Can we disembark early enough to make an 11:00 am flight in Venice?

[puppymama1]

Next week we will be able to book our airfare for next October's Mediterranean Odyssey cruise.. Our last port is Venice, arriving the day before disembarkation.  I assume we should have no problem being able to get off the ship early enough the following day to make an 11:00 am flight back home?  Want to book flights on our own now to get the nonstop flights we want...  Also, if we are arriving the day before embarkation, and arranging our own airfare, is there any way to get a transfer to the hotel through Viking or do we just need to take a cab from the airport?  Thanks!

Edited November 17, 2021 by puppymama1

[Cienfuegos]

Has it been conclusively determined that Viking Ocean actually arrives in Venice proper?  There was some discussion that the ship docks elsewhere, with bus transfer to the cruise terminal facility

[TayanaLorna]

If you are going to do your own airfare I would be sure you can change it.  Venice is exploring different ways to avoid and control the over-tourism of the pre Covid days.  I would guess big changes are coming in the next year that Viking has no control over.

[MarkTapley]

Check your Viking Guest Statement, Page 3.  There will be something like this, issued by Viking, that will dictate the earliest flight you should book (this is from our voyage this past summer):

 

Departure:

Departure flights out of Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF) must depart no earlier than 9:00 AM on the day of August 21, 2021.

[puppymama1]

We don't have that statement on our page 3.... I assume that is because the travel agent had originally booked Viking Air on this reservation, but we decided to go ahead and do it ourselves so we had more control over picking the flights we wanted... I was going to wait to cancel Viking Air until I had booked our flights, but I will tell him to go ahead and cancel it now so we can get a new guest statement that will hopefully have that statement on it... 

[Peregrina651]

2 hours ago, puppymama1 said:

We don't have that statement on our page 3.... I assume that is because the travel agent had originally booked Viking Air on this reservation, but we decided to go ahead and do it ourselves so we had more control over picking the flights we wanted... I was going to wait to cancel Viking Air until I had booked our flights, but I will tell him to go ahead and cancel it now so we can get a new guest statement that will hopefully have that statement on it... 

 

Before you cancel the air, it should be a simple  phone call from your TA to their Viking contact to ask how early. Once you cancel Viking Air you can't get it back.  

 

Also, don't forget that even if you don't use Viking Air, you can still purchase Viking transfers.  

[cruisesoon]

We are ending our cruise in Venice too. I called and it said on my invoice 7:00am. We are arrive at 3am.

[puppymama1]

2 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Before you cancel the air, it should be a simple  phone call from your TA to their Viking contact to ask how early. Once you cancel Viking Air you can't get it back.  

 

Also, don't forget that even if you don't use Viking Air, you can still purchase Viking transfers.  

But can you use Viking transfers if you arrive the day before embarkation?  I didn't know if you could do their transfer from the airport to the hotel we booked on our own...

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, puppymama1 said:

But can you use Viking transfers if you arrive the day before embarkation?  I didn't know if you could do their transfer from the airport to the hotel we booked on our own...

 

You are on your own if you arrive early or are extending your stay on your own afterwards. Viking transfers are only available on embarkation and disembarkation days or if you have a Viking pre- or post- extension.

 

Since it is Venice, I would talk directly with Viking and ask how things are being handled now that they are not docking at the cruise terminal. I have read things about it here -- enough to know that changes have been made but not enough to give accurate answers, including where I read it. Contact them at tellus@vikingcruises.com and ask them if someone who is familiar with what is going on would give you a call. 

 

 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, cruisesoon said:

We are ending our cruise in Venice too. I called and it said on my invoice 7:00am. We are arrive at 3am.

 

Careful. Different itineraries and different sailings may, for whatever reason, have different arrival times.

[Heartgrove]

Some cruise lines have currently used a combination of Venice/Trieste for the startup cruises in the Adriatic and Greece. It appears that Venice-Marghera creates operational issues and that Trieste will take on more importance. Depending on the cruise line, the sailings are still showing Venice for 2022 but some cruise lines have already switched to Trieste for 2023 in their itineraries.  

[janetcbl]

14 hours ago, puppymama1 said:

But can you use Viking transfers if you arrive the day before embarkation?  I didn't know if you could do their transfer from the airport to the hotel we booked on our own...

We are on a cruise that begins in Greenwich and are arriving the day before, staying overnight at an airport hotel, and then joining the transfer from the airport to the ship that morning. No problem.

[puppymama1]

We aren't staying at an airport hotel... that's why I didn't think we would be able to use Viking transfers.. We will just get a cab from the hotel to the cruise port... thanks

[donaldsc]

Always ask yourself when thinking about an early flight - what is my plan B and then plan C if I miss my flight.  If you don't have a good plan B, don't book the early flight.

 

DON

[formernuke]

We got off of Med Odyssey in Venice (actually Fusina) on 10/24 with a 10:30 flight to Zurich. No problem (even with delay at Venice cruise terminal to switch luggage/busses). Left the ship at about 7:45.