Selecting a flight home from Barcelona

[Compass Rose Monica]

Greetings,

 

I'm looking at return flights for my Infinity cruise in December, Barcelona.  Is a 10:40am departure out of Barcelona too early? The ship is due to dock at 6am.

 

Thanks,

 

Monica

[yogini06]

37 minutes ago, Compass Rose Monica said:

Greetings,

 

I'm looking at return flights for my Infinity cruise in December, Barcelona.  Is a 10:40am departure out of Barcelona too early? The ship is due to dock at 6am.

 

Thanks,

 

Monica

We flew home in June from Barcelona on a 11:35 am flight.  Lines for baggage check and passport control were very long.  I would want to arrive at least 3 hours before the flight departure 

[George C]

Huge very slow lines, I wouldn’t want to book that early . 

[Palms2Pines2Sea]

Hello Monica,

First let me say that everyone has a different tolerance for airport arrivals.

That being said, If you are in the first walk-off group, and comfortable handling any and all of your luggage by yourself, then you will be absolutely fine with your 10:40 flight unless the ship is delayed in arriving or in clearance. In fact you will get to the airport quite quickly at that early hour.

BCN is usually MUCH less busy in December than in the height of summer season.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Palms2Pines2Sea

[luvtravel]

We’re on that same r/t Barcelona that is over Christmas.  So few flights showing it’s awful.  Hope more choices come up later.    Our choice out of BCN was 7:30am or 2 something. Now thinking stay over 1 night and catch the early flight. We’re in west coast area.

 

 

 

 

[luvtravel]

4 hours ago, Palms2Pines2Sea said:

Hello Monica,

First let me say that everyone has a different tolerance for airport arrivals.

That being said, If you are in the first walk-off group, and comfortable handling any and all of your luggage by yourself, then you will be absolutely fine with your 10:40 flight unless the ship is delayed in arriving or in clearance. In fact you will get to the airport quite quickly at that early hour.

BCN is usually MUCH less busy in December than in the height of summer season.

Good to hear - thanks!

[Jim_Iain]

While the ship arrives at 6:00 AM disembarkation usually doesn't start until 7:00 for walkoffs and then general disembarkation by luggage tags.     All Tags are usually called by 8:45 with last call to get off around 9:00

 

Even as a Suite guest that disembark first at about 7:15  wouldn't book a flight earlier than 11:30 AM.    It is possible you could get an earlier tag and might make at 10:40 flight but your nerves may be on edge and would have a blackup plan if you miss your flight with most flights going out full.

[mauimary]

When we arrived back in Barcelona instead of racing to our flight we decided to spend a night in a hotel by the airport that offered a free shuttle that way we could relax and get to the airport early with no worries.  

[SFCAcruiser]

On 2/15/2023 at 8:11 AM, Compass Rose Monica said:

... Is a 10:40am departure out of Barcelona too early? The ship is due to dock at 6am....

 

A similar discussion appeared a few weeks ago. You can read more perspectives HERE

 

[Compass Rose Monica]

Thanks everyone, I will look for something later in the day or spend one night (oh darn 🤣 ) in Barcelona.

 

Monica

[cruisequeen4ever]

Don’t risk it! There are multiple lines you have to wait in at that airport, and each one can take a very long time to get through.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Oh good; you’ve come to the safe conclusion!

[edgwaremike]

What if you use priority booking in to get through the airport quicker

[hancock]

We experienced a two hour wait to get a cab after getting off a ship in Barcelona.  The line was AWFUL!

[George C]

If you have business or first class flight there is a really nice free lounge with food and liquor at no charge.

[mauimary]

Besides staying an extra night by the airport with a free shuttle @0500 we got through the airport pretty quickly and had plenty of time to sit and have a relaxing breakfast. It was definitely worth it for peace of mind. 
A lovely hotel nearby that we used was the 

Salles Ciutat del Prat Barcelona Airport.  We also discovered after we checked in we saw two other couples from our CC Roll call there.