SHORE EXCURSIONS

Walk through Lungotevere, one of the oldest sections of Rome, and sample a multitude of classic Italian treats. Your culinary immersion will begin at Campo de Fiori, where you will meander a bustling outdoor marketplace with stalls full of colorful produce, aromatic spices and classic Italian condiments. Crudites will be offered, allowing you to see just how tasty raw vegetables can be, especially when dipped in seasoned fresh-pressed olive oil. You will then walk to a bakery for a pizza tasting, on to a chocolate shop to sample confections and then to Sant’ Eustachio, a coffee shop that makes its espresso with water from an ancient aqueduct. The proprietors will explain how they ensure the freshest ingredients and highest quality. A refreshing dessert follows at Giolitti, which may be Rome’s oldest, if not finest, gelato shop. You will then enjoy free time around Navona Square, a wonderfully atmospheric area built over a stadium from the 1st century.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Taste an array of classic Italian treats in one of the Rome’s oldest sections.
• Expect to sample crudites, pizza, chocolate confections, coffee and gelato.
• Spend free time exploring atmospheric Navona Square.

Capture the moment by taking the perfect selfie photo in Rome! Share your experience with family & friends on your favorite social media site. Professional guide & selfie expert will teach you how to take the best selfie photo including composition, posing, lighting etc. Capture the spirit of this incredible destination.

Your tour will start with a scenic drive from the ship to Rome. Your walking tour will have designated selfie stops at:
• Colosseum
• Imperial Forum
• Campidoglio
• Borghese Gardens
• Pinicio Terrace
• Spanish Steps
• Trevi Fountain
• Navona Square
• St. Peter’s Square

To make this experience even more fun you will be provided with a selfie stick to help catch the perfect picture. In addition, you will enjoy some free time at Navona Square and end your picture-perfect day with a gelato near St. Peter’s Square.

You'll see the Eternal City on an orientation drive passing iconic structures which includes the Colosseum of ancient Rome where gladiators fought. In Vatican City admire the beauty of St. Peter’s Square, and view some of the treasures of the world’s largest church, St. Peter’s Basilica during your brief visit. The Vatican Museum is home to masterpieces spanning the centuries, marvel at the Sistine Chapel, topped by Michelangelo’s magnificent ceiling. Lunch is included.

Enjoy a leisurely walk through the woods with a truffle hunter and a dog specially trained to sniff out the prized subterranean mushrooms. Truffles grow near the roots of trees such as birch oaks and hornbeams and prefer well-drained soils. Expert truffle hunters know where to find them and fiercely guard the locations, as gourmands covet these aromatic, flavorful delicacies, sometimes paying huge sums for the rarer ones. As you follow the truffle hunter and dog through the forest, you will learn about the local species of truffles and their characteristics. Watching the dog in action will be quite the treat, as it has a knack for finding truffles at peak ripeness. The lagotto romagnolo is the traditional truffle-hunting breed in Italy, although many other breeds can be trained to point out a buried truffle. As the perfect end to your truffle-hunting adventure, you will sample a selection of truffle-based specialties.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Watch a specially trained dog find truffles growing underground deep in the woods.
• Gain insight into the world of rare truffles, which are coveted among gourmet chefs.
• Sample classic Italian specialties made even more flavorful with local species of truffles

OVERVIEW

See the absolute icons that define Rome and learn about their historical importance by listening to entertaining pre-recorded commentary on your own audio guide. The device is synchronized to each location so as you approach a landmark the wireless audio guide will automatically describe its points of interest in fascinating detail. Besides offering in-depth information, it allows you the freedom to move about at your own pace. You will see highlights such as Palatine Hill – where Rome was founded – the legendary Colosseum and Circus Maximus, an ancient chariot racetrack that was also used for gladiator fights and other barbaric public spectacles. Photo stops have been chosen to showcase attractions in both the foreground and background. For instance, as you stand atop Capitoline Hill, one of the famed seven hills of Rome, the Roman Forum will be seen below. Free time around Trevi Fountain will allow you to dine and shop independently. The final part of the tour will enrich your experience with the view of the Pantheon, Navona Square, S,Angelo’s Castle and St.Peter’s Dome.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Visit the most historically important, must-see landmarks in Rome.
• Hear engaging commentary about each location through your own wireless audio guide.
• See ancient sites such as the Colosseum and icons built centuries later such as Trevi Fountain.
• Enjoy free time to shop and dine on your own.
• Come away with a remarkably in-depth understanding of Rome through the centuries.

HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

Discover some of the more unusual attractions in and around Rome, including one of its largest catacombs and Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s glorious summer residence.

After departing from the pier, a meandering drive toward Rome will bring you to the Catacombs of Santa Domitilla, which are believed to be the world’s oldest Christian cemetery. While browsing the sprawling complex of burial chambers, be sure to notice the stunning frescoes, which have been meticulously restored with lasers that removed centuries of grime without damaging the color pigments below.

Continuing on to the lovely village of Genzano, you will enjoy a traditional Italian lunch and wine tasting at the farm Monte Due Torri. Not far away lies the beautiful village of Nemi, which overlooks a smallish volcanic lake of the same name.

This area is known for the wild strawberries that grow in the surrounding woods, and Nemi takes full advantage of their popularity by using berries in all sorts of dishes. During free time, you might try something as classic as strawberry gelato or as unexpected as strawberry risotto. Strawberries and references to them are virtually everywhere.

A stop at Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence, rounds out this excursion, presenting yet another perspective of the Roman countryside. Construction on the palace began in the 1600s but it wasn’t until somewhat recently that this glimpse into papal life was opened to the public. After exploring on your own, you will have time to shop before returning to the pier.

Meander through the excavated ruins of Ostia, the commercial center and port for ancient Rome, which was completely abandoned after the fall of the empire.

After departing from the pier, you will settle in for a leisurely and picturesque drive that follows the coast to Ostia, Rome’s principal port through antiquity. It was founded at the mouth of the Tiber River in the 7th century B.C. to extract salt from the nearby marshes.

Ostia was later fortified and thrived until the fall of Rome, when the port was abandoned. Fortunately, river silt eventually covered the city, protecting it from the elements and plunderers. The ruins that remain today offer a wonderful glimpse into early Roman life.

As you meander roads such as the main thoroughfare Decumanus Maximus, you can expect to see one of the world’s oldest theaters, which is still used on occasion. Nearby, you will find the Forum Baths, a mosaic of Neptune riding four horses and a collection of large warehouses that stored grain and other items needed to feed the ancient Romans.

Ostia is also full of temples, including one dedicated to Hercules and another patterned after the Pantheon in Rome. You may also see excavated private residences adorned with frescoes, a bakery with millstones scattered about and commercial offices for ship-owners and traders. The port was designed around a grid pattern that became the standard for Roman military cities, and the layout is still visible today.

Admire a lush landscape dotted with historic towns, farms and grand villas. You’ll travel to Lake Albano, situated in the crater of an extinct volcano, and the hilltop town of Castel Gandolfo, a pretty village that clusters around the papal palace, where the popes have had their summer residence for centuries. Enjoy a walk in the medieval village and see the exterior of the palace.

Drive through the rolling hills of Rome’s wine growing region and stop at a local farmhouse. You’ll be greeted by a member of the family, who will show you around the property. Mama herself will demonstrate how to make fresh pasta and you may give it a try if you like, before settling down for a homemade Italian lunch, accompanied of course by home produced wines.

After lunch, drive to the heart of Rome, stop to view the exteriors of the Colosseum and a panoramic sightseeing of other highlights of the city. View the exteriors of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and other highlights of the city.

OVERVIEW

Explore the architectural ruins on Palatine Hill, where Rome’s emperors lived for centuries until the fall of the empire. The elliptical Colosseum may well be the most recognizable Roman building from ancient times, and while pausing to snap photos of its exterior you will hear about the amphitheater’s notorious past as a venue for everything from gladiatorial games to public executions. A few steps away, you will find Palatine Hill, home to numerous imperial palaces, the first being the 1st-century Domus Tiberiana. This palace complex includes residential quarters, places of worship and rooms for the guards that protected the emperor. You will also visit the nearby Roman Forum, the center of ancient life in Rome. There, emperors were crowned, elections were held and speeches were given that changed the course of the empire. Following this deep dive into antiquity, you will enjoy free time to shop and dine in Venice Square.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Behold the exterior of the Colosseum, Rome’s iconic and notorious amphitheater.
• Walk among the ruins of the imperial palaces built on the slopes of Palatine Hill.
• Visit the Roman Forum, the center of ancient life in Rome.
• Spend free time shopping and dining on your own in Venice Square.

HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Hear a stirring performance of Andrea’s Bocelli’s music in the glorious Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major and dine on an extraordinary lunch paired with wines from the Bocelli family estate. Rome is during its Jubilee 2025, a celebratory year in which pilgrims are encouraged to visit and the Holy Doors are opened in the basilicas. Your in-depth exploration of Saint Mary Major will include rarely seen upper areas, the interior dome and an underground archaeological site. In another exclusive part in the church, you will be treated to a concert of some of Andrea’s most popular songs while enjoying a glass of Bocelli prosecco. A magnificent four-course meal, in which each dish will be paired with Bocelli wine, will follow at a rooftop restaurant that offers sweeping views of Rome. Later, you will tour the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran and stop in Saint Peter’s Square, which fronts Saint Peter’s Basilica.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tour exclusive areas inside the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
• Listen to a lyric singer and pianist perform songs that Andrea Bocelli made famous.
• Enjoy a four-course lunch paired with wines from the Bocelli family winery.
• Visit the interior of another basilica and stand before Saint Peter’s Basilica.
• Gain an understanding of the significance of 2025 being a Jubilee year in Rome.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Settle in for a narrated ride on a trolley train through Tarquinina, an ancient Etruscan city known for its remarkable Iron Age necropolis. The cemetery earned a UNESCO World Heritage site designation in part for its painted tombs, which date to the 7th century B.C. The shaded but open-air trolley train will take you through Tarquinina’s walled Old Town, whose medieval architecture features various styles that often overlap in one building. The Church of Santa Maria in Castello is Romanesque, but with Lombard and Arab influences. When Napoleon’s troops occupied Italy, the church was used as a stable. Similarly, the 13th-century Town Hall is Romanesque with Gothic elements. Commentary will explain the significance of the city’s architectural treasures along the route. Afterwards, you will drive to a farmhouse on the outskirts of Tarquinina for a glass of wine and to snack on local specialties such as salami, cheeses and fresh vegetables.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Ride a trolley train through Tarquinina’s wonderfully atmospheric Old Town.
• Hear enlightening commentary as you pass one medieval landmark after another.
• Visit a neighboring farmhouse for a sampling of local foods and wine.

HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.

OVERVIEW

Cruise the sheltered waters of the largest volcanically formed lake in Europe as a prelude to a delightful dining experience. The cruise will begin in Capodimonte, one of many picturesque villages tucked along the shores of Lake Bolsena. As the boat motors across the shimmering lake, you will pass olive groves, vineyards and dense forests. The two islands near the center of the lake are Martana and the larger Bisentina, both privately owned and almost entirely covered in Mediterranean scrub and oaks. Several Renaissance-era stone chapels can be seen rising above Bosentina’s tree line. The lakefront town of Bolsena is known for a miracle said to have occurred there during Mass at the tomb of St. Christina in the 13th century, a subject that the famed Renaissance painter Raphael captured in a fresco. Following the cruise, you will dine at a winery and sample several wines made from grapes that flourish along the lake.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Admire the gorgeous scenery while cruising Europe’s largest volcanically formed lake.
• Pass two islands in the center of the lake, one of which is dotted with Renaissance chapels.
• Dine at a winery and enjoy several locally produced wines paired with the courses.

HELPFUL HINTS
• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.