Airline Cancelled My Flight

[dalitos]

I wanted to reply to you yesterday but the site didn't let me post, anyway there is a connection flight from ROM to NYC via WAS departing at 11:10 AM.. the connection in WAS is 2 hrs so kind of a pain, but at least you won't be so rushed to the airport... I mean you can try to make the 9:50 and if you don't get there in time take the 11:10. It is a codeshare with UA, but I'm sure CO will be able to accommodate since the reschedule is their responsability to begin with.

[CruisinManiac]

Any update? :)

[tom_uk]

I've started and finished cruises at Civitavecchia three times now. I haven't had to get to an early flight myself, but this is my experience of what's happened.

 

First, on each of the three occasions the ship has been pretty much on time - certainly it's been docked before 5am. Nor are there any problems with 'official clearance': this is the Schengen Zone, and as long as your last port of call is in another Schengen country (which includes Greece, France, Spain, etc) then the border is open. Also, as long as your last port was within the EU there's no customs - the EU is a customs union. And in any case your previous port might be another Italian port - Naples - so even if you're dubious about all this Schengen Zone or EU stuff, moving from one Italian port to another won't ever involve official clearance. (This is all very different from the experience in the US ports, i gather.) But overall the only thing preventing the ship docking very early in the morning would be a mechanical problem.

 

I've seen people getting off Celebrity ships very early - around 6am - with their luggage, and being met by car services at that time. So that sort of thing is possible. I would suggest that keeping your luggage and disembarking with it would be essential, however.

 

The drive from Civ to Fiumicino is normally about an hour or very slightly under. And that's actually from getting in the car on the quayside, to being dropped outside Departures at Leonardo da Vinci airport. I wouldn't try it any other way, however: I don't know what the trains are doing at the time of day, and in any case there's no direct train, you have to get a train into Rome and another one out to the airport. At least 2 hours, I would say. I'm also not sure how likely it is that there will be taxis available early in the morning. So you pretty much have to book a limo service, or a small coach if there are enough of you.

 

So: if the ship doesn't break down, and you book a limo service, and there are no holdups on the road, there's no reason why you shouldn't be off the ship before 6am and at the airport before 7am.

[footer6]

We used Rome cabs--you can e-mail Stefano & explain your tight time siituation. We used them pre cruise to our hotel in CV & post cruise to the airport hotel

 

He gave us a great driver who was the very first on line to pick us up---excellent all the way!!!

 

I did just that. Stefano has assured me that a 6:30 departure for the airport will work. We will walk the bags off. Continental is now operating only one flight a day into and out of Rome. I don't know what they did with the other passengers from now cancelled Flight 43. The plane was nearly full. The good news - Continental did refund the extra money I paid for the later flight.

[CruisinManiac]

Glad things are working out for you. :)