Rome port adventures

[ceight]

We've booked our 3rd cruise, a Mediterranean leaving Barcelona on 6/2/18. While we're in Rome, we want to tour the inside of the Colosseum. The descriptions say that if the line is over 45 minutes to enter that we'll just get to see the outside but get compensated with more free time. How do the tours into the Colosseum work? Is only 1 group at a time allowed in as stated on some websites I've seen? If that's the case, would it be better to book a regular tour or a small group? Would the bigger group have more of a chance of getting inside the Colosseum? Just trying to figure out the best tour to book to increase our chances of getting inside! I appreciate any info you guys can throw my way!!

Oh...and my signature is waaaay out of date but I can't figure out how to change it. Lol!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Oh...and my signature is waaaay out of date but I can't figure out how to change it. Lol!

To change your signature, hover over your username in the upper right. Then click on the "Signature" link there. Be sure to click the "Save Changes" button at the bottom of the page when done.

BUT, I believe, since the change to the "new" format (a few years ago) you must have 10 posts to do that now.

 

[ceight]

@PrincessShmoo thank you! That explains why I can't change it! BUT I have a ton of questions about this cruise, so I just may get to 10 posts here pretty quick!

 

[vakamalua]

We have been to Rome a number of times. The BEST tour of the Colosseum is the "VIP including underground" your from Walks of Italy. It takes you to places on not regular tours like the third tier, the arena floor and underground for a great look at how the Romans made animals enter the arena as if out of nowhere. The knowledge of the guide is fantastic and will answer all your questions. It also includes a walk through Palatine Hill (where the emperor lived) and the Forum (the center of business and government).

https://www.walksofitaly.com/rome-tours/colosseum-underground-tours

 

[trvlgirlmq]

If you are going DIY then just pre-purchase your tickets for the time slot you will be there. This allows you to bypass the long line of people who still need to purchase tickets. Then tour at your leisure. The ticket includes admission to the Forum and Palatine Hill. The Forum was amazing.

https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

 

[3Down1Up]

If you are going DIY then just pre-purchase your tickets for the time slot you will be there. This allows you to bypass the long line of people who still need to purchase tickets. Then tour at your leisure. The ticket includes admission to the Forum and Palatine Hill. The Forum was amazing.

https://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

Totally agree with this. We bought our own tickets and bypassed a line of about a two-hour wait to get inside. We had a minimal line, just to show our tickets to get in. We did Rome on our own and not a DCL excursion.

 

[gilsan]

We have been to Rome a number of times. The BEST tour of the Colosseum is the "VIP including underground" your from Walks of Italy. It takes you to places on not regular tours like the third tier, the arena floor and underground for a great look at how the Romans made animals enter the arena as if out of nowhere. The knowledge of the guide is fantastic and will answer all your questions. It also includes a walk through Palatine Hill (where the emperor lived) and the Forum (the center of business and government).

https://www.walksofitaly.com/rome-tours/colosseum-underground-tours

I agree we have done the Walks of Italy tour and they are great. We also did a tour with Through Eternity when we went back to Rome with our daughter https://www.througheternity.com/en/rome-tours/colosseum-underground-private-tour.html It was suppose to be a semi private tour but the other family arrive so we had a fantastic private tour with an archaeologist.

 

[rhinodadz]

+1 for Walks of Italy. Also, DarkRome is a good operator. Both have "skip the line" tours which will accomplish what you want.

 

[jrabbit]

I will second (and third, and fourth...) the recommendation of using a tour company to visit Ancient Rome. Your guide will be able to give you so much information and bring the place back to life.

another resource that I highly recommend is Reading the guide books by Rick Steves (Rome and/or Italy). Lots of great information and it will help you decide what you want to see. In addition to the book(s) he also has a Tour Europe App that can guide you through many of the highlights in Europe. There are many walking tours included in the app. And then there is his Cruising The Med guidebook. Please note that the preceding is NOT a paid advertisement by Rick Steves. It's just that I have used his books on my trips to the med and Baltic and LOVE the information provided.

and then there's that whole issue of getting to Rome from the Cruise Ship. You can ...

• Take a DCL Tour
• Take the DCL tour that just drops you off in the center of Rome and many hours later picks you back up
• Private Tour - that will pick you up / drop you off at the port in Civitavecchia
• and the least expensive way is to walk from the port to the train station, buy a train and metro ticket for around 10 euros (several years ago). 80-90 minutes each way. "Main" Stops at Vatican and Rome Termini station (and a few places in between)

 

[GPaLarry]

We did the Med cruise last Sept. and, because of time constraints, did the DCL tour of the Coliseum/Vatican. Our guide also bypassed the line and we got to go inside, but not down below. We did go upstairs for great photos of the entire interior (see photo left). There are loads of people there and backpacks are not allowed...leave on bus. I agree, as usual, with jrabbit above that our Seattle neighbor, Rick Steves' books and YouTube videos are a must for researching all ports in the Med. Our cruise itinerary was changed when we could not tender at Monte Carlo...too rough water. That day was changed to "at sea" and the next day we docked at Marseilles, France. We did the Avignon/wine tasting excursion...highly recommend it...just in case.