Arrive in Rome then flight to Bucharest - help

[knot knormal]

We booked a last minute river cruise leaving from Atlanta to Rome then on to Bucharest. The river cruise company booked the flights and we only have 55 minutes in Rome to catch the next flight. Will we have to go through passport control in Rome since Romania is an EU country but not part of the Schengen agreement? I am guessing we arrive at Terminal 3 and our tickets say the flight to Bucharest is leaving from Terminal 1. Do we have enough time?

[CruiserBruce]

No, not enough time. If Rome is your first stop, you will have passport check there. Rome is notoriously slow in all aspects- security, passport checks, baggage claim (which you don't have to worry about).

 

I would be seriously worried about this connection.

[cruisemom42]

Romania is not a Schengen country. I don't know if that makes a difference as to where you go through passport control -- perhaps someone else will be able to definitively tell you. It's possible that if you remain "in transit" at FCO, you will not have to go through passport control.

[KirkNC]

Not enough time. Contact the river cruise company and have them reschedule.

[Keith1010]

I would not do this.

 

Keith

[Zach1213]

Romania is not schengen, as mentioned, so it's a separate immigration system. The fact that it's EU doesn't matter. You won't clear immigration in Rome.

 

But you will have to change terminals and re-clear security. Can't see any way you'll make it.

[knot knormal]

Romania is not schengen, as mentioned, so it's a separate immigration system. The fact that it's EU doesn't matter. You won't clear immigration in Rome.

 

But you will have to change terminals and re-clear security. Can't see any way you'll make it.

 

Thanks, Zach 1213. Unfortunately, last minute means just that...we leave in 6days. No way would they change our flight reservations, just going to be prepared to make other arrangements once we get to Rome.

[kenish]

Thanks, Zach 1213. Unfortunately, last minute means just that...we leave in 6days. No way would they change our flight reservations, just going to be prepared to make other arrangements once we get to Rome.

 

But...it's the river cruise company that created the problem. Point out they can incur a little hassle now or it's almost certain they will have to deal with a big hassle later on.

 

I'm not familiar with Rome, or the logistics of your specific itinerary. At this point I recommend assuming you will miss the connection. Get all the relevant phone numbers at the cruise company, but you may be on your own in the "hour of need". Print out a list of later flights, especially flights on the original airline. What happens if you and your luggage are on different connecting flights and it arrives in Romania much earlier or later than you?

 

Read the sticky post at the top of this forum (if you already haven't), and understand your tickets may be "non-endorsable" and "non-reroutable". If so, you may need to purchase last-minute tickets on your own....if you have trip insurance (preferably not from the cruise line), they may reimburse you. Be sure to document everything, because you have burden of proof on the claim. Many TI policies have a vague clause that excludes "unreasonable" connections and schedules, however.

 

Sorry if this sounds "Gloomy Gus" but I recommend being forceful with the cruiseline *now* and also preparing a "Plan B". Waiting around for trouble to strike and leaving it to the cruise company to sort out isn't a good idea IMHO. Neither is trying to "make other arrangements once we get to Rome".

 

Let us know how this turns out...hoping for a happy outcome!

Edited May 26, 2014 by kenish

[Globaliser]

No way would they change our flight reservations, just going to be prepared to make other arrangements once we get to Rome.

Romania is not schengen, as mentioned, so it's a separate immigration system. The fact that it's EU doesn't matter. You won't clear immigration in Rome.

 

But you will have to change terminals and re-clear security. Can't see any way you'll make it.

I'm assuming that this is on DL240 (aka AZ7601) arriving 0730, connecting to AZ496 (aka DL6615) departing 0825? That's a published (and therefore legal) connection, and the published Minimum Connection Time is 45 minutes.

 

This means that the airlines expect to get most passengers through and onto the following flight on most days.

 

If you miss the onward flight, the airlines are contractually obliged to get you to Bucharest (assuming that you have a single ticket covering both flights) and you will not have to buy a new ticket to get there. The next flight to Bucharest is AZ494 at 1500, arriving 1810. You would almost certainly make that flight (and there's a later flight too).

 

You don't say, though, whether you have an overnight stay in Bucharest before the cruise departs. If you don't, then a misconnect means that you may well miss the ship's departure. You definitely need to have the cruise line's contact details then, so that they can get you to the ship's next stop from Bucharest.

[knot knormal]

I'm assuming that this is on DL240 (aka AZ7601) arriving 0730, connecting to AZ496 (aka DL6615) departing 0825? That's a published (and therefore legal) connection, and the published Minimum Connection Time is 45 minutes.

 

This means that the airlines expect to get most passengers through and onto the following flight on most days.

 

If you miss the onward flight, the airlines are contractually obliged to get you to Bucharest (assuming that you have a single ticket covering both flights) and you will not have to buy a new ticket to get there. The next flight to Bucharest is AZ494 at 1500, arriving 1810. You would almost certainly make that flight (and there's a later flight too).

 

You don't say, though, whether you have an overnight stay in Bucharest before the cruise departs. If you don't, then a misconnect means that you may well miss the ship's departure. You definitely need to have the cruise line's contact details then, so that they can get you to the ship's next stop from Bucharest.

 

Thank you for your response. Yes, the agent I talked to said the posted connections time is 45 minutes. And we are staying at a hotel in Bucharest that night with a transfer the next day to Constanta to board the boat. I have the next flight in my notes. Just wanted the experts to weigh in on passport control and security.

[Globaliser]

Yes, the agent I talked to said the posted connections time is 45 minutes. And we are staying at a hotel in Bucharest that night with a transfer the next day to Constanta to board the boat. I have the next flight in my notes.

Good - it sounds like you've done everything that you can. I wouldn't worry about it. It will probably all go fine, and you're alive to the fact that you haven't got time to dawdle. It's not what any of us would have recommended in an ideal world, but you're doing what you need to do to make the best of the situation.

[cruisemom42]

Just wanted to report that "knot knormal" made their connecting flight in Rome (and their luggage did too, for which they are quite happy).

 

They did NOT have to go through Passport control at FCO, only security.

Edited June 2, 2014 by cruisemom42

[Globaliser]

Excellent news - thank you!