Our Flight was at 11:10 out of FCO - Disembark at 7:45 - We Made it

[Yankee123]

I can't seem to find my post from a little while back regarding early flight departures from Rome FCO airport right after a cruise. I am sure I am not searching properly.

 

I wanted to post my experience to hopefully help others.

 

My post at the time was asking a question if an 11:10 AM flight out of FCO can be made if we disembark early from Civitavecchia sea port.

 

I was told that it would be pushing it but I can make it. The concerns were traffic from sea port to airport. The distance and time. Then at the airport the concern was going through security and passport control.

 

My experience was amazingly very pleasant. We sailed on NCL Epic round trip from Civitavecchia. For those of you who don't know, NCL Epic has the option to sail round trip from Barcelona, Spain or Civitavecchia, Italy or Marseille, France. I would love to say that the majority of the 4100 passengers sail round trip from Barcelona, so the people embarking and disembarking from Civitavecchia or Marseille are very few, which makes life tremendously easy with no lines either way.

 

We asked our room attendant for the priority luggage tags so our bags would be the first ones delivered at the port from the ship. Even though we were assigned the time of 8:00 to 9:00 in the Aqua color, we chose to disembark at 7:45, and we were able to do so comfortably. There were no lines at all. When we got downstairs, all our luggage was already there along with all the other colors that were assigned. I am mentioning this because my in laws also had the aqua color and their luggage was also there right next to ours. It seems that the priority tickets weren't really needed other then for the peace of mind. We had a porter pick up our luggage and assist us taking it out to the pre-booked romeinlimo van that was waiting for us. We had asked them to arrive at 7:30, but the first time slot for passenger to disembark from the ship was 7:45. I didn't know this until we got the disembarkation letter. The porter loaded everything in the van and we got seated immediately. I looked at the time in the van as soon as we were seated, and it was 7:58 AM. The driver got in and asked us what time our flight was and which airlines. We told him that we were taking United Airlines to the United States at 11:10 AM. He informed us that it was on Terminal 5 (which we knew) and took off immediately. He informed us that it was a 45 to 50 minute ride to the airport depending on traffic. He did mention that most of Italy is still on vacation so traffic should be very light. Needless to say, there was no traffic at all. As soon as we got to the airport, I looked at the time and it was only 8:32. At the time we walked in, there were no lines what so ever at the United Airlines desk. We walked straight up to an empty counter and the lady was very nice and helpful and checked us in immediately, printed our boarding passes and luggage tags, and tagged our luggage and our luggage was gone. Next was passport control, and I am sure you get the hint that there was no line at all. When we didn't see a line there, we chose to have some coffee (cafe Americano and cappuccino at the cafe next to the United Airlines check in area. Spent 20 minutes watching people and still no line, although people were moving very fast and going through passport control without any delays or wait. Once we finished our drinks, we decided to go in and naturally just walked up to Passport control and we went in. Next was security which again was a breeze. It took longer to take our belts and shoes off and put them back on and take the iPad and laptop out and put it back in then going through security itself. I forgot to check what time we actually got through everything and we were in because of the excitement that there were no lines.

 

My reason to post this is that a lot of people ask the question of will we make a certain flight (I did the same and got some great answers from fellow cruisers) and thus I wanted to share my experience.

 

Again, we flew on a Wednesday, not a weekend. We flew when there was less then normal traffic on the road, although during peak rush hour. So use your best judgement, but we did get lucky and everything went very well.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Feel free to ask questions.

[Fblack]

In my opinion you were very lucky. Be used Delta on our last cruise out of Rome. When we got to the airport at Terminal 5 in the morning there was only one line and one agent to check in luggage and get a boarding passes for several Delta flights. Took us nearly 75 minutes just to get to the head of the line. It was a Saturday morning. Then passport control, immigration and security added another 90 minutes. Then the bus to the actual terminal and gate. Luckily we allowed for all this xtra time needed to make an early flight.

[texancruzer]

Oh yes, definitely look at all the factors. You had a series of really fortunate circumstances and this is not always the case. Glad it worked out for you. Of course, there is always the "other side of the coin" and in my opinion not worth the risk to miss a flight home - thus ending a great vacation on a sour note.

[Keith1010]

I am glad this worked for you.

 

My view is still to book a flight for Noon or later because if one thing goes wrong (which it does) you can easily miss your flight.

 

To me it all comes down to the odds of missing the flight.

 

Keith

[Eileen G]

I am glad this worked for you.

 

My view is still to book a flight for Noon or later because if one thing goes wrong (which it does) you can easily miss your flight.

 

To me it all comes down to the odds of missing the flight.

 

Keith

 

 

This is really the key. No matter how much you plan and how much time you leave there is always a possibility of missing your flight. What matters is how comfortable you are with the odds. If you can afford to miss the flight and just take another latter than I'd say go for the earlier flight. If you absolutly must catch the flight to get home that day then take a later flight. The OP was lucky but they were also off the ship as soon as possible and had a driver waiting. The important thing in Rome, and any airport for that matter, is to get there before everyone else. Our first time out of Rome there was almost no line when we arrived at the airport but about 10 minutes latter the cruise bus showed up and the line was out the door. I'm sure after that there was always a long line.

 

So if you do book that earlier flight make sure you are the first off the ship and have a driver waiting. DO NOT take the ship shuttle!!

[notentirelynormal]

We arrived at 5:00 am and had a 10:00 flight. We knew it was cutting it close so had RIL waiting for us when we got off. We were willing to do walk off but they wouldn't allow it. We had to wait for our group to be called. Okay, we snuck off with the first group anyway. BUT, and this is a big BUT, it had rained the night before so when we docked there were huge puddles on the dock and they couldn't put the walkway down. So they had to move the ship and try again. This delayed us by 45-60 crucial minutes getting off the ship. We got off, grabbed our luggage which luckily was sitting right at the walkway into the tent, our driver was waiting and we were immediately on our way. We got to the airport and checked in just barely ahead of the mob, went through a lengthy shoe/bag/strip down inspection stop point. It took us about 20-30 minutes at least. Hopped on the bus and got to the correct terminal. Went to the lounge for about 20-30 minutes and it was time to go to our gate. It was a rushed experience and not one that I would recommend except we were flying using upgrade miles and that was my only choice.

 

What we were not prepared for was to be bussed to the plane and have to carry all our carryons up stairs to board. I was traveling with my elderly mother. There was no way she could carry her stuff. My husband jumped off with his stuff and I was left with 2 carryons, a camera case and medical bag. I looked at those stairs for a minutes thinking "oh oh" and two angels walked up next to me and husband and wife each grabbed on of our carry ons and took them on board for us. It would have been quite the struggle for me.

 

I'm pretty sure if the stars weren't aligned well, we would not have made that 10:00 flight. It was a borderline call for the flight and the additional time needed to dock was almost a trip ruiner for us.

[Gracie115]

I don't think 11:10 is too early to book. We had the same flight out in May on a Friday and arrived at the airport by 8:30AM and were at the gate over an hour ahead of the flight. Last year we had an 11:30 flight, same result. Of course some unforeseen traffic jam could have delayed us but I think that can be said of any situation. I wouldn't book a flight out of Rome before 11, but would feel very comfortable for any time 11AM or later. Just my opinion, but it did work twice for us with no issues.:)

[Yankee123]

I agree with all of you. We did get lucky. So many things happened just right for us.

 

1 - Week day instead of weekend.

2 - Most of the passengers on all the ships in port that day were going to tour Rome or surrounding areas that day.

3 - Not many passengers were disembarking from any cruise ship let alone NCL Epic

4 - Even those disembarking NCL Epic not every one had an early flight.

5 - Even those disembarking NCL Epic not everyone was catching a flight the same day

6 - As I was informed a lot of locals in Rome are still on vacation so the roads aren't busy

7 - We were able to disembark with the first group

8 - Our luggage had already arrive

9 - We already had taxi service waiting for us

 

and may be more and thus we did get luck on all ends for which I am grateful

 

But I am also thankful to all my fellow cruise critic members for all their recommendations.:D

[lovestx]

We had similar good fortune in June 2012 without all the great factors.

 

Planned for 7:30 departure from the boat with our CC friends and that went smoothly. Had a hiccup when one piece of luggage was missing but it was quickly found.

 

RIL was there to meet us and we loaded up. Took about 50 minutes to FCO Got there about 8:30 a.m. A bit of a line at passport control and then very long lines for check in and security. We had priority status so got through quicker than most. But our CC friends without priority status spent a total of about 90 minutes in the lines and had not trouble making the 11:15 American departure. We actually spent quite a bit of time in the lounge. But I remember thinking that our plans were fine and gave even non-priority people some breathing room.

[Essiesmom]

I am considering a noon flight on Aer Lingus, with a change in Dublin. This would be on a Monday in June. Is this realistic? the fare is very reasonable...EM

[Gracie115]

I am considering a noon flight on Aer Lingus, with a change in Dublin. This would be on a Monday in June. Is this realistic? the fare is very reasonable...EM

 

 

Yes, absolutely.

[NewNorCruiser]

Yankee123, I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your detailed update post-trip last year. We are going to be in virtually the same situation this October. NCL Epic R/T from Civitavecchia, Wed-Wed. Only differences are that we dock at 6:00AM and fly out of FCO at 10:10AM. Same 4-hour & ten minute timeframe as you had. We goofed on the dock time when booking our flight and I couldn't sleep last night worrying that there was no hope for us other than an expensive flight change. You have given me hope! I know there's no guarantee but praying for half the luck you had, I think we have a good chance of making our flight home (do I really want to though???). Also, we will not be checking any bags off the ship or at the airport so hopefully that will save a little time too. My only question now is when I should ask the private driver to be at port on disembarkation day? Suggestions anyone? Thanks again.

[CruiserBruce]

Yankee123, I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your detailed update post-trip last year. We are going to be in virtually the same situation this October. NCL Epic R/T from Civitavecchia, Wed-Wed. Only differences are that we dock at 6:00AM and fly out of FCO at 10:10AM. Same 4-hour & ten minute timeframe as you had. We goofed on the dock time when booking our flight and I couldn't sleep last night worrying that there was no hope for us other than an expensive flight change. You have given me hope! I know there's no guarantee but praying for half the luck you had, I think we have a good chance of making our flight home (do I really want to though???). Also, we will not be checking any bags off the ship or at the airport so hopefully that will save a little time too. My only question now is when I should ask the private driver to be at port on disembarkation day? Suggestions anyone? Thanks again.

 

Docking at 6 doesn't mean getting off at 6:15. 10:10 is very risky. VERY risky. Good luck. Just to save a couple bucks....

[Girr]

Yankee123, I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your detailed update post-trip last year. We are going to be in virtually the same situation this October. NCL Epic R/T from Civitavecchia, Wed-Wed. Only differences are that we dock at 6:00AM and fly out of FCO at 10:10AM. Same 4-hour & ten minute timeframe as you had. We goofed on the dock time when booking our flight and I couldn't sleep last night worrying that there was no hope for us other than an expensive flight change. You have given me hope! I know there's no guarantee but praying for half the luck you had, I think we have a good chance of making our flight home (do I really want to though???). Also, we will not be checking any bags off the ship or at the airport so hopefully that will save a little time too. My only question now is when I should ask the private driver to be at port on disembarkation day? Suggestions anyone? Thanks again.

 

I hope you read all of these threads, and also noticed the OP was flying out after 11:00 not 10:10 AM. Even the OP came back to say they were very lucky and that everything just "clicked".

 

With that said talk with the company you've booked your driver through - they'll be able to tell you their experience on the time they've been picking up passengers.

 

I wish you the best of luck.

[6rugrats]

Yankee123, I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your detailed update post-trip last year. We are going to be in virtually the same situation this October. NCL Epic R/T from Civitavecchia, Wed-Wed. Only differences are that we dock at 6:00AM and fly out of FCO at 10:10AM. Same 4-hour & ten minute timeframe as you had. We goofed on the dock time when booking our flight and I couldn't sleep last night worrying that there was no hope for us other than an expensive flight change. You have given me hope! I know there's no guarantee but praying for half the luck you had, I think we have a good chance of making our flight home (do I really want to though???). Also, we will not be checking any bags off the ship or at the airport so hopefully that will save a little time too. My only question now is when I should ask the private driver to be at port on disembarkation day? Suggestions anyone? Thanks again.

Some else's good luck may not be yours. You know, you have 24 hours after booking a flight to cancel at no charge?

 

You know you have 24 hours after booking a flight to cancel at no charge?

 

You will have to be very lucky to make this flight. There is no guarantee your ship will dock at 6:00 a.m. After it docks, everyone will have to be cleared before you can get off the ship. Then, you have the hour or so ride (depends on traffic) to get to the airport. You must check in at Terminal 5 (assuming you are flying to the US). The lines can be horrible there. You will have a passport check and security screening. Then you go to an area and wait for a bus to take you to the terminal for your departing flight.

Edited January 31, 2013 by 6rugrats

[NewNorCruiser]

Thanks everyone for the opinions and good luck wishes. Booked private transfer with RomeCabs. From posts I've read on CC, many have used them. They felt a 6:45 AM disembarkation could be expected. I believe they do this every day. So they should know what's norm.

 

6rugrats - way beyond the 24 hours for us so no option there but may be good for someone else to know who immediately realized the problem.

 

Girr - the OP's flight was 11:10 ours 10:10, exactly an hour earlier, but OP's dock time was at 7:00, ours is 6:00, an hour earlier. Same timeframe of 4 hrs, 10 mins from dock time to flight time. Thanks for the suggestion of getting the driver's opinion. That made me feel much better about our chances.

 

CruiserBruce- trust me, if was a matter of a few bucks, I'd change in a heartbeat. I don't want the stress. But it's almost $2600 bucks for the two of us to take the next later Delta flight so that's why I'm trying to make this work.

 

It's not ideal, I know that, but it's what I've got to work with.

[6rugrats]

RomeCabs is great; I've used them many times. Let them know when your flight time is. If it is getting close and it looks like you will miss your flight, call the airline immediately to see if you have any options; make sure to have the correct phone number to use in Italy programmed on your cell phone. Good luck! Come back after your cruise to write what happened.

[NewNorCruiser]

6rugrats-great idea on programming the airline's # in Italy into my cell. Will do that.

 

If you don't hear from me, you'll know that we missed our flight and I'm too embarassed to show my face on the message board again. ;). No, I will return, good, bad or ugly.

[cruisemom42]

I don't think it's quite as bleak as some might have you think. It may be stressful, but unless you're unlucky I think the chances are greater that you'll make the flight than not make it.

 

Here's another tip, for what it's worth. If you are really in the weeds by the time you arrive at FCO, look for someone official and show them your ticket. Sometimes they'll let you go through the premium cabin line or shortcut you through security if there's a real chance you might miss the flight.

 

If you are a FF with any clout, that would be the time to try to leverage it -- notice that many times airlines allow FF with any standing to go through the shorter premium line at check-in, etc.

 

Checking in online and getting your boarding passes printed out on ship before you arrive may also save you a few precious seconds.

 

I will be curious to hear how it goes down. Good luck!

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Cruisemom42 is right. That's exactly what happened to my parents, sister and brother in law. They flagged down someone and they made their plane and weren't forced to stand in the line and miss the flight. They are frequent flyers and were doing business class but that's what happened.

Edited February 2, 2013 by rebeccalouiseagain

[NewNorCruiser]

Thanks CruiseMom42. Another great suggestion I hadn't thought of. I'm not a FF but I like the idea of seeking out someone official if it gets down to the nitty gritty. These tix were expensive! Thanks for the encouragement. I definitely feel better than 3 days ago.

[Hlitner]

Well, although I am normally in agreement with Cruisemom this is one time when I digress. So let me explain. If you are flying out of FCO on a flight to the USA we would suggest you take a very good look at the penalties if you happen to get unlucky and miss your flight (our usual Plan B situation). If your ship is scheduled to dock at 7 and you have an 11 AM flight perhaps you have an 85% chance of making your flight. But if you are in the minority, the penalties can be very severe (often in excess of $1000 dollars). It is possible that you would be stuck at FCO overnight and not only have to pay big bucks to change your tickets but also pay for hotels, food, transportation, etc. Having spent a lot of time in Italy we can assure the nonbelievers that things do go wrong in Italy! A 7 am docking might be late. Or, if you decide to let the cruise line take your luggage off the ship there might be delays in luggage movements, your luggage might be mis-sorted (this happened to us recently), etc. And keep in mind that you have a 45 - 1:10 min ride from the port to FCO. While most of this drive is on a very modern Autostrade, accidents do happen and so do flat tires! Now, for those of you who enjoy the excitement of cutting it close you are probably going to be fine. But personally, our forty + years of travel experience has taught us that we do not want to end our trip worrying about all that can go wrong (and sometimes it does go very wrong). If your ship is scheduled to dock at 6 and you want to take an 11 am flight that should be fine. But with a 7 am docking we would not do it!

 

Let me give you an example of how things can go wrong. We were recently (this past spring) on the Celebrity Silhouette for 25 days and one of the ports was Naples. Naples is similar to Civitavecchia in that its a large well sheltered port. Our ship was to dock at 8, but we found ourselves miles off shore at 8 because the winds were blowing and the Harbor Master of Naples decided to close the port. There must have been a dozen vessels just slowly cruising around a few miles off shore waiting for the port to open and our Captain decided to wait and see. Finally , we were allowed to dock at about 10 am (2 hours late) and many folks were unhappy because this messed up their private and cruise line excursions. We have been in an out of Naples more then 2 dozen times and this was the first time we had ever been late into this port. But it happened! We could write a much longer post about missed and late ports in Europe. To make an 11 am flight (to the US) out of FCO mean that one should normally be on the road (out of Civitavecchia) no later then 7:30 (and we would prefer 7). We recently had an 11:50 USAIR flight out of FCO and arranged for a private transfer at 7:20. One of our party (we had 3 couples) had an 11 am flight, but it was to Italy (a Schengen country) so they were not too concerned.

 

Chances are that you would be fine with that 11 am flight. But what you need to consider is what it would cost you if you did not make the flight.

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

Well, although I am normally in agreement with Cruisemom this is one time when I digress.

 

......

 

Chances are that you would be fine with that 11 am flight. But what you need to consider is what it would cost you if you did not make the flight.

 

Hank

 

I'm not exactly endorsing what NewNorCruiser did, but s/he goofed and has already bought the tickets, stating that other options seem really expensive at this point.

 

I was only trying to be a little encouraging regarding the odds of making the flight. After the comments of some on this thread, I suspect the poster was thinking they only had about a 10% chance of making the flight. Like you, I agree the odds are much higher than that.

 

However, if someone asked before purchasing, I definitely wouldn't encourage that window of time!

[NewNorCruiser]

So for anyone reading this post who has not yet purchased airfare (or who is still within their 24-hr cancellation window), it appears the wisest course is to book a flight 6+ hours after dock time. I'm in a different boat (pardon the pun). I've purchased & can't cancel. We've already contacted the airline and the cost to take a later flight is almost $2,600 for the two of us. That's even with the airline waiving the change fee. So, I'm going to take the 85% chance of making my early flight, using the great suggestions I've received here, instead of coughing up that much money now on a bunch of what ifs and hope I get lucky like Yankee123 and other poster. I think most would do that. I'll post the outcome when I return. Thanks again for the encouragement and great tips.

[buggins0402]

So for anyone reading this post who has not yet purchased airfare (or who is still within their 24-hr cancellation window), it appears the wisest course is to book a flight 6+ hours after dock time. I'm in a different boat (pardon the pun). I've purchased & can't cancel. We've already contacted the airline and the cost to take a later flight is almost $2,600 for the two of us. That's even with the airline waiving the change fee. So, I'm going to take the 85% chance of making my early flight, using the great suggestions I've received here, instead of coughing up that much money now on a bunch of what ifs and hope I get lucky like Yankee123 and other poster. I think most would do that. I'll post the outcome when I return. Thanks again for the encouragement and great tips.

 

Also, between now and June, you might want to keep tracking the price of the flight you do want. It might come down and if you can sweet talk them into no change fee you might end up with the flight you want. Or, if it comes down to a price you can live with - you might just say it's worth it to eat the change fee.