Rome excursions

[robandkelly13]

Hi! We are taking our first Med cruise this summer, and we're having difficulty deciding on an excursion for Rome. We want to go inside the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel. We are trying to decide between the Best of Rome (appx $400 pp) and the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, and Colosseum (appx $200 pp). I don't know if the Best of Rome is worth the extra money; both excursions state that if the line is long at attractions, we may not be able to go inside. I don't mind paying the extra if we get a better experience. The Best of Rome does have lunch at a "superior" restaurant included which sounds nice, but I'm wondering if having more free time to shop would be preferable....

Does anyone have experience with these two excursions? Any advice would be appreciated.

Also, if any really enjoyed a different excursion, I would be interested in hearing about that as well.


Thanks!

 

[kiford]

I don't remember the name of the tour, but I recall going to the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica and having lunch at the Ambasciatori Palace Hotel so I presume it's the same as one of those (12 hours total - including 1.5 hour bus ride there and a little over 2 hours back). They had the same caveat when we went about lines. There's no way they can know in advance what you may have issues getting into so they're just letting you know in advance and covering themselves. We had to leave St. Peter's after only being in for about 15-20 minutes because there was a special service occurring shortly. Still, after the Colosseum, Trevi, Museum, and Sistine Chapel, I was dead on my feet so I didn't mind heading back to the bus. We did spend another 10-15 minutes in St. Peter's Square to get additional photos. I don't recall any time for shopping but since I'm really not interested in shopping, I didn't mind. If that's what you want to do, you're unlikely to get it on this particular tour as you are seeing so much in such a relatively short period of time.

On our second Med cruise we decided to go on a tour to Orvieto instead (which we loved) because most of the tours included the same things and I had no interest in the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's or the Sistine Chapel again although I'd have been happy to spend more time at the Colosseum. When we go on our next Med cruise (don't know when that's going to happen, but I'm determined that it will), I will have a hard time deciding on whether to do a tour in Rome that's similar, different or go back to Orvieto.

 

[mj2vacation]

We were just talking about a med cruise for next year. I have been on a few, and the problem is always time. It’s like a fly by of the major attractions.

I would do the $200 tour. That is quite a bit to see in a day. The caveat to that is if they get expedited entrance into the attractions of the Best of tour. I know that ABD had quick entrance into the major attractions and we would watch the abd tours hop it 2-3 attractions for our 1.

 

[robandkelly13]

Thanks! It doesn't read like either of these have a quicker entrance than the other. The only difference when reading the descriptions is the lunch with the Best of Rome over free time and lunch on my own with the other. For a difference of $200 pp, I feel like maybe there is something I'm missing in the description....

 

[fredandkell]

From looking at the two (I presume you mean these two: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...tine-chapel-st-peters-basilica-and-colosseum/ and https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/civitavecchia-italy-the-best-of-rome/) it looks like the more expensive one includes lunch and a visit to the Trevi Fountain and is 30 minutes longer. Personally I'm not sure if I would pay the extra $182/pp for those benefits, but of course you know your situation best! Good luck deciding!

 

[Agent 86]

On our second Med cruise we decided to go on a tour to Orvieto instead

Was that an official Disney Port Adventure? If so, do you remember the name of that Port Adventure.

I can't seem to find that one: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/europe/list/civitavecchia-italy/

 

[kiford]

Was that an official Disney Port Adventure? If so, do you remember the name of that Port Adventure.

I can't seem to find that one: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/port-adventures/europe/list/civitavecchia-italy/

Yes, it was. This was back in 2013; it doesn't look like they're offering it now. Which is too bad because it was a great tour. We loved the area. It's where the popes used to retreat to when they felt unsafe in Rome so there is a massive Italian Renaissance cathedral which is larger than one might normally expect in such a small place. It's on a hill so the views are fantastic and it's surrounded by olive orchards and vineyards. They are well known for their white wines (which we had at lunch). Possibly they are not offering it because Orvieto is not as popular or well-known as Rome. Which is sad because we enjoyed it so much. Every time I buy a bottle of white wine from Orvieto I remember it.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

While we would both like to see Rome when we cruise the Med next summer; we have decided to do the Bracciano Lake Boat Cruise instead. We just felt that there was not enough time to enjoy going to Rome with only being in port from 7am to 4pm. With the 3 1/2 to 4 hours of transport time.

Though it looks like they have extended the time in port 7pm according to the Cruise Line webpage for the stop in in Civitavecchia (Rome). It also looks like they have also changed the time in port for Marseilles (shortened by an hour) and Livorno (increased by 15 minutes) compared to when we booked our reservation.

Psy

 

[disneyfaninaz]

While we would both like to see Rome when we cruise the Med next summer; we have decided to do the Bracciano Lake Boat Cruise instead. We just felt that there was not enough time to enjoy going to Rome with only being in port from 7am to 4pm. With the 3 1/2 to 4 hours of transport time.

Though it looks like they have extended the time in port 7pm according to the Cruise Line webpage for the stop in in Civitavecchia (Rome). It also looks like they have also changed the time in port for Marseilles (shortened by an hour) and Livorno (increased by 15 minutes) compared to when we booked our reservation.

Psy

Yay!! Happy dance. I was stressing over the Civitavecchia port time!

 

[GPaLarry]

We did the Coliseum and Vatican DCL excursion last year and loved every fast minute. We have found that DCL excursions get fast passes to most of the attractions we have visited, from the Coliseum and Vatican to Tivoli Gardens and various museums we toured on an earlier cruise to northern Europe. You bypass the crowds, but have to contend with them when inside the attraction (happened at Pompeii, too). However, these historic sites are what they are. If you can come back later to see, say, the Vatican by itself while only touring the Coliseum on this trip, then do them one by one. "Stopping for shopping" seems to be a common denominator for almost every excursion...love it or hate it, it's always there. Sometimes you'll find a Mickey or two in these shops (Barcelona had them).

 

[oufpat]

We did the $200 tour with DCL last September (the one with the long name) and decided to spend a little more and go for the small group choice. It was worth every penny, there were only 12 in our group, the tour guide was fantastic, we saw everything as described in the tour and it was worth every penny!!

 

[Disneymadhouse]

We did the Renaissance and Imperial Rome tour with DCL in 2016. Our meeting time on the ship was around 7.15am. Once we had arrived in Rome we went straight to the Vatican City, and inside St Peter's. We did line up for a few minutes. I was glad we were there early as I wouldn't like to be in a long line in the afternoon with no shade. After we had a few mins free time ... near the gift shop We then boarded the coach again and had a few minutes photo stop at the at the Colesseum, but did not go inside. A few of the other famous landmarks and points of interest were pointed out to us. We then drove into the centre of Rome, and had free time for lunch, shopping etc, at our own cost. We then met up again and walked to the Pantheon and Trevi fountain. It was then a fairly long walk back to the coach. We didn't get back on board the ship until 6.30. We had told our servers and tablemates the day before that we would likely be late, but to go ahead and start without us.

Claire