there and back.  Our tour bus was delayed by a traffic accident on the highway that delayed our schedule for the whole day.

Second, at the Vatican City you will enter through the museum and there WILL BE a long line of tours and individuals waiting to get in.  And when I say long line I mean like a block or two from the entrance.  Be sure that you all use the rest rooms before your tour or on your coach as there are none until you get inside the museum.

Third, the whole Vatican City complex is packed with tourists and your tour group will be shuffled along by your tour guide so that the next group can come in.  Many of the tour companies use a microphone and earphones system to communicate with their group.  This permits you to hear your tour guide over all of the din.

You will have time to see pretty much everything and read the narrative descriptions but you will do it in a crowd of people.  On our tour we had plenty of time at each stop.  If you go to the coliseum and other attractions it will be the same, lots of people.  At the end of the day you will be glad to be back on ship.

Answer 2

Is your cruise departures from Rome (Civitavecchia)?

We are going on Carnival (Freedom) on October 1, 2008.

We are arriving to Rome 2 days prior and planning some walking tours (it our third time in Rome). Try to get to all places in Rome in one day - impossible, even with organized tour. Travel from Civitavecchia to Rome and back will take at list 3 hours by bus, or two hours by train. You will have to "hold" to your group at all time. I was told that Carnival trying to book groups based on age, so they can do it in different speed. I am not sure. 199 dollars sounds reasonable considering distance and time.

Enjoy as much as possible. My family and our friends never took orginized tours from the ship. Only on our own.

Answer 3

Go to CruiseCritic.com, click on "Boards", then go to "Ports of Call" for lots of reliable info from experienced cruisers.

Answer 4

The other post about where the ship stops is correct (I cant spell it or I would cite it here).    The key is that any ship excursion moves at a snails pace.  You can easily take the train  from where the ship stops to the Vatican and do the trip yourself.   It is directly on the rail line between the port and Rome.  You will be able to move 30-50% faster and decide how to allocate your time.  You can easily spend half a day just at St Peter's.  There is a train stop right there.  If you only have one day in port, I would do St Peters and Vatican and do the Coliseum on another day.  It is, however, one of the great sights any world travelers must see.  

If you must try to make both stops and you have never been to Rome before, don't do the train.  Take the tour.  The Roman train is very difficult when you get in the city.  It is not for the inexperienced.   If you only go to St Peter's, its a piece of cake.