Flying in day of embarkation at Civitavecchia

We are on the MSC Splendida boarding at Civitavecchia Mon Jan 16, 2017. The ship leaves at 7pm.

Looking to fly in from London the morning of embarkation. The flights we are looking at are Ryanair arriving at 12:10p to CIA or Easyjet arriving to FCO at 12:40. We will book a private transfer from either.

Does this sound feasible? Are these two relatively reliable?

These are low cost airlines with high baggage fees, so be sure you understand what you're getting yourself into. If you're traveling with only carry on it won't make a big difference, but they do weigh carry on luggage and are strict with their policies.

You can look up the reliability stats on line (at sites like this one: http://www.flightontime.info/loco/airlines/ryr.html), there's always a risk when flying in the day of a cruise but it can be manageable. As a fall back, be sure you know how you'd get to the first port of call in case you don't make embarkation in Civitavecchia in time.

Personally I would never fly the same day as the sailing unless it was a flight through the cruise company in your case MSC. The trouble is the ship waits for nobody not a problem if your flight is delayed or cancelled the cruise company will get you to the next port of call and pay for hotels if you book air travel with them but on the other hand you book it yourself and travel independently you can see the trouble it could cause you and the stress and the money. Better to fly the day before and stay in a hotel overnight and you will arrive at the ship relaxed and ready for your cruise

Note that Ryan Air's weight limit for a carry on bag is 22 lbs. (10 kg)

Even really good packers will be challenged to pack for a cruise and stay under that weight, but of course it can be done.

https://www.ryanair.com/us/en/useful-info/help-centre/faq-overview/Baggage#0-13

IMO flying in on the day of embarkation can be risky. One year we did it as we are in the UK with a short flight time to Venice. The flight was scheduled as one of the first of the day and left several hours between landing and for getting to the port. Less than half an hour into the flight we turned around and headed back as the plane suffered damage to the cockpit window. By the time that a replacement aircraft had been found and the flight re - scheduled, it left us just enough time to leap into a taxi at Venice airport and we arrived at the port with minutes to spare. Since then we have always flown in the day before.

As others have said, make sure you comply with the baggage policies of the airlines you have mentioned.

I have flown with both these airlines - and a lot with Easyjet, which is my budget carrier of choice.

You need to be aware that Ryanair has a reputation of flying from/into airports which are a long way from the centre of a city. Am I right in thinking that the Ryanair flight is from Stansted? If so you will find many more transport connections to Gatwick than to Stansted. Ryanair also tend to have a lot of additional extra charges. As pointed out they have a restrictive hand baggage allowance whereas Easyet have a size limit but not limited on weight. I would cost out each of the flights, including all the options you may want to add on - and take a look at the frequency of transport to Stansted vs Gatwick.

Faced with a choice between the two I would go for Easyjet but, as others have said, I would be wary of flying in on the day of the cruise, especially at that time of year when weather may cause issues.

I know. I booked the Ryanair one but am having buyers remorse for all the reasons stated. I usually do my research well but not sure what happened here. I am going to eat the $130 and rebook with Easyjet. It will be either a late flight the day before or that 9am the day of. We have 2 nights in Rome after the cruise so not sure if worth going to Rome if we flew into FCO the night before.

Coming in the night before will cut our time short in London (2 instead of 3 nights) but will probably be best to be save and the Mr. is not an early person. Talking about waking up at stupid o'clock is causing a lot of grumpiness.

It looks like the latest Easyjet flight on Sunday night departs at 4:30 PM, which really screws up your day in London, unfortunately. However, I think I'd still lean that way for safety as well as for sanity if your husband doesn't like getting up early.

Yea I will talk it over with him. There are later flights on other airlines (Alitalia and BA) but that gets us into FCO at 10p.

Huh... I see there are hotels at FCO should we decide to take a late flight in. That way we can make our way to the cruise port leisurely in the morning. That sounds like a better plan.

I see a a Vueling flight

8:55 PM – 12:25 AM+1 London (LGW) – Rome (FCO)

Not the best on time performance but it doesn't matter if I am staying by the airport right?

The biggest potential problem with some of the low-cost airlines is that they don't have a lot of aircraft; if something goes wrong with your flight they may not be able to get you to your destination in time to meet your ship, and then you are really screwed. Plan to arrive the day before.

Personally I would never fly the same day as the sailing unless it was a flight through the cruise company in your case MSC. The trouble is the ship waits for nobody not a problem if your flight is delayed or cancelled the cruise company will get you to the next port of call and pay for hotels if you book air travel with them but on the other hand you book it yourself and travel independently you can see the trouble it could cause you and the stress and the money. Better to fly the day before and stay in a hotel overnight and you will arrive at the ship relaxed and ready for your cruise

Well said, we feel the same way even if its a short flight we always get there the day before and when you have a great city like Rome I would do a couple of days

For some reason the quote function isn't working. I wanted to quote the following:

I think you'll be fine if you stay right at the airport Hilton, you can walk there from the terminal. If you're a little late you can just sleep in the next morning, you'll have plenty of time before you need to be in Civitavecchia.

This must be their last flight of the night so I'd keep checking throughout the day to be sure they don't cancel it. If they do and you find out about it quickly you'll have a better shot at being moved to another flight the same day rather than wait until the next morning.

While we generally recommend that folks never fly-in to an embarkation port the day of a cruise (flights can sometimes be delayed for hours or even canceled), European cruises are sometimes the exception to our rule. If a cruise is going to stop at another European port the 1st day, then one can have a "Plan B" of how to catch the ship at that first port :).

Hank

Huh... I see there are hotels at FCO should we decide to take a late flight in. That way we can make our way to the cruise port leisurely in the morning. That sounds like a better plan.

 

I see a a Vueling flight

8:55 PM – 12:25 AM+1 London (LGW) – Rome (FCO)

Not the best on time performance but it doesn't matter if I am staying by the airport right?

This would totally be the flight I would be booking. There's left luggage at Victoria train station, so you can drop off your bags, sightsee during the day, then go back to Victoria in the evening and take the train to LGW. Easy-peasy.

While we generally recommend that folks never fly-in to an embarkation port the day of a cruise (flights can sometimes be delayed for hours or even canceled), European cruises are sometimes the exception to our rule. If a cruise is going to stop at another European port the 1st day, then one can have a "Plan B" of how to catch the ship at that first port :).

 

Hank

We have always flown in the night before our other cruises as those are hard to catch at the next port. I thought it would be easy with this as the ship does not depart until 7p. But oh well. The next port would be Palermo but I really don't want to mess with that.

This would totally be the flight I would be booking. There's left luggage at Victoria train station, so you can drop off your bags, sightsee during the day, then go back to Victoria in the evening and take the train to LGW. Easy-peasy.

So I thought too... until I did more research and found out that Sunday is a scheduled "engineering work" on the tracks from Victoria Station south so no Gatwick Express or other trains on those track. Thank goodness I looked! We will be taking the train from Blackfriars Station instead.

I am hardly a rookie traveler but this was a rookie mistake. The good news is that I won't end up losing too much money. I spent $130 on that Ryanair flight for 2. But now I will save about $100 by not needing a private transfer to the port as we have all morning to get from FCO to the port.

Speaking of which... do I take the Leonardo Express to Termini or the local FL1 train? Read about both here and Tripadvisor. Is the local train the one you have to worry about your luggage? We are staying at the Hilton at FCO. Will leisurely make our way to the port after breakfast.

Speaking of which... do I take the Leonardo Express to Termini or the local FL1 train? Read about both here and Tripadvisor. Is the local train the one you have to worry about your luggage? We are staying at the Hilton at FCO. Will leisurely make our way to the port after breakfast.

Take the local train to Roma Trastevere station and change there for the train to Civitavecchia.

The end point of the local train (this is what will appear on the train sign) will be one of the following: Roma Tiburtina, Roma Ostiense, Fara Sabina, Poggio Mirteto or Orte. All of these trains will stop at Roma Trastevere.

Total train travel time is between 90 - 120 minutes and the fare is €11.

Avoid the LE, you'll waste both time and money that way.

 

Take the local train to Roma Trastevere station and change there for the train to Civitavecchia.

 

The end point of the local train (this is what will appear on the train sign) will be one of the following: Roma Tiburtina, Roma Ostiense, Fara Sabina, Poggio Mirteto or Orte. All of these trains will stop at Roma Trastevere.

 

Total train travel time is between 90 - 120 minutes and the fare is €11.

Grazie mille! (That and a few more words are the extend of my Italian. But I spoke Spanish the last time around and something got through. :p )

So where are these luggage gypsy people I read about?

So I thought too... until I did more research and found out that Sunday is a scheduled "engineering work" on the tracks from Victoria Station south so no Gatwick Express or other trains on those track. Thank goodness I looked! We will be taking the train from Blackfriars Station instead.

Good catch! A good reminder to always check...

Are you going to LGW from Blackfriars? The only trains to LGW I'm seeing on that day are from St. Pancras and London Bridge. Or are you flying out of Luton instead?

Speaking of which... do I take the Leonardo Express to Termini or the local FL1 train? Read about both here and Tripadvisor. Is the local train the one you have to worry about your luggage? We are staying at the Hilton at FCO. Will leisurely make our way to the port after breakfast.

I second the recommendation to transfer at Trastevere. Soo much easier than negotiating Termini... We did it in reverse (Civi-Trastevere-FCO) a couple of years ago and it was quite smooth.

The greatest concentration of issues with luggage "helpers" is at Termini, but I would expect that this has been helped with the addition of a security/ticket check before accessing the tracks.

Of course, you must always be aware of your things on the train, especially a regional train that makes a lot of stops (which become easy getaway points for thieves).

At Trastevere you'll need to change tracks but there are elevators at each track.

 

Are you going to LGW from Blackfriars? The only trains to LGW I'm seeing on that day are from St. Pancras and London Bridge. Or are you flying out of Luton instead?

 

 

Traveling Sunday Jan 15, 2017 - Was going to get to Blackfriars about 17:30 to catch one of the direct trains.

Looks like Thameslin? Am I looking at the right tables? I was trying to do Victoria Station to Gatwick on some of the trip planners and they all routed to Blackfriars.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/timesandfares/BFR/GTW/150117/1630/dep

https://ticket.thameslinkrailway.com/journeys/BFR/GTW/2017-01-15T17:00//1/0/?smartcard=no

I've flown Easy Jet and Ryan in the past, no problems. But make sure you fare it out fully with bags and seats, then compare to BA, Alitalia, Vueling and same with those, check the total fare but flight times and convenience are factors too. Also check flights out of London City airport (LCY), that's really convenient though depends on where you're staying in London.

Traveling Sunday Jan 15, 2017 - Was going to get to Blackfriars about 17:30 to catch one of the direct trains.

 

Looks like Thameslin? Am I looking at the right tables? I was trying to do Victoria Station to Gatwick on some of the trip planners and they all routed to Blackfriars.

 

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/timesandfares/BFR/GTW/150117/1630/dep

 

https://ticket.thameslinkrailway.com/journeys/BFR/GTW/2017-01-15T17:00//1/0/?smartcard=no

You could do Thameslink from Blackfriars (which also calls at St. Pancras). You could also do Southern from London Bridge, which seems to be a nice bit faster, however Southern have had some labour disputes so be sure to check for any "industrial action". I would have all the info at my disposal and go with the one most convenient to where I wanted to sightsee that day.

You could do Thameslink from Blackfriars (which also calls at St. Pancras). You could also do Southern from London Bridge, which seems to be a nice bit faster, however Southern have had some labour disputes so be sure to check for any "industrial action". I would have all the info at my disposal and go with the one most convenient to where I wanted to sightsee that day.

Thanks for verifying I was reading the right thing. I picked the Crown Plaza Hotel because it's practically across the street from Blackfriars Station. Good to know it's also called St Pancras. I read that elsewhere. I was going to check out and leave my luggage at the hotel while we go sightsee. A late lunch would be good before traveling. Is there tea on Sunday? Maybe we will save that for this afternoon. Then come back to collect luggage and walk across the street. But good to know I have options if anything comes up. If needed, London Bridge is just across the river and a short Uber/can ride away right?