01 May 2023
Tour was overall good but disappointed that we missed 2 of site entries to the Sistine Chapel and the Colloseum that were advertised to be included. We arrived on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship to Civitavecchia. We took a free cruise shuttle to the meeting spot and it was a small group of 7 people. Vatican City was cancelled because the city was limiting visitors into the city due to the Ukraine Prime Minister visiting with the Pope that day.
Rome was a good 1 hour from Civitavecchia and we were delayed for about 45 minutes due to heavy traffic. We were driven to the outskirts of the Colloseum. We walked by ourselves to the Colloseum and our guide/driver Andrea told us to find a tour leader with a pink flag with ‘I Love Roma.’ We couldn’t find the tour leader as they likely left without us. Andrea came back for us and took us to various incredible sites in Rome instead with some good commentary such as Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and St. Peter’s Basilica. We had 1 hour free time for lunch.
Rome was an amazing city with awe inspiring sites but missing out on both site entries was unfortunate. I understand both were out of Andrea’s control and he worked very hard but didn’t get the experience I expected and paid for. A few days later, received a partial refund.