Return flight from brilliance of the seas- Venice

[vacay1984]

Hi everyone!  We have a cruise booked on the brilliance of the seas for September 2022 departing from Venice. According to the itinerary, we arrive at 6:45 am.  What time should I plan to be able to get a flight home?

Edited July 25, 2021 by vacay1984

[time4u2go]

Note that you won't actually be cruising out of Venice.  You'll be cruising out of Ravenna, which is 90+ miles away.

 

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venice-bans-cruise-ships-entering-lagoon-italy-travel-tourism/

[3monkeys4me]

We are also set to sail on Brilliance next summer and we are planing to stay the night after debarking and flying home the next morning since there really aren't many flights inn the afternoon that we are seeing. Everything is pretty early (before 10am) to our preferred airport, or has multiple stops. 

[mapleleaves]

Yeah, debarking in Ravenna will make it a bit more tricky.  RCI will offer a bus transfer no doubt.  

And I'm sure they'll offer a transfer from the airport to port.  

 

VCE is a chaotic airport.  The usual recommendation is to arrive 2 1/2 - 3 hrs prior to departure.

 

Between the 2 1/2 drive and  2 1/2 hr wait,  then a long flight, you may want to consider overnighting and catch a flight the next day.

 

[Kathscof]

Never done it, but many people have reported (as 3 monkeys confirms) that most of the flights back to North America (oops, if that's where you are going?) are SUPER early in the morning (most of the people on my Italy boards suggest ending an Italian trip in another city as that early morning departure is pretty rough)......more chances to see more of Italy! yay! hah

 

You're saying that your cruise ends there too, right?  

[vacay1984]

1 hour ago, Kathscof said:

Never done it, but many people have reported (as 3 monkeys confirms) that most of the flights back to North America (oops, if that's where you are going?) are SUPER early in the morning (most of the people on my Italy boards suggest ending an Italian trip in another city as that early morning departure is pretty rough)......more chances to see more of Italy! yay! hah

 

You're saying that your cruise ends there too, right?  

Yes, thanks!  I had no idea the port was so far away from Venice. Definitely changes things…..

 

is there a better airport to fly into than Venice?

[vacay1984]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

Note that you won't actually be cruising out of Venice.  You'll be cruising out of Ravenna, which is 90+ miles away.

 

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venice-bans-cruise-ships-entering-lagoon-italy-travel-tourism/

Wow thanks!  Had no idea. 

[reney313]

18 minutes ago, vacay1984 said:

Yes, thanks!  I had no idea the port was so far away from Venice. Definitely changes things…..

 

is there a better airport to fly into than Venice?

We are also cruising r/t out of Venice (Ravenna) in September 2022.  I haven't finalized plans yet, depending on air options.  We are thinking of flying home out of Bologna, Milan or possibly Florence rather than Venice.  The train is direct to both and air options seem like they may be similar.  It will also provide an opportunity to visit another city for 1-2 days post cruise.  We have been to Florence prior, but on a port visit, so we wouldn't mind the opportunity to be there in the afternoon and evening once cruise ship passengers vacate the city.   At this point, I'm still planning to spend 2-3 days in Venice pre-cruise and fly directly into Venice.  

Edited July 25, 2021 by reney313

[Seville2Cabo]

Our cruise ends in Venice. We are staying a night in Venice and then taking the train to Milan for a few nights.  American had good flights from Milan. 

[ONECRUISER]

Have B4B this Ship inc TA ending in Rome. Was going do next sailing ending Venice/Ravenna, would love Book it but wasn't sure issues Flying out of there.Also traveling SOLO, think I'll stick with ending in Rome

[mapleleaves]

Whether you fly out of Venice, Rome or Milan, you're still looking at a few hrs on a train, so if your goal is to fly home the same day as you debark, you may as well stay with VCE. 

 

Or if you want to stay an extra 2 nights after debarking, which city would you like to explore with the extra time if not Venice?  Train there, and see what flights cost to your home airport.

 

In the past I have flown from Venice to a destination in Europe, but on the 2 occasions I flew directly home, we used Delta and the flights left VCE at noon or 2-ish pm.  Not sure where your home airport is, but you might want to check skyscanner.com or a similar site to see what airlines/times are available to you.

 

[Kathscof]

3 hours ago, reney313 said:

We are also cruising r/t out of Venice (Ravenna) in September 2022.  I haven't finalized plans yet, depending on air options.  We are thinking of flying home out of Bologna, Milan or possibly Florence rather than Venice.  The train is direct to both and air options seem like they may be similar.  It will also provide an opportunity to visit another city for 1-2 days post cruise.  We have been to Florence prior, but on a port visit, so we wouldn't mind the opportunity to be there in the afternoon and evening once cruise ship passengers vacate the city.   At this point, I'm still planning to spend 2-3 days in Venice pre-cruise and fly directly into Venice.  

Oh yes, Florence for a few nights would be amazing!  (so much better than just visiting on a port visit) Rome and Milan usually have better flight options (sometimes Pisa too), but if you will have to make a connection anyway, might as well do Florence....

 

I haven't had any experience booking a train after a cruise, but I know that people are hesitant to book trains after a flight......BUT.....train tickets go on sale a few months in advance (I think its summer and winter? June maybe?) and the earlier you buy, the cheaper they are.....

[reney313]

The largest challenge with Ravenna is that there is not a direct train to get to Venice (or vice versa). For us, it seems to make more sense on departure to find a city to fly out of that is a direct train ride away (and extend the vacation 1-2 days).  Logistically, that just seems easier.  

[Kathscof]

4 hours ago, reney313 said:

The largest challenge with Ravenna is that there is not a direct train to get to Venice (or vice versa). For us, it seems to make more sense on departure to find a city to fly out of that is a direct train ride away (and extend the vacation 1-2 days).  Logistically, that just seems easier.  

 Or not even worry about a direct train ride (changing trains isn’t hard) and fly out of a city that has an airport with good flight times….or…..you could go wherever you wanted! I mean, you could even go all the way to Rome (trains from the port could probably take you there and get you there around “checkin” time at any hotel) because they have a lot of flight options too….

[reney313]

2 hours ago, Kathscof said:

 Or not even worry about a direct train ride (changing trains isn’t hard) and fly out of a city that has an airport with good flight times….or…..you could go wherever you wanted! I mean, you could even go all the way to Rome (trains from the port could probably take you there and get you there around “checkin” time at any hotel) because they have a lot of flight options too….

Yes, I guess I didn't word that well.  We've spent considerable time in Rome previously as well as other cities.  I was just trying to intimate they did not need to go back to Venice as it is a little more difficult to get to the airport there than other cities in Italy.  And it takes more time due to the changing of trains.  

 

I think we're saying the same thing, just differently 🙂 

[mdepsmom]

We're on Brilliance next summer and are flying in and out of Bologna, about a one-hour train ride from Ravenna.  We're spending the night in Bologna after disembarking, and flying home early the next morning.