Questions on Rome-to-Rome 10-day Med Cruise in October 2015

We have a group of 14 booked on the Oct. 2nd Reflection sailing Rome-to-Rome. I have a few questions for those who have sailed a similar itinerary out of Rome:

• I notice the ship arrives back in Rome at 5:00am. I assume we are able to get off the ship earlier than Caribbean trips that are later arriving. Is that correct? Trying to determine flights and most flghts back to the states are before Noon.
  
• Are looking to use Rome cabs from city to port and port back to airport. Experiences?
  
• Flight costs are beyond ridiculous at this time. Any experience at waiting until 8-10 weeks before departure to book?
  

Thanks for any information.

Sounds like fun! Our experience with europe disembarkment is similar to florida. Sometimes walk offs start around 7:00am and sometimes there can be delays. That's a risk tolerance question about flying out. Remember too, the additional time international departures require.

We prefer romeinlimo to a cab. Safer driving but more expensive. We love to see a driver holding sign with our names on it after the long flight to Rome!

Regarding the flight, have you checked choice air? Sometimes they really save you money. We are sailing in October out of barcelona and just booked ourselves. We booked direct this time because the connections were better and the price was competitive. We prefer to have the air booked in advance, especially if traveling with a group. We like our choice of times and seats.

Enjoy!

We have a group of 14 booked on the Oct. 2nd Reflection sailing Rome-to-Rome. I have a few questions for those who have sailed a similar itinerary out of Rome:

 

• I notice the ship arrives back in Rome at 5:00am. I assume we are able to get off the ship earlier than Caribbean trips that are later arriving. Is that correct? Trying to determine flights and most flghts back to the states are before Noon.
  
• Are looking to use Rome cabs from city to port and port back to airport. Experiences?
  
• Flight costs are beyond ridiculous at this time. Any experience at waiting until 8-10 weeks before departure to book?
  

Thanks for any information.

I wouldn't book a flight earlier than 12 noon. International check-in requires additional time before your flight. And the security check at FCO (Rome) are more extensive than U.S. security checks. We have been previously checked 3 times before boarding our flight.

As far as flight costs, check out "Celebrity Choice Air". The international flights are substantially lower, and you get to choose your flights. Another thought...make sure you fly into FCO a day before your cruise. Flying in the day of the cruise can be stressful and you could possibly miss your cruise if all connections aren't met.

We use Aim Limo for our airport and excursion transport. Reliable and great people.

As a group of fourteen, you should call a particular airline and see about a group booking.

Do hire a van service both ways. It is about one hour from airport to Rome. and about 30-45 minutes from port to airport.

I know what you mean about price of airfare, but flying to Europe is expensive. I flew from MSP to FCO for a cruise in Sept of 2011. I paid about $1100.

We have a group of 14 booked on the Oct. 2nd Reflection sailing Rome-to-Rome. I have a few questions for those who have sailed a similar itinerary out of Rome:

 

• I notice the ship arrives back in Rome at 5:00am. I assume we are able to get off the ship earlier than Caribbean trips that are later arriving. Is that correct? Trying to determine flights and most flghts back to the states are before Noon.
  
• Are looking to use Rome cabs from city to port and port back to airport. Experiences?
  
• Flight costs are beyond ridiculous at this time. Any experience at waiting until 8-10 weeks before departure to book?
  

Thanks for any information.

I can only speak to your #2 question... I have used Rome Cabs (http://www.romecabs.com) before and it comes highly rated. There are other services that can save you some money, but the service and dependability for me is more important.

I echo the suggestion to plan for an early afternoon flight out of FCO, as well as the suggestion to fly in a day early. We flew in 2 (or 3?) days early, giving a day to deal with jet lag and a day to see the highlights of Rome.

FYI: The port town (Civitavecchia) is some distance from Rome, but there is a train that runs between the 2. We didn't use it for travel to/from FCO, but it was extremely helpful for transit from our hotel in Civitavecchia to sightseeing in Rome.

Cheers!

Sounds like fun! Our experience with europe disembarkment is similar to florida. Sometimes walk offs start around 7:00am and sometimes there can be delays. That's a risk tolerance question about flying out. Remember too, the additional time international departures require.

 

We prefer romeinlimo to a cab. Safer driving but more expensive. We love to see a driver holding sign with our names on it after the long flight to Rome!

 

Regarding the flight, have you checked choice air? Sometimes they really save you money. We are sailing in October out of barcelona and just booked ourselves. We booked direct this time because the connections were better and the price was competitive. We prefer to have the air booked in advance, especially if traveling with a group. We like our choice of times and seats.

 

Enjoy!

On the Italy port of call forum, I have read that with a 5am arrival (assuming on-time), walkoffs begin as early as 6am. This is apparently the time when the intra-port shuttles begin running.

We have a group of 14 booked on the Oct. 2nd Reflection sailing Rome-to-Rome. I have a few questions for those who have sailed a similar itinerary out of Rome:

 

• I notice the ship arrives back in Rome at 5:00am. I assume we are able to get off the ship earlier than Caribbean trips that are later arriving. Is that correct? Trying to determine flights and most flghts back to the states are before Noon.
  
• Are looking to use Rome cabs from city to port and port back to airport. Experiences?
  
• Flight costs are beyond ridiculous at this time. Any experience at waiting until 8-10 weeks before departure to book?
  

Thanks for any information.

Highly recommend Rome Cabs. We used them multiple times and they are amazing! With group of 14 you need to ask for 1 or 2 vans sinc eyou will have a lot of luggage. Usually we got from port to FCO withing 45 minutes so its not bad.

And the security check at FCO (Rome) are more extensive than U.S. security checks.

 

I find this a bit amusing as my wife and I had to get across the Rome airport in about 10-15 minutes and go through security and immigration. We actually made it. My wife even triggered the metal detector and the guy just waved us through.

We have a group of 14 booked on the Oct. 2nd Reflection sailing Rome-to-Rome. I have a few questions for those who have sailed a similar itinerary out of Rome:

 

• I notice the ship arrives back in Rome at 5:00am. I assume we . are able to get off the ship earlier than Caribbean trips that are later arriving. Is that correct? Trying to determine flights and most flghts back to the states are before Noon.
  
• Are looking to use Rome cabs from city to port and port back to airport. Experiences?
  
• Flight costs are beyond ridiculous at this time. Any experience at waiting until 8-10 weeks before departure to book?
  

Thanks for any information.

Please book a flight after 12:00, we once made it to a 10:00 AM but it was too stressful. FCO (Rome's airport) is my least favorite, although with some airlines like AA, the process is more painful. Keep in mind that if you want to get a VAT return you need to have the items you purchased with you on the carry on. After checking in with the airline you will have to go to an agent to check the receipts and items, then you will have to make another line to get the refund. After doing those lines you will go through security.

About flight costs, last year we waited to book and got a really nice price for business class in March. We are cruising in July this year and the economy prices are much better than last summer. ;)

Please book a flight after 12:00, we once made it to a 10:00 AM but it was too stressful. FCO (Rome's airport) is my least favorite, although with some airlines like AA, the process is more painful. Keep in mind that if you want to get a VAT return you need to have the items you purchased with you on the carry on. After checking in with the airline you will have to go to an agent to check the receipts and items, then you will have to make another line to get the refund. After doing those lines you will go through security.

About flight costs, last year we waited to book and got a really nice price for business class in March. We are cruising in July this year and the economy prices are much better than last summer. ;)

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Just went to Choice Air and it appears one of the flights we are looking at is $200-$300 less with CA than on the Delta website. Is there some catch I need to be aware of...after all when they say if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Just went to Choice Air and it appears one of the flights we are looking at is $200-$300 less with CA than on the Delta website. Is there some catch I need to be aware of...after all when they say if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

I am not aware of any "catch". I have used Choice Air several times, usually for one-way flights to Europe for a westbound transatlantic cruise back to the USA. A one-way flight on most carriers is well over $1000 USD to most European locations, but on Choice Air you can get Economy seats for under $500 USD.

RomeCabs are excellent have also used Bobs Limos which are a bit cheaper, but you should have no problem with RomeCabs. Checking in at FCO can be a nightmare, but after that it is relatively straight forward. Agree it is not very user friendly and on a par with CDG.

We cruised in/out of Civitavecchia several times. We've found the best airfare on Choice Air all 3 times we cruised the Mediterranean. The rates don't seem to be as good for US domestic flights. On our last trip we walked off the ship with our luggage at 7:30 am. We arranged for transport through Jump Limousine and the driver was waiting right outside the ship with a sign with our name. Our van fit 8 passengers with 1 lg suitcase + 1 small/carryon each. I seem to recall the cost being 20E/pp including the tip. We used them for multiple transports and received an additional discount. This was much less $ and time efficient than the shuttle bus. Since we were a party of 4 we found additional riders to hit the full van rate by posting on our roll call.

My sis and I took the train to and from Rome. It was a bit of a walk to the ship but nothing terrible. However, we were both in our late 30's at the time and we don't have any mobility issues. It was rather inexpensive and not a bad experience at all.

enjoy your cruise - that itinerary is AMAZING! We loved every moment of our trip.

We used Bob's Limos & had a great experience. We were only a couple so we signed up for the "shared ride" which is cheaper. Bob's takes care of filling the van with people going to the same cruise port from the same general area where you may be staying. We also used the "shared ride" when leaving the cruise port & returning to a hotel in Rome.

Use Romeinlimo from port to airport. Cost was 160 Euros for the four of us with luggage. 15 Euro tip for driver.

Consider booking Romeinlimo for your port stop in Naples. All day tour to Positano, Ravello and the Amalfi Coast was 500 Euros for three couples in an 8 passenger Mercedes van. Share the van with some cruisecritic passengers. Discount is given if you book 2 or more tours/transfers with Romeinlimo.

Skip the stress of getting off the ship and trying to catch a flight before noon. Everybody seems to do this. Relax and spend the day in Civitavecchia, book a bed and breakfast for about 80 bucks and have the owner drive you to the airport the next day to catch your 10"00 AM flight.

My husband and I used frequent flyer miles for our flights to and from Rome for our Reflection cruise in 2013, but couldn't get any flights home on the day we disembarked. We used Rome Shuttle Limousine to transport us from the ship to the Hilton hotel at Fiumicino airport, dropped off our bags, and took the hotel's free shuttle into the city center to enjoy a final day of sightseeing and delicious Italian cuisine. We returned to the hotel that evening on the shuttle, turned in early and were already at the airport for our early morning flight the next day. This allowed us to avoid the stress of rushing to the airport on disembarkation day and also alleviated some of our post-cruise depression!

My husband and I used frequent flyer miles for our flights to and from Rome for our Reflection cruise in 2013, but couldn't get any flights home on the day we disembarked. We used Rome Shuttle Limousine to transport us from the ship to the Hilton hotel at Fiumicino airport, dropped off our bags, and took the hotel's free shuttle into the city center to enjoy a final day of sightseeing and delicious Italian cuisine. We returned to the hotel that evening on the shuttle, turned in early and were already at the airport for our early morning flight the next day. This allowed us to avoid the stress of rushing to the airport on disembarkation day and also alleviated some of our post-cruise depression!

After my cruise in 2011 out of Rome port and the FCO, I vowed never to leave for home on the day the cruise ends. Lots less stress and a great way to end your vacation by staying at least one more day in a nice hotel and more to see if you want.

And I have kept my vow.:)

We have used driversinrome both for airport to Rome and private tours in Rome on three occasions. Outstanding service. Have found getting into and out of Rome airport easier then getting into the cruise port to board the ship. Have found Rome Airport to be efficient but large and alot of walking from gate to luggage to exit.

We did a Rome depart - Venice return on a b2b trip last summer and booked the to Rome flight with United miles ($5.00 each one way ticket for 3 of us) & used choice air on British Airways for flight back. That was considerably cheaper doing one way than round trip.

We also stated in the port of Civitiveccia at the San Giorgio which is 1.5 miles from the port. We paid for hotel shuttle from FCO to hotel and they bussed a bunch of us to port entrance the next day.

Had a lovely the meandering in the port city the day before embarkation. We were coming back through Rome on the second leg of a b2b so we didn't need to visit Rome at beginning of our trip. (third time in all to Rome).

The hotel shuttle from FCO to hotel was about 75 Euro if I'm not mistaken. It was also just the 3 of us and driver in van as we had early arrival and an overnight flight.

The rooms at the hotel are best with loft bedrooms and sofa sleepers and private balconies. Beautiful view of the sea too.

I find this a bit amusing as my wife and I had to get across the Rome airport in about 10-15 minutes and go through security and immigration. We actually made it. My wife even triggered the metal detector and the guy just waved us through.

There's a big difference in the security process in Terminal 5 that handles only U.S. carriers at FCO and that of the other Terminals which handle only foreign carriers. We have found it is easier, and faster, to get through the other Terminals.

Another vote for Rome Cabs, excellent service all the way around. Even if the ship docks at 5am you are not likely to get off before 7am. They still have to secure things, clear customs etc and it all takes time. The port to FCO is not a short ride and the check in process is very very slow so allow yourselves plenty of time. We had a 1pm flight and made it ok, others in our group had 11am flights and were in a mad rush. That is no way to end a great vacation in my book.