Do you have any questions about our Rome Tours and Italy Shore Excursions?
We dedicated this page to the most Frequently Asked Questions about our Rome Tours and Italy Shore Excursions.
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Reservations for Rome Day Tours or Italy Shore Excursions are best made as far in advance as possible to secure availability.
For Day Tours in Rome or Day tours from Rome, you may place your reservation as soon as your travel itinerary has been finalized.
For Italy Shore Excursions, you may book your tours as soon as your cruise has been booked. Advance reservations is also helpful if wanting to secure admission tickets such as to the Vatican Museums, Colosseum, or Florence Museums which tend to sell out fast!
You may pay for each tour in Euros (local currency) to your Driver directly on the Date of your tour, or you may prepay in advance via PayPal or Stripe at the time of confirming your tour reservations.
Sharing your Italy Shore Excursions is a great way to save money. One way is to travel with a group of friends and family to share expenses. The other way is to share your Italy Shore Excursions with fellow cruisers from your ship.
You can save on your Shore Excursions from Civitavecchia, Livorno, La Spezia, Naples or Salerno by posting an ad on Cruise Critic for shared tours. You can save a lot for a group of 8!
Tour sharing is a great way to save money. Whether booking your vacation with friends to share expenses, or posting an ad on Cruise Critic for shore excursions, you can save quite a lot for a group of 8.
You may split the cost of the tour amongst yourselves, and pay your Driver separately or together at the end of your journey.
For Tour Sharing, paying in Euros is the best option in case your group size changes which would also change the Price Per Person. Paying in Euros for Tour Sharing is the most convenient option.
Our Day Tours and Italy Shore Excursions includes a professional licensed English Speaking Driver, a private deluxe vehicle, fuel cost, tolls fees, insurance, parking fees, and Italy VAT tax.
Our Tours do NOT INCLUDE: Admission Tickets, Tour Guides / Walking Tours, Lunch, or Gratuities.
Listed prices don’t include gratuities.
We do ask that you kindly give us at least 7 days in advance notification of your cancellation needs IN WRITING via EMAIL so we can re-book your reserved driver and vehicle to other travelers in need of our service, and your driver will not be left without income for the day of the cancellation
You will be met by your Drive at the door outside your apartment or B&B building at the precise time of your scheduled pick up.
In some cases accommodations are in areas of Rome where it is legally forbidden for us to park our vehicles or leave them unattended. In such cases your Driver Guide will park the vehicle as close as possible, meet you at your entrance door, and escort you to the nearby vehicle.
St Peter's Basilica and Sistine Chapel (as well as other major churcehs in Italy), have a modesty dress code that required all visitors (men, women and children) to have their shoulders and knees covered at all times.
Comfortable shoes and clothing are highly recommended.
Many of the streets in Italy are made of cobblestone, which makes it rather dangerous to walk on with high heel shoes, strappy sandals, or flip flops.
Summers are hot and sunny, therefore sunscreen, sunglasses, summer hats or umbrellas are recommended.
Be sure to bring important personal items such as your wallet with enough money to cover your day’s expenses (and some extra for unforeseen expenses, such as shopping) and a government issued ID.
It is not necessary to bring your passport if you worry about losing or damaging it. Valuable personal artifacts such as expensive jewelry, large sums of money in excess of what you are anticipating to need on your tour, should be kept in a safe place inside your hotel or place of accommodation.
According to Italy’s stringent laws and regulations intended to protect official licensed guides, it is unlawful for Drivers to accompany guests to sightsee away from the vehicle, or act as a tour guide in any way. Your Driver will provide basic touristic information only inside the vehicle.
In order to comply with Italy’s laws, Drivers cannot accompany our guests to sightsee away from the vehicle inside monuments, museums, squares, any sites of touristic interest, or provide tour services reserved for licensed tour guides.
In Italy licensed tour guides must successfully pass rigorous examinations, therefore they are extremely knowledgeable about history, art, culture, architecture and archaeology.
Drivers possess general basic information, but not as extensive as a licenced tour guide.
Private licensed tour guides are recommended for Vatican Museums visits during Day Tours in order for guests to get the most out of the limited time inside the museums AND to be guaranteed access to St Peter's Basilica via the shortcut entrance located inside the Sistine Chapel that is designated for "Guided Visitors Only". Without a Tour Guide, you may miss the opportunity to visit St Peter's Basilica as the only other option would be to enter through St Peter's Square, but unfortunately the security lines can be unpredictably LONG.
The labyrinthine system of halls and galleries that make up the Vatican Museums make it difficult to know where the most important pieces of art are if you are not well familiarized with the museums and the locations of the art.
Your guide knows precisely where to escort you so you have the opportunity to see the best the museum has to offer, provide informative commentary about what you are seeing, history, culture, art, and is open to any questions you may have so you have a better understanding of the masterpieces showcased inside the museums.
On Shore Excursions when time is of essence, your private tour guide will make certain you will experience the best the museums and basilica have to offer, and return you to your awating Driver and vehicle on time.
It is very easy for novices to get lost inside the Vatican Museums and difficult to find the correct exit where your driver and vehicle are waiting for you. When this happens not only do you risk exiting late and arriving late to your ship, but you will miss out on seeing the Museums and the Basilica as intended.
For guests’ optimal experience inside Vatican City and peace of mind, it is highly recommended your visit is accompanied by a licensed private guide.
Your driver will stop as close as lawfully possible to each location you visit, according to local regulations.
Due to heightened security near many popular attractions, vehicle access can be limited and possible to stop only at a safe distance away as permitted by local authorities. Where the driver can stop is not up to the driver, but where it is lawfully permitted by the local authorities.
For either a Shore Excursion or Port Transfer, your driver will meet you on the pier next to your ship holding a sign with the name in your reservation
Our professional license permits us full entrance inside Civitavecchia port, so you do not have to walk far to your vehicle. Taxis and Buses cannot enter this area, resulting in extended walking distance.
Your Driver will meet you on the pier next to your ship holding a sign with the name in your reservation
The port of Naples requires cruise ship passengers walk to the taxi and car service waiting area, which is the only location vehicles are allowed to park and for drivers to meet their clients.
You can spot your Driver Guide standing next to his or her vehicle, holding a sign with the name in your reservation
The port of La Spezia is smaller than the rest, and do not permit vehicle access.
All cruisers are required to take the Port Shuttle Bus to exit the Port.
Your Driver will meet you outside the Port Gate, at the Shuttle Bus Stop, holding a sign with the name in your reservation.
We carefully plan our Shore Excursion tours with extensive consideration to distance from your port of all, timeline, and traffic conditions to assure our guests have an exciting excursion with prompt return to their cruise ship.
It is important that our guests listen to their Driver, and follow the time table suggested by the driver in order to enjoy all the sites suggested in the tour, and most importantly: Depart for the port at the precise time.
Booking a Vatican Tour Guide for your Vatican Visit is also VERY IMPORTANT for cruisers are the Vatican is vast and complex and easy to get lost and risk exiting TOO LATE.
We do not offer tours in areas or towns that may possibly place them at risk of arriving late to their ship.
Our vehicles are well kept and frequently maintained for optimal safety. In case a vehicle breaks down, Stefano Rome Tours is part of a strong network of reliable expert drivers where a replacement vehicle will be provided to our guests immediately so they can continue with their tour.
We take every possible measure and precaution to ensure our guests have the most enjoyable experience on our Shore Excursions and arrive to their cruise ships on time.
As always, it is advisable to carry Travelers Insurance to cover any UNFORESEEN INCIDENTS that may occur outside of our control.
Your driver will be happy to suggest restaurants based on the proximity of the area you will be during lunch time, their caliber of service and value, and based on what our past clients have enjoyed in the past.
We do NOT work with restaurants in any type of collaboration, not receive any kickbacks for bringing our clients to lunch at their establishment. Our clients are always free to enjoy the restaurant, trattoria (or even a panino or slice of pizza) at their own discretion.
If you are anticipate meeting your Driver later than the scheduled pick up time, please call us immediately at (011 39) 339-352-5028 so we can notify your driver of your delay.
Whenever possible you certainly can do that.
Your experienced Driver will make sure you will not run behind schedule and miss important sites, or cause you to arrive late to your ship, therefore we strongly suggest you follow the suggested itinerary in the tour description and the guidance of your driver to ensure the best possible experience on your tour.
Please keep in mind that, if you book your museum tickets online (Vatican Museums, Uffizi Gallery or Accademia Gallery), you will need to enter the museums for the time slot you indicated. Failure to arrive for your visit at the pre-arranged time may result in your ticket being invalidated.
There are plenty of exciting places to see and great things to do when we substitute a visit to a site that’s closed on the day of your tour. We are more than happy to offer suggestions to you based on your interests and desires.
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