Warning re Early Disembarkation on Costa Serena

[desy]

Recently returned (20th November) from a seven day around the Med on the Costa Serena. Very good cruise couldnt fault it until the last night. Our flight back to Amsterdam from Milan was at 1750 hours. You can imagine my annoyance when I receved the information that we had to disembark in Savona at 0900 nearly nine hours before our flight home. I went to enquire why I was getting "kicked off so early" and was told that was the time. We arrived at Milan at 1130hrs and the plane eventunally took off at 1845, we getting back to Manchester at 2230hrs after a horrible day. This is not the first time Costa has done this to me, so be prepared for sitting for hours in a foreign departure lounge Costa cannot wait to get rid of you off the boat at the end of your cruise completely spoilt it for us.

[Capricruiser]

Two reasons: (1) I presume you had the Costa coach transfer from Savona to Milan along with all the other passengers scheduled to fly out of Milan that day. I can't see them ordering a coach for every flight!? (2) Savona is where the majority of passengers disembark after their cruise. The ship has to be made ready for the newly arriving passengers who will start boarding at 12.00 or 13.00. Your cruise was finished; it's normal to expect you'd have to disembark that morning. Pre and post-cruise flight connections are rarely convenient or easy for any cruise or cruise line.

[Hans]

i had the same situation several times, and it's not difficult to fill the waiting time between arrival and departure... take a cab or bus and use your time discovering the surroundings of Milan,

or even Milan itself.. we always almost regret we have not more time and have to go to the airport again.

[janneke]

This is a reply i posted to ijonathanc who also complained about the long waiting times in airports

 

Waiting in an airport for 3 (three!) hours is peanuts. I have already waited 6 to 7 hours to catch the return plane in Milan . There is a thread somewhere here that also complains about this, but there is nothing you can do about it. Last time i came back from a red sea cruise and then we had to change flights in Milan coming from Sharm el Sheik going to Paris!!! Needless to say that you have to wait every time you land somewhere.

In march i will board a Fred Olsen ship in the caribics and i will have to fly the DAY BEFORE to Manchester and STAY OVERNIGHT in a hotel in order to catch the Olsen plane to the caribics!!! Coming back i will have to stay in Man'r for 8 hrs to catch a flight to Antwerp!!! Talking about waiting in airports, hu?