Hi all my family and I are visiting Rome for a couple days before going on a cruise in June (we arrive on a Fri). We plan to visit the Vatican museums on Sat, and on Sun we wanted to do a Colosseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill tour at 8:30 am which would end at 11:30am. We will store our luggage near the Colosseum and need to pick it up before then taking a private transport to the Civitavecchia port at 12pm. Our cruise leaves at 4pm and we are supposed to be checked-in and onboard the ship no later than 90 minutes prior to the published sailing time. Is this doable?
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2992 posts
hey hey lynn.drumheller
do you have your tickets to the vatican & colosseum yet? how many is "my family?" you are going HIGH HIGH crazy, busy, crowded worse than a can of sardines season and HOT HOT. pack light plus lots & lots of patience with long lines everywhere.
buy tickets direct from website, not third party resellers, skip the lines is no waiting in ticket lines but you still go through security line. when buying make sure you are on italian time which is usually middle of night & be ready, they go fast or sold out already.
sounds like you have luggage storage found, time to walk from attraction, get luggage and private transport meet you there.
many use whatsapp.com for calls (download it, so easy to use). hope you've booked private transport.
know that the port is about an hour 15 minutes away, exactly what port berth is your ship. thousands of others will be doing same as you and be grumpy, in a hurry, pushy been there done that. "they more important than you!! ha ha"
cruisemapper.com
unselect ships, click ports, type in your port, click month june 2026, scroll down to your departure day to see how many ships are there. also scroll down to ships in port to see capacity and what the crowds will be like.
have a great time and lots of fun, get you gelatos & yummy pastries. enjoy
aloha
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
24108 posts
You are proposing a tight schedule. Work you time back. If you are supposed to be on by 2.30. It is roughly an hour or so from Rome you should leave Rome no later than 12.45 to 1 pm to give you a margin of about 30 minutes. Personally I would prefer an hour. I am not familiar with an luggage storage near the Colosseum. -- but haven't looked either. Your lodging would hold your luggage for you. This assumes no restroom breaks or lunch. They will feed you as soon as your board the ship. Your taxi may or may not be able to take you to your check in point. In our five trips, the taxi could not go beyond the port entrance so we had to carry our luggage 30 feet or so through the entrance and to a shuttle bus inside that took us to the checkin. It can be a bit of a zoo especially if there is more than one ship in port.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
8690 posts
We had Frank's experience, but boarding is faster if your ship uses the Cruise Terminal instead of just a spot on the (high-security, as he noted) pier. Our proprietary port shuttle bus (standard 49-passenger tour bus) served more than one ship. We sat, cooking on the engine-off bus until it was nearly full, then headed for the three smaller ships involved. Make sure you are on the right bus. Don't forget time for under-bus luggage handling. There is no room in the bus seating for roll-aboards. The overhead racks on busses are tiny.
I've never taken a Coliseum tour, but I don't think you can assume it will start and end on time. Bathroom option? Will you wait to eat until aboard ship? How many people? How obedient to stop taking pictures and get in the limo?