Advice for Italy??
 

my husband and I are flying into Venice. We want to stay at nice hotel near attractions but need to keep in mind we will be getting on train and heading to Rome after 3 days. We need access to train also.

Then in rome we need hotel that would be near attractions again but also we need to be able to get to cruise port to get on RC ship. How far is Rome from cruise port in Civitavecchia?? How do we get there? Can luggage be shipped to RC ahead of time so we don't have to drag it around venice and rome??

Our travel agent (AAA) is no hellp. Will never use them again. We're getting close and desperate. NO hotels, no idea of what Italy is like??

pls help if you have experience thanks

Email an Italian travel agent in the vicinity of Italy you are traveling to.
They will respond in English............

My wife and I travelled to Italy in 2009. We flew into Rome and took the train to Venice where we boarded a cruise ship. I would strongly recommed the book "Italy for Dummies". It is available at Barnes and Noble and is an invaluable source of information for hotels, trains, customs, etc.

We stayed at Hotel Metropole in Venice, and Hotel Santa Anna in Rome. Both have great locations and I recommend them highly. When in Venice, you need to purchase a vaporetto (water taxi) pass. The unlimited pass will allow you to travel anywhere in Venice. In Rome, we relied mostly on taxis which are plentiful and reasonable. It is quite a distance from Rome to the cruise port. You can take the train, or you can contact RC about a transfer.

You will have a wonderful time. The Italian people are very friendly, and most speak English very well.

However, watch out for pickpockets and beggars. My wife and I both had to fend off pickpockets. I recommend a neck wallet for a man, and for a woman, a small cross body bag with your wallet attached by a chain. Most of the beggars and pickpockets are bands of gypsies who hang out at attractions and busy train stations.

Hope this helps - get the book!

Hello...................calling jackz...................where are you? :wave:

hulababy, if you don't get a reply here or a PM from member jackz, send him a PM. He lives in Italy and can probably help you out.

Bill :)

i don't remember the name of the hotel we stayed at in Rome,but it was recommended by Rick Steves. It was walking distance from everything. Two block walk to the train, which takes you to the cruise ship(70-80 minute train ride) The train runs about every hour. Nice ride. You can get the book at Barnes and Noble. It called Rick Steves Italy. Gives inexpensive, clean hotel recomendations as well a tons of other great info.

I just came back from Italy a few weeks back but didn't visit Venice or Rome this go around. Remember that you are traveling during the period when all Italians go on vacation though mostly to beaches. All the places will be crowded. In Venice, I can recommend Hotel Flora which west of San Marco's square. I would also highly recommend taking a boat from the airport to San Marco's square. Especially if it is morning,the city of Venice is a sight you won't forget easily. You will want to get water taxi pass as you probably want to get to the train station via water taxi. Usually Venice rivers don't smell but sometime in the summer it might. In Rome, there is Hotel Imperial near the American Embassy but this was few years back. There is always Excelsior but this is very expensive. Yes, indeed Jack of TOTV lives in Rome so he can give you current advise. Also, you should get Rick Steven's Italy as I trust his judgment on hotel recommendations. Don't know where else you are traveling to but Cinque Terre, Tuscany or Amalfi Coast I can give you more information.

Just saw the post Bill, will PM the poster tonite.

great hotel
 

I stayed here, central location, very nice.

Hotel Oxford - Rome

Rome is about a 90 - 120 minute ride (via bus) from Citavecchia. Been there, done that, but loved Rome so it was worth it.

Italy
 

I was in Rome a few years ago. I also highly recommend Rick Steve's Tour Italy book...he does a great job on recommendations on everything from hotels to restaurants etc.

cruise critic
 

If you are going on a cruise I strongly recommend that you go over to cruisecritic.com and register. Then go to rollcall and find your cruise line, then find the thread for the exact cruise you are taking. You will find there are dozens of others if you are on a major line who are already posting. You can search the posts for any port, including Venice or Rome and get all kinds of ideas about where to stay, what to do, how to get about.

My advice exactly! We are doing a Med cruise on Celebrity in November and have a very active roll call. We arranged transport both to the ship and from the ship to the airport with others on the roll call. You can also look through the "ports of call" board and find info on both Italy and whatever ports your cruise is visiting. I started using cruisecritic.com before our first cruise in 2004 and it was an AMAZING help! We've also met tons and tons of mighty nice people through participating in the roll calls for each of our cruises.

We have reservations at the Hotel de Petris, along with two other groups of cruisers. It's near the Trevi Fountain and I think many sites will be walkable. It was 89 Euro/nt.

Happy sailing! :pepper2:

:bowdown:

Sent you a lengthy PM yesterday. Happy to help after I hear from you.

I agree with this post -- watch out for pickpockets and beggars if you will be taking any kind of public transportation, in the tourist areas, etc. When I was in Rome 6 years ago, saw I several gypsies in the main train station in Rome - Termini station. The gypsies are actually pretty easy to spot, and they can spot a tourist a mile away. I also saw beggars near some of churches in Rome. Even saw a few gypsy children begging -- sad. But it was a great vacation, and I hope you have a great time! Drink a glass (or several) glasses of wine for me!