Timing for my flight home from Rome

[kjbacon]

Our cruise is scheduled to arrive back in Rome at 5:00am on debarkation day. Do you think we can make a flight home scheduled at 11:00am?

[waterbug123]

Maybe, maybe not. Lots of variables to consider, such as:

 

Are you both willing and able to self-disembark?

What sort of transportation are you planning to get from the port to FCO?

Do you have any sort of preferred status with your airline that will allow you to use a "priority" check-in line?

Will you be checking bags?

 

Keep in mind that something unexpected can always happen. A couple of years ago, our ship arrived at Civitvechia and just as they were about to let self-disembarking passengers off the ship, a massive thunderstorm rolled in and for all intents and purposes, the port closed. We had to wait over an hour until the storm subsided and the "ground crew" could resume their work of unloading bags, monitoring the disembarking pax, etc. before disembarkation was allowed to begin. At that point it became a huge cluster; folks were worried about missing flights so lines became almost non-existent as more and more people tried to rush off the ship, and the small-ish terminal area became a mass of people. They were letting people off but their bags weren't there yet so the crowd grew and made it extremely difficult for anyone to get through to their ground transportation. Probably cost us an additional half hour just trying to get through the crowd and find our driver.

[ElmaLee]

Yes, you should. We have disembarked at Civitaveccia twice and made flights at both Rome airports (Fumincino and Ciampino) which departed at around 11am. We were "walk offs" from ship and had arranged private transfers in advance. We were at FCO before 8am.

 

As a previous poster noted, bad weather or a road closure could cause problems, but that can happen no matter when you disembark and holiday insurance can always assist if flights are missed.

[kjbacon]

If we book that flight, I will book it through Choice Air ... will that take the chance factor out of it?

[TMLAalum]

Day of the week can make a difference too! We were picked up in Civi on a Friday at 7:45 am and had an intra-Europe flight at 10:50. There was a lot of traffic til we got on the motorway but the big surprise for us this time was that our service had to stop away from the terminal to pick up some kind of pass before we could be dropped off at the terminal.

 

We had plenty of time to spare with arrival at FCO @9am. We did NOT self-disembark because my big concern was that we'd have a long wait for an elevator that had room for us- the lower the deck you are on the more problematic this is! Our bags were awaiting us when we exited the Reflection at 7:15.

[Denny01]

We also didn’t self-disembark and had a 12:00 departure out of FCO and all went well. There are always uncontrollable issues, but normally, a departure time of 11:50 and around that should work fine. Enjoy. We won’t be going out of Rome until Aug 2019 on the Edge and plan to fly around noon or so too.

 

Den

[johhnnyt]

I had the same question, as Choice Air booked me for an 11:15 flight from FCO--->EWR, so I called choice air and asked them about it.

They told me their cutoff is 10:15, anything after that they consider it a go, since ship scheduled to get in about 6AM (which usually means 5AM). If I remember right it's about 70 minutes to airport from port, so we (4 of us) plan on leaving the port at 7AM with car service from Rome that transported us last time.

[Hlitner]

We have often used a 10:50am flight out of FCO and its never been a problem. The key is arrange for a private transfer (we always use Romecabs.com) and plan to be off the ship by 7:30. If you can handle your own luggage, then express disembarkation makes it all easy. Otherwise make sure you ask Guest Relations to put you into one of the earliest groups. We normally have Romecabs meet us at 7:15....and if we are a few minutes late its no biggie. We are normally at FCO before 8:30 which gives us plenty of time.

 

Hank

P.S. I am assuming an early morning scheduled arrival (before 7).

[ecslady]

I've taken FCO to PHL at apx. 11 AM a few times...and was more than fine. We also did self-disembark even though we didn't have to. Just what we like to do to be on the safe side. Self-disembark is easy at Civi. And, another vote for RomeCabs.

[waiting to cruise again]

We also have a 10:50 FCO departure. Planning on booking Celebrity transportation to airport once on board. Does anyone know if this is available? I know private car services is cheaper but planning on using some OBC for this.

[ecslady]

We also have a 10:50 FCO departure. Planning on booking Celebrity transportation to airport once on board. Does anyone know if this is available? I know private car services is cheaper but planning on using some OBC for this.

 

Personally, I'd use my OBC for something else, and book private transport to FCO.

[sueajp]

This was a concern for us for our October 19th Cruise. We finally opted to get a 2:30 flight. On the other hand we are holding our breath coming in as we connect in Dublin and only have an hour and a half window for our connection. Its all such a crap shoot sometimes! We came into Rome once before on a Princess ship and there was that massive thunder pouring rain. We got to the airport very early and the gate wasnt even open! Oh well., Now i am researching transfers and hotels in Rome. Always more to do!

[waterbug123]

If we book that flight, I will book it through Choice Air ... will that take the chance factor out of it?

 

Depends on what you mean by "take the chance factor out of it." No matter how you book your air, the ship could arrive late, the port could have a delayed opening due to weather, there could be traffic delays, etc. and you could miss your flight. Choice Air will make sure you get home, but they can't make any promise as to what flight they would put you on; they cannot manufacture available seats, so it will depend on what's available and what their arrangement is with the airline. Additionally, people have reported mixed results when trying to contact Choice Air with the results being everything from, "they were fabulous and took great care of getting us rebooked" to "we couldn't even get through to them on the phone and were left to sort everything out on our own with the airline" and everything in between. And, if the ticket Choice Air happened to purchase for you was a highly restricted ticket, you could find yourself at the bottom of the list to be helped. If you book directly with the airline and don't get to the airport on time, technically they have no obligation to you, but virtually any time I've heard of this happening to someone they make arrangements to put them on a later flight. Your chances would be even better if you are booked on a airline on which you are a frequent flyer. Booking directly with the airline, your ticket would most likely be a regular, published fare ticket without the additional restrictions that some Choice Air tickets come with, so it might be easier to get rerouted or get your ticket endorsed to another airline. You will still be limited by seat availability.

Take this information and decide what you're most comfortable with.

[hancock]

If you are flying to North America, checking in and security involves 2 terminals with transportation in between which takes some time. Allow for that.

[kjbacon]

It sounds like it’s probably a go. If I book through Choice Air, does Celebrity have a transfer to the airport?

[Hlitner]

If you are flying to North America, checking in and security involves 2 terminals with transportation in between which takes some time. Allow for that.

 

I believe that situation has now been rectified and you no longer have to check-in at Terminal 5 (not even sure if they use this terminal now). That 2 terminal fiasco existed for a few years in order to comply with the more stringent security requirements imposed by Israel and the USA. But apparently FCO is now able to accommodate those standards in the regular terminals. For example. Delta now generally handles check-ins (and flights) out of Terminal 1.

 

Hank