Chances of making our flight from Rome

[Opfor311]

My wife and I will be taking a cruise from Civitavecchia (Rome) in October.  Our ship will arrive at the port around 6AM and our flight leaves from FCO at 11:15.  The cruise line does not do transfers to the airport when the flight is less than 6 hours from arrival.  Is 5 hours enough time to get off the ship, through customs, to the airport and on the plane?

[CruiserBruce]

Yes. But I wouldn't be using ship's transfers anyway...you definitely need to arrange for private transfers.

[bennybear]

I wouldn’t do it, as storms can delay docking at that time of year.   Rome airport needs three hours and the drive is an hour or so,   Agree you need private transfer and luck that nothing goes amiss.  I prefer to fly out early afternoon to allow for a buffer or spend a day in Rome and fly a day or two later. 

[Hlitner]

We have caught 10:50 flights on numerous occasions with no problem.  Friends of ours have caught 10am flights out of FCO.  It just takes a little planning and assumes your ship will dock close to the schedule.  You should do Express disembarkation which means you need to carry off all of your own luggage.  Arrange for private transfer for around 7 - 7:15 and we strongly recommend using RomeCabs.com.  The cost of the private transfer becomes very reasonable if you  have a few others (we like to do it with 6.  We usually just post on the CC Roll Call for others and normally have 2 other couples committed within a few hours.   Assuming you meet your transfer driver (who will be waiting right off the pier holding a sign with your name) around 7:15 you will be at FCO around 8 - 8:15 which leaves you with plenty of time.

 

Assuming your ship docks around 6am they will generally begin express disembarkation by 6:30.  There is generally no Customs or Immigration check at Civitavecchia so it is normally just a matter of walking off the ship (dragging your luggage) and finding your driver.

 

Hank

[Opfor311]

Thank you all.  We will plan to get into the Express disembarkation group and arrange our own transportation from the port.

[caripoo]

Always the best idea is to tack on a little before and after.....no airline worries...Will I make or miss the plane or boat???? Just always worked better for us...That being said, it should be, but a private transfer is a must!!

[Opfor311]

We have done that before, but my wife was concerned about being on our own when we did not speak the language and could have issues finding our away around.  After this trip, she may be a little more confident about it.  

[Hlitner]

5 hours ago, Opfor311 said:

We have done that before, but my wife was concerned about being on our own when we did not speak the language and could have issues finding our away around.  After this trip, she may be a little more confident about it.  

Very little problem with language in Italy.  Just talk with your hands :).  But seriously, DW and I do not speak any Italian (not a word beyond "grazzi") and we have driven more then 10,000 miles within the country (from the Northern borders to the south of Sicily) plus been in Italy more than 3 dozen times on cruises (returning again this October).  Language has been a non-issue although it does help to be able to read a menu.  These days if one has a working Smart Phone you can put on the free Google Translate App (it is truly amazing) and you have a really good translator in your pocket.  Italy is among the most tourist friendly countries in the world.  If you can spare the time and money, go early....stay late...and you will be sorry you did not stay longer 🙂

 

Hank

[ollienbertsmum]

On 5/24/2019 at 7:03 PM, Opfor311 said:

We have done that before, but my wife was concerned about being on our own when we did not speak the language and could have issues finding our away around.  After this trip, she may be a little more confident about it.  

 I am pretty sure that not speaking the language will not be an issue.  In the larger tourist areas you will be likely to find people who speak English, if you don’t you will have to use gestures, pictures and perhaps your smart phone.  

 

Stay a few days longer, you won’t regret it.