NCL Star Venice Disembarkation

[Purplevalentine]

Hello!   I will be sailing the NCL Star this Oct. from Venice to the Greek Isles.  Trying to gain some insight for disembarkation in Venice.  I'm currently looking at some flights out of Venice (to London for a stopover).  Initially, I thought I would be taking a 3:45 pm flight out of VCE - Marco Polo airport to LGW -Gatwick but there is another flight that leaves earlier at 11:30 am.  My question is - Is 11:30 am flight too early to catch, (leaving the ship, coach transport provided by NCL to the airport)?  I would prefer the earlier flight at 11:30 am as it would give us time to go into London for a few hours in the afternoon.  This is only my 2nd NCL cruise, last year disembarking in Barcelona where I stayed for 2 nights so time wasn't an issue.  I went to the NCL website/ reservation and put in my potential flight for transfers to the airport.  Nothing came back as a NO so i'm assuming timing is good?  Any advice would be helpful! 

 

Thanks in advance,

Karen

[WanderlustJourney]

As long as you have travel insurance, 11:30am should be ok.

There have been instances in the past where the fog was too thick in the morning for ships to safely manoeuvre through the canal and disembarkation was delayed by a few hours.

I did the Oct 7th to 14th sailing last year and we were docked by 7:00am.

Have a great cruise, I had a great time!

[leongcpa]

If everything goes perfectly, then you should be ok, but personally, I think 11:30 is too early.  I like to have a large margin for error. I've flown out at 1pm at VCE on the day of disembarkation, and it was a bit stressful (and this was my second time in 5 years flying out of VCE). Venice's airport is a bit of a hot mess;  particularly the check-in process... as you will first need to find the right counter. Unlike most airports where check-in counters are on one floor in a centralized location, the check-in counters at VCE are spread out, across two floors. Secondly, the check in counters don't open until 2 (or was it 3?) hours before the flight is scheduled to take off, which means there will likely be a very long line to check in when you get there. The counter agents will literally just be chatting happily amongst themselves, serving no one, while passengers angrily wait in line, prior to the duly appointed opening time. Admittedly, if you get there early, you may just end up waiting a longer time in this line, but at least, you'll be at the front of the line, rather than the back. Once checked in, the security process is easier and if you have Priority Pass, there is a lounge there you can use. I think I used it for about 45 minutes before the flight - enough time to eat a mini-sandwich, a pastry, and a coffee. 

Edited March 29, 2019 by leongcpa

[cloud_nine]

Check in always opens 2-3 hours early (depending on where you're flying to) in every European airport I've ever been to. That's why they tell you to get to the airport 2-3 hours before the flight time, so I don't see why this is such a big deal? The lines are always long, but you're always through in plenty of time. If OP is flying to London, they'll only need to get to the airport 2 hours before their flight, so that's 9.30. As long as the ship docks on time, then this should be no problem with getting to the airport for the 11.30 flight.

[KeithJenner]

Last time I disembarked in Venice, we caught the 11.30am to LGW. No problem at all, and I don't recall us rushing. We went by taxi.

[Son of a son of a ...]

We did this cruise last October 2018 and there would be no problems making that flight as long as you self-assist disembarkation and arranged transportation - see Wonderlust’s post.  However, the same cruise in 2017 could not make port due to fog for several hours ... I believe they disembarked around 2 pm. 

 

 

[Purplevalentine]

9 hours ago, WanderlustJourney said:

Thank you WanderlustJourney!  Travel Insurance - good call!  I would hate to have a fog incident and miss my flight with no back-up.

 

 

As long as you have travel insurance, 11:30am should be ok.

There have been instances in the past where the fog was too thick in the morning for ships to safely manoeuvre through the canal and disembarkation was delayed by a few hours.

I did the Oct 7th to 14th sailing last year and we were docked by 7:00am.

Have a great cruise, I had a great time!

2

 

[Purplevalentine]

2 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Last time I disembarked in Venice, we caught the 11.30am to LGW. No problem at all, and I don't recall us rushing. We went by taxi.

 

 

Thank you KeithJenner! 

[Purplevalentine]

3 hours ago, leongcpa said:

Thanks, Leongcpa for the insight.  I too am usually a later flight person.  I normally don't book anything before noon just in case.  I did check with NCL and a rep told me 11:30 am flight would be fine, their cut off time or I should say their suggested times are no flights before 11:00 am.

 

 

 

If everything goes perfectly, then you should be ok, but personally, I think 11:30 is too early.  I like to have a large margin for error. I've flown out at 1pm at VCE on the day of disembarkation, and it was a bit stressful (and this was my second time in 5 years flying out of VCE). Venice's airport is a bit of a hot mess;  particularly the check-in process... as you will first need to find the right counter. Unlike most airports where check-in counters are on one floor in a centralized location, the check-in counters at VCE are spread out, across two floors. Secondly, the check in counters don't open until 2 (or was it 3?) hours before the flight is scheduled to take off, which means there will likely be a very long line to check in when you get there. The counter agents will literally just be chatting happily amongst themselves, serving no one, while passengers angrily wait in line, prior to the duly appointed opening time. Admittedly, if you get there early, you may just end up waiting a longer time in this line, but at least, you'll be at the front of the line, rather than the back. Once checked in, the security process is easier and if you have Priority Pass, there is a lounge there you can use. I think I used it for about 45 minutes before the flight - enough time to eat a mini-sandwich, a pastry, and a coffee. 

5

 

[racingraysswimmom]

Last October from the Star we had a 11:50 flight out from Venice.  We were able to get off the ship before 8 and had pre arranged transport waiting for us to take us to airport.  We made it to the airport in plenty of time HOWEVER we could not check in for flights till 2 hours ahead.  If you are stopping in London - it is not considered international.  

If at all possible you need to get your boarding passes ahead of time.  We couldn't get them on our phones to check in and did not do it onlilne on ship.

Lines at airport are long.

[JDBRANDT17042]

On 3/29/2019 at 6:32 PM, Son of a son of a ... said:

We did this cruise last October 2018 and there would be no problems making that flight as long as you self-assist disembarkation and arranged transportation - see Wonderlust’s post.  However, the same cruise in 2017 could not make port due to fog for several hours ... I believe they disembarked around 2 pm. 

 

 

+1 for the self-assist comment.  It puts you off the ship first, but only at the speed of the customs people.  For a recent dis-emb in Miami, NCL recommended making no flight arrangement sooner than 6 hours past arrival time.  That recommendation was not in the pre-cruise document, but only revealed once we got on board. (!)

[Budget Queen]

I've  had 2 delayed debarking in Venice,  and very long lines at the airport.    Lots of people missed flights.  

 

No one can  predict what you will encounter.    Verify the NCL shuttle cut off,  if you are using that.   but,  you would, likely,  get there quicker transiting independent.   

[Cruising89143]

We have debarked twice from this port but not on NCL (RCI and X). Both times we walked off the ship early that morning with our own luggage. We walked straight out to a car service that I had ordered and made it to the airport in no time. We beat the buses that were taking cruise guests to the airport. Check-in at the airport can take some time so be prepared. I also recall that security took a little longer than it does here in the U.S. The number of ships in port can affect the situation but on both trips we made 10:30 AM flights home. 

[KeithJenner]

10 minutes ago, JDBRANDT17042 said:

It puts you off the ship first, but only at the speed of the customs people.

Customs will not be an issue at all on for this itinerary. It is nothing like Miami. There is no customs or immigration to go through.

[Son of a son of a ...]

58 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

I've  had 2 delayed debarking in Venice,  and very long lines at the airport.    Lots of people missed flights.  

 

No one can  predict what you will encounter.    Verify the NCL shuttle cut off,  if you are using that.   but,  you would, likely,  get there quicker transiting independent.   

 

Consistent with all my research for our Oct 2018 cruise.  We bought higher end insurance for this cruise based on contingency planning - we were returning to the US on the day of disembarkation.  Ended up not needing to file a claim because everything went smoothly, but the peace of mind was worth the price.