Departure and Arrival Times

[chaucer642]

We are departing on the Equinox on September 14. Our ship departs at 5:00 PM. What time should we plan on getting to the ship?

 

The ship returns at 4:00 AM. We have a 12:55 plane out of Fiumicino. How does drop-off from the ship work? Is there any place to stay around the dock or should we plan to go directly to the airport. If it's the airport, what time should we figure we'll be off the ship? We're traveling AquaClass, so we have preferred embarkation and debarkation.

 

Thanks for your help.

[anandaindonesia]

Dear chaucer642,

 

Plan to start your embarkation around noon. Your cabin may not be ready until about 2pm, but you can have your lunch at the buffet and familiarize yourself with what your ship has to offer.

 

The night before your arrival in Rome, you should place your luggages outside your cabin. Remember to keep your clothes for next day with you in your cabin. :)

 

On the morning of disembarkation, enjoy your breakfast, collect your carry on and vacate your cabin. Check and recheck so you don't leave anything behind.

The ship will tell you where to wait for your turn to disembark. They will arrange the timing to suit your flight accordingly.

 

As you have a 12.55 flight, you should report at the airport by 10.55. So actually you don't have too much time to linger on the ship. Mind you, the ship will stop at Civittavechia, the port of Rome, which is about 2 hours drive to the airport. Depending on your transfer arrangement, I think it is best to leave the ship around 8am.

 

If it is possible I would suggest you allow a few days stay in Rome after the cruise.

 

Enjoy your cruise! Sure you'll like it - but beware: cruising is addictive!

Benvenuto a Roma,

Michael

[cruisestitch]

Embarkation -- any time between around 11 and 3. As stated, the staterooms won't be ready if you show up too early, and you will be dragging your carry-on with you as you explore the ship, but expect them to be available to you sometime between 1 and 2 p.m.

 

As to disembarking, plan to go directly to the airport.

 

Don't expect the priority embarkation and disembarkation to mean much. There are many groups who also have priority -- suites, Concierge Class, Aqua Class, Captain's Club Elite, handicapped passengers. So many, that well over half the ship will have "priority" so it becomes pretty meaningless.

 

When you arrive at the terminal, there will be designated check-in lines for each of the above -- often the "non-priority" lines are actually shorter and faster than the "priority" ones!

[gwilli]

I would get to Rome a day before. A few years ago we were bumped, and missed the boat! We lost 1 day of our cruise, and the stress topped it off. We now arrive the day before! Cheers!

[Mr. Click]

+1 to all of the advice posted already. The one thing I would add is to visit the roll call for your cruise and try to put together a travel group to and from the airport. We did that last summer and it worked well and we saved money because the price per person goes down as the number of travelers goes up. We used Rome Cabs and they were great. Super nice, super clean and comfortable vans, very friendly drivers and more than on time. Leaving Rome for the port they even did two pick ups with in a 2 mile radius without any extra charge.

[chaucer642]

Thanks everyone!

 

Even though this isn't part of this thread, one more question.

Do we have to keep our luggage in our room or is it taken away? Last cruise I was on gazillion years ago, they took our luggage and returned it for packing purposes.

[anandaindonesia]

... ...

Do we have to keep our luggage in our room or is it taken away? Last cruise I was on gazillion years ago, they took our luggage and returned it for packing purposes.

 

You can put it under your bed. If necessary, you may ask your cabin attendant to store it for you somewhere, and to return it the night before the cruise ends.

 

Happy cruising!

Michael

[cruisestitch]

They will not take it away. You should be able to stash it under the bed. On S-class ships there may be a bin with lift jackets already there. You can put the life jackets in the over-bed storage area to make more room for your suitcases. Some people keep things in their cases throughout the cruise and pull them out from under the bed as needed, which helps with limited storage on that class ship especially.

[chaucer642]

They will not take it away. You should be able to stash it under the bed. On S-class ships there may be a bin with lift jackets already there. You can put the life jackets in the over-bed storage area to make more room for your suitcases. Some people keep things in their cases throughout the cruise and pull them out from under the bed as needed, which helps with limited storage on that class ship especially.

 

So i need to think about the hight of the luggage to make sure it will fit under the bed. I think two women will have to learn to travel light or lighter than usual. :)

[2theship]

So i need to think about the hight of the luggage to make sure it will fit under the bed. I think two women will have to learn to travel light or lighter than usual. :)

 

We've never had a problem with large suitcases fitting under the bed. I wouldn't really worry about traveling light from that respect. More, I would worry about how much luggage you can handle because there will be times you will have to deal with it on your own.

 

The ship returns at 4:00 AM. We have a 12:55 plane out of Fiumicino. How does drop-off from the ship work? Is there any place to stay around the dock or should we plan to go directly to the airport. If it's the airport, what time should we figure we'll be off the ship? We're traveling AquaClass, so we have preferred embarkation and debarkation.

 

The Rome airport is chaotic. To be safe, I'd aim for a three hour window. As someone else suggested, join your roll call and see if you can share a ride from the ship to airport. Rome in Limo and Rome Cabs both provide exceptional service at a reasonable price, especially if you can put together a group of 6.