Mediterranean Cruise: Colosseum and Roman Forum

I’m continuing my Mediterranean cruise tour today with the Colosseum and Roman Forum. We started and end our cruise in Rome (technically the large cruise ships sail in and out of Civitavecchia, but we flew in and out of Rome), which meant that we had time in the city on either end of the cruise. We started with some wanderings in the city right after arriving before heading to our hotel for food and a reception with our travel group (we were part of a large radio listener group from southeast WI).

The second day of the trip, we had about half a day to explore the city some more before heading to Civitavecchia to get on the ship. The vast majority of our group did a combined tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Jake and I had never been to Italy before, so everything in Rome was brand new to us. The major tourist destinations are crazy busy but are a must for a first trip to the city.

If you’re interested in seeing the Colosseum, Roman Forum, or any other iconic destinations in Rome, I highly recommend getting tickets well in advance. Large groups are given priority access, but anyone with an advance ticket is guaranteed a time. Otherwise, you’ll wait hours in line, if you can get in at all. As you can tell from the street views, you can get close to these destinations without a ticket. But if you’ve made it that far, it’s well worth the look inside, especially for the Colosseum.