Flight Times out of BCN after Disembarking

[Chef Heather]

Hi All,

 

We finish our Med Cruise on Sept. 18th in Barcelona.  I'm in the process of booking either a train or flight to Paris that day.  We dock at 6AM.  Does anyone know what type of "window" I might need to use?  For instance on another cruise our docking time was 8AM but suggested not to make flight arrangements out until after 11AM.

 

Thanks,

Heather

[Cruising89143]

Last week when I was working with Celebrity on booking air they would not book any flights earlier than 11:00 and our ship arrives back in Barcelona at 6:00. Personally I would not book anything before 10:00 as I don’t like stress. We ended up booking air on our own and fly out around noon. 

[ginak1112]

We just got off the Edge in Barcelona. We had a 9:40 flight on American. You can carry your bags off at 6 but we chose to go with the first grouping and pick up our luggage. We arranged for this at guest services during the week. We were called at 6:50, had our bags at 7:00 and in a tax at 7:05. There is no customs to go through and plenty of taxis waiting. We were at the airport with 2 hours to spare. 

[ginak1112]

Also, last year we docked in Barcelona off Celebrity and caught a taxi to the train station. Same thing we were in the first group off. The station is not far from the port. 

[Chef Heather]

Thank you for the replies........

 

Just took a quick look at both flights and trains:

 

Flight out of BCN - 10:05AM (but there is a flight at 12:20PM) - Just would really prefer the earlier

Train out of Barcelona Sants - 9:25AM (otherwise have to spend the night in Barcelona)

 

I guess neither the airport or train station is not that far.......but I'm nervous about cutting it close?!

 

If the ship docks at 6 and we can carry our own luggage off, does that mean we could walk off anytime after the ship is cleared?

 

Thanks again,

Heather

[ginak1112]

27 minutes ago, Chef Heather said:

Thank you for the replies........

 

Just took a quick look at both flights and trains:

 

Flight out of BCN - 10:05AM (but there is a flight at 12:20PM) - Just would really prefer the earlier

Train out of Barcelona Sants - 9:25AM (otherwise have to spend the night in Barcelona)

 

I guess neither the airport or train station is not that far.......but I'm nervous about cutting it close?!

 

If the ship docks at 6 and we can carry our own luggage off, does that mean we could walk off anytime after the ship is cleared?

 

Thanks again,

Heather

Yes you can carry your bags off after 6 am. Seems like plenty of time for the train station. 

[cabarr]

Heather

We have a 10:30 AM BCN/ ATL. We have done walk offs many times in BCN.

plenty of taxis ...

 

By the way where are you a chef in Fl?

Just met chef Scott in a pub in downtown MLB...he invited us to his restaurant after his restaurant was being honored 5 ***** .

 

I see you like wine....Have you found any good wine tours on this cruise?

[rdt10]

deleted

Edited July 15, 2019 by rdt10

[Chef Heather]

Thank you everyone.......just a point to note:

 

I'm NOT flying back home to the US; just either flying or training from Barcelona to Paris, so the regular international immigration etc. issues shouldn't apply here. But I do agree that cutting it close will prove stressful to me.  

[dub345]

Last year we docked at 6 in Barcelona and I walked off around 7:30. I had a 9am train, but I got to the train station so quickly I could easily have made a train at 8 or 8:30.

[ghstudio]

We are in group 2 getting off today and have a 10:30 am flight.  If it’s even a little right, I’ll post back later.....

[Chef Heather]

6 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

We are in group 2 getting off today and have a 10:30 am flight.  If it’s even a little right, I’ll post back later.....

I would be so grateful if you'd update me; we're definitely leaning towards flying to Paris now,  I would really prefer to take the 10:05AM flight, but even though it's not coming back to the US, I'm still nervous that it might be cutting it too close.

 

Tks,

Heather

[ghstudio]

Off the ship at 6:40 (group2) in taxi with bags at 6:48. Arrived airport at 7:10 after fixed 39 euro fixed price cab ride....no traffic problems.  Arrived gate e77 at 7:45.   Be prepared to walk...long Disney like line to get your luggage checked but it goes quickly...then long walk from immigration to gates.  Only one food shop with long line....but we have over 2 hours to kill anyway.

[chemmo]

Barcelona is a ‘straggling’ airport with long walks to gates. We have flown from there short haul on a couple of occasions and had gates changed and been ‘bussed’ to planes. If you can keep hand luggage to a minimum it helps...

 

Personally if I was going to Paris from Barcelona I would look at the train option and travel as light as I could. You arrive in Paris central with metro stops and easy access to hotels. No need for a taxi or coach shuttle to get into the centre from the airport.

 

If you haven’t yet booked your hotel in Paris and fancy a taste of real Paris try the Hotel Astrid near to the Arc de Triumph.  It has an airport shuttle stop a couple of minutes walk away so easy when you do fly home. It isn’t fancy but is so much nicer than a chain hotel option, great location too.

 

If you are nervous about missing connections why not just add in an overnight in Barcelona? Get off the ship at leisure, drop your luggage at a hotel then hoho, enjoy some fabulous tapas then go to airport/rail station the next day relaxed...

 

Whatever you choose to do have a fantastic time!

Edited July 18, 2019 by chemmo

[barbette165]

Not relevant to Heather for an intra-Schengen flight to Paris and too late for ghstudio, but if you have a flight from BCN that involves going through passport control (D and E gates), go through security straight away but not passport control until you have to. The facilities in the main departure area (for gates A-C) are far superior. For the nicotine dependent there are also outdoor patio areas where smoking is permitted.

[Chef Heather]

8 hours ago, ghstudio said:

Off the ship at 6:40 (group2) in taxi with bags at 6:48. Arrived airport at 7:10 after fixed 39 euro fixed price cab ride....no traffic problems.  Arrived gate e77 at 7:45.   Be prepared to walk...long Disney like line to get your luggage checked but it goes quickly...then long walk from immigration to gates.  Only one food shop with long line....but we have over 2 hours to kill anyway.

Thanks gh for the update; great appreciate it!

[Chef Heather]

3 hours ago, barbette165 said:

Not relevant to Heather for an intra-Schengen flight to Paris and too late for ghstudio, but if you have a flight from BCN that involves going through passport control (D and E gates), go through security straight away but not passport control until you have to. The facilities in the main departure area (for gates A-C) are far superior. For the nicotine dependent there are also outdoor patio areas where smoking is permitted.

Is there any way of knowing ahead of time for gates?  For what it's worth we would by flying Air France from to BCN to CDG on either the 10:05am or 12:20pm

[travelplus]

On 7/14/2019 at 12:51 PM, Chef Heather said:

Hi All,

 

We finish our Med Cruise on Sept. 18th in Barcelona.  I'm in the process of booking either a train or flight to Paris that day.  We dock at 6AM.  Does anyone know what type of "window" I might need to use?  For instance on another cruise our docking time was 8AM but suggested not to make flight arrangements out until after 11AM.

 

Thanks,

Heather

 

On 7/18/2019 at 7:56 AM, Chef Heather said:

Is there any way of knowing ahead of time for gates?  For what it's worth we would by flying Air France from to BCN to CDG on either the 10:05am or 12:20pm

My policy is to allow a few days before and a night after the cruise due to any delays. For instance we  plan to arrive a  few days before in Barcelona for our Royal Caribbean cruise and then until 5 PM the next night to fly back to California from Tampa after the B2B. Also I booked us on Southwest so just in case we are delayed more than the allotted time I can just rebook  and pay the fare difference.

I always plan for the worst delay possible due to customs or fog. If we arrive on time then we are the last ones off the ship. Customs processing always seems delayed. Once I left the ship in Barcelona for a 10 AM flight and I had to rush off the ship with no time for breakfast and rush to the airport. NEVER AGAIN!

 

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by travelplus

[Chef Heather]

51 minutes ago, travelplus said:

 

My policy is to allow a few days before and a night after the cruise due to any delays. For instance we  plan to arrive a  few days before in Barcelona for our Royal Caribbean cruise and then until 5 PM the next night to fly back to California from Tampa after the B2B. Also I booked us on Southwest so just in case we are delayed more than the allotted time I can just rebook  and pay the fare difference.

I always plan for the worst delay possible due to customs or fog. If we arrive on time then we are the last ones off the ship. Customs processing always seems delayed. Once I left the ship in Barcelona for a 10 AM flight and I had to rush off the ship with no time for breakfast and rush to the airport. NEVER AGAIN!

 

 

While I appreciate your info, again I am NOT flying back to the US after this cruise; I am flying from Barcelona to Paris, so no passport, immigration, customs, etc is required for this.

[travelplus]

2 minutes ago, Chef Heather said:

While I appreciate your info, again I am NOT flying back to the US after this cruise; I am flying from Barcelona to Paris, so no passport, immigration, customs, etc is required for this.

Well in that case your are good to go but still it helps to overnight just to be less stressed.

[Wine-O]

7 hours ago, Chef Heather said:

While I appreciate your info, again I am NOT flying back to the US after this cruise; I am flying from Barcelona to Paris, so no passport, immigration, customs, etc is required for this.

 

Note that there are 2 terminals in Barcelona, and they are not near each other, so if you decide to fly, make sure you check out what terminal your airline will be at.  🍷

[Chef Heather]

3 hours ago, Wine-O said:

 

Note that there are 2 terminals in Barcelona, and they are not near each other, so if you decide to fly, make sure you check out what terminal your airline will be at.  🍷

Thanks for the reminder!  We're flying Air France, so I'll make sure to pay attention to that!