Civitavecchia to FCO and early flights

Hi, just returned today from an awesome 10 day trip to Europe. We were in Naples for the first three days and then drove to Civitavecchia to catch a seven day cruise to Greece and Turkey. We had an early flight out of FCO on the return trip and I thought I'd post my experience here. We were on the United flight from FCO to Newark, departing at 9:55 AM.

First off, make sure you have a reliable car service. We used Roma Shuttle (http://www.romashuttle.com) for three major transfers during our trip - from FCO to Naples, from Naples to Civitavecchia, and finally from civitavecchia to FCO. Roma Shuttle really came through - we were a party of 2, so had sedans (brand new Mercedes) on all three rides, drivers were always a few minutes early and drove very safely and reliably. It really took all the stress out of making transfers! Whichever service you use, make sure they are licensed to take you right up to the ship and collect you at the ship at civitavecchia as taxis and certain car services are not. We saw many people on embarkation day being dropped off just inside the port gates as the taxis were not licensed to go into the secured areas. Whereas our driver showed his accreditation to the security guys and was able to take us literally to the point of check in with no hassles.

Now, as to debarkation day - our ship was supposed to arrive at 5 Am. She actually docked early, at around 4:30 am. I was expecting Royal Caribbean to make some sort of announcement at around 6 am that she had been cleared by customs but surprisingly they didn't, and the first inkling we had that people could leave was when we saw people walking off the ship from our balcony (actual pax and not crew). People started leaving around 6:10 am. We left our room at 6:15, took about 10 mins with our luggage to get down and walk thru the customs terminal. Of course, we were carrying off our own bags due to the early time. There were no additional checks as we walked thru the terminal. Roma Shuttle was pulling up as we exited the terminal and we had our luggage stowed and were on our way by 6:30 am. At that time of the morning there's minimal traffic and we reached FCO by 7:15 am. North American flights are checked in at T5 but depart from T3 - the arrangement is baffling but oh well it's Italy! T5 check in was relatively fast but the passport control and additional security checks were slow. We were then shepherded onto a bus to go to T3 which caused a hold up of around 5-10 mins as they wait till the bus is filled up. The actual ride to T3 took all of 3 minutes. United doesn't have its own lounge so we used the Alitalia Giotto Lounge. We were in the lounge by about 8:10. The good thing was that the lounge was literally next to our gate. Boarding for the flight was supposed to start at 9:05 but actually began at around 9:20 AM.

So for those of you that are considering early flights, I'd say while there are always risks, it's perfectly possible to comfortably make the early flights. We actually had almost an hour of cushion time from when we went to the lounge to when boarding for our flight was supposed to start which would have been sufficient to absorb any delays in case the ship was cleared late, etc. So if you have a flight that works for you, go for it but I'd say no earlier than 9:30-10 am. Just make sure you have a good car service lined up to take you from the cruise port to the airport and you should be set.

Thank you so much! We have a 10:50 flight out of FCO on United. Our private transfer is scheduled for 6:30. I hope our cruise docks early and we can self-disembark at 6:15. Did you enjoy your cruise? We leave next Sunday on the 9 night greece/turkey.

For a 10:50 flight you have plenty of time. You could even consider changing your transfer time to 7 am. Rome airport is not exactly brimming with facilities and around the gates, seating is in very short supply, so why prolong your stay at the airport? :)

Yes we had a wonderful time, I'm sure you will too. It's pretty hot so pack lots of light clothes, hats and sunscreen. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for sharing your experience.

The key is that anytime you cruise and arrive at the port of disembarkation there are risks with early flights, some of which are out of control of the ship.

Also procedures vary by cruise line.

Glad it worked out well for you.

Keith