Addendum: I thought long and hard about writing this, especially with the choice to include the name

In mid-October, the Colosseum announced it would keep the hypogeum and third level open through the end of December . And then, just a few days later, it announced that, actually, the underground was closing—thanks to the flooding of the delicate underground area.
Let's make one thing clear: Since late October, the Colosseum underground has remained closed. There has not been any announcement about when, or if, it will reopen this winter. [Update, April 5 2012: Colosseum officials just announced that the underground will reopen this Saturday, April 7 ].
Different frommers budget travel magazine tour companies offer tours of the Colosseum underground. The first, Walks of Italy —which I freelance for—immediately stopped selling its VIP Colosseum tour , which included the underground as well as the third tier, Forum and Palatine, as soon as the Colosseum's underground closed. In other words, you can no longer book the Colosseum frommers budget travel magazine underground tour on their site.
Confusingly, however, Dark Rome is still selling the Colosseum underground tour — and in their tour description, there isn't any mention of the fact that the underground is currently closed (and has been for weeks). (Like Walks of Italy, their tour also includes the Palatine, Forum and the rest of the Colosseum). Even when I clicked all the way through to the checkout to buy the tour, there was no mention that the underground is closed.
To be fair, the underground could reopen, even in the next few days... maybe. But continuing to sell the tour as if it's exactly the same, for €89, without a single mention that the underground is currently closed and no plans have been announced for its opening? Hmm.
To make sure I understood correctly, I emailed Dark Rome to ask if it was possible frommers budget travel magazine to book the tour to see the Colosseum frommers budget travel magazine underground for this coming week. The reservations agent replied quickly, telling me that yes, the tour was still running, although due to flooding, the underground would be closed.
I asked if the price of the tour was the same."If you book this tour, we will refund 12% of the price of the tour after you have taken the tour. This is because frommers budget travel magazine we are unsure when the Underground will open," she responded. But in a following frommers budget travel magazine email, she added, "This refund is only due if you take the tour and the Underground is closed. If the Underground is open you will not be entitled to a refund."
You also can "buy" the underground Colosseum tour with Viator (which—can we finally clarify this?—is NOT a tour company, but a tour consolidator, one that sells lots of other companies' offerings. In fact, I am 99% sure that this tour is the same one as Dark Rome's). This description, too, makes it sound as if the underground tour is just fine and dandy. Even worse, the most recent comments that show up don't mention that the underground is closed (at least they do on Dark Rome's site). It's sold as an "upgrade," costing you, once again, €89.
Then there's Tickitaly , which, from what I understand, sells the tour with an official Colosseum guide , charging more simply for the convenience of booking online. They're still selling the underground tour, too.
At least, however, they have this paragraph: "Please be aware that it's possible the dungeons may not be able to be visited. Recent flash flooding in Rome meant that the underground areas of the Colosseum were closed and as yet there is no firm news on when they'll reopen—we expected it to be days, not weeks, and the authorities will give us no hard information. It's usually the case that when something changes we'll be given just a few hours notice and with this in mind we are still taking bookings for these tours, given that the upper levels are open and the dungeons may be open. We do not offer refunds if the underground areas are closed (for security frommers budget travel magazine reasons or due to flooding after heavy rain). Your guide will, nonetheless, give a full explanation and history of the subterranean frommers budget travel magazine zones."
Addendum: I thought long and hard about writing this, especially with the choice to include the names of the agencies in question. However, for purposes of transparency and delivering the most useful information to my readers possible, I've made it a policy on my blog to always include names of the places I'm writing about, including both places I love ... and those that I think treat tourists unfairly. I don't think vagueness serves anyone, least of all travelers trying to get a handle on a foreign city.
Finally, I've been following the Colosseum underground from the moment it opened . I have, for better or worse, helped create frommers budget travel magazine the buzz around frommers budget travel magazine it that there is. So I feel a little responsible for the marketing hoo-ha that's ensued—and also feel that it's my responsibility to expose frommers budget travel magazine when that marketing isn't 100% honest. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
Thanks for your comment, frommers budget travel magazine and for keeping an eye on my blog! There haven t been any updates because the reopening still hasn t been announced, and until it is, of course they won t accept reservations for the underground. I know it s hard, but hang tight, and as soon as I hear anything, I promise I *will* update my blog!
Hi and thanks for the clarification. I have been keeping an eye on this blog but there haven t been any news updates posted since January and it is now March 10th. We are going to be in Rome in April and hope that the underground is open. Any info anyone?
Thanks for the information, i was just about to book a tour, until i realised that some didn t operate on a saturday, then saw some notices about the flooding.. so anyway, will wait for the time being...
if we have one day in rome (2nd june), should we just book a std colesseum tour as not to miss out? or wait a bit longer to see if there s news about the underground reopening? As i haven t been to Rome before i would love to see the colesseum above any other tourist site there due to the interesting history.. and would hate to miss out... so what i mean to ask is do you think it will book out fast?
I booked an underground tour for Dec 31, though Pierreci. I ve already a Colosseum tour a few years ago,I was hoping go get to see the underground part this time around. Is Pierreci giving refunds? Thanks for keeping us updated.