Epic Med Ending in Rome Question

[DakotaDisneyLover]

We are sailing on the Epic out of Rome in May, 2019.  We end the cruise on May 29th, and it says we dock in Rome at 6:00 a.m.  What time can we expect to be able to disembark to get to the airport for our 11:15 a.m. flight?  It sounds like it takes a good hour to get to the airport.  Thanks!  I assume private transportation to the airport is the best option.  If you have a recommendation it would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

[House_Atreides]

43 minutes ago, DakotaDisneyLover said:

We are sailing on the Epic out of Rome in May, 2019.  We end the cruise on May 29th, and it says we dock in Rome at 6:00 a.m.  What time can we expect to be able to disembark to get to the airport for our 11:15 a.m. flight?  It sounds like it takes a good hour to get to the airport.  Thanks!  I assume private transportation to the airport is the best option.  If you have a recommendation it would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Debarkation will start around 8:00AM.  It is approximately an hour to the airport in Rome via private transfer or a group transfer.  IMHO that is cutting it awfully close.

[mapleleaves]

11:15am wouldn't be in my comfort zone.  Hope everything goes smoothly for you.

 

Look over the first few pages of the ITALY ports of call forum and you'll find past threads about transportation options; whether it be a bus, shared car service,  train, etc.   If you choose a car service,  post on your Roll Call to find someone  to share the cost . 

[morrisretired]

We used Civitavecchia Cab Service on our Rome cruise. Booked private transportation with CCS from FCO Airport to Downtown Rome Hotel for 2 nights, pick up from the Rome Hotel to a Civitavecchia Hotel for 1 night, and boarded ship the next morning. After disembarking from cruise, we spent the day walking around Civitavecchia, instead of sitting at the airport. Had a 7pm flight. Emailed CCS a day before arriving back and arranged private transportation back to the FCO Airport. It takes about 1 hour to get from port to the Airport. It is suggested to arrive at Airport 3 hours early for an international flight. You make your reservations with CCS, and pay the driver when you reach your destination. (In Euros.) 

[buggins0402]

5 hours ago, DakotaDisneyLover said:

We are sailing on the Epic out of Rome in May, 2019.  We end the cruise on May 29th, and it says we dock in Rome at 6:00 a.m.  What time can we expect to be able to disembark to get to the airport for our 11:15 a.m. flight?  It sounds like it takes a good hour to get to the airport.  Thanks!  I assume private transportation to the airport is the best option.  If you have a recommendation it would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Is your first flight back to the US or does it connect somewhere in Europe for a TA home?

[littlelulu01]

I have an 11:45 am flight on a Jade sailing.  With a 6 am arrival my understanding is one hour later guest allowed to debark so 7am?  We plan on walk off luggage/no checked luggage.  Will schedule pick up at the ship from one of the companies that have good reviews.  I am comfortable with my 11:45 am flight but am going to pay extra to make sure we have a reputable driver waiting at the ship and won't be messing around collecting luggage or checking luggage.  You don't clarify where flight is heading to.  Our flight is to London so I think USA passport will have passport control in Rome.   If they don't allow passengers off the ship till 8am as previous poster mentions,  11:15 seems pretty close.  11:45 is about the earliest I would be comfortable with an 8 am debarkation but I would check the debarkation time to see if it starts at 7 or 8.  

[DakotaDisneyLover]

24 minutes ago, buggins0402 said:

Is your first flight back to the US or does it connect somewhere in Europe for a TA home?

We fly to Dublin, Ireland, then on to the U.S. 

[DakotaDisneyLover]

15 minutes ago, littlelulu01 said:

I have an 11:45 am flight on a Jade sailing.  With a 6 am arrival my understanding is one hour later guest allowed to debark so 7am?  We plan on walk off luggage/no checked luggage.  Will schedule pick up at the ship from one of the companies that have good reviews.  I am comfortable with my 11:45 am flight but am going to pay extra to make sure we have a reputable driver waiting at the ship and won't be messing around collecting luggage or checking luggage.  You don't clarify where flight is heading to.  Our flight is to London so I think USA passport will have passport control in Rome.   If they don't allow passengers off the ship till 8am as previous poster mentions,  11:15 seems pretty close.  11:45 is about the earliest I would be comfortable with an 8 am debarkation but I would check the debarkation time to see if it starts at 7 or 8.  

You have a very good plan. We will do similar. We fly to Dublin, Ireland, then on to U.S. 

[buggins0402]

1 hour ago, DakotaDisneyLover said:

We fly to Dublin, Ireland, then on to the U.S. 

I would check with the Italy port board.  Ireland may add a non Schengen issue, but, I’m not sure.  A Schengen country transfer usually buys you some time. 

[Nelsj099]

You should be fine. I had 10:30 flight back from Rome to Moscow one time.  I got there with plenty of time to go shopping and get those last minute goods before returning to Mother Russia. 

[KeithJenner]

The fact that the OP is on the Epic should help things. Assuming that this is one of the standard Western Med cruises during the Summer, then only a small proportion of the passengers will be disembarking. The OP should be able to get off the ship very soon after the 6am arrival time.

 

As long as they arrange transfers and traffic is ok (it will be a weekday) then there is no reason why they shouldn’t get to the airport well before 9am.

[Sailing12Away]

That's cutting it a bit close if you ask me. We sailed the Epic out of Rome this past May. Got off the ship around 8am I believe, grabbed the bags, then a short bus ride to get to another bus, which brought us to the Civitavecchia train station. Caught the 9:30 train into Rome Termini, then transferred to our train up to Venice. 

When we finally were ending our trip from Florence back into Rome airport, we had given ourselves 3 hours to make our flight (from the time arriving at the airport) and were one of the last people to board the plane. There was just 2 people checking people in for their flight back to the US, which took over 20 minutes. My MIL needed wheelchair service, and we had to wait another 20 mins for one to show up. Then it was a wild ride through the entire airport to finally get to the gate. Maybe because we had the wheelchair, but we ended up having to go to a different gate, wait for a van, go through the underbelly of the airport, ended up at a weird private security customs checkpoint outside where they took our passports and left us in the van for 10 mins, then they escorted us up a service elevator to the gate where MIL had to wait for a different transfer to the actual plane itself. We were at the gate with about 15 mins before final boarding call. Hubby ran to grab some bottles of liquor from the shops and we were literally 2 of the last 5 people to board - despite getting to the airport with 3 hours before boarding time and 'skipping' all lines outside of initial check in and baggage drop off. 

 

My coworker flew out of Rome 2 weeks before me and warned me that there are 2 security sections to go through. After you think you're through security and see the shops - you're not there yet. You still have a good 15 min walk to get to security checkpoint #2. She almost missed her flight because she thought she was done after the first checkpoint and went shopping. Needed to have security escort them through #2 and drive them to the gate to catch their flight.

[KeithJenner]

8 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

That's cutting it a bit close if you ask me. We sailed the Epic out of Rome this past May. Got off the ship around 8am I believe, grabbed the bags, then a short bus ride to get to another bus, which brought us to the Civitavecchia train station. Caught the 9:30 train into Rome Termini, then transferred to our train up to Venice. 

 

It is certainly cutting it close if the plans include anything like getting various buses and trains. If that is part of the OPs plan then they need to stop now

 

My assumption however is that the plan is more along the lines of get off the ship and get into the pre arranged transfer to the airport. In that instance, getting off the ship at 8am should get them to the airport at around 9am, and really they should be off way before that. Plenty of time.

Edited December 15, 2018 by KeithJenner

[Maineiacbartendar]

I'm doing the same flight plan when we get off the Epic one week later--June 5th 2019. with an 11:15AM flight from FCO. We found a shuttle service that lists departing times from the port starting at 7 AM pn their website so I'm assuming you can disembark before 8 AM. 

[DakotaDisneyLover]

Thank you everyone!  KeithJenner:  I hadn't thought about the fact that the entire ship is not disembarking in Rome!  Whew, that makes me feel better.  I have arranged a private transfer directly to the airport, so we should be good.  I have it booked for an 8:00 am pick up, but it sounds like we could disembark sooner so may tweak the pickup time.  We are planning on walking off with our bags, so that should speed things up also.

[Voelfgar]

On 12/11/2018 at 4:47 PM, DakotaDisneyLover said:

We fly to Dublin, Ireland, then on to the U.S. 

I hope you have scheduled enough time in Dublin. You clear US customs there in Dublin.