Navigating self disembark

[LisaDee]

We are disembarking in Civitavecchia and have an 11am flight from FCO (was originally 1pm but got moved to the earlier time, geez thanks TAP 😡!)  We are flying business class which should help speed things up at the airport but I’m a nervous flier and prefer to get to the airport well in advance of departure so this is making me nervous.

My plan is to do self disembark with a private car service to the airport.  We are fine with carrying our luggage down the ship stairs but we will be with my parents who would struggle.  We will help get their bags down to the gangway, my question is about navigating the port area once we leave the ship…is there a building with stairs/escalators we need to navigate through to get to the car pickup area?  How close do the car services get to the ships, will we be walking a long distance to reach them?  If it makes a difference we’ll be on Odyssey of the Seas.  

Thanks!

[CruiserBruce]

Depends which terminal the ship is at. I don't recall that any of the terminals are multi-story...some are even essentially tents or Quonset hut style buildings. Transport can get very close. All gangways will be ramps, not stairs.

 

Sounds like your first flight is "domestic"...flying within Europe, so you can get to the airport 90 minutes prior to your flight and be fine.

 

Flight schedules change..it happens. In fact, the direct flights back to the US seem to frequently change to earlier...as the same plane that brings cruisers from the US, landing at 7 or 8am, turns around and goes home before 11am.

[LisaDee]

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Sounds like your first flight is "domestic"...flying within Europe, so you can get to the airport 90 minutes prior to your flight and be fine.

 

Good to know, thanks; yes, we fly to Lisbon first then onward to US.  The nonstops (United and ITA) leave too early unfortunately.

[euro cruiser]

90 minutes would be a bit too tight for my comfort level, I'd want two hours prior to the flight, but that's me.  At least it's not the three hours you'd want for a direct flight to the States.

 

The building used at pier 25 is at ground level and only one floor.  The new building that serves piers 12 and 13 is fully accessible so no stairs.

 

More info here:  RCT, the cruise terminal of the port of Civitavecchia | Port Mobility Civitavecchia

[CCJack]

A little too tight for my comfort level as well, but people are different when it comes to this.    Have you talked to the airline about options?   We just had the exact same thing happen for our Sept 2024 flight out of Athens - they moved it from 1 pm to 11 am.   I called the airline to discuss options.  I asked if they would consider moving me to a different airline... they said perhaps but since we were 9 months out they advised to wait and see if there would be even more changes to flight times.   They were hesitant to go the "different airline" route this early, but didn't rule it out as trips gets closer.     I ended up changing to the following day 11 am, same airline just so we have a workable option booked for now.   I just hate being rushed during debarkation and transport to airport knowing that everything has to go smoothly to make a flight.  

 

Edited January 11 by CCJack