Docking in Civitavecchia 4am - Earliest flight time?

[hightownCO]

Need some Princess cruisers experience. With a 4am docking time, what is the earliest you'd consider flying out of FCO? I realize that passengers may not be allowed to disembark for a couple of hours after docking. I'll ask Princess too if I book but may put a flight on hold. It leaves FCO at 10am. Too early for comfort?

 

THANKS!

[byethesea]

Need some Princess cruisers experience. With a 4am docking time, what is the earliest you'd consider flying out of FCO? I realize that passengers may not be allowed to disembark for a couple of hours after docking. I'll ask Princess too if I book but may put a flight on hold. It leaves FCO at 10am. Too early for comfort?

 

THANKS!

 

Hi Sharon,

I was told by out TA that Princess has set 11 am as the earliest you should book a flight out of FCO.

 

Don

[Grego]

I would really be surprised if you could make an 11:00 flight, but I would like to see what others say.

[cacy6893076]

My recollection ( remember i am not as young as i used to be !) is the earliest is 11:30 am but it probably is 11 as stated above..remember your distance is about 65 miles from civitavecchia to FCO and you must check in and go through security.......10 am is not something i would be comfortable with, personallly.

[Toto2Kansas]

10 AM is too early. Try for a later flight. Remember, depending on the day you disembark, traffic could be a problem. Best of Luck!

[Grego]

That makes a lot of sense to me. 10:00 is not something I would attempt at Port Everglades either and they have the best disembarkation and proximity to FLL.

 

The other consideration is that why put yourself through the anxiety of possibly missing that flight due to traffic, slowness of security, etc. You just spent a bunch of bucks on having a good time and relaxing and now you are going to ruin it by trying to catch a flight you might not make when there are other later ones.

[hightownCO]

Thanks for the advise. Certainly good advise for a Europe newbie. I was swayed but what looked like a good $$ but Grego is right, why go through the anxiety. Another $75 pp for reasonable flight times is well worth it.

[prg2101]

Thanks for the advise. Certainly good advise for a Europe newbie. I was swayed but what looked like a good $$ but Grego is right, why go through the anxiety. Another $75 pp for reasonable flight times is well worth it.

 

 

I would almost push for a 12:00 or 12:30 flight.....Never know what you

may encounter......We tryed to run to catch a flight in Barcelona after docking and didnt make it.....Made for a horror story that we still talk about.....:eek::eek:

[emileg]

Our last time at FCO (granted it was in 2003), there were no organized lines for security. Rather, people pushed and shoved to get ahead of each other to get to security. If you were aggressive you got through faster than if you were polite. I hope they have improved that "system." I would appreciate hearing from others who have more recently flown out of Rome whether FCO now has a queue.

[cruisemom42]

Our last time at FCO (granted it was in 2003), there were no organized lines for security. Rather, people pushed and shoved to get ahead of each other to get to security. If you were aggressive you got through faster than if you were polite. I hope they have improved that "system." I would appreciate hearing from others who have more recently flown out of Rome whether FCO now has a queue.

 

If you are flying from FCO direct to the US, you will use the new Terminal 5 which is MUCH better in terms of lines, passenger traffic, etc. I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly check-in was when I flew home in December.

 

But if you are flying from FCO to another European city for a change of flight before heading home, I have no idea what that check-in process is like.

 

Even with the better system in place, I would definitely want to be in line no later than 2.5 hours before my flight. Especially during busier seasons....the lines can move quite slowly.

[emileg]

If you are flying from FCO direct to the US, you will use the new Terminal 5 which is MUCH better in terms of lines, passenger traffic, etc. I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly check-in was when I flew home in December.

 

But if you are flying from FCO to another European city for a change of flight before heading home, I have no idea what that check-in process is like.

 

Even with the better system in place, I would definitely want to be in line no later than 2.5 hours before my flight. Especially during busier seasons....the lines can move quite slowly.

Cynthia - Thanks for the update on the new cruise terminal and processs at FCO.

[knot knormal]

We were on RCCL last April. We docked at Civitavecchia and had our luggage by 6:30 AM. I had arranged transport to FCO at 7 AM for 8 passengers - we waited on him....but promptly at 6:50 AM we loaded and were at the airport 45 minutes later. We were in the waiting area by 8:45. We had an 11:20 flight and I had lots of time to shop, walk around, etc. That particular day we could have made the 9:20 AM Delta to Atlanta. Don't know if that day was an exception, but certainly very easy.

[Pam in CA]

We were on RCCL last April. We docked at Civitavecchia and had our luggage by 6:30 AM. I had arranged transport to FCO at 7 AM for 8 passengers - we waited on him....but promptly at 6:50 AM we loaded and were at the airport 45 minutes later. We were in the waiting area by 8:45. We had an 11:20 flight and I had lots of time to shop, walk around, etc. That particular day we could have made the 9:20 AM Delta to Atlanta. Don't know if that day was an exception, but certainly very easy.

I think that would be an exception as it can easily take an hour and a half to two hours to get to the airport, particularly if you're going through rush hour traffic. Also, you should arrive at the airport absolutely no later than two hours before your flight, if not earlier.

[kimchee1212]

10 AM is WAY too early. You don't stand a chance. The transportation takes quite awhile.

 

I would feel safe with 1 or 2 PM, and even that may be cutting it close, considering you have to check in an hour+ before flight.

[HMK8273]

Based on memory - there is only one way to and from the port to the airport - pretty much - have one accident and you are stuck. We got stuck on that road for an hour and ended up through some small village for another 1 1/2 hours coming back to port from Rome. There was an accident - care fire - ended up seeing the helicopter pulling water from the bay to put it out but couldn't see the accident itself.

 

Thankfully we were on a cruise sponsored excursion so the boat waited but can you imagine doing that one your own and the ship leaving without you? Other way applies - I would book your flights for the afternoon to make things calmer - no sense in stressing out at the end of the cruise on your way home. Definitely do something in the afternoon.

[hightownCO]

Appreciate the additional info/experiences!

 

I won't consider the 10 or 10:20 am flights. There is one at 11:20 n/s to NY. And based on Cynthia's post, easier terminal to get through. After that, there's a 12:25 that connects through Heathrow to Chicago. So time wise better but sounds like worse than the NS as far as security and getting thru lines. Earlier flights priced better but not a significant difference.

 

I'm aiming at only flying with carry-on for dd and I. So that should make it somewhat easier. Will keep watch on schedules and prices for awhile more.

[dbh62ark]

Our last time at FCO (granted it was in 2003), there were no organized lines for security. Rather, people pushed and shoved to get ahead of each other to get to security. If you were aggressive you got through faster than if you were polite. I hope they have improved that "system." I would appreciate hearing from others who have more recently flown out of Rome whether FCO now has a queue.

If you were around passengers from different countries, this is one of the cultural differences we experience when traveling (have traveled to Europe at least one time each of the last 16 years). The Americans and English queue up but many Europeans--I'm not going to list particular countries but some board members will know what I mean--do not.

 

Even though the ship is scheduled to dock at 4:00 a.m., does that mean the ship is cleared at that time? I wouldn't schedule a flight before noon out of FCO either.

 

Donna