Barcelona airport info

[Got2BCruising]

Question regarding flights coming home from Barcelona. Ship docks at 5:00 a.m. Can I make a 9:30 a.m. flight? What time is the earliest to be off the ship? How long to get to the airport from the pier? Are taxis at the pier?

 

Thanks for your input!!

 

Barb:confused:

[dexddd]

There was a post about this about a month or so ago. The consensus will be probably not. The ship may dock at 5:00 but it has to clear customs and you'll have to get to the airport, check in, get through security. There are cabs at the pier, but I'm not sure how early. When we were there on the Gem a couple years back, we left at 8:00am and there were plenty of cabs unless you needed one for four or more people than you had to wait a bit for a larger taxi. The ride to the airport is roughly 20-25 minutes.

[KirkNC]

The rule of thumb is 12:00 or later. Having said that, we have made some 11:30 flights with no problem. If everything went right (arriving on time, clearing Spanish customs with no problem, finding your luggage in the airport hanger, gettting a cab right away and reasonable traffic) you could make it but that seems awful tight.

 

Kirk

[2inTul]

There was a post about this about a month or so ago. The consensus will be probably not. The ship may dock at 5:00 but it has to clear customs and you'll have to get to the airport, check in, get through security. There are cabs at the pier, but I'm not sure how early. When we were there on the Gem a couple years back, we left at 8:00am and there were plenty of cabs unless you needed one for four or more people than you had to wait a bit for a larger taxi. The ride to the airport is roughly 20-25 minutes.

 

I would agree. 9:30 seem a little early. There are way too many things that could go wrong when you try to cut it too close. Why put stress on yourself at the end of your vacation?

 

I can also verify all of dexddd's comments. They are spot-on.

[cole]

I have also read several opinions that if you self-disembark and are ready as soon as they allow passengers to leave the ship that you can make an early flight. Cabs seem to be lined up and ready to go curbside, plus there is another thread on the Europe/Spain board that says a couple of airlines have baggage check-in stations at the cruise port. I recall British Airlines and Delta were two. Check out that board for other opinions and discussions.

B. Cole

[dasmonkey]

Question regarding flights coming home from Barcelona. Ship docks at 5:00 a.m. Can I make a 9:30 a.m. flight? What time is the earliest to be off the ship? How long to get to the airport from the pier? Are taxis at the pier?

 

Thanks for your input!!

 

Barb:confused:

 

I did this in the Summer of 2009 and we just stayed a couple of extra days in Barcelona. Of course you my have to get back for work or whatever and this may not be an option.

 

Barcelona is a great walking city and easy to get around with the HOHO busses.

 

Personally I wouldn't want the stress of trying to hit a 9:30 AM flight.

[dolphin lady]

In December I walked off the Jade with my luggage at 7:00 and caught a cab and was at the Barcelona airport by 7:30.

[canpass]

While you are not leaving any wiggle room in your timing I will say it can be done. We arrived in Barcelona at 5 in the morning in November. at 6am we did a walk off had a pre-arranged taxi. Got to the airport at 6:30 and had to wait 45 minutes for the check in counter to open but we easily made our 10am flight. One thing to remember is if the ship is coming from another EU country then there is no Customs to clear in Barcelona. The earlier you do your walk off the faster the trip is to the airport as you will have less traffic.

[RollTideRollRich]

So, I have an 11am departure from BCN to AMS, with my cruise being in all EU countries, should I be safe? Same arrival for disembark time as the OP.

[canpass]

So, I have an 11am departure from BCN to AMS, with my cruise being in all EU countries, should I be safe? Same arrival for disembark time as the OP.

 

Just be ready to walk off as soon as the ship is cleared which can be anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour after arrival.

[Reebster]

Make sure you've left yourself at least an hour to check in for your flight. There was only one person working at each desk when we were returning from our Jade cruise in March, and the lines, even for those who'd done online check-in, were 30 people deep. I had allowed plenty of time, but there sure were a lot of people in line with us who were getting pretty stressed out about missing their planes.

[mikewrit]

Another factor in the equation is the airline. Some are a lot more accommodating than others. We'll never again bank on quick service from Al Italia, for one.

[labmonkeys]

So, I have an 11am departure from BCN to AMS, with my cruise being in all EU countries, should I be safe? Same arrival for disembark time as the OP.

 

I assume you have luggage to check in to the hold? I'm also assuming you're travelling with KLM but other airlines do this route too, so this information is only valid if you're on KLM.

 

Acceptance of hold baggage closes 30 minutes before departure time, as does check in (with or without hold luggage). If you're in the queue, you will be served - most airlines now have one set of desks for all destinations, not one desk per flight. If the time is getting close to 30 minutes from departure and you're still waiting, staff will call passengers forward for specific flights. If not, you just need to make yourself known to a member of staff - this is standard for Alitalia, etc which probably explains previous comments.

 

If you're not in the queue, start worrying! You might be running through the terminal to get to your gate if you check your baggage in exactly 30 minutes before departure so I'd recommend you're there about an hour before (minimum) to reduce stress!

 

Hope that helps a bit.

[mikaula]

I wouldn't do it. Why end your vacation stressing about making the flight in time. Book a flight a bit later in the day & relax.

[slotmomma3]

If you are sailing on NCL, they tell you to book flights after 10 AM. I have booked a 10:15 flight and have a driver picking me up at the pier at 6:45 just to have plenty of time. We also have priority disembark, so I am not really worried about it.

[4774Papa]

Question regarding flights coming home from Barcelona. Ship docks at 5:00 a.m. Can I make a 9:30 a.m. flight? What time is the earliest to be off the ship? How long to get to the airport from the pier? Are taxis at the pier?

 

Thanks for your input!!

 

Barb:confused:

 

We took our own bags off the Jade at about 8:15 and had no problems. Others departed much earlier. I suspect that you could disembark by 7am. Still, it would be risky. If all things worked out you might be fine, but murphy's law may prevail.

[sloshel]

We disembarked in Barcelona last May around 7:00 a.m., carried our own luggage off the ship, and found a long line of taxis ready to transport folks to the airport. We were at the airport by 7:25 a.m., and were through check in and security before 8 a.m. I think you can do it. Barcelona has a beautiful and seemingly well-organized airport.

[Us2inFL]

We've found the opposite regarding speed of clearing Barcelona check-in and security.

 

Both times we've traveled through BCN, the check-in line was long and processed slowly (luggage weighing etc.) and then security check was a 200 person long snake that alone took over an hour.