Scheduling Transfer FROM Civitavecchia to FCO Airport?

[AmishHacker]

Hello, first time cruise critic poster. :)

 

Our Celebrity cruise is returning to Civitavecchia port at 5am on June 30. Our flight is around 12pm.

 

Booking a transfer privately for my family of 6instead of with Celebrity is 6-8 times cheaper, so that's what I want to do.

 

That said, what time do I tell the transfer company (Bob's Limos) to pick me up?

 

Celebrity couldn't give me an answer, because it is all based on zones.

 

How do other people manage this?

[wieslaw]

I will be on a cruise returning to Civitavecchia on Jul 17th. Our flight back to US ia a little later than yours ,I requested a pick up by a private van at 7:30 AM.

[AmishHacker]

I will be on a cruise returning to Civitavecchia on Jul 17th. Our flight back to US ia a little later than yours ,I requested a pick up by a private van at 7:30 AM.

Do you anticipate KNOWING you will be off the cruise ship and through customs by then?

[Hlitner]

Hello, first time cruise critic poster. :)

 

Our Celebrity cruise is returning to Civitavecchia port at 5am on June 30. Our flight is around 12pm.

 

Booking a transfer privately for my family of 6instead of with Celebrity is 6-8 times cheaper, so that's what I want to do.

 

That said, what time do I tell the transfer company (Bob's Limos) to pick me up?

 

Celebrity couldn't give me an answer, because it is all based on zones.

 

How do other people manage this?

 

My advice would be to schedule a pick-up at 7:45. My other advice would be to book the transfer with Romecabs, who we have previously used with terrific results.

 

Hank

[TMLAalum]

Do you anticipate KNOWING you will be off the cruise ship and through customs by then?

 

Passport control will be at the airport, not at Civitavecchia, as I recall. In the past we just left the ship and were met by our transfer company. We've not flown directly back to the US from Rome, so I don't know if you go thru US customs there as in some Irish or Canadian airports, or upon return to the US.

 

The transfer company we are using this October recommends 3.5 hours for their pickup time from port to flight departure time, so that would mean an 8:30 am pickup for a noon flight.

[wieslaw]

Do you anticipate KNOWING you will be off the cruise ship and through customs by then?

 

Hi,

all of the comments ( that I have seen) pertaining to Civitavecchia port indicate that there are no customs ( or passport control ) officials...... so one just leaves the ship.

I asked { on a different thread} what time people started leaving the ship ( same ship as the one that I will be on) - and most indicated 6:45 to 7:15 am).

I also asked how long it takes to get from the port to the airport that I will be using - most indicated 45 minutes to 75 minutes depending on traffic.

The airline that I am using suggests for me to be at the airport 3 hours before my departure.

So in my case the 7:30 am pick up time should meet all the guide lines.

I booked civitavecchiatransferlimo for our private transportation - there will be 8 of us and they are charging us 150 euros , I like that - it is reasonable...... and they will pick us up at the ship.

 

BTW. Welcome to the CC

Edited March 23, 2017 by wieslaw

[AmishHacker]

Thanks, everyone. I've only cruised twice, both out of ports here in Florida. It's sounds different in Europe, which is a good thing.

[Hlitner]

It is true that there are no Customs or Immigration control points at Civitavecchia. Once the ship is cleared by the local authorities (usually about 20 min after the gangplank is up) your ship will start letting folks go ashore. The first off the ship will be those using Express Disembarkation (which means carrying all your own luggage). Once off the ship you are free to go. The pre booked cars/driivers and taxis are right outside the small pier building (more like a large tent).

 

Hank

[Keith1010]

If this was me I would ask on the Celebrity board what people's experiences have been getting off the Celebrity ship at this port. I do think that 7:30 AM is doable and that is not because I have sailed Celebrity here (I have other places) but when I have been in this port on other cruise ships I have seen people on Celebrity off at that time. But a simple post on the Celebrity board should get you a quick answer.

 

Keith

[Hlitner]

If this was me I would ask on the Celebrity board what people's experiences have been getting off the Celebrity ship at this port. I do think that 7:30 AM is doable and that is not because I have sailed Celebrity here (I have other places) but when I have been in this port on other cruise ships I have seen people on Celebrity off at that time. But a simple post on the Celebrity board should get you a quick answer.

 

Keith

 

Definitely agree! And, referencing my post just above, we have embarked/disembarked on Celebrity ships at Civitavecchia (many times). If they post the same question on the Celebrity Board (where we are very active) they will get the same advice :). The only "warning" we give about this (or any other port) is that there is always the slight chance that any ship will dock late....due to mechanical or weather related problems. The only way to plan for that contingency is to not plan to fly home the same day as one disembarks.

 

Hank

[Keith1010]

Hank, excellent advice. :)

 

Keith

[Shadow9612]

On 3/24/2017 at 10:00 AM, Hlitner said:

 

Definitely agree! And, referencing my post just above, we have embarked/disembarked on Celebrity ships at Civitavecchia (many times). If they post the same question on the Celebrity Board (where we are very active) they will get the same advice :). The only "warning" we give about this (or any other port) is that there is always the slight chance that any ship will dock late....due to mechanical or weather related problems. The only way to plan for that contingency is to not plan to fly home the same day as one disembarks.

 

Hank

@Hlitner Hank, notwithstanding the possibility of the ship docking late, could you comment on this scenario:

 

Celebrity Constellation, scheduled to dock at 5:00am, with a same-day flight to Canada at 11:00am. 

 

- private transfer or Celebrity Transfer (to 'guarantee' arrival at the airport - the earliest listed air flight time by Celebrity for this cruise is 11:00am). 

- if private, what would you say is the earliest you have seen people leaving a Celebrity ship - can I arrange a private transfer earlier than 7am do you think? 

 

I plan to post on the Celebrity Roll Call, but came across this thread and thought I'd tap into your experience.🙂

 

Edited October 6, 2019 by Shadow9612
clarification

[Hlitner]

36 minutes ago, Shadow9612 said:

@Hlitner Hank, notwithstanding the possibility of the ship docking late, could you comment on this scenario:

 

Celebrity Constellation, scheduled to dock at 5:00am, with a same-day flight to Canada at 11:00am. 

 

- private transfer or Celebrity Transfer (to 'guarantee' arrival at the airport - the earliest listed air flight time by Celebrity for this cruise is 11:00am). 

- if private, what would you say is the earliest you have seen people leaving a Celebrity ship - can I arrange a private transfer earlier than 7am do you think? 

 

I plan to post on the Celebrity Roll Call, but came across this thread and thought I'd tap into your experience.🙂

 

Happy to comment :).  We have often had flights about 11 (one of our favorite flights departed at 10:50) and we always used private transfers.  This is a personal preference, but DW and I truly dislike cruise line transfers.  They are generally done on large buses, you must go on their schedule, might find yourself sitting around the port while they load luggage and wait to fill the bus, and then the bus will likely drop you at a single location which may or may not be the best place for your particular airline.

 

My suggestion (based on our own experience) would be to book a private transfer for about 7am.  Many of the private transfer companies will charge an extra fee for pick-ups prior to 7.  Our "go to" transfer company is Stefano's Rome Cabs (previously known as Rome Cabs) and their web site is RomeCabs.com.   (others here can recommend other companies).  We also suggest trying to find 1 or 2 other couples to share your ride as this really reduces the price (well below what you pay for a cruise line transfer).  You can use the Cruise Critic Roll Call board to look for some other couples that want to leave about the same time.  When we have done this it seldom takes more then a few hours to get a few takers.  We think that 4 or 6 is ideal since it leaves plenty of room in the van and there are no problems with the driver getting luggage in the vehicle.  The drive from the port to FCO will take approximately 50 -55 min barring any unforeseen traffic.  This will have you at FCO by 8 which is more then enough time.

 

My other suggestion, for transfers that early, is that you use Express Disembarkation (or whatever it is called on your cruise line) which is an option where you must take all of your own luggage off the ship.  You will be among the first to depart the ship (express folks go before those who let the ship handle their luggage).  It is also possible (on some ships) to let them handle your luggage (you must put it out before bed) but you would want to ask Guest Relations for a luggage tag that gets you into one of the earliest luggage groups.  But this is somewhat risky...as delays in off-loading luggage do happen and it can take time to find your own stuff among several hundred (or thousand) pieces.

 

One other thing.  We always have a "Plan B" when things go wrong (it has never happened to us at Civitavecchia).  In this case the likely Plan B scenario would be, what if your private transfer failed to show-up (that has never happened to us or anyone else we know who uses RomeCabs).  In such a case your Plan B would be to simply grab a taxi (there are some taxis at the port) and pay the big bucks.

Hank

[Shadow9612]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Happy to comment :).  We have often had flights about 11 (one of our favorite flights departed at 10:50) and we always used private transfers.  This is a personal preference, but DW and I truly dislike cruise line transfers.  They are generally done on large buses, you must go on their schedule, might find yourself sitting around the port while they load luggage and wait to fill the bus, and then the bus will likely drop you at a single location which may or may not be the best place for your particular airline.

 

My suggesting (based on our own experience) would be to book a private transfer for about 7am.  Many of the private transfer companies will charge an extra fee for pick-ups prior to 7.  Our "go to" transfer company is Stefano's Rome Cabs (previously known as Rome Cabs) and their web site is RomeCabs.com.   We also suggest trying to find 1 or 2 other couples to share your ride as this really reduces the price (well below what you pay for a cruise line transfer).  You can use the Cruise Critic Roll Call board to look for some other couples that want to leave about the same time.  When we have done this it seldom takes more then a few hours to get a few takers.  We think that 4 or 6 is ideal since it leaves plenty of room in the van and there are no problems with the driver getting luggage in the vehicle.  The drive from the port to FCO will take approximately 50 -55 min barring any unforeseen traffic.  This will have you at FCO by 8 which is more then enough time.

 

Hank

@HlitnerThank you so much Hank, as usual, for the clear and useful information.  Your comments about the cruise line transfer are very helpful - especially the part about the 'single' drop off at the airport.  I'll take your advice re: the private transfer. 

 

I have always used Bob's Limo's and been very happy with them but have seen so many positive comments also about RomeCabs.  Tempted to try, but also happy with "tried and true"!  Ah, decisions decisions....

 

Thank you also for the speedy reply!

[Shadow9612]

19 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

One other thing.  We always have a "Plan B" when things go wrong (it has never happened to us at Civitavecchia).  In this case the likely Plan B scenario would be, what if your private transfer failed to show-up (that has never happened to us or anyone else we know who uses RomeCabs).  In such a case your Plan B would be to simply grab a taxi (there are some taxis at the port) and pay the big bucks

Thank you for the plan B!    

[Hlitner]

2 minutes ago, Shadow9612 said:

Thank you for the plan B!    

I have to ask :).  What kind of Italian name is "Bob?"   LOL

 

Hank

[Shadow9612]

Just now, Hlitner said:

I have to ask :).  What kind of Italian name is "Bob?"   LOL

 

Hank

🤣 I know LOL

[Hlitner]

4 minutes ago, Shadow9612 said:

🤣 I know LOL

 

Guess you could call him "Don" Roberto 🙂

[Shadow9612]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Guess you could call him "Don" Roberto 🙂

🤩😁 too funny....that's a good one!