Airports and my Mediterranean cruise

[Sherry H]

So....flying......Atlanta........Paris.......Barcelona. Only have a hour at Paris-De Gaulle before flight to Barcelona. Do we go through immigration at Paris-De Gaulle? If we do, does not seem an hour is enough time?

Return flight............same issue. Venice..........Amsterdam......Atlanta.

Immigration in Amsterdam?? Also short time between flights there.

[Jemima]

An hour is too short. We had to go through security or something in Paris (Venice to Paris to LA flight). It was a long walk.

[cruisemom42]

One hour is NOT enough time in Charles de Gaulle airport (Paris) even when you are not going through immigration. Please do yourself a favor and see if you can change that one. Yes, you will have to go through Immigration there. With only an hour, there's every likelihood that you will not make your connecting flight -- and if you somehow do, your luggage may not.

 

You do not have to go through immigration in Amsterdam, as it is part of the EU (like Italy). You will do it in Atlanta. But that airport is also pretty large. How long do you have there?

[NJ Fred]

Heed well the sound advice about the change of planes in Paris. You will have to endure immigration and a security check a bit more uncivilized than at an American airport.

 

Also, there is a ton of walking to get from one terminal to another. Those marvelous moving sidewalks are conspicuous by their absence.

 

Candidly, I fly internationally quite regularly. I have been through most of the major overseas airports many times over - Narita in Tokyo, Heathrow in London, Rhein-Main in Frankfurt, etc.

 

Charles DeGaulle Airport is a disgrace to the Wright Brothers, Boeing and the jet engine.

 

Trust I have been forthright!

 

Nonetheless, enjoy your voyage. Just be very, VERY careful about allowing sufficient time between planes. And DO follow the sagely advice that often appears on this website. Fly over at least one full day prior to sailing in case a nightmare confronts you. Gambling on all going well because a hotel costs a few more dollars could end up being the worst money you ever save. Missing the boat will sour your vacation beyond your wildest imagination.

 

Happy New Year.

[Cruising-along]

I'm in total agreement with everyone. It takes forever to get through CDG. The walk is long, and the times we have been there, at least one bag every time has been emptied and sorted through....slowly....while we waited. One hour is definitely not enough time. :)

[lettienets]

Been there once and avoid that airport like the plague! Any airport to change planes but that one! Heed the above advice.

[Sherry H]

Don't think I can avoid Paris-De Gaulle (already have ticket) but I can change to a layover of 1 hour 50 minutes. What do you all think of that time allowance? I am going into Barcelona 2 days before cruise.

[bishop84]

So....flying......Atlanta........Paris.......Barcelona. Only have a hour at Paris-De Gaulle before flight to Barcelona. Do we go through immigration at Paris-De Gaulle? If we do, does not seem an hour is enough time?

Return flight............same issue. Venice..........Amsterdam......Atlanta.

Immigration in Amsterdam?? Also short time between flights there.

 

You will go through immigration at Paris as you will be entering the Schengen Zone. When leaving you will do a brief immigration check at Amsterdam airport when you transfer from the Schengen zone, as you are flying in from Venice, into the international zone of the airport. I haven't personally been through Paris CDG airport but have heard it can be time consuming. I have been through the one in Amsterdam several times and the Dutch were quick and efficient there only seemed to be 5-10 minute lines and there was also a line specifically for people with short connection times who got priority. That said I think a hour connection times could be pushing it in both directions.

 

FYI the Schengen Zone is a group of countries within the EU who have virtually open borders between each. Once you go through immigration in one Schengen country you are cleared throughout the whole zone and should not need another routine immigration check.

[cruisemom42]

Don't think I can avoid Paris-De Gaulle (already have ticket) but I can change to a layover of 1 hour 50 minutes. What do you all think of that time allowance? I am going into Barcelona 2 days before cruise.

 

Well.....it's certainly better than an hour! In your favor, international flights often arrive a little early. Not in your favor, at CDG they mostly park the planes on the tarmac and use buses to get you to the terminal. As you can imagine, this is more time-consuming than simply walking off the plane.

 

What line are you flying? If it is Air France (or a Delta/Air France codeshare) you will probably be okay with the 110 minutes. Just move fast. ;)

[m steve]

I have done a few international trips and we just stayed in the terminal.

[SwissMyst]

Agree with all the above and we also had to add the word "Schengen" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement) to our travel vocabulary too. The immigration lines will refer to this term to decide which line you need to get into.

 

CDG has gotten better over time from my first trip through it shortly after it opened and a few weeks before the disastrous collapse of one of their glass-walled terminals. Somehow my tickets always send me through it too. And we even chose it because the meals on AirFrance are far better than most other long-haul options.

 

CDG does have a good website so you can orient yourself ahead of time. Their signage has improved immensely but it is still a vast expanse to get from one part to the next and too often arriving US flights end up way out and have to be shuttled in, with last minute changes in your gates and arrival/departure halls regardless of what your ticket and pre-planning accounted for.

 

If you can extend your transit time, by all means do it but I do think we have been able to make shorter connections but we were prepared ahead of time with a lot of planning and having the lay-out of the airport well in mind when we had to make the dash to get there on time. One time our gate was changed between when we checked getting off our arrival time and our arrival at the alleged proper gate so we had to dash to the new one.

 

Or we arrived at our gate to see no signs whatsoever indicating anything about the departing flight or even an coherent plan to follow to get to this gate, which was down some stairs with no elevator. But others were lining up and indicated they were also heading to the same destination, so we just stood in line and hoped for the best and at the last minute the gate agent showed up.

 

Welcome to CDG. That all being said, we never missed a flight though having passed through this place during two general strikes in France, there were some delays but ultimately it all worked out. And the food on AF is good. (Or let's just say, it is better than most airlines)

 

We will also be leaving on the Ryndam from Barcelona and staying a few extra days next August/Sept so please report back about what you learn getting from plane to ship and around Barcelona. Happy travels.

[Sherry H]

Thanks all! Going to try and make some changes to this ticket. Ticket is through Delta. Will get back on and let you know what I end up doing. Also, when trip is complete will share my experience.

[Cruising-along]

Good luck, have a wonderful time, and thanks in advance for sharing your experience when your trip is complete!

[SwissMyst]

Thanks all! Going to try and make some changes to this ticket. Ticket is through Delta. Will get back on and let you know what I end up doing. Also, when trip is complete will share my experience.

 

Delta and Air France are partners so you may end up on an Air France plane afterall. This may be the only good news about this route. BTW, we booked our Barcelona RT via Zurich on Swiss International just to try and get around all these CDG hassles again. They had one of those one-day sales and we grabbed it.

 

Keep in mind, each trip through CDG has gotten better and the airport more and more "finished". Kind of like JFK - perpetual construction. So it all may work out afterall. And it is good to get some "exercise" running from terminal to terminal between long haul flights .........:rolleyes:

[Sherry H]

O.K...............just discovered Delta has a flight Venice..........Rome............Atlanta. Would we be going through immigration in Rome?

[deserttraveler]

About sixteen months ago, I flew on Alitalia from Pisa, Italy (small airport, moderate security) to CDG for flight back to the USA on American Airlines. At CDG, it took a full 3 hours to take a careening airport bus miles and miles outside of security to the next terminal, stand in two VERY long lines for security checks, to be in the departure lounge about 45 min before our flight. I have heard that the Delta/Air France connection facilitates this transfer.

 

I suspect that even though the flight from Venice to Rome or Amsterdam will be within the European Union, you will not be allowed to simply be "in transit," and that another thorough security check will be required at the larger airport before the flight to the states.

 

Because I may very well need to fly from Venice next fall, I'll be interested in further information about how this works.

[euro cruiser]

O.K...............just discovered Delta has a flight Venice..........Rome............Atlanta. Would we be going through immigration in Rome?

You will go through passport control when you enter an international terminal, in this case, in Rome. Immigration is when you get to your first US stop.

[Sherry H]

So............is "passport control" a lengthy issue?

[AfriCan]

Having just returned 2 months ago from flights traveling through both Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris CDG, I can say that in all instances one will go through security while in transit. You will clear customs in the first Schengen country you arrive in, and then will pass through another complete scan (body, luggage, body pat-down) before entering the transit area. Even though you may be in transit (i.e. beyond the customs point), you are not allowed to take liquids (other than those purchsed in duty-free and sealed by the duty-free store) through the scan, thus all water/refreshments purchased and opened in the transit area needs to be consumed or disposed of before getting on the plane.

Most European airports have a fast lane through customs for those passengers on a short connection, which helps to speed up the process.

[cruisemom42]

OK, let me try to clarify a little. Others may correct me if I go wrong.....(although I know a lot about travel logistics, I tend not to pay attention to details in airports! :o).

 

When you are traveling internationally, there are several procedures that can cause delays. These include Immigration/Passport Control, Security checkpoints, and Customs.

 

Generally speaking, you will encounter security checkpoints in every airport, although in a few airports if you stay within their "secured zone" while you are in transit to another destination, you may not encounter one. Emphasis is on "may" because many times you will encounter them, even more than one in some cases.

 

Customs is generally not a big time taker until you are returning to your country of origin after your travels, and for a US citizen it will take place in the first US airport you reach after an international trip. So, for example, if you fly from Rome to JFK to Atlanta, you will go through customs in JFK -- this requires you to turn in the Customs form that you will be given on the plane and also requires you to retrieve, then re-check your luggage.

 

Immigration/Passport Control is where your passport is inspected (and often stamped). This one is a little more difficult to explain clearly. But if you are an American traveling within what is called the Schengen zone or Schengen countries (mostly the EU countries, with a few exceptions), you will go through Immigration/Passport Control in the first country that you stop in after an international flight. Then, if you are flying to another Schengen country, you do not need to go through Immigration/Passport control again. If you are flying to a country outside the Schengen zone (let's say from JFK to Frankfurt [schengen] to Istanbul [non-Schengen]), you'd have to go through Immigration/Passport control at your final destination, I believe.

 

BTW, you may have to show your passport at various security checkpoints, but that is just for security, not for passport control.

 

Thus, I would think that going from Venice to Rome to Atlanta, you would go through the Immigration/Passport Control at Venice, not in Rome (which is the same country), especially if your trip is booked on one ticket.

 

But perhaps I'm wrong somewhere....?

[SwissMyst]

I always get confused when they ask if I am an "international" transit passenger after I have cleared Schengen immigration in a country other than my final destination, but one that is in the Schengen zone.

 

Eg: landing in France (Schengen), clearing immigration but going on to Italy (Schengen) - it is another "international" destination, but since it is in the Schengen zone, it will require no further international immigration. Lately I do think they are now marking transits to other Schengen countries and not just "international".

 

All we have to do now is sort out the Euro-zone, the Schengen zoneand the EU Common Market countries, and not even leave good old "Europe". I think it was easier in the days when you needed visas for every single country.:eek:

[erewhon]

Avoid Charles de Gaulle airport if possible.

[SwissMyst]

.....

 

Because I may very well need to fly from Venice next fall, I'll be interested in further information about how this works.

 

You may have better flight choices from Milan Malpensa to the US, taking the train from Venice to the central Milan train station (Milano Centrale) and then the airport bus to Malpensa airport. (for more direct connections back to the US, or even some non-stop ones)

 

Only a few hours to get to Milan by train and great countryside to view along the way.

[alcpa1]

OP,

I realize you may incur change fees as you adjust your itinerary but have you looked at Delta's direct flight to Barcelona from Atlanta? It takes the hassle out of connections. We have taken the ATL-BCN flight and were glad to have avoided connections.

We have also taken the Malpensa to Atlanta flight and after a cruise disembarking in Venice I'd not recommend it. The direct flight was nice but the hassle of getting to the train station in Venice with more luggage than we needed, not locating an elevator in Milan's train station, almost an hour's ride to our Malpensa hotel and a lot of confusion at the airport lead to a tired group of friends.

Don't forget to leave ample time in Atlanta for C and I. If you are returning to Utah by air the same day plan on at least 2 1/2 - 3 hours between flights.

Your cruise will be worth it!