Flight out of FCO

[sandyss]

I am looking to book flights out of FCO the same day that we arrive in Civitavecchia.  There will be 5 other ships in port that day. 

 

If I prebook a car service to pick us up at the port, will we be able to make an 11:50 am flight (connecting in Philadelphia) or a 12;15 pm flight (connecting in Munich)? 

 

We have been to Rome several times previously, and would prefer to return home straight from the port.

 

Thanks.

[Henk123]

It is a 1 hour drive (minimum) so it must be possible if the driver is there round 8:30. Look at a car service that may go to the ship and not waiting at the entrance of the port.

Last time for us it was from FCO to port and we used ShuttleDirect.com.

 

[nordski]

In October, with a proposed arrival time of 7:00, the earliest official flight departure time to use the ship’s transfer to FCO was.... 11:50!

 

So certainly they thought it was doable. Actually once on board they allowed us to use the transfer even though our flight was at 11:40.

 

The transfer was scheduled to leave at 8:30 and it did so.

 

Their transfer was cheaper than a private transfer since no one on our roll call wanted to share the cost.

 

As Henk123  points out, if you use a private transfer use a company that can access the ship’s docking area. Romecabs is another example. 

Edited November 11, 2019 by nordski

[sandyss]

50 minutes ago, nordski said:

In October, with a proposed arrival time of 7:00, the earliest official flight departure time to use the ship’s transfer to FCO was.... 11:50!

 

So certainly they thought it was doable. Actually once on board they allowed us to use the transfer even though our flight was at 11:40.

 

The transfer was scheduled to leave at 8:30 and it did so.

 

Their transfer was cheaper than a private transfer since no one on our roll call wanted to share the cost.

 

As Henk123  points out, if you use a private transfer use a company that can access the ship’s docking area. Romecabs is another example. 

That is great information.  Thanks so much.  We are scheduled to arrive in port at 6:00am, so based on your experience, we should be okay.  The flights for next October should open up in around a week, and we plan to use FF points to obtain one of those two flights.

[Tapi]

When we sailed into Civitavecchia last November, our ship docked right at 8:00am and we walked off the ship at around 8:15am. We had a private car waiting for us (Stefano’s Rome Cabs). We arrived at FCO around 9:15am for an 11:25am flight to Atlanta on Delta.

 

We thought we had plenty of time to make our flight but we actually cut it very close. The line at the check in counter and to go through security were short and quick, but we spent a considerable amount of time standing in line at the passport pre-departure checkpoint. Lines there were very long, with many passengers trying to jump the line when they realized they would miss their flights. Tempers got pretty heated between some passengers. We made it to our gate after boarding had already started about 30 minutes before departure, and that was going straight from passport control to the gate. 

 

So I would recommend scheduling a flight and transportation so that you have at least 3 hours before departure, just to give you enough wiggle room. We were a bit stressed.

[sandyss]

2 hours ago, Tapi said:

When we sailed into Civitavecchia last November, our ship docked right at 8:00am and we walked off the ship at around 8:15am. We had a private car waiting for us (Stefano’s Rome Cabs). We arrived at FCO around 9:15am for an 11:25am flight to Atlanta on Delta.

 

We thought we had plenty of time to make our flight but we actually cut it very close. The line at the check in counter and to go through security were short and quick, but we spent a considerable amount of time standing in line at the passport pre-departure checkpoint. Lines there were very long, with many passengers trying to jump the line when they realized they would miss their flights. Tempers got pretty heated between some passengers. We made it to our gate after boarding had already started about 30 minutes before departure, and that was going straight from passport control to the gate. 

 

So I would recommend scheduling a flight and transportation so that you have at least 3 hours before departure, just to give you enough wiggle room. We were a bit stressed.

Thanks for sharing your experience.  I am going to "try" to get the 12:15 pm flight that goes thru Munich since that is considered a domestic flight, and we shouldn't have to go thru customs until we arrive in Munich.  That should save us time at FCO.

[snowglobe]

I’ve flown several times out of FCO, with international flights usually scheduled to leave between noon and 2pm. Even on the most recent flight, I’ve encountered some form of chaos at this airport - *every time* - on more than a dozen flights...

 

Be it some form of strike action, or chaos at the check-in counter, or chaos in the various security / checkpoints, FCO really does need lots of lead time and patience. I agree with the previous poster that an absolute minimum of 3 hours is needed at FCO, and we usually factor in getting there no later than 8am for noon flights.

 

And if you’re unlucky enough to be flying Delta, then you’ll likely be dealing with Air France’s FCO ground crew at check-in, with their very own special brand of ineptitude. If flying United, I’d aim for the Lufthansa code-share flights out of FCO. (my 2 cents, ymmv)

 

I also highly recommend Stefano’s Rome Cabs.

[sandyss]

The 12:15 pm flight is on Lufthansa which we should be able to get with our United miles.  I will look into Stefano's Rome Cabs.

[Tapi]

3 hours ago, snowglobe said:

And if you’re unlucky enough to be flying Delta, then you’ll likely be dealing with Air France’s FCO ground crew at check-in, with their very own special brand of ineptitude

Our experience with Delta personnel in FCO was very expeditious and pleasant, with smiling and very helpful agents. Probably the best employees that we came across going through this airport that morning. One smiling Delta employee even walked us to the security checkpoint while chatting and cracking jokes  with our kids.
 

And our flights, going and returning, couldn’t have been any better. From friendly crews (smiling flight attendants and pilots who even invited our kids to the fight deck when we landed in FCO), great tasting and plentiful meal selections, tons of inflight entertainment, and on time, nonstop flights, Delta made going to Rome and back a very pleasant part of our trip.

Edited November 11, 2019 by Tapi

[snowglobe]

 

4 hours ago, Tapi said:

Our experience with Delta personnel in FCO was very expeditious and pleasant,

/...

If you’re booking flights on Delta with points from Rome, more often then not you end up with code-shared flights and a connection (often CDG). My experience (twice) with the AF ground crew that handles the check-in for code-shared flights at FCO has been far from good.

 

Lucky you to have been flying direct AND having enjoyed good service!

FCO is not an efficient airport usually, especially when the flights back to the US and Canada are mostly clustered around midday. That was the point that I was trying to make for the OP.

[nordski]

11 hours ago, sandyss said:

That is great information.  Thanks so much.  We are scheduled to arrive in port at 6:00am, so based on your experience, we should be okay.  The flights for next October should open up in around a week, and we plan to use FF points to obtain one of those two flights.

 

Unfortunately my information was not so great, since I made a serious error.

 

Checking the Daily Planner, a step I should have taken and not relied upon my fallible memory, the ship docked at 6:00 and our transfer bus left at 8:00 am, mot at 8:30. Back to using my "memory", we were at Fumicino before 9:00. That gave us over 2.5 hours to complete checking in.

 

We did not encounter the problems at the airport that others have, although we skipped the process to request a VAT refund before security. There was a second opportunity after security, an opportunity that, at this point, has produced no refund.

 

The company I named as Romecabs is the same one that people are recommending as Stefano's Rome Cabs. The service is excellent.

 

Apologies for an error in a time detail that mattered.

[Tapi]

11 hours ago, snowglobe said:

If you’re booking flights on Delta with points from Rome, more often then not you end up with code-shared flights and a connection (often CDG).

 

FCO is not an efficient airport usually

We booked some members of my

family using points. But before I committed to this cruise, I wanted to ensure that we would be on a nonstop flight on Delta metal both ways (we live in Atlanta), so I purchased our tickets 11 months out to make sure that we wouldn’t be blacked out, specially returning on Thanksgiving Sunday. 
 

Don’t know if they were Air France agents in disguise, but in FCO we checked in at a Delta counter with employees wearing Delta’s purple uniforms and offering the same, consistent level of service that we’d received throughout this journey. 
 

I do agree with you though that FCO is not an efficient airport. That second checkpoint for passports almost gave me a heart attack. But the reason why I replied to your post was because you voiced your dissatisfaction flying Delta, and I just wanted to voice our experience because it was different than yours. 😀

Edited November 12, 2019 by Tapi

[snowglobe]

7 hours ago, Tapi said:

I do agree with you though that FCO is not an efficient airport. That second checkpoint for passports almost gave me a heart attack. But the reason why I replied to your post was because you voiced your dissatisfaction flying Delta, and I just wanted to voice our experience because it was different than yours. 😀

What I wrote was not about flying Delta, but having to deal with AF’s ground crew at FCO, that process Delta ticket holders that have code-shared flights.
Not the same creature at all! 😂

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, snowglobe said:

What I wrote was not about flying Delta...

 

On 11/11/2019 at 2:17 AM, snowglobe said:

And if you’re unlucky enough to be flying Delta...

We are beating this horse to death... 🐴 

 

Our experiences were different. You dealt with inept AF agents in FCO checking in for a code share flight. I didn’t. 

Edited November 12, 2019 by Tapi

[snowglobe]

If you’re going to quote, then please quote accurately... what I wrote was an “if-when” conditional statement:

On 11/11/2019 at 2:17 AM, snowglobe said:

And if you’re unlucky enough to be flying Delta, then you’ll likely be dealing with Air France’s FCO ground crew at check-in, with their very own special brand of ineptitude. If flying United, I’d aim for the Lufthansa code-share flights out of FCO. (my 2 cents, ymmv)

Again, it’s also the entire context of the conversation. The OP alluded to having to make connections, and will likely be dealing with code-shared flights.

In no way was I negating your own experience... even when I tried to clarify. 🤷🏻‍♀️
Glad you had a good flight home, and I wish the same for the OP.

Edited November 12, 2019 by snowglobe
Typo

[Tapi]

2 hours ago, snowglobe said:

If you’re going to quote, then please quote accurately... what I wrote was an “if-when” conditional statement:

You have great points. Thanks for sharing, honestly. That I had a great experience doesn’t negate that yours wasn’t the same.

 

🐴🐴🐴

Edited November 12, 2019 by Tapi

[grayjay]

On 11/11/2019 at 8:32 AM, sandyss said:

The 12:15 pm flight is on Lufthansa which we should be able to get with our United miles.  I will look into Stefano's Rome Cabs.

 

We have flown out of ( and into) FCO lots of times and let me add a few snippets of advice:

As Lufthansa is our home carrier we often use them and the FCO Lufthansa personnel is very efficient. Their counters, though, are at the very beginning of terminal 1, and the coach transfers from Civitavecchia leave you stranded at the end of terminal 3 which is quite a walk. As I have walking difficulties I have sometimes requested assistance and the service is much better now ( November 2019) than it often was in the years before. They whisk you through security and customs quite quickly. As the airport is so huge and service is sometimes efficient, sometimes distressfully chaotic, I'd certainly try to leave the ship as soon as possible.

We were on "Celebrity Edge" just now and coach transfer started as early at 7 o'clock ( even if passengers were dumped at terminal 3 if they wanted or not). Rows and Rows of pre-ordered taxis and vans were waiting for their passengers and they were able to drop of their passengers in front of the terminal building they wanted to enter - definitely a good choice.

We saw long lines both at the counters and security lines of the outbound US carriers. They do have special lanes for direct flights to the US .

[sandyss]

Thank you grayjay.  I've got my fingers crossed that I can book those Lufthansa flights with my United miles.

[sandyss]

Just got our return flight from FCO on Lufthansa, using United Miles.  The timing has changed from the earlier dates that I had been watching.  The flight leaves at 1:05 pm, which should be easy for us to make.