Return flight from Barcelona - HELP!

[mdorbert]

Sailing on Breeze from Barcelon in June. The ship says it docks @5:00am. Return Flights available are 7:35am, 10:45 am and then the rest are late afternoon and evening flights? So, my question is..... Do you think I can make the 10:45 flight?

 

The flight times seem pretty standard and consistant... Has anyone ever Docked at 5:00am in Barcelona and caught a 10:45 flight?

 

Please help... There are several of us on our Roll Call that are trying to book our flights and afraid to pull the trigger!

[Essiesmom]

Those morning flights are cheap because people won't make them. The line for taxis is atrocious. You can stand in line for an hour. Stay overnight and fly early the next day, or book the later flights. EM

[mdorbert]

Thinking that may be the best plan... Thanks

 

 

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[chasinraynbowz]

I flew out of Barcelona after our Med cruise in Oct 2011. I was not comfortable with the 1040am flight. I searched and searched and found one at 1pm and am very happy I did. The cruise line ended up misplacing my DH's suitcase and we ended up spending way too much time at the port before getting on the bus and heading to the airport.

 

Once at the airport, cruise passengers go into a separate line than the general public (we had 2 lines that day) and it probably took 20-30 mins to get checked in. By the way, while waiting in that line... DH's suitcase showed up, thank god!!

 

If you keep your luggage and self disembark that morning, you might be ok. I have heard others had no problem at all. I didn't want to chance it.

[riffatsea]

There is another board on this site for cruises to the Med.

IF you go there and ask about Barcelona you will find that many people make that 10:45 flight. I think there is also a flight around noonish. Delta used to have check in right at the pier so I'd ask about that too.

I would agree though that staying an extra day would certainly make it more relaxing and since Barcelona is one of my favorite cities I'd even vote for staying several MORE days after the cruise!!!

[remharri]

We used autos vilar for our transportation after our med cruise last year, and they were right out front waiting for us, no standing in line or anything, very easy! We also used them for taking us to our hotel pre-cruise as well.

 

I think our flight left around noon, I would take the later ones just to be safe, the Barcelona airport is nice, so you can walk around and look in the shops for a little.

[Lisah101]

A lot depends on how many ships are debarking on that day. It can make a big difference in the lines for taxis and the check in lines at the airport. we got off the ship before the sun was even up and did OK.... however check in at the airport took a while. A friend took another cruise and they said the airport had huge lines and they ended up barely making their flight.

 

Check in lines at the airport vary by what airline you are flying also and if it is a code share flight. Some airlines have separate check in for Cruisers and some don't..... need more info.

[remharri]

A lot depends on how many ships are debarking on that day. It can make a big difference in the lines for taxis and the check in lines at the airport. we got off the ship before the sun was even up and did OK.... however check in at the airport took a while. A friend took another cruise and they said the airport had huge lines and they ended up barely making their flight.

 

Check in lines at the airport vary by what airline you are flying also and if it is a code share flight. Some airlines have separate check in for Cruisers and some don't..... need more info.

 

I agree on this! The lines at the airport were horrible. We flew AA and stood in line forever with them, then there was security, then customs. That was the worse part and the longest wait. Getting off the ship was nothing!

[Sargent_Schultz]

Per Carnival 9am is the earliest flight you should arrange:

http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/Airport_and_Pier_Transfers/barcelona.aspx

 

With the ship transfers our luggage was taken directly to the airport and we picked it up there.

 

Here are the debarkation instructions from Magic:

http://www.zydecocruiser.net/CarnivalMagic/debarkation.htm

 

So basically, yes, you should be able to make it.

[cambio]

We used the Carnival transfer and got to the Barcelona Airport very early from the Magic.

 

We also booked the Air through Carnival and they put us up in the Novotel pre-cruise, which was very nice.

[old sole]

You can make a 10:45 flight. You can be off the ship by 7 - 7:30 and its less than a half hour to the airport.

 

We prearranged a 7:30 pickup with the driver who brought us to the ship and he was waiting for us. They have a rudimentary website at www.taxidriverbarcleona.com where you can fill out a form in English to arrange a pickup. Or if you are staying at a hotel pre-cruise, they can make arrangements for you to be picked up at the pier at the end of the cruise.

 

Even without that, there were tons of taxis lined up by 7AM.

 

The airport is a zoo however. Plan to spend more than the usual amount of time getting checked in and through security. I was lucky enough to be pulled aside for a random full security screen, marched off to a private room where my person and my luggage was searched, and still easily made a 11:00 AM flight (Well, I say easily. My wife and two grandkids had already boarded before I got back to the plane and they were a little anxious - but I felt fine:)).

[steph7021]

I made that flight....I made sure I was one of the first off the ship though so I could get a taxi.

[flounder315]

good luck, hope you make it.

[T. Advisor King]

As I said on the other thread:

 

I would never think of doing something so aggressive. Are you thinking of meeting the standard "2 hours before international flight" check-in guideline? If so, you'd have to be at the terminal at 8:45.

 

When we arrived back in Barcelona on the Magic in July, we were in no rush to disembark. I bet we waited more than 20 minutes for an elevator before we decided to heave our stuff down 5 flights of stairs or whatever it was. Then we were in the long line to get out for what seemed like close to an hour. Then the taxi line-up was at least an hour.

 

I guess I'm just more cautious because I'd start getting nervous about booking a flight that was much before 4:00 pm. In addition, one of my pet peeves of cruises is that they sacrifice so much of the last day, presumably to give you more on the first day. The last thing I want to do when I'm on vacation is to wake up other than as a result of the effect of natural sunlight.

[uncfuddy]

Hell: We just go by from barcelona in sept,2011. We booked our flights thru the cruise line

with delta, and we had a 11:05 flight,the ship got in at 7:30 am.The cruise line put our flight on a express pass and every check point at the flight terminal someone was waiting for us to bypass all the crowds.It"s makable if you make arangements ahead of time.

[Touey]

I booked the 10:20am flight back. I was told by Carnival and Delta it was well within there time frame. We may self disembark and have a private transport to the airport.

[mdorbert]

Thanks to all for the information... It's been very helpful. We are early risers (5:00am is normal even on vacation), we also prefer self disembark... Also flying Delta so we can do pre-check... Will most likely arrange for 6:30am pick-up and catch the

10:40 flight. Thanks again for all the responses....

 

 

-Chelle