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Rome excursions


Bradinmississippi

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Personally I would go inside, assuming the extra $200 includes a guided tour and not just ticket entry. You can get a feeling of how immense it is from the outside, but the interior is something else (IMO). You might also check to see if it includes access to the stage/floor area, which was only very recently made accessible to the public, which could explain some of the higher cost.

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I've been to Rome several times once on a cruise and I've gone inside the Coliseum each time I've gone. However my recommendation would be if you are comfortable with public transportation and trains would be to take the train from Civitaecchia to Rome (the station at Civitaecchia isn't far at all from the cruise port and in Rome you can have a local guide meet you at Rome Termini or there are other ways to do a local tour that takes you inside the Coliseum for way less money than what the cruise lines charge. 

It is a very popular route so there are trains leaving in each direction every 10-15 minutes and it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to travel between the stations. On our cruise when we took the train our train tickets were like $11.00 euro oneway and $9.00 euro to come back (they have dynamic pricing).  If you are looking to save a bit of money and can navigate public transportation I would highly recommend you take the train to Rome and start now looking for local reputable guides or local tour companies to take you on the tour of the Coliseum.  If you plan everything in advance you can see everything you want to see enjoy lunch in Rome (and who wouldn't want to have lunch in Rome) and still have time to take the train back to Civitavecchia and not miss all aboard. When we did it I planned everything out we got off the ship early and we were back onboard the ship almost 2 hours before all aboard time so there was no rushing at all.

I don't know if your cruise is stopping in Naples as well but in Naples we wanted to see the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento but Royal Caribbean's prices were in my opinion outrageous. Instead I did research found several reputable local tour companies that actually pick up at the cruise port in Naples we book a semi-private tour maximum 6 people they showed up in a stretch Mercedes Benz van with just 6 captain chairs in the back there were 3 couples a semi-luxurious van not 60 people crammed onto a bus. And our driver was our tour guide born and raised in Sorrento so he was extremely knowledgable.  This excursion seeing the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento having lunch on the coast going to all the local places large tours can't or don't go to  it was the highlight of our cruise and we didn't even pay half of what Royal Caribbean was charging. Of course lunch was not included in our price we paid for that separately but I still have dreams about that meal that is how good it was.  For anyone doing a European cruise I would strongly recommend they do their homework on the ports of call and look up local tour guides because I feel like you get so much more for your money going local than through the shore excursions desk. 

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I totally agree with the advice above from JasonOasis!! I’ve never done a Mediterranean cruise, but I did two independent 2-week trips in Italy, once in my 20’s and once in my 40’s. The first time was low-budget and I visited outside but did not go in the Coliseum. I regretted it and made sure I finally went inside 20 years later.

I planned the heck out of my second trip, which included my son and my mother, and it was so worth it. For half the price of a group land tour, we did private tours of the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Vatican, Pompeii and Capri, a cooking lesson in Lucca, a wonderful private driver in the Sorrento/Amalfi area, a gondola rowing lesson in Venice, a private fresco painting class in Florence, and first class high-speed train rides in between cities. Oh and one of my very favorite things was a food tour in the Trastevere section of Rome. There’s a lot you can do for so much less money if you do a little searching! Let me know if any of these things particularly appeal and you want more info.

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  • 1 month later...
On 3/30/2022 at 8:57 AM, JasonOasis said:

I've been to Rome several times once on a cruise and I've gone inside the Coliseum each time I've gone. However my recommendation would be if you are comfortable with public transportation and trains would be to take the train from Civitaecchia to Rome (the station at Civitaecchia isn't far at all from the cruise port and in Rome you can have a local guide meet you at Rome Termini or there are other ways to do a local tour that takes you inside the Coliseum for way less money than what the cruise lines charge. 

It is a very popular route so there are trains leaving in each direction every 10-15 minutes and it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to travel between the stations. On our cruise when we took the train our train tickets were like $11.00 euro oneway and $9.00 euro to come back (they have dynamic pricing).  If you are looking to save a bit of money and can navigate public transportation I would highly recommend you take the train to Rome and start now looking for local reputable guides or local tour companies to take you on the tour of the Coliseum.  If you plan everything in advance you can see everything you want to see enjoy lunch in Rome (and who wouldn't want to have lunch in Rome) and still have time to take the train back to Civitavecchia and not miss all aboard. When we did it I planned everything out we got off the ship early and we were back onboard the ship almost 2 hours before all aboard time so there was no rushing at all.

I don't know if your cruise is stopping in Naples as well but in Naples we wanted to see the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento but Royal Caribbean's prices were in my opinion outrageous. Instead I did research found several reputable local tour companies that actually pick up at the cruise port in Naples we book a semi-private tour maximum 6 people they showed up in a stretch Mercedes Benz van with just 6 captain chairs in the back there were 3 couples a semi-luxurious van not 60 people crammed onto a bus. And our driver was our tour guide born and raised in Sorrento so he was extremely knowledgable.  This excursion seeing the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento having lunch on the coast going to all the local places large tours can't or don't go to  it was the highlight of our cruise and we didn't even pay half of what Royal Caribbean was charging. Of course lunch was not included in our price we paid for that separately but I still have dreams about that meal that is how good it was.  For anyone doing a European cruise I would strongly recommend they do their homework on the ports of call and look up local tour guides because I feel like you get so much more for your money going local than through the shore excursions desk. 

@JasonOasis, can you share with me the name of the tour company you used in Naples?  Thank you!  

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  • 1 month later...

I used Viator for several tours in Rome. They are a clearinghouse for several local your companies. You get a good idea of what tours are available and at what prices.

One thing to note is the size of the tour, you will get more our of a private or small group tour, but it will cost more. For me, the extra expense was worth it.

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