Question about flights to/from DTW-FCO

[gotitright]

Background: Wife and I will be going on the Sep 29 - Oct 6 2013 7 night Easter Med cruise out of Civitavecchia. Wife has sailed only on RCI, and only twice. I have only done so once. (We both sailed this year on a 7 night Western Carib cruise this past March/April.) Wife is fluent in Italian, so getting around FCO/Rome/Civitavecchia won't be a problem. We would be flying out of DTW.

 

Wife is a school teacher and there, in part, lies part of my dilemna: which time to take off when. (My schedule won't be a problem at all.) She would only be able to take the cruise dates, plus ONE extra Friday/Monday off work. The way I see it, that leaves us with 2 choices.

 

Choice 1 would be to take the Friday before the cruise off work, and catch a morning flight out of DTW to arrive early into FCO. That would give us plenty of "tourist time" in Rome the day prior the cruise and enjoy things before leaving for Civitavecchia Sunday morning. (Neither wife or I have ever been to Rome.) This would ALSO necessitate a flight out of FCO on Oct 6th as late a possible - (I'm guessing a flight after 11am would be fine.) - so as to still arrive on the 6th at DTW.

 

Choice 2 would be to catch a flight after 7pm out of DTW, which would mean arriving into FCO in the afternoon/evening. That would not give us much time to see Rome prior to the cruise, but would not be a "deal-breaker" either. If we take this choice, we could then take our post-cruise flight out of FCO on Oct 7th, and give us plenty of "tourist time" in Rome the day we get back to Civitavecchia.

 

I currently have no loyalty to any airline.

 

I know that I've been OBVIOUSLY doing too much advance preparation for this cruise, but ... which choice would you make?

 

Thank you for your consideration.

[pcur]

It's complicated. The port, Civitavecchia, is an hour-plus from Rome. So, you have to allow that transfer time from Rome, and you have to be there 2 hours before the ship leaves. So, 3-4 hours of your day is taken up with getting to and on the ship.

 

The flights out of DTW that are the lowest price leave around noon on Friday or Saturday, and arrive around 7PM.

 

You will pay $300 more per person to fly out after work on Friday, and arrive Saturday morning in Rome. Seeing Rome with jet-lag is not what I'd recommend.

 

It's risky not to fly in a day ahead of the cruise, to allow for air delays. So, you really should take that noon Friday flight.

 

The flight back on 10/7 doesn't leave until 7:45PM that night, so you have the day for touring after the cruise, too. Check and see what airlines participate in RCCL's luggage valet program, and this way you can send your luggage to the airport after the cruise, while you go sightseeing.

 

I use mobissimo.com to check the general times and cost of flights when I start researching.

[alfaeric]

I'm not sure I understand what you suggest about a morning flight?

 

Unless you are travelling via connections, isn't the only flight between DTW and FCO the evening flights?

 

The shortest flight via the local D'ariline shows a 6:15p depart to 9:10 arrivial. Any thing earlier is with connections and a much longer flight that still arrives in Rome in the morning.

 

For sure, I would do the short direct flight between DTW and FCO (and will be doing so as well....)

[Mark_K]

I'm not sure I understand what you suggest about a morning flight?

 

Unless you are travelling via connections, isn't the only flight between DTW and FCO the evening flights?

 

The shortest flight via the local D'ariline shows a 6:15p depart to 9:10 arrivial. Any thing earlier is with connections and a much longer flight that still arrives in Rome in the morning.

 

For sure, I would do the short direct flight between DTW and FCO (and will be doing so as well....)

Delta has a 10:15am flight with one stop that arrives in Rome at 7:10an Saturday.

[pcur]

I'm not sure I understand what you suggest about a morning flight?

 

Unless you are travelling via connections, isn't the only flight between DTW and FCO the evening flights?

 

The shortest flight via the local D'ariline shows a 6:15p depart to 9:10 arrivial. Any thing earlier is with connections and a much longer flight that still arrives in Rome in the morning.

 

For sure, I would do the short direct flight between DTW and FCO (and will be doing so as well....)

 

I was focusing more on departure time and cost, based on work schedule, and yes, these flights are not the shortest. Whatever you found is better.

 

Arriving Saturday morning you have to go to the hotel to leave your luggage with the concierge. Most hotels won't let you in your room until early afternoon.

 

Is it possible for you to leave Thursday night and stay 2 nights in Rome? This way you can do the hotel thing, and still have the afternoon Fri and all day Saturday to tour Rome. Sunday will be your transfer and check-in day. Your wife can work on Thursday, also, and just take Friday off.

 

There are later flights out of DTW if you wanted to go with this option.

[Mark_K]

Background: Wife and I will be going on the Sep 29 - Oct 6 2013 7 night Easter Med cruise out of Civitavecchia. Wife has sailed only on RCI, and only twice. I have only done so once. (We both sailed this year on a 7 night Western Carib cruise this past March/April.) Wife is fluent in Italian, so getting around FCO/Rome/Civitavecchia won't be a problem. We would be flying out of DTW.

 

Wife is a school teacher and there, in part, lies part of my dilemna: which time to take off when. (My schedule won't be a problem at all.) She would only be able to take the cruise dates, plus ONE extra Friday/Monday off work. The way I see it, that leaves us with 2 choices.

 

Choice 1 would be to take the Friday before the cruise off work, and catch a morning flight out of DTW to arrive early into FCO. That would give us plenty of "tourist time" in Rome the day prior the cruise and enjoy things before leaving for Civitavecchia Sunday morning. (Neither wife or I have ever been to Rome.) This would ALSO necessitate a flight out of FCO on Oct 6th as late a possible - (I'm guessing a flight after 11am would be fine.) - so as to still arrive on the 6th at DTW.

 

Choice 2 would be to catch a flight after 7pm out of DTW, which would mean arriving into FCO in the afternoon/evening. That would not give us much time to see Rome prior to the cruise, but would not be a "deal-breaker" either. If we take this choice, we could then take our post-cruise flight out of FCO on Oct 7th, and give us plenty of "tourist time" in Rome the day we get back to Civitavecchia.

 

I currently have no loyalty to any airline.

 

I know that I've been OBVIOUSLY doing too much advance preparation for this cruise, but ... which choice would you make?

 

Thank you for your consideration.

i would do the Friday night late flight arriving in the afternoon on Saturday and stay until Monday option. That way you won't have to try to see Rome while fighting jet lag.

[alfaeric]

Delta has a 10:15am flight with one stop that arrives in Rome at 7:10an Saturday.

So leave 8 hours earlier and arrive 2 hours earlier? I'll pass.

[Mark_K]

So leave 8 hours earlier and arrive 2 hours earlier? I'll pass.

I'm not seeing any nonstop flights on Friday and the only flight leaving at 6:15 I see stops in Amsterdam and arrives at 11:55.

[gotitright]

pcur ... to be honest ... in ALL of my extensive thought and checking on flights (including those out of nearby airports) not ONCE did I think of leaving on that THURSDAY. THANK YOU! I may have to include THAT option as a possibility for my wife. (Trust me, she is AWESOME at planning a lot of things, but gladly leaves any vacation flight itineraries to me.)

To all: either way, we are going to arrive the day prior to leaving Rome for Civitavecchia, so that will not be a hassle. I just want to make this vacation as enjoyable for my wife as she can reasonably have, as she has always wanted to visit Athens (our 2nd port that week).

 

Thank you all so much.

[alfaeric]

I'm not seeing any nonstop flights on Friday and the only flight leaving at 6:15 I see stops in Amsterdam and arrives at 11:55.

 

When are you looking?

 

I just looked for Friday, July 19, flight DL236, non stop, DTW (6:15) to FCO (9:10).

 

If you are trying to book a September 2013 flight now- you are still way to early- it's 323 days until Sept 29, and D does not book over 300 days in advance.

 

When we booked flights for next summer (same place), the cheapest was the direct flight. And Rome was cheaper than Milan or Turin (we are not cruising).

 

Wait a few more days to look.

[alfaeric]

pcur ... to be honest ... in ALL of my extensive thought and checking on flights (including those out of nearby airports) not ONCE did I think of leaving on that THURSDAY. THANK YOU! I may have to include THAT option as a possibility for my wife. (Trust me, she is AWESOME at planning a lot of things, but gladly leaves any vacation flight itineraries to me.)

To all: either way, we are going to arrive the day prior to leaving Rome for Civitavecchia, so that will not be a hassle. I just want to make this vacation as enjoyable for my wife as she can reasonably have, as she has always wanted to visit Athens (our 2nd port that week).

 

Thank you all so much.

 

 

Just know- if you plan on leaving on Sept 29, and flying the big D out of DTW, you can not book that flight until Dec 5, which is 300 days. And that goes for both directions. I think you'll need to wait until the return flights open up- which will be at least a week later.

 

 

edit- it may be that D changed their rules- i just saw that one can book well into September. And probably the summer season ending could spell the end of the direct flight.

 

Good luck!