NCL Spirit - From Port Civitavecchia to the Airport (Fiumicino), enough time?

[Nono68]

Hi All, we are sailing on NCL Spirit in July. I'm planning to make travel arrangements to return home (Miami) on the same day the ship return to the port (Civitavecchia), July 30. The flight will be at 10:30 am, do you think it will be enough time for us to disembark the ship and go the airport?, how far is the port from Rome Airport (Fiumicino Airport)? options? any website you recommend with tips before our trip? Thanks...

[Essiesmom]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. It is at least an hour drive to FCO from Civitavecchia with good traffic. I think 1030 is much too early when you consider that you have to be checked in at least two hours before departure, and it can be chaotic. The good thing is there is no immigrtion of customs when leaving the ship. I would check into the Italy part of the Ports of Call boards here to see what the experts recommend. I think noon is the usual goal...There's a reason those early flights are cheaper...EM

[CruiserBruce]

The Italy board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595

 

will have lots of info on your questions.

[SuiteTraveler]

The thing that matters the most is check in time for your international flight. If you are connecting through a European city it may be at least 2 hours prior to the flight. If you are flying direct to the US, it is usually 3 hours prior to the flight. This is due to long lines at security in Terminal 5 - where US flights depart. If you are trying to make a 10:30 flight, I think you would have to be off the ship by 5am and get on the road immediately. If you were planning to take a train, then it's 90 minutes to Rome and a further 20 minutes to the airport. If you are going by car, it's 1 hour to get to the airport from the Port of Civitavecchia so you would need to be off the ship no later than 7:00 and in the car by 7:15 - 7:30 to make it to the airport in time. As long as there is no problem with traffic, you should be fine. Hopefully you can do self disembarkation. Otherwise, do choose a later flight.

[ducklite]

I can't think of a couple dozen reasons that this will not work, and not a single one that I'm comfortable with saying will. I'd opt to either spend a day in Rome and fly the next day, or cross your fingers and take the Iberia flight at noon that arrives in MIA around 9:00 pm.

[Tbird58]

We did this last fall and didn't have any problems. We booked a van through Tiber Shuttle (off Trip Advisor site) for 6 of us and it was extremely reasonable. They picked us up in Rome and took us to the Port and then met us at the end of our cruise and went straight to the airport. We specifically asked for a 6:30 AM pick up and made sure we were off the ship in time. I had a 10:30 flight and was nervous, but we made it there by 8:30, even in traffic. We did give him a good tip to make sure he knew we were in a hurry. If your worried, I would suggest you call and change your flight to later in the day, or spend the night in Rome. Always something fun to explore there! Have a great trip.

[lucyintheskywithdiamonds]

I think you're cutting it too close. On my cruise in the med our luggage was lost and spent time before our flight home searching for it at the airport! Anything can happen! Give yourselves more time.

[Suzieanna]

Not,on a cruise, but we organized a private transfer to collect us from our hotel to take us to the airport. They didn't turn up.

 

I don't think you have enough time to do this.