Disembarkation time

[Mrs.Murphy]

Hi everyone,

 

Looking to gets rough idea of when I can expect to disembark from a MSC cruise that arrives in Venice at 8am?

 

Looking to book a road transfer to airport and wondered what would be a realistic time to request pick up at? I am going to request being in the first group to disembark.

 

Comments and experience sharing much appreciated

[navybankerteacher]

Hi everyone,

 

Looking to gets rough idea of when I can expect to disembark from a MSC cruise that arrives in Venice at 8am?

 

Looking to book a road transfer to airport and wondered what would be a realistic time to request pick up at? I am going to request being in the first group to disembark.

 

Comments and experience sharing much appreciated

 

Unfortunately, possibly half of the passengers on board will likely request to be in first group. If you are able to "self-disembark" (carry all your bags off the ship yourself), you can be among the first. You should in any case allow time for any of the many delays which can occur, so you probably do not want to think of any firm pick- up time before 10:00 AM at the earliest.

[Mrs.Murphy]

We will self disembark. Does that mean we can just get off once they start the disembarking? I wanted to be at airport for 9.45 ideally

 

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[Lerin]

We will self disembark. Does that mean we can just get off once they start the disembarking? I wanted to be at airport for 9.45 ideally

 

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That's going to be rough, they may not even begin disembarking until 8:45...and then there's customs...shuttle. Usually it's not recommended to get flights before noon.

[Mrs.Murphy]

Just to clarify... If you self disembark and carry off your own luggage can you just walk off at any time once the main disembarking starts?

 

Also what does customs involve? Surely this happens when you leave the country at the airport? Will we need a shuttle if we have a land taxi booked to take us from the port to the airport?

 

Basically our bag drop closes at 11, so that is absolute latest we can get to airport. Yet that would be cutting it very tight to get through security so I am just aiming to get there as early as possible really, hopefully the usual 2 hours that leaves tons of time!

[Bonnie J.]

Your ship may arrive at 8am but that does not mean you can get off at 8! Custom officers have to come on board, inspect the ship and may have to meet with passengers who do not have an Italian passport- as they do in the US for non US passengers. Once we were 3 hours late getting into the home port because of engine problems. A 9:45 flight may be really close to get. Can you move your flight to after noon? Most cruise companies say not to schedule a flight before noon. You might contact the company picking you up, tell them time ship will get into port and ask them what would be a good time to get picked up. I would think they have done this many times before.

And check with your Roll Call here and ask what time others have flights booked.

[Mrs.Murphy]

Appreciating the replies.

 

The only flight we can get departs at 11.45, we don't have another alternative. As I said before bag drop closes at 11, but I was aiming to just get there by 9.45 to try and allow the standard two hours before departure. This would mean leaving port around 9.15, as comments suggest taxi ride of around 30mins.

 

We are more than happy to carry off our own luggage and self disembark, so will that mean we can just get off once the disembarkation process starts?

[ducklite]

We found that Venice was frustratingly slow to clear. We were in port for a couple of hours before the ship was cleared and we were allowed to disembark. All set, right? Wrong. We got into the terminal and were thwarted by a locked gate and no officials to check our passports and let us pass through. We waited there for another twenty minutes or so until some officials came, slowly checked our passports, and opened the gate to allow us to pass.

 

I would suggest either finding a letter flight or spending the day in Venice and flying home the next day.

 

 

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[Mrs.Murphy]

We have no other flight options- We get back on Saturday and the next flight is not until Monday!

 

Any answers about how self-disembarkation works?

 

How come your passports are checked? When I cruised around fjords last year our passports were never checked when coming into port?

[navybankerteacher]

Just to clarify... If you self disembark and carry off your own luggage can you just walk off at any time once the main disembarking starts?

 

Also what does customs involve? Surely this happens when you leave the country at the airport? Will we need a shuttle if we have a land taxi booked to take us from the port to the airport?

 

Basically our bag drop closes at 11, so that is absolute latest we can get to airport. Yet that would be cutting it very tight to get through security so I am just aiming to get there as early as possible really, hopefully the usual 2 hours that leaves tons of time!

 

Self disembark does mean that you will be among the first off the ship -WHEN disembarkation starts. That is not a guaranteed time; and, if the ship arrives at 8:00, 9:00 is probably the earliest it could start.

 

Customs for entering Italy has to be cleared when you leave the ship, not when you leave the country - you might get waved through, but you might get checked.

 

If that 11:45 flight really is the only one, you should seriously consider spending the day in Venice and flying the next day. You face a very real possibility of not making an 11:45 flight from Marco Polo from a ship which arrives at Venice at 8:00 AM

 

Anyone who expects things in Italy (like customs and immigration and road traffic and airport checking in) to run like clockwork needs to spend more time in Italy.

[ducklite]

I'm seeing numerous flight on BA and Air Berlin among others that depart VCE after noon and arrive that afternoon or evening in Aberdeen.

 

I can't answer why we had to have our passports checked, but we did. The Italians are notoriously slow with these things, it's just the way it is.

 

I think you are taking a huge risk by not opting for a letter flight. I hope you are traveling very light and can easily manage your bags without holding up,others who are also trying to get off quickly. Perhaps packing carry on only might help so you don't need to worry about making the bag drop cutoff.

 

 

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[Mrs.Murphy]

We are flying direct from Edi and flights only go Friday, Saturday and Monday. Since the Saturday flight is paid it's not an option to change as non-refundable.

 

Also there is no way it is possible to pack for a cruise in a hand luggage sized item. So we will need our cases. Managing these ourselves will not be a problem though.

[ducklite]

We are flying direct from Edi and flights only go Friday, Saturday and Monday. Since the Saturday flight is paid it's not an option to change as non-refundable.

 

Also there is no way it is possible to pack for a cruise in a hand luggage sized item. So we will need our cases. Managing these ourselves will not be a problem though.

 

 

You mean flights on whatever low cost carrier you have chosen, right? It will end up costing you much more should you miss that flight. I hope you don't try to cast blame in everyone else.

 

Don't tell me you can't cruise in hand luggage. I did so for three weeks in 2012. I was never underdressed. It simply takes some advance thinking and planning.

 

 

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[Mrs.Murphy]

Well done for the hand luggage! I don't really think hand luggage only would make it any more or less likely to make our flight though, since we would carry off our own cases with ease and are getting a private transfer so wouldn't have to worry about pulling me through streets etc.

 

The reason we chose a low cost airline was it being the ONLY direct option available from Scotland when we booked.

[navybankerteacher]

We are flying direct from Edi and flights only go Friday, Saturday and Monday. Since the Saturday flight is paid it's not an option to change as non-refundable.

 

Also there is no way it is possible to pack for a cruise in a hand luggage sized item. So we will need our cases. Managing these ourselves will not be a problem though.

 

"Not an option" is a tempting reason to refuse to consider changing plans. You should do the math involved in comparing the cost involved in changing present flights with the cost of picking up the pieces if present plan fails.

 

I hope things work out for you - including adhering to present plan, but since you asked for advice, you should seriously consider the implications involved in the very real likelihood of your not being able to be on your 11:45 flight out of Marco Polo

[ducklite]

Well done for the hand luggage! I don't really think hand luggage only would make it any more or less likely to make our flight though, since we would carry off our own cases with ease and are getting a private transfer so wouldn't have to worry about pulling me through streets etc.

 

The reason we chose a low cost airline was it being the ONLY direct option available from Scotland when we booked.

 

 

If you miss your flight, you won't be going home direct and it will cost much more to take that non-direct flight home.

 

 

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[ducklite]

FYI--I just went back and looked at my notes, we didn't get off the ship and out of the terminal until 10:30 June, 2012. We were the very first passengers off the ship.

 

 

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[Mrs.Murphy]

That was kind of you to check, was that an 8am scheduled arrival?

[ducklite]

Yes. The port was very busy that day and it took them a long time for the harbor master to get all the ships into their berths and then the customs and immigration officials to clear them. As I said, we also had to wait in the terminal for them to have officials to check our passports so we could leave, and we had no luggage, so it was a quick check of our passports.

 

We had a tour booked at Doges Palace (we were in a B2B and so for us it was another shore day) that began at 11:30, and instead of the meandering stroll that we were expecting to get there, we had to hop on the Alilaguna and go straight to St. mark's Square, fortunately we didn't have to wait for one.

 

I would definitely have a back up plan in place.

 

 

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[Mrs.Murphy]

Thank you all for your advice and tales of experience.

 

We have ended up rescheduling our flight to the Monday.

 

Now no worries or rush!

[ducklite]

Very, very good idea. Relax, get off at your leisure, and enjoy Venice for the next couple of days.

 

 

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[AmoMondo]

We are flying direct from Edi and flights only go Friday, Saturday and Monday. Since the Saturday flight is paid it's not an option to change as non-refundable.

 

Also there is no way it is possible to pack for a cruise in a hand luggage sized item. So we will need our cases. Managing these ourselves will not be a problem though.

 

Well I personally would not attempt this. The direct Edinburgh Jet2 is convenient being the only direct flight but it is far too early. You have probably more chance of missing it than making it. What is your plan B?

 

I'm flying back in the Afternoon with BA. They have options via LHR, Gatwick and LCY. They are not that much more expensive that Jet2 either when you factor in BA have a free and generous baggage policy.

 

Venice is a big confusing port that will have other ships in that day so literally thousands of people disembarking all wanting to get on their way. Last time I docked in Venice, we had z10-15 walk to get to the baggage hall from where we were docked (self assist have to go the same way). Then it was another 5 minutes to the door. I was not walking very fast with a big suitcase but would have struggled to rush anyway because of the crowds. It was then 10 minutes to the taxi rank after I found out where it was ( and I've arrived Venice several times). There was a queue with around a dozen or more in front of me. I took a mini cab who approached and offered a flat fee.

 

It's not unusual for ships to dock late because of fog in the lagoon. A few times a year there are demos that hold things up too.

 

As others have said, you will not get off at 8am. Earliest is going to be 9.00-9.15 by the time Immigration clear the ship.

 

You might be lucky and have everything go in your favour but do you really want that much anxiety on your last day? I know this is not what you want to hear, but this is a high risk strategy and you do have other options for getting home that day and may have to use them when you miss the direct flight albeit at a far higher cost on the day (assuming they have seats).

 

It's a personal decision based on tolerance of risk.

[Mrs.Murphy]

Thanks for the further feedback.

 

I am now happy that we will have nothing at all to worry about, since we rescheduled our flight to the Monday.

[ducklite]

This sums it up well... We were in Venice waiting to get out of the terminal with my husband getting very frustrated by what seemed like a lot of inefficiency, a fair amount of laziness, and a spoonful of incompetence. Finally I had enough of listening to him and I turned to him and said, "you're in Italy, get over it. If you wanted efficiency, we should have gone to Germany." I never heard another grumble.

 

 

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Edited January 7, 2014 by ducklite

[Mrs.Murphy]

I just wanted to add a couple of things in case others are in the same situation...

 

After I had rearranged the flights I finally got a response from MSC (they are very slow at replying to emails!)

 

They basically confirmed what many of the comments on this thread have referred too... that it MAY be possible to make the 11.45 flight and that disembarking usually starts around an journey after arrival.

 

They also said that self disembarkation is NOT always possible and this depends on the port and customs. therefore it is not possible for them to confirm whether you can carry off own bags until you are on the cruise. They clarified that whilst early disembarkation requests are of course accepted and considered nobody can be guaranteed it.

 

They also told me that MSC transfers from port to airport start around 1 hour after disembarkation starts and recommended a private transfer if time was tight.

 

So basically reconfirmed what we knew... It probably would have been possible IF there were NO hold ups with docking, customs or disembarking. I have also recently read a few comments about the airport being a night are and people who have arrived 2-3hours early have ended up running for the gate in the end! Our flight now leaves 11.30 on the Monday, so we plan on having breakfast at our hotel and using the bus service out to the airport that morning. We booked one just near the station so should be convenient for getting people mover there after cruise and leaving on the Monday morning,

 

I definitely feel much better about the fact I will have nothing to worry about on the last day... In fact I will now be one of the last passengers off!

 

Thanks again for the advice and experiences...