There is another way to do Rome....DIY. Incredibly simple to do, you get on the train at civitavecchia and an hour later you can get off at St Peter's and do your thing at your own pace. The ticket you got for your train (cost less than 10 euros each return) can be used for the metro also. You do need to "activate" your ticket at one of the yellow machines.

If you have never been to Rome before I would then get the metro out to the Coloseum, visiting the Forum also (part of the same site) and then go to the Trevi fountain. All of this is walkable, and free, and can be done in 2-3 hours.

Head back in the metro to St Peter's and get the train back...simple and the beauty is you get to see what you want, when you want and for however long you want.

If you get one of the trips organised by the ship the coach journey is almost two hours each way (including regulation toilet stop). At lunch time they will transport you to a restaurant which takes at least another hour out of your day. As a consequence you will be whisked round some of the main sites, of the tour guides choosing, and will have to wait for missing/late fellow coach passengers at every turn.

Another way to do it is to get the train right into the Centre Station which is about 15 minutes after St Peter's. Go out the main front entrance to where all the buses are and get onto one of the open-top tour buses, which are hop-on/off. You can then get off at the key sites you wish to see. Please note that whilst the Centre Station is fairly Central it is not close to any of the major tourist sites and I would only recommend going there if you definitely want to take the open-top bus tour.

The only downside to DIY is that if you don't get back to the ship on time it will sail awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay without you!! Even if disaster ensues timewise you can still get a taxi (expensive) to the ship but it will still have cost less than to take one of the organised tours. The key is to check the return train times and to give yourself leeway to catch two or three later trains that would still get you back to the ship on time. There is no doubt that you will see more of Rome DIY, and certainly more of what you want to see.

If you are keen to do any of above, and wish further information, do not hesitate to ask.

Hmmmm thinking that one over, it does sound better but worried as never been on a cruise before.
Dont want to be stranded out there!
Thanks for advice though, its got me thinkin!

We did Rome DIY on our first cruise and it cost £15 for both of us, including buying a map when we got there, whereas the ship's excursion would have cost £100. You just need to make sure you get a train one or two earlier than the latest one.

There is some information on DIY excursions in the sticky topic at the top of the forum.

luci