spindrift Posted February 23, 2014 #1 Share Posted February 23, 2014 We have been in Venice a couple of times with Oceania, and have usually been at a hotel following the cruise; however, this time we have a 6:55 a.m. flight out the day we disembark. We have to be at the airport at least 3 hours prior to the flight, so does anyone have a recommendation for getting there? We stayed at the Molina Stuckey (by the way, lovely hotel), and it took some time to get to the airport. We are in our 70's and 80's and not apt to be in a hauling luggage/running mood. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Noxequifans Posted February 23, 2014 #2 Share Posted February 23, 2014 You will probably want to arrange private transport to the airport. Using Google on the Internet you can locate such a company. At the time you will be leaving the ship, there should be no road traffic issues. As far as your luggage getting off the ship you may need to explore the issue with O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted February 23, 2014 #3 Share Posted February 23, 2014 (edited) My inlaws (just your age at the time) used Treviso http://www.trevisocarservice.com/en/ NOTE You have to be very specific with Italian Drivers, if you are going to want them to help you with your luggage, because they don't see luggage handling as an "included service" when you hire a car and driver. If you are willing to pay for it, however, Treviso will get you a Driver who will do it, but you must be up front with them when you MAKE the Reservation. Your "major" luggage will be on the Pier, where there are always Porters on arrival day, and if you will need help getting off of the ship with your carry-on luggage, talk to Reception two or three days BEFORE the cruise ends, so that they can schedule a bellman. Have a great trip :D Edited February 23, 2014 by JimandStan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted February 23, 2014 #4 Share Posted February 23, 2014 We have used http://www.veniceshuttle.it. several times. They are a full service transfer/ taxi service with no middleman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambagahle Posted February 24, 2014 #5 Share Posted February 24, 2014 (edited) I hope that the ship will be in port overnight or getting to the airport 3 hours before an 0655 flight is going to be impossible. Are you sure you need to be there 3 hrs prior? Here in Europe it is usually 2 hours for international (= trans-continental but I don't think the Marco Polo airport handles any none European destinations) flights in economy and 90mins or less in business. One hour prior for all European flights. Maybe better check with the airline? It is going to take you nearly an hour to get off the ship, get your luggage, get into the car and get to the airport. And if the ship only docks that morning this doesn't look too realistic to me... Edited February 24, 2014 by Hambagahle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted February 24, 2014 #6 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I hope that the ship will be in port overnight or getting to the airport 3 hours before an 0655 flight is going to be impossible. Are you sure you need to be there 3 hrs prior? Here in Europe it is usually 2 hours for international (= trans-continental but I don't think the Marco Polo airport handles any none European destinations) flights in economy and 90mins or less in business. One hour prior for all European flights. Maybe better check with the airline? It is going to take you nearly an hour to get off the ship, get your luggage, get into the car and get to the airport. And if the ship only docks that morning this doesn't look too realistic to me... We flew into Marco Polo 3 times on USAirways and yes American carriers require 3 hours unless your business or first class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted February 24, 2014 #7 Share Posted February 24, 2014 We flew into Marco Polo 3 times on USAirways and yes American carriers require 3 hours unless your business or first class. I'm positive that what you say is true, but before going to ANY Aiport, and I mean ANY AIRPORT as early as the OP is considering, one should always confirm that they will be open. Even JFK (our Home Airport) is NOT a 24/7 Operation. We learned that the hard way :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted February 24, 2014 #8 Share Posted February 24, 2014 We didn't learn that the hard way about JFK but we DID learn it. We had a 7:25 am flight (which turned out to be 10:00 am but that's another story) to Vancouver with a very brief time to get to our flight to Beijing. The airlines had told us when we needed to be there ... unfortunately the airport didn't open until 6am -- or maybe it was 6:30 -- and the lines were absolutely incredible just to check in. I've never seen it so bad at JFK. We did get on board in plenty of time and were all ready to take off promptly at 7am when they made an announcement that ... is the other story! And yes, we did miss our connection in Vancouver but were able to get onto an Air China flight. We were the last people to board. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted February 24, 2014 #9 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I'm positive that what you say is true, but before going to ANY Aiport, and I mean ANY AIRPORT as early as the OP is considering, one should always confirm that they will be open.Even JFK (our Home Airport) is NOT a 24/7 Operation. We learned that the hard way :o Sorry, never noticed what time they would have to be there. We have never left that early from MP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 24, 2014 #10 Share Posted February 24, 2014 I have read elsewhere that the MP airport does not open until 4:30 am & is chaos in the early morning You may want to check on Trip advisor for Venice or on the Port of call forum surely someone has been there, done that ;) JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted February 25, 2014 Author #11 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Great replies. Thanks a million. Yes, we are Business Class, and yes, we were told "3" hours ahead. We are, in fact, in Venice overnight. I will check every option you all have mentioned. I know when we went from the Molino Stucky, we passed the area where the ships were docked, but it was a little bit later in the morning--still early, but a bit later. That was, of course, in a water taxi. When you got off the taxi you had a short shuttle to the airport. I think this early I would prefer the ground transportation. This is GREAT help. Keep it coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Rosebery Posted February 25, 2014 #12 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Great replies. Thanks a million. Yes, we are Business Class, and yes, we were told "3" hours ahead. We are, in fact, in Venice overnight. I will check every option you all have mentioned. I know when we went from the Molino Stucky, we passed the area where the ships were docked, but it was a little bit later in the morning--still early, but a bit later. That was, of course, in a water taxi. When you got off the taxi you had a short shuttle to the airport. I think this early I would prefer the ground transportation. This is GREAT help. Keep it coming. The airport won't be open at 4AM. Not sure when it does open. Taxi from pier to departure area will be 30 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urlaub Posted February 26, 2014 #13 Share Posted February 26, 2014 We left Oceania Riviera last summer early in the morning. I made a taxi reservation ( I think the price was about 60 €) via Internet at "radiotaxivenezia". You need a little time to get your answer in english but it worked well. The day before we left we asked the nice concierge to reconfirm our reservation and to secure that the luggage would be out in time. She called radiotaxivenezia and the driver was there in time. The driving time to the airport was about 30 minutes. I hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted February 27, 2014 #14 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I'm fairly certain that if you contact your Air Carrier again, with the information that you're flying in Business Class on what is probably the first flight of the morning (i.e. before the Security Lines have had a chance to build up), they may tell you that getting to the Airport two hours ahead will give you plenty of time. Anyway, it's worth asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted February 27, 2014 Author #15 Share Posted February 27, 2014 JimandStan, I will call them again. At least I have some "talking info" to determine the correct time. My husband has a pacemaker, so usually it takes longer to go through security. I love having our GOES status here in the US. Fast & efficient. Thank you urlaub. That helps. Do you think that the water taxi would be good, or should we stick with the ground transportation. We stayed at the airport Marriott the last time when we embarked our ship, and it was an easy transport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted February 27, 2014 #16 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Do you think that the water taxi would be good, or should we stick with the ground transportation. The Water Taxi, which will take three times as long as driving, is all about charm, views and sightseeing; at 5AM you're more likely going to be interested in the nice warm back seat of a land taxi.....and maybe even a pillow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted February 27, 2014 #17 Share Posted February 27, 2014 As such experienced travelers I'm sure you considered this but I suggest you walk off with your luggage. A still sore point was a early disembarkation in Athens to meet a post trip tour that we almost missed taking the advice from the Concierge and more so, the Destination Desk. We checked with them several times as we had several choices early on and were assured I was over concerned. Bottom line is they were wrong or not knowledgeable or made assumptions about things that were in fact my concerns. We only made our connection thanks to an excellent Athens' taxi driver. If you must leave early then take charge of yourself. Enjoy your trip spindrift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted February 28, 2014 Author #18 Share Posted February 28, 2014 YoHoHo, we cannot carry off our own luggage like we used to. I'll look at the ground transfer as JimandStan suggested. Love the thought of maybe a pillow. Ha Ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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