Barcelona 9:35am flight to USA

Has anyone experienced a problem in getting to the airport in time (9:35am) flight from the ship?

It is scheduled to dock at 6AM. Does the ship (Celebrity in my case) have a shuttle dedicated to the airport or are more than enough taxis available. We don't like the anxiety of rushing to make a flight.

There are no later flights to Philly or Newark than 9:35am.

Thanks ,

Joe

from my iPad using Forums mobile app

First, docking at 6am doesn't mean getting off at 6:05.

Second, Celebrity will have a paid shuttle, but you will have to wait until it fills up. Plus, Celebrity probably doesn't accept pax for this transfer with flights prior to a certain time. Check on the Celebrity board for all the info on this situation.

Third, flying direct to the US requires a higher level of security. Most European airports this takes extra time. Arriving two hours in advance is almost required.

So, in summary, I think this is too early a flight. If you are going to stick with it, you need to carry your own bags off, and grab the first taxi you see.

Good luck.

You will probably make it as the airport is about 20 minutes from the port. Even if you don't get off the ship until 7, there is still plenty of time. Don't take Celebrity's transfers. For the same price, or less, grab one of the plentiful taxis outside.

I'm not sure about Celebrity, but the Royal Caribbean cruise we will be on that ends in Barcelona, says that there should not be a problem with any flights leaving at 10-AM forward. Flights before 10-AM would be too early.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Taxis will not pick you up before 7:00. We waited from 6:40 until than with literally hundreds of taxis lined up. Best we could understand it was someone's rules. Not sure if it was the port or a union thing.

I didn't ask for probabilities and maybes and what I should do? I was aware of all those, actually. I am familiar with traveling in general and the cruise lines suggestions, etc. I know the airline security is now being beefed up and causing a longer check in now. I was asking for specific personal examples from previous cruisers leaving the ship the morning of a flight in Barcelona. I realize the other posters were trying to help. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

from my iPad using Forums mobile app

First, docking at 6am doesn't mean getting off at 6:05.

 

Very good information. I will file that away for future reference.

Two years ago I had a 10:15am flight out of Barcelona and had no problems making the flight. At that time Celebrity was also recommending flights for 10am or later.

Our ship docked at 6am and we were able to get off shortly before 6:30am. We carried our own luggage and caught a taxi to the airport. We were at the airport an hour before US Airways even had their staff available to start taking luggage.

I didn't ask for probabilities and maybes and what I should do? I was aware of all those, actually. I am familiar with traveling in general and the cruise lines suggestions, etc. I know the airline security is now being beefed up and causing a longer check in now. I was asking for specific personal examples from previous cruisers leaving the ship the morning of a flight in Barcelona. I realize the other posters were trying to help. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

Perfectly clear. But what one person had for an experience may have little value for your own situation.

This year, I've disembarked in BCN and had absolutely no hassles whatsoever, with easy access to taxis. Quick ride to the airport.

Then again, this was getting off a Silversea ship with under 250 pax onboard, and having already cleared EU immigration. Which means it has ZERO relevance to getting off a megaship from an unknown itinerary.

You got practical advice for you to make your own judgement call. If you are looking for post-purchase confirmation, well....

Personally, I'd not be rushing to try for the non-stop to PHL. Look at ITA for your other options, including connections at MAD, CDG, AMS, LHR and FRA.

No need to get an attitude about it. :roll eyes:

I don't even see a 9:30 flight from BCN to EWR....There is a 10:45 one on UA.

Plus a 10am one to JFK on AA

And a 10:45 am direct to PHL on US

But I guess you don't want to hear about those either.

I would not take a flight that early. Too much risk including if the ship is delayed arriving to port. Take a later flight.

Keith

I didn't ask for probabilities and maybes and what I should do? ... I was asking for specific personal examples from previous cruisers leaving the ship the morning of a flight in Barcelona.

Perfectly clear. But what one person had for an experience may have little value for your own situation.

And what the OP was asking for was purely anecdote, which is pretty useless for these purposes. It would be better to have an overview from someone who knows the port's operations on a routine basis to know how often there is or isn't a problem with disembarkation and getting a taxi.

For what it's worth, the one time I disembarked in Barcelona, I was in the taxi queue for two hours. Not because there was a shortage of taxis - there were many dozens in the queue waiting to pick up passengers - but because the stupid design of the taxi rank and the bafflingly enormous amount of luggage being carried by so many passengers made loading a very slow process.

You will probably make it as the airport is about 20 minutes from the port. Even if you don't get off the ship until 7, there is still plenty of time. Don't take Celebrity's transfers. For the same price, or less, grab one of the plentiful taxis outside.

Our flight out of BCN departed around 11am and we made the flight with time to spare.

We were a group of 6 and hired a transfer from Barcelona Day Tours. The queue for taxis can be long.

You can leave the ship as soon as it gets clearance, but even if you departed at 7am, loaded your luggage, made it to the airport by 8am, you still have very little time if something goes wrong.

If you insist on taking that flight, I suggest arranging for a private transfer and book it as early as you can, leave the ship as soon as you can.

I didn't ask for probabilities and maybes and what I should do? I was aware of all those, actually. I am familiar with traveling in general and the cruise lines suggestions, etc. I know the airline security is now being beefed up and causing a longer check in now. I was asking for specific personal examples from previous cruisers leaving the ship the morning of a flight in Barcelona. I realize the other posters were trying to help. Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

Without full details in YOUR post, you will often get more detailed replies than you feel are necessary. This is partly to benefit others who may have similar questions and are not experienced travelers, but also because it may not be clear what you are or are not aware of, and folks on this board generally want to make sure posters are fully informed about things that may not be obvious.

First, docking at 6am doesn't mean getting off at 6:05.

 

Very good information. I will file that away for future reference.

 

Case in point. You said you were familiar with traveling in general, but I take this next post to mean that you perhaps did not realize that one cannot disembark a ship the minute it docks. The ship must be cleared by the local authorities first, and that can take a while. As a general rule, I allow an hour for that when scheduling post-cruise plans. i.e. if ship is scheduled to dock at 6am, I figure self disembarking pax can do so starting at around 7am.

Meg - I think that second post from the OP was facetious. I don't understand attitude from someone who asks a question and then gets answers.

Could you let us know the date you need that BCN-EWR/PHL flight? It would help a lot to see if there truly is an alternative. I also couldn't find a single flight to either airport that left BCN at 9:35am, including any with connections…

Meg - I think that second post from the OP was facetious. I don't understand attitude from someone who asks a question and then gets answers.

Looking back at it, you're probably right. In which case, the OP really just needs to read Globaliser's reply:

"The plural of anecdote is not data." since he is apparently just looking for random anecdotes with which to form his own potentially faulty conclusion.