My cruise ship docks at Civitavechia at 7 am. How much time should I allow for an international flight from Rome? Am I ok with an 11:20 am departure time? Thank you!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17914 posts
All I can tell you that for a US bound flight you need to be at the airport no later than 8:30am for a flight departing at 11:20am.
The drive from Civitavecchia to FCO is at least one hour from the time your car service or taxi departs.
That means that you'd need to be on that car ready to roll by 7:30am at the latest.
Whether 30 min is sufficient from the time of scheduled docking to actually being on that car I don't know as I have no experience of cruise disembarking and the time involved with that. At first glance it would seem to be rather tight. Are cruise ships always docking on time? Maybe others have more experience.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
10290 posts
Princess cruises official port guidelines for this port are don’t schedule your departure flight for less than 6 hours after arrival.
Posted by
Greeley, co, usa
3082 posts
I don’t think it is wise to book any flight after a cruise before noon and when you are at least an hour away from the airport, add the extra time. Just because the ship docks at 7:00 doesn’t mean you will disembark anywhere near that time.
I assume you will be walking off the ship with your luggage
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
7355 posts
I agree that your plan is overly optimistic. Docking time is not the same as gangway open time. A 30 min or more delay between the two is not uncommon. And unless you are carrying all of your luggage off the ship unassisted, you would face another delay in the baggage hall as you search for your bag amongst a couple thousand others. And then there's the non zero possibility of traffic tie ups en route. Plus the need to be at the airport 3 full hours before the flight. Too close for comfort even in the best of circumstances.
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
3052 posts
hey hey Larry
absolutely not, no way would i book/reserve a flight at 11:20am.
with your cruise docking at 7am doesn't mean debarking at that time. you may be lucky to get off by 9am, get your bags, if need to go thru customs/passport, what kind of transportation to airport.
another thing to think about, how many other ships are in port either starting cruise or ending cruise? what berth will you be at? that will add to the thousands wanting same thing as you want, how crowded buses, trains, taxis will be. reserve a taxi ahead of time.
years ago used this port for a transatlantic cruise which was great for us. it has become a busy busy port nowdays with rome over an hour away, we paid for a private taxi $$$, was worth everything euro, no stress.
cruisemapper.com
great site to see what ships are where, click ports, your cruise ship and how many are in port, when is this cruise?
another idea is spend night at hotel near port with shuttle service for a fee, relax, enjoy a meal and shuttle to airport next day (cool calm & collected) have a great time & enjoy happy cruising
aloha