Our travels began with a couple of days in Rome. We booked the Albergo del Senato for our hotel. The hotel was wonderful. When we arrived about 10:00 a.m. We didn't think our room would be ready and they would store our luggage so we could go and explore, but they had our room ready and we were able to check in. The elevators were tiny (max. 3 people) and there were a lot of stairs, but the hotel was wonderful. It was pretty, great staff and a good breakfast. Once we checked in I took the advice from a private tour guide that I had booked for another day to walk the city. She suggested due to the jet lag and time change that we would need to keep moving when we arrived. We did as she suggested and walked for hours. I had pre purchased our skip the line tickets for the Colosseum. I am glad I did because the line for this was extremely long. We walked around that line and only stood in a very short line to go through security. If you don't repurchase your tickets there are a lot of vendors selling group tour tickets out front. I hate huge group tours so I am glad I didn't have to do that. The ticket I purchased on line also included entrance into the forum and another site close by. Again - so worth it. Our hotel was across the street from the Pantheon, so we visited there 2x. The square was wonderful and there were several places to get something to eat around our hotel. There was a place to exchange money near the hotel, but their rate was a little high. In the evening of our first night we took a carriage ride around town and then sat on the roof top terrace of the hotel and enjoyed music from the street below and wonderful sights across the city.
Day 2 was another busy day. We took a taxi (stand was just across the street from hotel) to Vatican City. We met our wonderful guide, Irene (tourguideirene@gmail.com) (www.irene-tour guide.com), that a friend had recommended and let me tell you she was wonderful. She guided the 4 of us for 3 hours through the Vatican. She took us to a gift shop to shop after our tour, and stayed with us until the cab she called for us arrived. She did this to help in case there was a language barrier. All of this is great stuff, but the information she gave me prior to the trip was invaluable. She suggested how to spend our first day, places to eat, and then the wonderful tour of the Vatican City. But she didn't stop there. On the day of departure I had booked a private tour with her for a tour of the country side and transfers to the port. After talking to us at the Vatican for several hours she had an idea of a change to our tour for the country side. She immediately gave us a couple of different options and made the changes. I cannot say enough good things about Irene. On a side note - the dress code for the Vatican has changed. Ladies still need to have their shoulders covered, but you can wear long shorts (knee length) and men can wear shorts.
Day 3/Day 1 of Cruise: Country side tour and Embarkation: Our driver picked us up at the hotel right on time and took us to a couple of places that we had learned about the night before when we were sitting on the rooftop terrace. This was not in his planned tour that Irene set up, but he did it because we were interested. He then took us to the Catacombs. This was a wonderful tour. We drove by and got out and took pictures at several other places along the way to Lake Albano. This area is where some of the Summer Olympians train, it has a volcanic lake, and the summer residence (vacation residence) for the Pope. We ate at a restaurant over looking the lake and then we were transported to the port in Civitavecchia. Along the way our driver gave us great information about the area, economics, and history of the area. Again, Irene booked this for us and made some great decisions!!
We had a suite. Our suite was in the aft of the ship and it was wonderful. Our steward was great. We had a large living room, bedroom, and bathroom. Our bathroom and a shower as well as a tub.