Rome on a Cruise Schedule: Rome From Civitavecchia
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Seeing all the top sights in the Eternal City is possible. This fast-paced itinerary will help you enjoy all the sights, tastes, and smells of Rome.
Rome On Your Own From Cruise Port Civitavecchia: (Jump To)
What To Do Before You Leave Home
Before leaving home, I booked tickets online to make sure we wouldn’t have to wait in the notoriously long queues at the Vatican Museum and the Colosseum. The curveball is that they require you to pick a time. Hoping for the best, I booked the Vatican Museum for 10:30 am and the Colosseum for 4:10 pm.
Rome On Your Own Cruise Itinerary
Stop 1: Cruise Ship Breakfast - 6 AM
We’re up early loading up on carbs at the ship’s breakfast buffet. A second muffin? When in Rome.
Stop 2: Arrive to Port Civitavecchia - 7 AM
The captain welcomes us to Rome, or more specifically Civitavecchia, a port city one hour from Rome by train. After exiting the ship we took a free shuttle bus to an information center. From there we took a paid bus to the train station. We bought a BIRG ticket which got us round-trip tickets to Rome, plus unlimited bus and subway travel inside Rome. It was €12 each.
Stop 3: Train to Rome - 8:42 AM
Moments after stepping aboard our train departs Stazione Civitavecchia for Rome.
Stop 4: Arrive in Rome - 9:26 AM
The train arrives Roma S. Pietro station, our stop.
We exit and begin the 25-minute walk to The Vatican Museum. Slightly ahead of schedule, we took a moment in St. Peter’s Square to stand beneath St. Peter's Basilica, praying for God’s help with bus schedules.
Stop 5: Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel - 10:20 AM
Read our post about the Must See Works of Art in the Vatican Museum.
We get in the line for people who have pre-purchased tickets and quickly glide through security at the Vatican Museum. The museum is set up in a way to control the flow of traffic. Essentially you continue following arrows and the flow of traffic through the parts of the museum that are of most interest.
Fortunately for our schedule, the Vatican Museum is not a place we would typically spend much time. Art buffs could probably spend an entire day ogling over the priceless art, statues, and, I guess, rugs.
We were here for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. A ticket to the museum is the only way to get a glimpse of Michelangelo’s painted ceiling. (Everyone knows: If you have a Ninja Turtle named after you, you’re a great artist.). The chapel lives up to its reputation. There’s the big guy reaching out to Adam with an extended finger, magnificent.
Stop 6: St. Peter’s Square - 11:33 AM
A beautiful spiral staircase spits us out of the museum and back into St. Peter’s Square. We take another few minutes to take some photos of the square and basilica before heading on foot to Castel Sant’Angelo.
Stop 7: Castel Sant’Angelo -12:05 PM
We quickly poked around Castel Sant’Angelo, a former mausoleum, fortress, and castle, now used as a museum. We crossed the historic, statue-lined, St. Angelo Bridge walking to The Fountain of Neptune.
Stop 8: Piazza del Nettuno - 12:27 PM
The 16th-century Fountain of Neptune sits at the center of Piazza del Nettuno and is the halfway walking point between the St. Angelo Bridge and the Pantheon.
Stop 9: The Pantheon - 12:43 PM
The Pantheon is probably the oldest building you will ever visit. It was built in the seventh century and has been used constantly since then. Open and free to the public the building is one of the best-preserved remaining Ancient Roman buildings.
Stop 10: Lunch - 12:48 PM
A few steps from the Pantheon tucked into an alley is Taverna del Seminario. This is a small restaurant serving traditional Italian fare. I had a life-changing Carbonara. The chance to sit for a few moments and enjoy some perfect food gave us the energy for the afternoon.
Stop 11: Trevi Fountain - 2:00 PM:
Eight minutes by foot leads us to the Trevi Fountain. The thing to do at the iconic fountain is to throw some coins into the water over your left shoulder. Not knowing what the fountain plans to do with the cash, we kept our Euros and walked to the Spanish Steps.
Stop 12: The Colosseum - 2:15 PM
Much like the Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps have become popular largely because of their appearance in popular culture, famously in the film Roman Holiday. From there we picked up our only bus trip inside Rome riding past the Altar of the Fatherland and dropping us in front of The Colosseum.
Stop 13: Inside the Colosseum - 2:45 PM
We exited the bus and headed for the Colosseum an hour early with our 4:10 pm ticket in hand. We made the tough decision that 4:10 pm would be too late to visit the Colosseum and still be back on the boat with a little built-in wiggle room.
The nice security and ticketing folks would not let us use our pre-purchased ticket an hour early so we decided to go to the ticket booth and buy a new ticket for 3:10 pm. Unfortunately, when we got to the window, the tickets were all sold out for the day.
Disappointed, we lowered our heads and began to make our way to the exit. Some sort of confusion ensued and a security guard forcefully commanded us to walk in another direction. The next thing we knew another security guard stamped our 4:10 tickets and waved us inside. Confused, but excited by our good fortune, we spent the next 30 minutes exploring the inside of the Colosseum.
Stop 14: Arch of Constantine - 3:30 PM
There is so much to see in the area around the Colosseum. We had only a few minutes to explore. We walked by the Arch of Constantine and a few other small monuments before having to take the subway to Roma Termini station.
Stop 15: Roma Termini Station - 4:00 PM
We exit the subway and try to find the train back to Civitavecchia at the huge Roma Termini Station. We kept finding trains to Civitavecchia, but not ones that accepted our previously purchased BIRG ticket.
4:35 PM
We finally cave and buy another new ticket back to the ship port, and our train departs.
Stop 16: Stazione Civitavecchia - 5:50 PM
We arrive at Stazione Civitavecchia, take the bus back to the information center, and then the shuttle bus back to the ship.
Stop 17: Lido Deck Bar - 6:20 PM
With nearly 90 minutes to spare, we’re back on board, cocktail in hand. We celebrate our crazy day with a toast to come back to Rome again soon, for a much longer visit.
