Realistic Flight time after. Cruise???

[chuckaroney]

We will be on the Riviera trans-Atlantic, arriving in Barcelona on April 16, at 6 am.  Following the cruise, we will fly fo France - and the best flights are at 10:20 and 11:15..  Oceania assured us that we can make a 10 am flight  -- is this realistic?  We can carry off out luggage and head immediately for the airport.

 

Thank you so much!!

[Flatbush Flyer]

46 minutes ago, chuckaroney said:

We will be on the Riviera trans-Atlantic, arriving in Barcelona on April 16, at 6 am.  Following the cruise, we will fly fo France - and the best flights are at 10:20 and 11:15..  Oceania assured us that we can make a 10 am flight  -- is this realistic?  We can carry off out luggage and head immediately for the airport.

 

Thank you so much!!

"Arrival" at 6:00 AM (hopefully) has little to do with disembarkation time. 

IMO, 10:20 AM is a terrible idea. I wouldn't even do the 11:15 AM. Ground transport, luggage, flight check in, security line.....

[Tapi]

With a 6:00am arrival time, I think that it’s very doable. The debarkation process in Barcelona is very fast and efficient. And the airport is only a few minutes away. We didn’t finish our cruise in Barcelona but I know that we would’ve comfortably made an 11:15am flight. We had booked admission to La Sagrada Familia for 9:30am and we were standing in front of the church at 8:30am. 

 

I do understand your dilemma and feel your pain. We finished our cruise in Civitavecchia and had an 8:00am arrival time and an 11:25am flight back to the USA. Even with the later arrival, longer drive to the airport, and insanely long lines at pre-departure customs, we made our flight home with time to spare. But I did spend the last 24 hours of our cruise obsessing about our flight home, imagining worse case scenarios in my head. Turns out I stressed out for nothing. 

[alcpa1]

I'd opt for the 11:15 flight even though you are only flying to France. That means no hightened security for US bound flights.

I'll always try for a leisurely disembarkation. 

There will be plenty of cabs at the pier and with the relatively small number of passengers on the Riveria you shouldn't have a problem.

The ride to the airport is about 20 minutes. 

[WNcruiser]

3 hours ago, chuckaroney said:

We will be on the Riviera trans-Atlantic, arriving in Barcelona on April 16, at 6 am.  Following the cruise, we will fly fo France - and the best flights are at 10:20 and 11:15..  Oceania assured us that we can make a 10 am flight  -- is this realistic?  We can carry off out luggage and head immediately for the airport.

 

Thank you so much!!

 

We had a 10:15 AM flight to Atlanta on Delta and made it with plenty of time to spare. As mentioned Barcelona is an easy disembarkation with plenty of taxis for the quick drive to the airport. I get that some people won’t agree but I don’t think 11:15 is unrealistic at all, especially carrying off your luggage. 

Edited December 30, 2018 by WNcruiser

[chuckaroney]

11 hours ago, Tapi said:

With a 6:00am arrival time, I think that it’s very doable. The debarkation process in Barcelona is very fast and efficient. And the airport is only a few minutes away. We didn’t finish our cruise in Barcelona but I know that we would’ve comfortably made an 11:15am flight. We had booked admission to La Sagrada Familia for 9:30am and we were standing in front of the church at 8:30am. 

 

I do understand your dilemma and feel your pain. We finished our cruise in Civitavecchia and had an 8:00am arrival time and an 11:25am flight back to the USA. Even with the later arrival, longer drive to the airport, and insanely long lines at pre-departure customs, we made our flight home with time to spare. But I did spend the last 24 hours of our cruise obsessing about our flight home, imagining worse case scenarios in my head. Turns out I stressed out for nothing. 

 

[chuckaroney]

Many thanks for all your insights - it's nice to  know that I'm not the only one who worries!  

[StanandJim]

46 minutes ago, chuckaroney said:

Many thanks for all your insights - it's nice to  know that I'm not the only one who worries!  

For others questioning "do-able" flight times:

If the difficulties of getting to the Airport on time are things which are within my control such as when I arise, whether I eat in the buffet or the restaurant or if I should bus it or take a taxi, I'm fine with making a decision for the earlier flight, as I know that I will push myself if the deadline gets close.

When Customs and Immigration rear their ugly heads, I'm far more cautious because until that ship is cleared, NOBODY sets a foot off of it, period, and that takes it out of my control. 

Everyone has different standards, but for me 5 trips to the Airport without incident would not be sufficient to offset one missed flight where I had to scramble to get a seat on a later flight ON THE DAY.   

On the other hand, I've travelled with others who consider that type of adrenaline rush to be youthmaking, so YMMV.

 

[ORV]

Just want to point out there is huge difference between the time it takes you to get off a ship during a port day as opposed to a disembarkation day. So using that as an example just doesn't make sense. 

 

Also it's 15km to the airport. Depending on traffic a bit more than a few minutes away. 

[sunlover12]

1 hour ago, StanandJim said:

For others questioning "do-able" flight times:

 

When Customs and Immigration rear their ugly heads, I'm far more cautious because until that ship is cleared, NOBODY sets a foot off of it, period, and that takes it out of my control. 

 

StanandJim: Thank you for that very insightful comment.  I was thinking the same thing.  I would much rather spend a little bit more time at the airport than stressing over how long it takes Customs and Immigration to clear the ship. 

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, ORV said:

Just want to point out there is huge difference between the time it takes you to get off a ship during a port day as opposed to a disembarkation day. So using that as an example just doesn't make sense. 

 

Also it's 15km to the airport. Depending on traffic a bit more than a few minutes away. 

When we stopped in Barcelona on our last cruise, it was a port day for us, but it was the terminating point for a large percentage of our fellow cruisers (and for the record, we were on a 5,000 passenger ship). Still, all passengers (those in transit as well as those finishing their cruise), were processed quickly and efficiently. Even though we were in transit and got off the ship early in order to make our scheduled activities, terminating passengers beat us off the ship and were already outside with their luggage. 

 

Admittedly, I’m not an expert, but I believe that if Barcelona could process quickly and efficiently a mix of 5,000 terminating and in-transit passengers,  then they should be able to process 1,250 passenger on the Riviera just as quickly and efficiently, if not more.

 

I do believe that nobody should schedule flights that are too early, and I always preach that on these boards. But I also believe that there are parameters that determine what should be considered reasonable under normal and majority of circumstances, and the OP’s flight times sound reasonable, and they fall within Oceania’s recommended times as well. Granted, anything can go wrong, but if I were to take into account every possible scenario, NO flight would be considered a safe bet. 

Edited December 30, 2018 by Tapi

[StanandJim]

59 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Granted, anything can go wrong, but if I were to take into account every possible scenario, NO flight would be considered a safe bet. 

For us, they key is in allowing a sufficient buffer to insure that the actions/inactions of the thoughtless and the dim won't derail our plans.  

 

[BarbaraM]

If this isn't your first EU stop, you might not have much red tape to go through to get off the ship.  

[TomKan]

Taxi to the airport should take 20 to 30 minutes. Whether there will be plentiful taxis available depends on the dock you’re assigned. If you’re at Adossat Quay taxis are plentiful. If you’re at the World Trade Center there are fewer taxis and long waits - especially if there’s more than one ship there. 

[SM77]

We disembarked in Barcelona from the Rivera this past November.  It was very easy - walked right out of the terminal and waited for our pickup for an all day tour of Barcelona (and then be dropped off at our hotel).  I think you will have plenty of time to get to the airport for a 10:20 AM flight but I would still prefer the 11:15 AM time.  As others mentioned, double-check to see if more than one ship is in port.  That can make a difference.

[Nachosdelux]

If the 2 flight options were 10:20 and 4:00 pm then I might risk the earlier one.

 

But since it is only 55 minutes later I would definitely book the 11:15. 

 

If you get to the gate early, just grab a cup of coffee and relax.

 

 

[Paulchili]

18 hours ago, Nachosdelux said:

If the 2 flight options were 10:20 and 4:00 pm then I might risk the earlier one.

 

But since it is only 55 minutes later I would definitely book the 11:15. 

 

If you get to the gate early, just grab a cup of coffee and relax.

 

 

Agree with this analysis.