Italy - Rome shore excursions. Tour or wing it on our own?

A group of us will be going on the NCL Epic cruise on May 13 out of Barcelona that will include a stop in Rome/Citavechia. We have from 7AM to 7PM to enjoy Rome.

I have not been back to Rome/Italy since 1985.

Can anyone recommend a tour company that will take us on a private tour of Rome for the 6 six of us? We have looked in to Viator.com and other websites.
Have not made a decision yet on which company to use. If we do the private tour, it will run nearly $200 USD per person including transfer to/from ship, entrance fees to some sites.

Or is it recommendable that we can take a shuttle to/from Rome and purchased the Hop-on-Hop-off or the unlimited public transportation pass to go see sites ourselves? This price is $96 USD that includes transfer from ship to Rome and the unlimited transportation ride within the city.

I am actually reconsidering doing the tour of Rome on our own leisurely pace.

Your input?

Thanks.

A group of us will be going on the NCL Epic cruise on May 13 out of Barcelona that will include a stop in Rome/Citavechia. We have from 7AM to 7PM to enjoy Rome.

I have not been back to Rome/Italy since 1985.

Can anyone recommend a tour company that will take us on a private tour of Rome for the 6 six of us? We have looked in to Viator.com and other websites.
Have not made a decision yet on which company to use. If we do the private tour, it will run nearly $200 USD per person including transfer to/from ship, entrance fees to some sites.

Or is it recommendable that we can take a shuttle to/from Rome and purchased the Hop-on-Hop-off or the unlimited public transportation pass to go see sites ourselves? This price is $96 USD that includes transfer from ship to Rome and the unlimited transportation ride within the city.

I am actually reconsidering doing the tour of Rome on our own leisurely pace.

Your input?

Thanks.

Hi SDCA. In case you haven't come across the wonderful website that FTer RinR maintains I wanted to give you these links:

Cruising? Come to Rome for the Day! (http://www.roninrome.com/transportation/cruising-come-to-rome-for-the-day-2)

Rome in a Day for Cruisers (http://www.roninrome.com/sites-and-attractions/rome-in-a-day-for-cruisers)

I personally would opt to explore Rome on my own...

Thank you SK3. These two links really helped. We hope to decide soon as we are leaving in roughly two weeks.

Some more links - to Rome's official tourism portal:
http://www.turismoroma.it/?lang=en

And from that site they have some basic itineraries, 2 days being the shortest:
Rome in Two Days (http://www.turismoroma.it/itinerari-a-tempo/roma-in-2-giorni?lang=en)

Not to be missed (http://www.turismoroma.it/itinerari/da_non_perdere?lang=en)

Theme routes (http://www.turismoroma.it/itinerari/itinerari-a-tema?lang=en)

And for finding the best food options, and to keep you safe from ending up in inferior tourist traps I recommend either downloading Katie Parla's app, or Elizabeth Minchilli's app. Once downloaded you can use them offline:

Rome for Foodies (http://www.parlafood.com/rome-for-foodies/)

Eat Rome (http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com/p/food-guide-eat-rome.html)