Fascinating tour tailored to our wishes - Every part of this tour exceeded our expectations. We were off the ship ahead of the pick-up time but our driver was already there, right in front of the ship. Not having to find a coach and then wait for other passengers, which always seems to happen, meant we were in Rome within an hour of leaving the ship. This was despite busy roads due to a rail strike. The driver also asked what time we needed to return, an important question as the ship would not have waited for us. We met our guide for the day, Massimo, outside the Vatican and he had all the necessary passes for the museums, Sistine Chapel, St Peter's square and the Basilica. We were glad we had paid for the "skip the line" passes otherwise we would have spent half the day in queues. The attractions are amazing in themselves but the guide's knowledge added to our enjoyment immensley. Its impossible to see everything in a day but he knew what to concentrate on. He encouraged questions and answered them all, whether about the history, the art, the exhibits, when things happened or more recent stuff such as modern Rome/Italy and how the governemnt works. After the Vatican, our driver met us and took us into Rome itself to see other "must sees", the Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps and several other piazzas all containing ancient architecture with amazing art inside. The tour didnt officially include seeing the Colosseum but, at our request, the guide asked the driver to take that route on our way back to port so we could take pictures. He did more than that by stopping, not officially allowed, in front of the Colosseum and letting us get out and he also took pictures of us. He then did the same at other sites he thought would be interesting, which they were, thus making the day even better. All this on top of the guide taking us to the best Gelato shop we experienced in our week in Italy! We cannot praise this tour highly enough, both in terms of organisation and of interest.