We have 10 hours I Rome and 10 in Florence for cruise ship excursions and prefer to do our own sightseeing. Should we trust train system, which seems to have periodic strikes,
to get us there and back to the ship OR spend the money and get the basic cruise ship bus to our destinations ($89 each). Thanks in advance!

The strikes are not random and are scheduled in advance. The port for Rome, Civitavecchia, is an hour from Rome. The regional train (2 trains per hour) to Rome will cost about 5€ one way. What did you want to see in Rome? What does the ship tour include?

Livorno to Florence takes a bit longer (about 1 1/2 hours) and the cost is about 10€. Trains aren't as frequent unless you change trains in Pisa.

trains are pretty good, I'd trust them

I believe the strikes are announced 2 weeks prior to the actual strike

Here's the strike list for June.

http://www.mit.gov.it/mit/site.php?p=scioperi

I have been to Rome before, the husband has not and is more interested in ancient Rome ,i.e. Colosseum, Forum, etc. I thought we could do a day of hop on-hop off bus touring, eating and catch the train back. The ship has a bus service option (no tour, just transport back and forth).

Thank you for the website kybourbon; now I will have to brush up on my Italian!

My advice for your stop in Livorno (the one they all say is for Florence: you may find your ship docked in a port area which is jammed with merchant ships. Charming it isn't.

If you are doing Florence on your own, GET A TAXI to the railway station. Don't even THINK about trying to get to the railway station by public transport...AT ALL!!!!

For major disputes, likely to affect visitors' travel plans, this site is usually not very far behind the official announcements:

http://www.summerinitaly.com/planning/strike.asp

... but, thankfully, "lightning" strikes are fairly uncommon here!
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Although I've only looked in depth at the one for Naples - which, based on the years we've spent in the area, seems very good - you might try the "port guides" for Rome and Livorno, here....

http://www.tomsportguides.com/portguides.html

Peter

>>>I thought we could do a day of hop on-hop off bus touring, eating and catch the train back.<<<<

I'm not a fan of the hop-on/off bus in Rome. If the Colosseum is your main interest, I would take the train to Rome Ostiense station and switch to tram #3 (1.50€) to the Colosseum. You could also switch to the metro (also 1.50€) there, but the tram is above ground so you can see things. It passes Circus Maximus (you could get off there, but it's a bit of a walk on the to entrance to the Colosseum). The mouth of truth is past the far end of Circus Maximus (one block) if that interests you. I would book tickets online so you don't have to stand in line (there's a separate entrance for tours/prepaid tickets). I wouldn't book a tour since you don't know your arrival. You can rent an audio guide instead (5.50€). The Ostiense station is the Piramide stop on this tram map. Validate your ticket!

http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=5

Colosseum/Forum/Palantine tickets (12€):

http://www.coopculture.it/en/heritage.cfm?id=2#

From the Colosseum, you can wander through the Forum/Palantine (download Rick Steves tour free on ITunes) and take the exit from the Forum onto Via dei Fori Imperali. Walk over to Piazza Venezia (just a minute or two walk), go up top if you want (have a drink - there's a cafe/views). If not, the Capitoline is right there also (visit the church in between). The Capitoline usually doesn't have entrance lines if you want to visit (go up top - another cafe/views). If not, do go behind (reached from either side) as it has great views over the Forum. Great photo ops.

From the Capitoline you are in walking distance of Campo Fiori/Piazza Navona/Pantheon or in another direction the Trevi Fountain.

If you visit Piazza Navona area,when you are ready to leave, you can catch tram #8 at Largo Argentina (5-10 minute walk from the Pantheon) to Rome's Trastevere station where you can catch the train back to Civitavecchia.

If you decide on the Trevi area, the metro is near by and you can take it a few stops to the Spanish Steps before taking the metro back to Rome Termini for your train back to port.

It may turn out you have time for both areas. The Trevi is not a long walk from the Pantheon.

Metro and train map:

http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=4

<<<I have been to Rome before, the husband has not and is more interested in ancient Rome ,i.e. Colosseum, Forum, etc.>>>

So 10hrs dock-to-dock and this daytrip is basically for your husband's interests in ancient Rome?

I would do the train to the metro which drops you off in front of the Colosseum.

Definitely booking entrance tickets is the way to go to avoid the long lines at the Colosseum and very likely at the main Roman Forum entrance.

But a 'Plan B' if something goes wrong is to use the Palatine Hill ticket office which is the least used entrance.
www.capitolium.org/eng/fori/pianta.htm
You can see the [M] COLOSSEO metro stop and below 'Via di San GrEGorio' see the cul-di-sac above the EG in Gregorio (`)= that's the Palatine ticket office.

Alongside (right) #41 is the Roman Forum's main entrance.

Ok after the Colosseum visit you have 2 choices;

Go to the Palatine entrance mentioned above and visit the Palatine Hill, exit at #1 and visit the Roman Forum.
On your tight schedule this choice might be a pass.

Or just go straight down 'Via d. Fori Imperiali' to #41 (bypassing the ticket line queue) and visit the Roman Forum.

IMO for an ancient ruins interest running on your tight schedule (so no museum) I would by-pass visiting the Capitoline Hill (Campidoglio on map) and exit at #41 and sidewalk view the ruins of the 'Imperial Forums' while walking left.

After this I would head over to the Pantheon but stopping at the 'Largo di Torre Argentina' along the way.

Behind the easy to spot 'Round Temple B' are the ruins of the rear of the Curia Pompey where Julius Caesar was murdered.
There are diagram plaques also in English showing this exact location.

After the Pantheon taxi back to the train station vs the metro based on your time constraints.

If you taxi back and hopefully someone will correct me if wrong I believe you want to go to Piazzale dei Partigian where the train station is actually located at?

That #41 to Largo Argentina to Pantheon on my map is 1500M (so just under 1mi).

Wow! Thank you all for the detailed replies! About 7 more weeks for the cruise and found out we will be in Venice for the Festa del Redentore! I may have a few more ? but thanks for now. Happy travels!