Can I Book a 11 AM Return Flight From Rome Italy After My Cruise?

[Anka Aweigh]

We're traveling on a Celebrity cruise in July that will end in Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy. The schedule says the ship will arrive at 5 AM. We're trying to book a return flight back to the US. However, we're finding that most flights are in the morning with only a few choices after 12 PM. For those who have taken cruises that ended in Rome, can we book a 11:30 AM flight out of the Rome Airport?

 

I know the Rome Airport is about an hour ride away from the cruise port, but not sure how long it'll take to get thru Customs and security. I think if we can get off the ship by 8 or 8:30, we should be ok, right? How early can we get off the ship?

 

Thanks for you help!

Do you really want or need the stress? Book a later flight or book a night in an Airbnb. There are too many delays that could happen.

[irial77]

We have an 11:00 flight booked out of FCO on the day of arrival to port. Ours is to Athens, though, so within the Schengen area, and we are EU nationals. We are planning to do self disembark at 7 and have a car pick us up at 7:30. Civitavecchia port has actually been pretty straight forward for our previous cruises so I’m not worried about the schedule at all. Naturally something can always go horribly wrong but that’s always a possibility in life.

 

 

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[Velvetwater]

We were in this situation after our Panama Canal cruise (flight home from LAX to Frankfurt so going the other way).

 

Cost wise we had to choose between a 11.30am and a 7pm flight...the ones in between were pricey.

 

We picked the later flight and were glad we did because the port of Los Angeles was slow and by the time we were cleared as no US internationals, got on a Carnival airport shuttle and soaked up the LA atmosphere it was 10am. Got to the airport a little while later then chilled out in LA before getting out flight as we had time to wander out the airport before our flight.

[CruiserBruce]

Not really an apples to apples comparison. First, US Immigration and Customs can be much slower that any European Passport Check and Customs we have ever been through...although US Customs is getting easier. But, depending on where the OP's ship has been, there may be NO Passport check or Customs at Civi when they get off. I am sure there was definitely Immigration and Customs when you got off the ship in LA. Second, I doubt the OP has a choice for a late in the day flight from FCO direct to the US...that is not a standard flight schedule for FCO. They would have to stay overnight and get an early flight the next day, as has been discussed.

[jlp20]

European air line guidelines a bit different. They may require airport ARRIVAL two hours prior to scheduled departure. You might want to check this first before looking at any particular flight.

[Velvetwater]

Not really an apples to apples comparison. First, US Immigration and Customs can be much slower that any European Passport Check and Customs we have ever been through...although US Customs is getting easier. But, depending on where the OP's ship has been, there may be NO Passport check or Customs at Civi when they get off. I am sure there was definitely Immigration and Customs when you got off the ship in LA. Second, I doubt the OP has a choice for a late in the day flight from FCO direct to the US...that is not a standard flight schedule for FCO. They would have to stay overnight and get an early flight the next day, as has been discussed.

 

 

1)You have been incredibly lucky with European checks it seems. I have known delays with both EU and non Eu residents just this past Autumn season. This has got more so with recent security concerns in Europe. Then theres the Italian traffic in nearby areas due to it being a large port.

 

2)It doesn't matter where the ship has been...there can be a variety of delays for all sorts of reasons and all ports. These can be based on the nationalities of a few passengers

 

3)Flights that are early and late are always cheaper than nice afternoon flights in my experience which is why I gave my example. I felt I would be much happier bored and waiting than rushing for a long haul flight.

 

 

I never said it was apples to apples I just simple gave my experience when we had a similar choice and how it turned out. That is all.

 

No wonder some posters are reluctant to post on help threads anymore when they get bashed by other posters when they were just trying to help/give their experience.

[pris993]

We have flown out of Rome a number of times, sometimes directly back to usa and sometimes to France. Advice has always been not to book a flight back to usa before 11:30 am. I have followed this direction... sometimes I had plenty of time, some times my flight on American Airlines was late getting in to Rome and I waited even longer.. If I wanted to take an earlier flight, I have stayed one night at the Hilton at FCO. Got off the ship, checked into the hotel and then went into Rome for a day and took a flight the next day. I would rather be safe than sorry. International travel is not easy... do not want to make harder if I can avoid it. Flights are full these days, would hate to miss a flight.

[J_M_F]

Check in at FCO can be very long. We spent several days in Rome after our cruise. We had a morning flight out of FCO. We thought we had allowed plenty of time, almost three hours. It took us two hours to check in at Al Italia (code share with Delta). Then we found that to pay for our extra bags we had to go to another desk with its own line. After waiting 20 minutes I finally forced my way to the front of the line explaining I would miss my flight if I didn't. Then we had to clear security for US bound passengers. Fortunately that was rather fast. Then we literally ran to the gate which was a looong way away. We made it just as they were closing the gate. I would allow myself plenty of time at FCO and pay for any extra bags online if you have access to a computer. Be aware that you may well run into a fair amount of commuter traffic between the port and FCO in the morning.

[mfan]

What have you decided you will do as to flying home?

 

Still haven't booked yet, but based on everyone's feedback, I think we're going to stay an extra night to eliminate any chances of missing the flight. That would be a disastrous end to, hopefully, a wonderful cruise vacation! :cool:

[Keith1010]

Still haven't booked yet, but based on everyone's feedback, I think we're going to stay an extra night to eliminate any chances of missing the flight. That would be a disastrous end to, hopefully, a wonderful cruise vacation! :cool:

 

Very wise.

 

I tend to be very cautious because when I traveled for business I have seen it all and I don't want to spend a minute worrying.

 

I have also seen people screaming on ships when ships delayed and on airport lines when they may miss the flight. None of this for me.

 

Keith

[Korimako]

Just to reiterate what other people with international flight experience have said - we fly annually (and have done for decades) from NZ to whichever European airport is our best option for that particular trip - and back.

Given the heightened security checks , we always allow 3 hours before our departure time. Sometimes security is speedy and we're far too early and have to spend time in the business class lounge (oh - what hardship!!) and other times it's a much longer security issue - depending on whether there have been any recent incidents.

Why give yourself added unnecessary stress??

[mfan]

Still haven't booked yet, but based on everyone's feedback, I think we're going to stay an extra night to eliminate any chances of missing the flight. That would be a disastrous end to, hopefully, a wonderful cruise vacation! :cool:

 

Ok, thanks to everyone's input, we've decided to stay an extra night just to be safe and to not feel rushed. As it turned out, our airfare savings will be more than the cost of extra night of hotel...:D

[Velvetwater]

Ok, thanks to everyone's input, we've decided to stay an extra night just to be safe and to not feel rushed. As it turned out, our airfare savings will be more than the cost of extra night of hotel...:D

 

Bonus! :)

 

Also after the cruise you may see the city in a new light even if you stayed there 10 days previously. Always something different to see.