Royal Princess Civitavecchia Disembarkation

[mathgeek1978]

The Royal Princess arrives at 5am. What is a realistic time that disembarkation begins? We are going to book a private car transfer to FCO. What time should I ask the driver to show up at the ship? We have a 11:40am flight to the US (NOT to EU countries) so we need to be at the airport by 8:40am at the latest.

 

Any information and advice will be appreciated.

[CruiserBruce]

I would have the vehicle there at 7:30.

[mathgeek1978]

Thanks Bruce.

 

So I guess it's safe to assume that self-disembark starts around 7am?

 

Also, we are going from Barcelona to Rome, so that's Schengen to Schengen. There should be no immigration or customs procedures at the port. Could someone confirm that? Thanks in advance.

[CruiserBruce]

Thanks Bruce.

 

So I guess it's safe to assume that self-disembark starts around 7am?

 

Also, we are going from Barcelona to Rome, so that's Schengen to Schengen. There should be no immigration or customs procedures at the port. Could someone confirm that? Thanks in advance.

 

Any immigration or customs procedures will be very minimal.

 

I can't answer about self disembark...it seems to vary pretty widely. But 7:30 is fine for your transport. You will do fine with that.

[bcnvcanada]

If you do self embark, 07:00 to 07:30 for you car and driver. It depends on the day of the week. We did a Sunday on and was at the airport terminal 5

by 08:30. We left at 07:45. There is no customs or immigration. Terminal 5 is usually a zoo by 09:30, with so many flight departing for US and Canada.

[mathgeek1978]

Thanks all for your response.

 

One more question: This is our first time doing self-disembark with Princess (first time with an early flight to catch in FCO). So how does that work? Do we just go line up at the gangway at 6:30am or so and just wait for disembarkation to begin? (We are ruby only so no access to the platinum lounge.)

[easyboy]

One more question: This is our first time doing self-disembark with Princess (first time with an early flight to catch in FCO). So how does that work? Do we just go line up at the gangway at 6:30am or so and just wait for disembarkation to begin? (We are ruby only so no access to the platinum lounge.)

Once when we self disembarked, we waited near the gangway at scheduled time specified on the Disembarkation Guide. So as just not to waste time.

[Lucky TGO]

I think if you do the walk off you will be out by 7:00 or 7:30.

Tony

[freetocruise]

Thanks all for your response.

 

One more question: This is our first time doing self-disembark with Princess (first time with an early flight to catch in FCO). So how does that work? Do we just go line up at the gangway at 6:30am or so and just wait for disembarkation to begin? (We are ruby only so no access to the platinum lounge.)

 

You will be assigned to a disembarkation meeting area and time which will be listed in the disembarkation guide. Princess doesn't make ship wide announcements when it is time for a group to leave. The only announcements are made in the waiting areas. I would not recommend lining up at the gangway as I have seen people told to move away from the area and to keep the gangway clear. There are no announcements there, so you have no idea when your group is called to disembark. At most, it's a 5 minute walk to the gangway from where you are waiting. Why not follow the printed instructions?

[freetocruise]

Once when we self disembarked, we waited near the gangway at scheduled time specified on the Disembarkation Guide. So as just not to waste time.

 

The time listed on the disembarkation guide is the time to meet in the assigned lounge, NOT your disembarkation time. There are many factors that can delay any disembarkation (clearance from port authorities, immigration, etc) and your actual disembarkation time will vary. Since it usually takes less than 5 minutes to walk from the assigned waiting area to the gangway, how much time do you really save while you wait near the gangway, as opposed to following the printed guidelines?

[Astro Flyer]

The scheduled meeting time is not the same as the scheduled disembarkation time & when people gather near the gangway it creates more crowding & a less efficient disembarkation. The Princess silent disembarkation procedure works well without long lines when passengers follow it. Whenever we've experienced delays they've been caused by shoreside procedures such as customs & immigration.

 

'mathgeek1978'...elevators are usually very crowded & we sometimes have to use the stairs. That's not too bad when only having a carryon bag but when doing walk off with checked luggage it could slow down your disembarkation experience while waiting for space on an elevator.

[mathgeek1978]

Thank you all for your responses. Typically, what group number is self-disembarkation (walk-off)? Thanks!

[Astro Flyer]

Thank you all for your responses. Typically, what group number is self-disembarkation (walk-off)? Thanks!

 

Checking for my most recent cruise (LA), it shows "WALKOFF" groups 1 to 5 for "Self Help - Carry Own Luggage" but not a group color. Those began at 7:45 AM in LA however I have no way to know what the times would be in Civitavecchia.

 

They've always stated that to use walk-off we need to have a free hand in case it's necessary to grab hold of something if we lose our balance.

 

The disembarkation information sheet further states that "If you change to be on a walk-off group you still have to meet at your assigned lounge" and not at the gangway as was previously suggested as an option.

Edited August 8, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[Grover_]

I disembarked the Royal Princess in Rome (Civitavecchia) on Saturday June 18th.

 

The first walk off group met at 6:20. The last groups (one for independent arrangements and one for a princess transfer to the airport for flights after 4pm) met at 9:45am.

 

 

 

We were in the last of the "early independent arrangements" groups. We were assigned a 7:55 am meeting time. We arrived at the meeting location at 7:50 and we were told our group had already been called. We walked from there straight to the gangway and immediately off the ship. There was no passport control. We collected our luggage and walked outside by 8:00 am.

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

Thank you all for your responses. Typically, what group number is self-disembarkation (walk-off)? Thanks!

 

You should request a time, there are more then 1.

[IECalCruiser]

Grover_ stated that walk off started at 6:20 on their cruise. That is similar to Copenhagen which arrived at 5:00 and first walk off started at 6:15. Going from Schengen to Schengen there is no customs or immigration and you just walk off the ship. You will need to allow time for immigration at the airport. We had to leave the Regal early on a Med cruise and we just walked off in Mykonos and took a ferry to Athens to fly home.

[booknbag]

We have an early morning excursion in Rome, and this will be our first B2B cruise; and I am hoping this is an active post. I would like to know how Princess handles disembarkment and those wishing to disembark for an early excursion? Is this a request that should be handled through the Purser' Desk when I first embark? Thank you.

[Colo Cruiser]

We have an early morning excursion in Rome, and this will be our first B2B cruise; and I am hoping this is an active post. I would like to know how Princess handles disembarkment and those wishing to disembark for an early excursion? Is this a request that should be handled through the Purser' Desk when I first embark? Thank you.

 

This is an active thread now since you gave it life again.

Is this a private tour?

Are they picking you up at the terminal?

Its an hour drive to the center of Rome.

Ship has to be cleared by the local port agent before anyone gets off.

Clearance usually happens within an hour of arrival.

You should get a letter in your cabin outlining the procedure for a b2b.

You could enquire at the PSD during the cruise to get an idea of when you may be able to get off.

Edited January 24, 2017 by Colo Cruiser

[pris993]

The Royal Princess arrives at 5am. What is a realistic time that disembarkation begins? We are going to book a private car transfer to FCO. What time should I ask the driver to show up at the ship? We have a 11:40am flight to the US (NOT to EU countries) so we need to be at the airport by 8:40am at the latest.

 

 

I have gotten off a number of ships at this port. I never book a flight before 11:30 (prefer later 1 pm or so) ... even with a car service (which we always book) have found myself waiting at 7 am, 7:30 am for the port authority to give the ship the okay. Depends what day your ship arrives ... weekends are the worst, port workers don't start early on Sunday for sure.

 

With a car service the ride to the airport is about 45 minutes... we are seniors so we do not carry our luggage off or want to rush....

 

Flying back to the USA... you need to go through 3 levels of security at terminal 5 which serves US/Israel airlines... you will need to walk off with all your luggage in the first groups for sure.

 

I would check with Princess regarding making an 11:30 am flight.

 

We usually either stay at the Hilton at the Rome Airport over night for flight the following day or fly Air France from San Francisco to Paris connecting to Rome and the reverse going back. I am sure Air France has a non stop to LA, don't know the time. We always stay over night in Paris as the SF flight leaves Paris at 10:30 am. Air France has flights all day to Paris... we usually book the 1 pm ... sometimes it is cancelled and we end up on a 5 pm.

 

Good luck hope you have a great time. We are cruising on the Royal in October out of Barcelona back to Florida. Have not been on the Royal... so assume the process getting off is the same even though more passengers.

[booknbag]

Thank you for your prompt responses. We would like to disembark the ship at Civitavecchia and take either the train or pre-arrange for private transportation into Rome for the early tour of the underground Colosseum which is only offered once each morning. I have been reading the informative comments and I was looking for the approximate time frame that we could leave on excursions since walk-off group A usually disembarks around 6:30 am. If we could also disembark at this time, we would be sure of having extra time before the excursion. We will be returning to the ship early afternoon. Am I connecting the dots correctly? Thank you for your comments.

Edited January 24, 2017 by booknbag
typo

[IECalCruiser]

We disembarked the Pacific last November. We had a debark tour departing at 7:00 and our meeting time was 6:30. The meeting time for walk-off was 6:20 and the meeting time for the early independent arrangements was 6:45. Meeting times for transfers to FCO for flights before noon were between 7:00 and 7:40.

[booknbag]

Thank you for your prompt response. This provides the time line that I need for transportation arrangements and the protocol that I need to pursue. Thank you again.

[caribill]

Thank you for your prompt responses. We would like to disembark the ship at Civitavecchia and take either the train or pre-arrange for private transportation into Rome for the early tour of the underground Colosseum which is only offered once each morning. I have been reading the informative comments and I was looking for the approximate time frame that we could leave on excursions since walk-off group A usually disembarks around 6:30 am. If we could also disembark at this time, we would be sure of having extra time before the excursion. We will be returning to the ship early afternoon. Am I connecting the dots correctly? Thank you for your comments.

 

As a B2B passenger, you can leave the ship starting at the time passengers who are not staying are allowed to get off.

 

If the first walkoff (or any) group is at 6:30, then you can leave then also. No need to prearrange anything with Princess.

[booknbag]

Thank you so very much. We are excited about the upcoming cruise and this Rome excursion. Thank you CC's for all your responses!