CailinDeas

Hi there,
Am planning Eastern med cruise with embarkation in Rome. Would like to stay a couple of nights in Rome beforehand . Could anyone recommend a hotel in Rome that would be handy for getting to the port but could also be a base for touring Rome. Perhaps there is a train one can get from Rome to Civitavecchia?? Not sure yet about how we will travel to the port. Any suggestions??Is a taxi an option? I am a complete greenhorn when it comes to cruising!!

Thanks for your help

Cailin

JoanneH

Go to the Europe list here and put in Rome Hotels also Slow Travel has a great hotel link.
The train takes about an hour, then its a walk to the port.
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html
to get the schedule fares etc.

jcnyc

We sailed on Celebrity's 11 night Eastern Med. cruise this summer, and spent two nights in Rome beforehand, at Hotel Adriano. This hotel is located on a narrow street about halfway between the Pantheon and the Ara Pacis. You can get a good idea what the hotel is like from their website. I do recommend staying in the "historic center". It's a real thrill to pass the major sites on the way to lunch and dinner (as opposed to having to make special plans to walk by them.). With limited time you don't want to be in the periphery.
Search the Fodors "Europe" board for "Rome to Civitavecchia", to get a lot of posts on this subject. Civitavecchia is at least an hour outside of Rome. The Civitavecchia train station is purportedly a ten minute walk from the port entrance, but it looked longer than that to me.
We were concerned about managing our heavy luggage with all the transfers involved, and booked door-to-door service from our Rome hotel to the ship for 110 Euro (total fee for two people). We used www.romashuttle.com, though you will find other choices mentioned in the "Europe" board.
You could also go to the www.cruisecritic.com 'Boards' for your cruiseline, and see if anyone on your cruise is trying to organize a group charter to the port. (The more people in the party, the lower the rates.)

petlover

We too have used www.romashuttle.com for 110 Euros (2 people plus lots of luggage) and were very pleased.

CailinDeas

Thanks very much for your advice, I will look into the shuttle also as I think being on hols, it would be nice to have a door to door service. Also thanks for the advice on hotel, I will check out the Adriano.

CateW

We cruised the Eastern Med this summer and did 4 days in Rome before the cruise. Stayed at the Hotel Locarno which is convenient to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Panthenon, Colisseum etc. Also, wonderful local restaurants within walking distance. This is a small, wonderfully European hotel. Breakfast is included, served outdoors in summer in the courtyard where they also serve drinks in the evening. We will definitely go back.