Venice, Port to Airport

[Mr305]

I'll be on Rhapsody of The Seas out of Venice in July, booked an outbound flight for 10:55am.  For those that have sailed this itinerary before, do you think I'll have enough time to make my flight?  From doing research, ship gets in at 6:45AM and its a 20 minute taxi ride to the airport.  Would love to hear your opinion and how it worked out for any of you that have done the same in the past.

[mapleleaves]

It's a 20 minute ride, and you should be AT the airport at least 2 1/2 hrs prior to departure.

So backing into that, your car/bus/cab needs to be pulling away from the curb at 8am to make an 11am flight. 

Be prepared for long lines and chaos at the airport. 

 

[hallasm]

The answer does depend on airline and destination of flight from Venice. If within Europe one hour is sufficient - international is two hours. A 10:55 flight will be fine.

[mapleleaves]

I've flown to Spain and to Portugal from Venice and both times we needed the full 2 1/2 hrs.  The lines were the same whether our flight was within Europe or back to the States.

 

I've had nothing but problems at Marco Polo so I encourage people to be cautious with their time.  I'd rather have an extra 20-30 minutes at the airport, than be running for the gate hoping to make the flight.  

 

[Mr305]

I'll be flying to Madrid with Air Europa.  How soon has anyone been able to get off the ship, plan to debark with luggage to save time on that front?

[Mr305]

Also, how difficult is it to get a taxi when getting off the ship, is there a line of them waiting or you must hunt one down on your own?

[JohninDC]

We had a lower number and were off the ship with bags by about 8:30 last summer - some had lower numbers and others carried their bags off the ship and were off earlier.

 

We pre-booked our transport and the driver/van were waiting for us (Trevisio car service - Marta was easy to work with and promptly replied to our emails).  There were some cab drivers there waiting, but it was typical Italy - no line, more of a scrum with lots of arguing and bargaining.  I was happy we had pre-booked our ride (4 passenger, 60 Euros).

 

VCE is a mess.  Get there ASAP, check-in lines were long, security was inefficient, and then passport control took a long time.  We had a flight to the UK leaving at noon and were okay, but with an 11:00 flight time I would consider carrying my bags off the ship.

 

Good luck!

[Mr305]

Plan to call Royal to see what options they offer as well, with the idea that if I book through them, I'll have higher priority when debarking the ship.  Even if it costs a bit more money, I'm willing to pay it just to get there on time.  With that said, as far as passports, you don't need a Visa to travel within Europe if coming from the US?  For our 2016 cruise out of Barcelona, a Visa was not required.  Just checking to make sure  nothing has changed.

[Mr305]

Looking at Royal's Website, they offer a third party company.  However, that company's website doesn't show any sail dates beyond Oct 16th, 2017.  Not sure if they are still in business, will find out later today.  Thank you JohnInDC for the recommendation and for sharing your experience.

[JohninDC]

No visa required, but we still had to line up at passport control (after security and the mandatory walk through the duty free shops) at VCE even though we were flying to the UK.

 

Cruise line transport may not work for you with an early flight - keep searching!

[hallasm]

12 hours ago, JohninDC said:

No visa required, but we still had to line up at passport control (after security and the mandatory walk through the duty free shops) at VCE even though we were flying to the UK.

Visa not required for US citizens for travel in Schengen Zone -  UK is not part of Schengen zone  - no passport control either as long as you travel within the 26 countries in the Schengen Zone. An electronic ETIAS (similar to US ESTA) will be implemented and registration will be required prior to entering the Schengen Zone - The system will be in place in 2021. More Schengen info.

Edited January 9, 2019 by hallasm

[JohninDC]

All I saw was that everyone, including our UK friends travelling with us, had to go through the passport control line for all flights to anywhere in Europe. not just flights to the UK. Not sure what the process would have been if you were flying to the USA or somewhere outside of Europe. It was a long line, and when you finally got to the head of the line they barely looked at your passport and boarding card.  It was just another long, painful part of the process at VCE - love Venice but I hate the airport!

[Mr305]

For our Barcelona cruise, remember just walking off the ship into the terminal and out to the street.  The whole process took less than 15 minutes, debarked with our luggage.

[C00K13]

On 1/8/2019 at 4:56 AM, Mr305 said:

I'll be flying to Madrid with Air Europa.  How soon has anyone been able to get off the ship, plan to debark with luggage to save time on that front?

 

We were looking at the same flight Venice(VCE)-Madrid(MAD) with Air Europa at 10:40am on Sunday and was wondering if it will be sufficient?

 

From my research, our cruise NCL Star will arrive at 7AM but the posted arrival time as 8AM on their site.

Do you guys know if this is due to the Customs Officer are not operating until 8AM?

 

It looks like there are 4 other cruise ships (Marella Celebration, Costa Deliziosa, MSC Magnifica, MSC Opera) arriving at Venice around 8AM & 9AM on that day.

 

 

We're almost certain either to get private transfer with NCL or pre-booked taxi service to the airport if planning on 10:40am.

Or does anyone think we should go for the later flight?

 

 

[JohninDC]

Welcome to the boards! 

 

Does you cruise also originate from Vanice?  Usually no delay for customs and immigration for inter- Europe cruises.  We cruises Venice last summer and never saw customs or immigration.

 

 

For a 10:40 flight you need to be at the airport by about 9:00, and 8:30 is better - VCE is a mess!  As long as you are off the ship eargl, with bags, and in your transportation by about 8:00 you should be okay.

 

Have a great cruise. 

[C00K13]

Thank you...

 

Indeed .. The cruise will start and end from Venice

[bennybear]

In the same situation we paid to change to afternoon flights and were glad we did.   It can be a complete zoo and if your ship docks late...

[bound4sea]

We will be arriving in Venice 6/1 (Sat) at 6:45 on Rhapsody, and through RC's Air2Sea program, we have a 11:35am flight.. from what I'm reading the airport is a bit of a nightmare.. we fly to Amsterdam (on KLM) before heading to Minneapolis (on Delta) - so it is considered a domestic or international flight?

hoping to find out..

what time we should be allowed to depart?

does having 1st class on the flight matter at the airport.. hoping they have a lane for checking bags and getting through the security process 🙂

thanks for any advice..

Linda & Don Phipps

[JohninDC]

You should be off between 7:30-8:00. Your 11;45 flight should be okay, and 1st class tickets should speed you through check-in.

[bound4sea]

thanks!!! getting to/from the airport is always the scariest part for me :-)

[Mr305]

Quick question for anyone that can help.  For those that have cruise out of Venice, if you still remember, at what time did the ship arrive back in port?  Did it arrive as advertised, 6:45AM or earlier and/or later?  Trying to decide if to change my flight or stick with it.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[Hlitner]

On ‎3‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 1:02 PM, Mr305 said:

Quick question for anyone that can help.  For those that have cruise out of Venice, if you still remember, at what time did the ship arrive back in port?  Did it arrive as advertised, 6:45AM or earlier and/or later?  Trying to decide if to change my flight or stick with it.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Most cruise ships do their best to stick to the advertised schedule and Venice is no exception.  But  stuff happens and ships can arrive late (or early).  If you are looking for a guarantee that your ship will dock on schedule, nobody on earth is going to give you what you need.  The odds are very good that your ship will dock on time...and that is about all anyone can say.

 

Hank