Barcelona departure

[cole]

We have the Western Med. cruise scheduled for this time next year and in checking flights to and from Barcelona, noticed that the only departure time back to the US (Delta) is at 10:00 a.m. Would be interested in hearing what experience those who are doing this cruise this year have as they dock, disembark and travel to the airport. I am sure others will have the same interest.

Thanks for your help.

B. Cole

[garycarla]

Yes, there are others with this same interest as this does get posting from time to time. Seems like past reports have indicated you should be okay.

 

Personally, we stayed in Barcelona for an extra night and then flew home. Made for no stress.

 

Just did a search on BARCELONA AIRPORT and found a bunch of threads with some personal experiences.

[RuthlessBunny]

We disembarqued from a Silversea Med cruise at about 4:00 am (or somesuch unholy hour) to catch that Delta flight. Our cruise arrived in Barcelona a day early though, so we didn't have an issue.

 

We were at the airport so early that nothing was open for about an hour or so. Just a group of us wandering around trying to get a cup of coffee.

[ranchette]

We have the Western Med. cruise scheduled for this time next year and in checking flights to and from Barcelona, noticed that the only departure time back to the US (Delta) is at 10:00 a.m. Would be interested in hearing what experience those who are doing this cruise this year have as they dock, disembark and travel to the airport. I am sure others will have the same interest.

Thanks for your help.

B. Cole

Are the flights on Delta for this time next year already out?

[sunshine nana]

Our original Delta flight that we bought was listed at 11:30 am, then it was changed to 10:30am. By the time we sailed it was back to 11:30 and we were at the airport by 7:30am, plenty of time.

[Why Knot Me]

We've done the Med. twice from Barcelona. One time we would have made a 10:00 flight but the other time we wouldn't have due to delays during debarkation.

[rhoeffner]

I had the same problem on our Med Cruise in and out of Barcelona. Here is what I wished I would have done - but only thought of it after I got home! LOL

 

In order to get cheaper airfare we did a short lay over in Frankfurt. I did that on the way, but I should have done it on the way back instead. It would have allowed me to depart Barcelona later in the day alleviating my concern of missing our flight. We would have had our layover of 8 hours in Frankfurt (actually, I think I might have planned an overnight there), then made the final flight home.

 

As it was, I put the 8 hour layover in Frankfurt going and we were still green about striking out on trains and in areas we weren't sure about, so we sorta wasted the 8 hours there. After having gotten accustomed to the unknown and striking out on our own over the course of our cruise, we would have been seasoned troopers by the time we got to Frankfurt and would have really enjoyed it. We just spent the night in Barcelona and flew out at 6AM the following morning...at least the airport was quiet with no security lines!!

 

The point of all this rambling is perhaps you could break the flight up and have a stopover, even if not overnight, which would allow you to have a later flight time from Barcelona. Building in that layover, saved me big $$$ on our flight for some reason. This was last year, so might not be the same now, but perhaps worth a look.

[trintrav]

Ill let you know. We are returning from BCN - (BCN - Madrid - Dallas - Nashville) on Sunday, 10/17 on AA. Our flight from BCN to Madrid is at 10 am and the cruise line says we can make it. (Jade docks at 5am). I bought insurance just in case.

 

We plan to self-disembark at 630 am, and I have prearranged a2btransfers to the airport. If they are not there, we will immediately take a cab.

 

I plan to write a review, so this will be addressed for sure as there are plenty of folks that have opinions one way or another. I would have preferred to overnight again in Barcelona, but our schedule dictates that we get home Sunday night.

[baggal]

There will be people on this board that will tell you its no problem to make a 10 a.m. flight. Which might very well be the case - on paper. Yes, there will be plenty of cabs at the port, and yes, if you're traveling on a Saturday or Sunday traffic will be very light. But, the ship can be delayed in reaching the port due to bad weather; disembarkation can be delayed by the port authority for whatever reason; the airline check-in can be a long wait; the first security screening most definitely will have a long line. And if you are flying directly to the U.S. without stopping in another EU country, you will have to go through another secondary, and sometimes more thorough security screening. And finally, some airlines won't let you board the plane at the last minute.

 

We stayed over in Barcelona an extra day. Its up to you whether you like living on the edge.

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

What I don't undertsand is why the airlines don't better accomodate all the cruisers heading back to the US from Barcelona??? :confused:

 

Barcelona is not a new port. People need this flight every week, and I am shocked they do not offer any flights around noon. Especially curious is what is going to happen when the Disney ship gets out there too!

 

If we have to spend a night AFTER the cruise, we'll have to lose the day BEFORE the cruise to keep wihtin our vacation times.

 

Will be curious to see what the schedule looks like for next Fall.

 

Come on airlines -- work with us! HAHA!

[KirkNC]

Do the self-disembarkation. You will be the first ones off the ship and long gone before most start to get off. We have done this for years. In Venice, 7:00 docking, the airport before 7:45. In Civitavecchia, docked at 7:05, in Rome by 8:00.

 

Kirk

[rebel9040]

Delta does have a 12:55p.m. flight from Barcelona to Paris to Atlanta

 

Go to the BCN airport website and access all daily departures & arrivals...very handy way to find flights that don't normally show up during a search.

 

Search Delta flights by schedule on the Delta website to find the 12:55p.m flight

[merprincess]

We are flying Delta in May 2011, to and from Barcelona. We have opted to spend an extra night in Barcelona pre and post cruise. I don't want to have to worry about missing the ship or missing our flight. I don't want to deal with an early disembarkation after a very port intensive cruise. I just feel for us, this is the best way to do it.

[HeinBloed]

Caution:

 

there are Delta Direct Flights to the US without transfers in European Airports.

 

You need to be at the airport at 07.45-08.00 hrs to go through immigration and security and special security for US flights.

 

there are Delta Flights via Paris or Amsterdam (or other intra-Schengen airports like Madrid, Frankfurt, Milan etc.): for those you need to be at the airport at around 08.45-09.00 hrs as there is only one security check in Barcelona and your first flight is physically on Air France or KLM and it's only a code-share flight with Delta.

 

Regards

HeinBloed