Barcelona is a 1015 flight too early?

[ellsbells3032]

Docking time is 6am. From the looks of it the airport is half an hour away and we need to be there about an hour before. So need to leave the ship by about 8 at the latest and pref by 730

 

The next available flight isn't til 6pm and we have a young baby so don't want to be sat around for 10 hours. 

 

If docking at 6am whats the earliest you can get off? 

[Megabear2]

Barcelona traffic is notoriously bad.  Appreciate your desire to take earlier flight but if it is a weekday their will be possible traffic delays.

 

We arrive into Barcelona from the Edge and were advised in the strongest terms not to book a flight before noon. 

[emmas gran]

What you plan is very risky - the ship may be late docking and other hold ups can occur. You would have to self disembark with all luggage and baby, grab a taxi to guarantee any chance of the flight

at 10.15

Edited April 11, 2022 by emmas gran

[ellsbells3032]

It's a Saturday so shouldn't be  rush hour 

[chemmo]

Barcelona airport based on our two visits, was a bit disorganised to say the least. 10.15am is definitely pushing it. As emmasgran says self disembarkation is the only way you would have a chance and carrying off your own luggage plus baby sounds really difficult. We have  had delays to exiting the ship for no apparent reason. On one occasion it was 8.00am before the first guests started getting off. It wasn’t a problem for us but there were some seriously stressed out people in the self disembark queue.
 

Which airline and airport are you travelling to? Are there alternatives you could look at on other airlines or are there other UK airports you could consider? If you miss a flight you are obviously not guaranteed a seat on the next flight.

 

Alternatively why not see if you can book a day room at a nearby airport hotel? You could then disembark at leisure, enjoy a few hours and a meal poolside, freshen up and then get your 6pm flight without needing to spend hours in the airport. I know it adds extra cost to the vacation but you could be in a real mess if you miss the early flight.

 

Much as I understand the appeal of the early flight I honestly would not recommend it.

Edited April 11, 2022 by chemmo

[basenji56]

Domestic or international?  Too risky.  A lot of the lines at the airport were very long. If you don't mind missing the flight and rescheduling, it could be worth it.

[emmas gran]

9 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Domestic or international?  Too risky.  A lot of the lines at the airport were very long. If you don't mind missing the flight and rescheduling, it could be worth it.

The OP is from the UK

[Miaminice]

In a nutshell: if you leave the ship with your luggage at 7am it´s doable.

Doable - but not comfortable...

 

[ellsbells3032]

 we've decided to push back to the evening flight based on feedback. We get a proper day in Barcelona too which we loved. 

 

Gonna use bags2go to send luggage to airport. Think that's the best solution

 

Thank you  

[chemmo]

1 minute ago, ellsbells3032 said:

 we've decided to push back to the evening flight based on feedback. We get a proper day in Barcelona too which we loved. 

 

Gonna use bags2go to send luggage to airport. Think that's the best solution

 

Thank you  

I think you have made a great decision, enjoy your cruise!

[Denny01]

Yes, the OP made an excellent decision. So many things to see in Barcelona, our favorite major Med port. Pick one or two and enjoy! 

 

personally, a 1015 departure from pretty much Any port US/Euro/wherever is just too close. Yes, there will be “i did it!’ But only if All goes perfectly and the airport staff Will give you the eyeball when you show up so close. 

 

And just picture yourself a few days prior: looking at the airport weather, hoping Nothing slows your ship entry; so many other issues you’ll come up with to add a bit of stress when you just had a great vacation to lower your stress. 

 

Enough. We all love to beat the ‘when should I fly in/out’ discussions to death with how we do it, which is of course The Way to do it!

 

Enjoy!

 

den

[GottaKnowWhen]

7 hours ago, ellsbells3032 said:

 we've decided to push back to the evening flight based on feedback. We get a proper day in Barcelona too which we loved. 

 

Gonna use bags2go to send luggage to airport. Think that's the best solution

 

Thank you  

Good choice! Last time we were in Barcelona the lineup to board a taxi was about an hour. And then the taxi would need to make its way through Barcelona traffic...

[ellsbells3032]

Thanks guys. After a lot of faffing I managed to change to the later flight for free 🙂

 

Although annoyingly if i had booked that flight originally I'd have got business for about 50 quid worth of points extra, there was no availablity on the earlier flight. Now it won't let me upgrsde using points only cash which is another £400 dam

[chemmo]

1 minute ago, ellsbells3032 said:

Thanks guys. After a lot of faffing I managed to change to the later flight for free 🙂

 

Although annoyingly if i had booked that flight originally I'd have got business for about 50 quid worth of points extra, there was no availablity on the earlier flight. Now it won't let me upgrsde using points only cash which is another £400 dam

You win some, you loose some….After years of having just about points for every airline somehow every flight we go for there is a reason why we can’t use the points!
 

 

[Catchum]

On 4/11/2022 at 12:36 PM, ellsbells3032 said:

 we've decided to push back to the evening flight based on feedback. We get a proper day in Barcelona too which we loved. 

 

Gonna use bags2go to send luggage to airport. Think that's the best solution

 

Thank you  

Bags to go is great, we have used them a couple of times, we got the airport bus from  Plaça España to get to the airport. First time it took a while to find their location at the airport so leave a little extra time. 

[victory2020]

Is there a testing site at the airport? I don't know yet if Carnival is offering testing to go back to US. Also, my flight is at 1:45 pm. Do you think iI would have time to take a short tour - or does anyone know of a company that does short tours then drops you off at the airport?

[Travelw]

We booked our flights through Royal Caribbean, with transfer also through them and a 10:15 flight is considered a legal flight.  Our TA checked with Royal and they told her that flights that are not considered legal are not even listed as an option.  I have to admit, I am nervous about making the flight.

[marazul]

On 4/11/2022 at 5:49 AM, ellsbells3032 said:

It's a Saturday so shouldn't be  rush hour 

It's a Saturday.  Barcelona is a major city and the traffic is not much less on a Saturday.  Plus political demonstrations and sporting events usually happen on Saturday.  Not to mention the usual construction, accidents, etc. 

Good thing you managed to rebook!

 

4 hours ago, Travelw said:

We booked our flights through Royal Caribbean, with transfer also through them and a 10:15 flight is considered a legal flight.  Our TA checked with Royal and they told her that flights that are not considered legal are not even listed as an option.  I have to admit, I am nervous about making the flight.

That is wishful thinking.  You are cutting it very thin.  The question is:  What is RC going to do for you if you miss the flight?  Will they rebook you?  Put you up at a hotel?  Leave you stranded at the airport? 

[daniels5759]

On 4/17/2022 at 3:45 PM, marazul said:

It's a Saturday.  Barcelona is a major city and the traffic is not much less on a Saturday.  Plus political demonstrations and sporting events usually happen on Saturday.  Not to mention the usual construction, accidents, etc. 

Good thing you managed to rebook!

 

That is wishful thinking.  You are cutting it very thin.  The question is:  What is RC going to do for you if you miss the flight?  Will they rebook you?  Put you up at a hotel?  Leave you stranded at the airport? 

Mine is at 11:15 booked through Oceania so if we miss it it will be up to them to get us on another flight.

 

[Mary Louise]

Ship arrives at 5:00 AM on a Sunday. Can I make a 9:30 AM flight? I will have priority check in and fast lane through security,

 

thank you

[carlmm]

1 hour ago, Mary Louise said:

Ship arrives at 5:00 AM on a Sunday. Can I make a 9:30 AM flight? I will have priority check in and fast lane through security,

 

thank you

If your cruiseline / ship really allows  you to get off that early, it should be no problem. 

[Lois R]

On 4/30/2022 at 9:52 PM, daniels5759 said:

Mine is at 11:15 booked through Oceania so if we miss it it will be up to them to get us on another flight.

 

Same for me.......I am sailing with Silversea and I have an 11:10 flight. Fortunately, the ship holds less than 600 guests so it is not like 1,000's of people will be trying to disembark.

 I booked through the cruise line as well so it is up to them to get me there on time.