What is a safe flight time out from Rome following a cruise?

[CuseJeff44]

I need to try to get out that day. It looks like the latest I can get out is 3:45pm that day. Is that doable do you think? I feel like usually we are off the ship in the 8-9am range, through luggage pickup and everything in another 1-2 hours? 1 hour or so to the airport...feel like we are still going to have at least 3 hours to play with? Does this make sense? 

[LHT28]

Anytime after 1pm would probably  work

[CruiserBruce]

If you look on the Italy board, here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/464-italy-ports/

 

where this is a very popular topic, you can, with a little prep, catch a flight as early as 11am.

[leaveitallbehind]

You will be more than fine with a 3:45 flight. 

[jdvmd]

Our ship got in early this past August. Our son flew back by himself to DC at 9:45 a.m. and we flew to Chicago at 10:20 a.m.

 

[bennybear]

I think anything in the afternoon is fine.   Ships can dock a little late and you need to allow 3 hours in Rome airport on top of the transport time.  This year on arrival immigration worked so well with the new  epassport facial recognition.  But when we left the machines were down so added a long 45 minute wait!  So bottom line I would err on the side of caution after 1 pm.   

If you are not flying until after three, perhaps add a transfer tour such as Rome cabs offer and visit the Etruscan tombs at Cerveteri.  

[lovemylab]

We were able to catch an 11am flight with no issues.  Our ship docked at 5am and we carried our own luggage off shortly after we were cleared.  We had a prearranged shuttle waiting to take us to the airport.

[RBKL]

2 hours ago, lovemylab said:

We were able to catch an 11am flight with no issues.  Our ship docked at 5am and we carried our own luggage off shortly after we were cleared.  We had a prearranged shuttle waiting to take us to the airport.

Who did you book the shuttle with and what time did you have them pick you up?

[lovemylab]

11 hours ago, RBKL said:

Who did you book the shuttle with and what time did you have them pick you up?

 

We used Civitavecchia Cab Services; however, we wouldn't use them again.  We had a departure time of 7am.  

 

We used them for transportation both to and from the ship.  On the way to the ship they were over an hour late and I found the driver very unprofessional.  He was making jokes about the Costa Concordia disaster, driving very aggressive (even for Italian standards) and wouldn't pull over when a passenger was throwing up due to motion sickness.  I emailed the company directly about these concerns when we got home and never received a response.

 

 

[MCazer]

Last year our ship was delayed leaving LaSpezia, a port we weren’t even supposed to be at, because of bad weather.

 

so many people missed their flights. The cruise even had people bused at 1am so people could catch early flights. We were lucky because we were staying on in Rome for a few days post cruise. We thought we’d be in Rome around 10am, but ended up getting there at 4:30pm and we had a car service pick us up at the pier.

 

Next year we have a 6:05pm flight. Rather be safe than sorry. 

[Hlitner]

We feel really comfortable booking flights after 11am.  But we do use private transfers (RomeCabs).  For several years we routinely took a 10:50 flight and always found ourselves spending too much time sitting at the airport terminal.  Bottom line is that we usually are off the ship around 7, meet our driver shortly thereafter and are at FCO by 8:15.   We often will use Express disembarkation (where we take off our own luggage) which avoids any delays searching for luggage.  

 

Hank

[CuseJeff44]

we booked a 2:50pm flight back. hoping it works out

[mskaufman]

We have used the Rome airport multiple times from a cruise.  Usually we get a flight in the 12 - 1 time frame and have been fine each time.  When crowded the Rome airport can be less organized than other places.  We have been there when there has not been a line to get on the security line, more like a mob until you reach the organized part of the line. I would always give three hours at that airport.

[Hlitner]

On 12/2/2019 at 8:59 PM, jlabramo said:

we booked a 2:50pm flight back. hoping it works out

You will be fine. Take a good book for the hours you will sit at FCO.

 

Hank

 

[Keith1010]

I am used to the person who asks about booking a 10:30 AM flight and wanting to know if that is doable.

 

The good news is you have plenty of time.  My advice is to be one of the last off the ship which is a great way to end your cruise.

 

It's the early flights that giving advice is tricky.

 

Why?  Because while some post that they had no problem making a 10:30 AM flight it didn't work out for others because things can go wrong between  a late arrival to the port, delays getting luggage off the ship, delays at the airport, etc., etc., and trust me it doesn't always work out.

 

It doesn't matter if one person didn't have a problem if on your cruise you do.

 

Keith

[AK Dreaming]

On 11/8/2019 at 3:59 PM, jdvmd said:

Our ship got in early this past August. Our son flew back by himself to DC at 9:45 a.m. and we flew to Chicago at 10:20 a.m.

 

That is very encouraging.  The only flight I can get that works for me is 10:40am on a Sunday.  How did you get to the airport?

[CruiserBruce]

22 minutes ago, AK Dreaming said:

That is very encouraging.  The only flight I can get that works for me is 10:40am on a Sunday.  How did you get to the airport?

As is explained here, 10:40 is fine...but you need to arrange private transortation.

 

Note however, the person you quoted didn't give their cruise line. We have docked in Rome at 4:30, but nobody was allowed off before 7:15, which would make 10:40 a bit stressful, particularly if it was a non-stop to US flight, with it's extra security screening.